The Evening: SK’s Defense Bill, Turkey Tension, Sheryl Crow and More
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** Good Evening,
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It's Wednesday, December 18th.
Note: The Evening will be “gone fishin’” until January 2, 2020. Merry Xmas, happy holidays and a happy, healthy new year to all!
** South Korea, U.S. Fail to Agree on Cost of U.S. Troops
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South Korea and the United States failed on Wednesday to agree on Seoul’s contribution toward hosting some 28,500 U.S. troops, but the U.S. side hinted after the two days of talks ended that it will no longer stick to its $5 billion demand, as Reuters’ Josh Smith reports ([link removed]) .
** Clashes in Beirut
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Lebanese security forces battled protesters in downtown Beirut late Monday into early Tuesday, firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons at crowds. But instead of the anti-corruption activists who have taken to the streets in the last two months in nationwide demonstrations, the protesters this time were supporters of two Shiite groups that have participated in efforts to quell the unrest stemming from the country’s dysfunction, as the
Washington Post's Sarah Dadouch reports ([link removed]) .
Dive Deeper: “Reimagining ‘Stabilization’ in Lebanon ([link removed]) ,” by CSIS’ Hijab Shah, Melissa Dalton and Erol Yayboke.
“What Does It Mean to Be a Shia in Lebanon Today? ([link removed]) ” by the Washington Institute’s Hanin Ghaddar.
** Turkey Tensions
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Turkey has accused Congress of “hostile” behavior after the Senate passed punitive measures against Ankara, underscoring the growing tensions between the two NATO members. Ankara claimed on Wednesday that members of Congress were “acting under the influence of anti-Turkish circles” after they approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a sprawling military bill that included provisions intended to punish Turkey for its growing closeness with Russia — and for a simmering dispute with Cyprus over natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean, as the
FT’s Laura Pitel reports ([link removed]) .
** CSIS Executive Education
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Nominations and applications for our 2020 Women’s Global Leadership Program ([link removed]) 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
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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 ([link removed]) !
** In That Number
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** 18,000
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The Trump administration announced on November 4, 2019, that up to 18,000 refugees would be resettled in the United States in fiscal year 2020, down from almost 85,000 in 2016 and 231,700 in 1980.
Source: CSIS, “What You Need to Know about the First-Ever Global #RefugeeForum ([link removed]) ,” by Erol Yayboke
** Critical Quote
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** “In case we cannot conclude an agreement by the end of 2020, we will face again a cliff-edge situation. This would clearly harm our interest but it will impact more the UK than us, as the EU will continue benefiting from its single market, its customs union and the 700 international agreements we signed with our partners.”
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— Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission
** iDeas Lab
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[link removed]
On December 3rd and 4th, NATO leaders met in London to discuss the future of the alliance. From external threats to internal conflicts, CSIS's Europe experts break down what's happening with NATO ([link removed]) .
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.
** Optics
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CSIS
(Photo credit: Chesnot/Getty Images). Notre Dame Cathedral is seen during restoration work more than eight months after the fire that ravaged the emblematic monument.
** Recommended Reading
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Note: This week’s recommendations come from the annual CSIS “Bad Ideas In National Security Series ([link removed]) .”
“Bad Idea: Strategy That Explicitly Says What We Will Not Do ([link removed]) ,” by CSIS’s Kathleen Hicks and Joseph Federici.
** This Town Tomorrow
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At 9:00 a.m. ([link removed]) , the American Enterprise Institute will host a dialogue with Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) on the implications of the recently ratified USMCA trade deal.
And, at 2:00 p.m. ([link removed]) , the Atlantic Council will host a discussion on the future of Russia's natural gas pipelines to Europe—Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream.
** Video
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Legendary CBS anchor and CSIS Trustee Bob Schieffer sits down with the Wall Street Journal's Nancy Youssef and CSIS's Seth Jones, Brian Katz, and Melissa Dalton to discuss the consequences of the U.S. withdrawal from Syria. Watch the full video here ([link removed]) .
** Podcasts
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[link removed]
Bob and I sit down with CSIS's Kathleen Hicks, Andrew Hunter, and Todd Harrison to discuss the Defense 360's "Bad Ideas in National Security" series that highlight a number a number of bad ideas in the defense and foreign policy space.
Listen on Spotify ([link removed]) & Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) .
** Smiles
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I sure wish I’d been over at NPR to see Sheryl Crow and her band jam at Tiny Desk Concerts…but watching this is a great consolation ([link removed]) .
I invite you to email me at
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]) and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz ([link removed])
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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.
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Connect w/ H. Andrew Schwartz
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