The Evening: Barcelona Terror, Mattis on NK, Brokedown Palace and More

Good Evening,

It's Thursday, August 17th.

Terror Attack in Barcelona

At least 13 people were killed and more than 50 injured after a van rammed through crowds of people in the heart of Barcelona today in what police described as a terror attack, CNN reports.

Dive Deeper : See Anthony Cordesman’s new CSIS report, The Patterns in Global Terrorism: 1970-2016.

And, see the CSIS Commission on Countering Violent Extremism report, Turning Point: A New Comprehensive Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism.

NK Military Solution and Afghanistan Decision

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said today that there will be “strong military consequences” for North Korea should it take military action against the United States or its allies, a direct rebuttal to White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who said in an interview earlier this week that “there’s no military solution” to deal with North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, as Politico’s Louis Nelson reports.

And, Secretary Mattis today said President Donald Trump is gathering his national security team to attempt again to settle on a new Afghanistan policy. In remarks at the State Department, Mattis told reporters the talks Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland will “move this toward a decision,” as the AP’s Bob Burns reports.

China and India are dangerously close to military conflict in the Himalayas, as the Washington Post’s Annie Gowen and Simon Denyer report.

Dive Deeper : CSIS’s Rick Rossow has a commentary in today’s Diplomat: “For the United States, India’s Moves At Doklam Signal Its Willingness to Act.”

In That Number

40

Fortune ’s 2017 “40 Under 40” was released today. Source: Fortune.

Critical Quote

"To me, the economic war with China is everything. And we have to be maniacally focused on that."

— Steve Bannon via the American Prospect.

iDeas Lab

CSIS’s Moises Rendon authored a new commentary today, “Why Venezuela Should Be a U.S. Foreign Policy Priority.”

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: PAU BARRENA/AFP/Getty Images.) The aftermath of today’s terrorist attack in Barcelona on the city’s famous Las Ramblas boulevard.

Recommended Reading

“Lunch with the FT: Stanley Fischer, Fed vice-chair, on the risky business of bank reform.”

This Town Tomorrow

Join Politics and Prose at 7:00 p.m. for a discussion with Angela P. Dodson, former New York Times editor and author of Remember the Ladies: Celebrating Those Who Fought for Freedom at the Ballot Box . Dodson will be joined by Carol Richards, a founding editor of USA Today, and Dorothy Gilliam, longtime columnist for the Washington Post and former president of the National Association of Black Journalists.

On Demand

At the Chautauqua Institution, CSIS’s Kathleen Hicks discussed CSIS’s impact and key issues dominating U.S. foreign policy today.

Sounds

CSIS’s Take as Directed has four new podcasts this week on the latest news, issues, and perspectives in global health policy. Start out with today’s podcast, “Why CDC Must Work Globally to Protect Americans’ Health and Security.”

Smiles

“Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul.”

Forty-seven years ago tomorrow marks the first time the Grateful Dead performed “Brokedown Palace” live (at San Francisco’s Fillmore West.)

“Brokedown Palace” is one of the Dead’s most spiritual songs, and one of the band’s most beautiful compositions. These days we can’t get enough spirituality and beauty so I dug up this clip from August 30, 1970, just days after they first played the song at the Fillmore.

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