The Evening: Manchester Arrests, Vatican Visit, Dixie Chicken Day and More

Good Evening,

It's Wednesday, May 24th.

Terror Network Hunted

A sixth person has been arrested in the UK over Monday’s bombing at Manchester Arena, as police said they were investigating a "network," as the BBC reports.

And, CNN’s Paul Cruickshank reports on the Libya connection.

Dive Deeper: See the CSIS Commission on Countering Violent Extremism’s interactive report.

Plus, see Brookings’ Daniel Byman on “What the Manchester attack shows us about how the terrorism danger has evolved.”

Vatican Visit

Pope Francis and President Trump discussed terrorism and the radicalization of young people in a meeting today in which two global leaders with starkly different world views sought to bridge the chasm between them with a handshake, a private audience, and a mutual pledge to work for peace, as the New York Times’ Mark Landler and Jason Horowitz report.

Meanwhile, as Bloomberg’s Jonathan Stearns, Nikos Chrysoloras, and Margaret Talev report, President Trump’s demands to step up the fight against terrorism is set to get a sympathetic hearing from NATO partners when he visits the alliance headquarters for the first time on Thursday.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Jeff Rathke has a new commentary: “America’s NATO Problem: We’ve Forgotten Why We’re a Member.”

And see the Atlantic Council’s new report, NATO and Trump: The Case for a New Transatlantic Bargain, by Fabrice Pothier and Alexander Vershbow.

Plus, see the Pew Research Center’s “NATO’s Image Improves on Both Sides of Atlantic.”

Philippines Martial Law

Newly arrived from Moscow, just hours after cutting short his diplomatic visit to Russia, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte stepped behind a lectern to explain his decision to declare martial law in the southern island of Mindanao, as NPR’s Colin Dwyer reports.

And, as Reuters’ Romeo Ranoco reports, thousands of civilians fled fighting in the Philippines today as troops tried to fend off Islamist militants who took over large parts of a city, capturing Christians, seizing and torching buildings, and setting free scores of prisoners.

In That Number

3,800

The number of troops that can be authorized to help British police officers respond to the heightened terror threat, under an emergency protocol called “Operation Temperer.” Source: Financial Times’ Helen Warrell.

Critical Quote

“American leaders in both parties have failed in recent decades to explain the strategic benefit of NATO to the United States.”

—CSIS’s Jeffrey Rathke authored a new commentary today, “America’s NATO Problem: We’ve Forgotten Why We’re a Member.”

iDeas Lab

This interactive map from the CSIS Missile Defense Project shows the missile standoff between NATO and Russia.

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: Spencer Platt/Getty Images.)
The USS Kearsarge joins the Parade of Ships as it makes its way past the Statue of Liberty on the opening day of Fleet Week today in New York.

Recommended Reading

“Fed Sounded Note of Caution at Last Meeting on Raising Interest Rates,” by the New York Times’ Binyamin Appelbaum.

This Town Tomorrow

Join CSIS at 9:00 a.m. for “Countering Coercion in Maritime Asia,” featuring a keynote address by Admiral John Richardson, chief of naval operations of the U.S. Navy.

Join the CSIS Technology Policy Program and the Freeman Chair in China Studies at 1:30 p.m. for the project launch of the CSIS China Innovation Policy Series (CIPS), a new report series that unpacks China’s drive toward innovation.

And join the Atlantic Council at 9:00 a.m. for the report launch of Why Africa Matters to US National Security.

On Demand

Today , CSIS launched a new report, Staying Power: Considering the U.S. Government’s Global Nutrition Coordination Plan. You can watch the launch event on demand here .

Sounds

Smart Women, Smart Power released a new podcast today, “Defending Writers Under Fire Worldwide.”

Smiles

Today is my buddy Keith’s birthday and just the thought of his birthday makes me smile. You see, Keitoe is one of my best friends from Tulane. Like my immediate family, my best friends from Tulane can make me laugh harder than any other people on the planet and do so on a near daily basis. So, going forward, I think it is appropriate to celebrate all of their birthdays by playing some of their favorite tunes.

Like me, Keith is a huge Little Feat fan. So, I hereby declare via the power of Smiles that today will be known as “International Dixie Chicken Day.” Happy Birthday Toe!

I invite you to email me at aschwartz@csis.org and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz