Good Evening,
It's Wednesday, February 22nd. |
Biden Meets Eastern European Leaders
President Biden met with the leaders on Europe’s eastern flank Wednesday, demonstrating his administration’s renewed focus on allies on the front lines of Washington’s great power competition with both Russia and China, as the WSJ reports. |
Putin Courts China
Vladimir Putin met with Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy official, at the Kremlin on Wednesday, working to keep China in Russia’s corner amid a flurry of diplomacy across Europe by Beijing, as the NYT reports. |
Big Mistake on START
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a “big mistake” by suspending his country’s participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty, as the AP reports. |
Executive Education
CSIS's Understanding Washington course offers embassy, business, and nonprofit professionals the tools and knowledge necessary to better navigate the Washington policy ecosystem. |
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “The Recap,” “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 million
Nearly 1 million people applied for international protection in the European Union in 2022, according to data published Wednesday, bringing the number of asylum requests to a level not seen since the refugee crisis of 2015-2016.
Source: AP |
Critical Quote
“You’re on the front line for our collective defense. And you know better than anyone what’s at stake in this conflict, not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.”
— President Joe Biden |
iDeas Lab
To deter a potential conflict with China, the United States must act quickly to resolve key challenges to its industrial base, writes CSIS's Seth G. Jones.
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: Contributor/Getty Images.) Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a concert in Luzhniki Stadium on February 22, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. |
Recommended Reading
“Move Fast and Win Things: What the War in Ukraine Has Revealed About Statecraft” by CSIS’s Eliot A. Cohen in Foreign Affairs. |
This Town Tomorrow
At 8:30 a.m., the CSIS Economics Program hosts a half-day conference on pressing economic security concerns and how to enhance U.S.-Korean cooperation.
Later, at 4:00 p.m., the CSIS Australia Chair hosts a discussion on the state of Australia-China relations.
Also at 4:00 p.m., CSIS partners with the Miller Center and the Virginia Film Festival for the premiere of Ukraine: The Human Price of War, Episode 7. |
Video
Europe has demonstrated its political and economic resilience in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Despite this resilience, much remains in question regarding the future of European defense and security. Watch What's Happening with Europe and Ukraine, one year in. |
Podcasts
CSIS’s James Andrew “Jim” Lewis joins the podcast to discuss the fallout from the spy balloon and how China’s spying efforts toward the U.S. are waged—plus, a discussion of U.S. countermeasures.
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
I hope you liked the Mardi Gras Tipitina’s clip from yesterday featuring some of New Orleans' best musicians. One of them, singer/songwriter/guitarist Anders Osborne, has been a fixture on the Big Easy scene for the past 30 years and has produced a fascinating body of work.
One of Osborne’s finest collaborations can be found on his 2002 record “Bury the Hatchet,” a recording with legendary Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief Monk Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles. The album is a fusion of blues, rock, and Mardi Gras Indian funk. Over the years it has become one of my favorites. In this live performance of the track “They Don’t Know,” Osborne and Big Chief Monk are joined by harmonica wizard Johnny Sansone. Enjoy! |
| I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz |
