More Troops to Mideast

The Trump administration is considering a significant expansion of the U.S. military footprint in the Middle East, including dozens more ships, other military hardware and as many as 14,000 additional troops to counter Iran, U.S. officials said, as the WSJ’s Gordon Lubold and Nancy Youssef report.

Abrupt Exit From NATO

The NATO summit came to an abrupt end today in England after President Trump canceled a planned news conference before heading back to Washington earlier than planned in wake of a viral video featuring Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders caught on camera seemingly gossiping about Trump, as the NYT’s Annie Karni and Katie Rogers report.

Dive Deeper: “NATO's not brain dead, but it really needs a strategy,” by CSIS’s Heather Conley for CNN.com.

China Threatens Retaliation

China said it would retaliate if the U.S. presses forward with sanctions over Beijing’s repression of Uighur Muslims—Washington’s second stand on China human rights in recent days, with trade talks facing uncertainty, as the WSJ’s Eva Dou reports.

Navy Seized Missile Parts Suspected to be Linked to Iran

A U.S. Navy warship seized advanced missile parts believed to be linked to Iran in the Gulf of Oman, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, as Reuters reports.

CSIS Executive Education

Nominations and applications for our 2020 Women’s Global Leadership Program are now open! If you or someone you know is an exceptional woman interested in deepening their understanding of geopolitical trends and executive leadership skills, please apply.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

48%

China and the countries with Belt and Road infrastructure investments produced 48% of global carbon emissions.

Source: CSIS, “Chinese Multilateralism and the Promise of a Green Belt and Road,” by Lachlan Carey and Sarah Ladislaw.

Critical Quote

"We have the soldiers where the oil is - and that’s the way I like it."

— President Donald Trump

iDeas Lab

As of December 3, the canopy at the Sinpo South Shipyard remains present, making it unclear whether North Korea has launched its “newly built submarine.”

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

(Photo credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images). Brazil's President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today at the NATO summit in Watford, England.

This Town Tomorrow

At 8:30 a.m., CSIS will hold a discussion analyzing the merits and pitfalls of using a Cold War comparison for tensions between China and the United States from the historian’s perspective.

And, at 2:00 p.m., CSIS will host a discussion about Chinese espionage and its influence in China and abroad with the authors of Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer.

Later, at 2:30 p.m., CSIS will have a discussion examining how global cooperation can address cybercrimes in ways that ensure a balance between civil liberties and law enforcement needs.

Video

Yesterday, CSIS held a panel discussion and report launch examining paths to building creative economies in developing countries, using Taipei and Jakarta as case studies. Watch the event here.

Podcasts

Bob and I sit down with Kimberly Flowers, director of the Humanitarian Agenda and Global Food Security Project at CSIS, to discuss the political and humanitarian impact of climate change on food security and global hunger.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“Like a full force gale
I was lifted up again
I was lifted up again by the Lord”

I’m glad you all liked the new Van Morrison from yesterday. I’m loving his new album which is full of great songs. But there’s nothing better than a look back into Van’s cannon for numbers like “Full Force Gale.”

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Emma Colbran, Caleb Diamond, and Brad Honigberg.