Unfortunate Accident

Poland’s president said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian air defense missile had most likely caused a deadly explosion in his country a day earlier, calling it an “unfortunate accident” and easing fears that his country and its NATO allies could be drawn into a direct conflict with Russia, as the NYT reports.

G-20 leaders end summit condemning Russia despite divisions

Members of the Group of 20 leading economies ended their summit Wednesday with a declaration of firm condemnation of the war in Ukraine and a warning that the conflict is making an already delicate world economy worse, as the AP reports.

Suspected Iranian Drone Hits Israeli-Affiliated Oil Tanker

An Israeli-affiliated oil tanker was hit by a suspected Iranian drone Tuesday night in the Gulf of Oman, creating a hole in the ship but causing no injuries or deaths, as the WSJ reports.

Executive Education

Today is the last day to register for U.S. and Eurasian Security: The Challenges Ahead. This new program will give participants a competitive advantage through in-depth analysis and insights into the major challenges to U.S. security across Eurasia.

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

1.5°C

The G20 pledged on Wednesday to strive to limit global warming to 1.5°C in a move that was welcomed by negotiators at the UN COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

Source: FT

Critical Quote

“We have no evidence at the moment that it was a rocket launched by Russian forces. However, there are many indications that it was a missile that was used by Ukraine’s antimissile defense.”

— President Andrzej Duda, Poland

iDeas Lab

A new CSIS report examines the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) in combined arms warfare based on the war in Ukraine and other cases. In the future, UASs will likely play an increasingly important role in great power competition against such countries as China and Russia.

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: Handout/Getty Images.) This handout image provided by German Government Press Office depicts U.S.-President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they talk about the missile strike in Poland as the G20 meetings take place on November 16, 2022 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., the CSIS China Power Project holds its seventh annual conference, featuring debates on the core issues underpinning the nature of Chinese power.

Then, at 9:30 a.m., the CSIS Korea Chair hosts a special episode of "The Capital Cable" on democracy, values, and international security, and what they mean for the U.S.-ROK alliance.

And, at 4:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council holds a conversation on how the transatlantic community should respond to the international spread of China's authoritarianism.

Video

Last week, CSIS's Mvemba Phezo Dizolele hosted a panel discussion on UN humanitarian, development, and peacekeeping operations, as well as methodologies to rebuild trust in UN operations in DRC and beyond. Watch the full panel here.

Podcasts

In the latest episode of Vying for Talent, Jude Blanchette and Ryan Haas are joined by Katharine Kelley, the deputy chief of space operations for human capital at the U.S. Space Force. Kelley highlights the value of diverse talent and the importance of upskilling, drawing on insight from the Space Force’s “melting pot” of Defense Department culture and practices.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

There’s a difference between listing a record as one of the “greatest albums of all time,” and designating a recording as a “perfect album.” I define a perfect album as the ultimate expression by an artist at the very top of their powers in which every track cuts deeply and even the sequencing of the work is meaningful. Of course, both categories are subjective. Rolling Stone magazine lists their 500 “Best Albums of All Time” and it’s a comprehensive list. The list contains the best of the best—but every album on the list isn’t “perfect.” For example, Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” is surely one of the greats, but it isn’t a perfect album.

When I think of perfect albums, a few instantly come to mind. Springsteen’s “Born to Run” is a perfect album. Lucinda Williams’ “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” is perfect. So is Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.” The Beatles and the Stones have a few perfect albums each.

What got me thinking about this is a new show by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight called “SAS Rogue Heroes,” which recently began streaming. The first episode deploys edgy AC/DC tracks from the time when Bon Scott was the band’s lead singer. Before his untimely death in 1980, Scott sang on AC/DC’s first seven records—none of them are perfect records, but each one of them contains powerful, timeless songs. It was interesting to me that “Rogue Heroes” used tracks with Scott on vocals as opposed to material from AC/DC’s perfect album “Back in Black” featuring Scott’s replacement, Brian Johnson.

“Back in Black” is a perfect album, start to finish and its sequencing is brilliant. I can’t think of too many records that launch with tracks as powerful as “Hells Bells” and “Shoot to Thrill” and close with “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution.” I could go through the merits of every song, but you get the drift. As I thought about this, and why the show used the Bon Scott tracks, I came to the conclusion that while “Back in Black” is AC/DC’s perfect record, the vocal energy that Scott brought to the band on its previous 7 records was unparalleled. His voice had something extra—rock and roll people would call it “dread.”

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: Paige Montfort, Claire Dannenbaum, and Claire Smrt.