Good Evening,
It's Tuesday, February 1st. |
Putin Says the U.S. Wants to Push Russia into War
Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the United States was trying to pull Russia into an armed conflict over Ukraine that Russia did not want, cautioning that the West had not yet satisfied Russia’s demands for a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe but that he hoped “dialogue will be continued,” as the NYT reports. |
Vaccine for U.S. Children Under 5
A coronavirus vaccine for children younger than 5 could be available within weeks, far sooner than expected, as the Washington Post reports. |
Covid Hospitalizations Fall, Deaths Rise
The number of hospital patients with Covid-19 continues to fall in the U.S., adding to signs that the Omicron wave of the pandemic is ebbing, even though deaths from the virus are on the rise, as the WSJ reports.
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Executive Education
Register for CSIS's “Navigating U.S. Foreign Assistance” course to participate in an in-depth, hands-on study of the latest trends and techniques today’s international development and humanitarian leaders need to maximize their impact. |
Call for Applications: Strategy and Statecraft Fellowship
CSIS is launching the inaugural year of its Strategy and Statecraft Fellowship, an exclusive, world-class program of approximately 15 leaders. Fellows will grapple with the challenges of developing strategy and conducting effective statecraft, focusing on one of the most pressing challenges facing the United States: how to best compete with China. |
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel! |
In That Number
100,000
Ukraine's president signed a decree on Tuesday to boost the country's armed forces by 100,000 troops over three years, as European leaders lined up to back him in a standoff with Russia and the United States demanded immediate Russian de-escalation.
Source: Reuters |
Critical Quote
“It was the United States that came with its missiles to our home, to the doorstep of our home. And you demand from me some guarantees. You should give us guarantees. You! And right away, right now.”
— Russian president Vladimir Putin |
iDeas Lab
According to new CSIS analysis, Russia is pursuing a dual approach in Ukraine, combining a major buildup of conventional army, navy, and air force units with clandestine irregular activities. If peace talks fail, an escalation between NATO and Russia could extend well beyond Eastern Europe and include retaliatory measures that are global in nature.
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.![]() ![]() ![]() |
Optics
(Photo credit: Peter Nicholls/POOL/AFP/Getty Images.) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C) attends a military briefing with British Colonel James HF Thurstan (R), Commander of Operation Orbital in Kyiv on February 1, 2022. |
Recommended Reading
“Crisis Crossroads: Ukraine” is a new, curated collection of independent, bipartisan analysis from CSIS. This body of analysis—from across the Center—analyzes the Russian threat to Ukraine and its potential security, economic, energy, and humanitarian impacts. |
This Town Tomorrow
At 10:00 a.m., join the CSIS Southeast Asia Program for an event reflecting on the current state of affairs in Myanmar and policy options for the U.S. and partner governments to respond.
And, at 2:00 p.m., the CSIS International Security Program hosts a discussion featuring General Van Ovost on the challenges of supporting U.S. operations worldwide, the diversity of organizations under her command, and the role of the U.S. Transportation Command in strategic competition.
Then, at 4:00 p.m., CSIS's John J. Hamre and Seth G. Jones are joined by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) to discuss the important role Congress plays in providing critical defense capabilities to Ukraine and standing firm against the Kremlin. |
Video
Yesterday, Seth G. Jones, Harold Brown Chair and director of the CSIS International Security Program, spoke with Admiral Pierre Vandier, Chief of the French Navy, about the future of French maritime defense and France's response to global threats and new weapons systems. Watch the full interview here.
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Podcasts
This week, CSIS's Jon B. Alterman hosted Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American journalist who was arrested in 2014 while reporting for the Washignton Post and spent 544 days in Iran's Evin Prison. Jason and Jon discussed why he went to Iran, what the U.S. government gets wrong about Iranians, and how Iranian leaders think about hostage-taking and its role in Iranian foreign policy.
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
The first thing I remember knowin'
Was a lonesome whistle blowin'
And a younger's dream of growin' up to ride
In my view, the Grateful Dead—especially Bobby Weir—wrote and performed some of the best country-rock music you’ll ever hear. The albums they released in 1970, “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty,” are both country-rock masterpieces packed with Dead classics like “Casey Jones,” “Cumberland Blues,” “Uncle John’s Band,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Ripple,” and “Truckin.’”
When the Dead covered other C&W artists’ tunes the results proved blissful as well. Take this performance of Merle Haggard’s classic “Mama Tried.”
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| I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz |
