Good Evening,
It's Thursday, January 10th.
Pompeo’s Cairo Speech
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laid out a new manifesto for American action in the Middle East today, telling a university audience that the United States would take a far more activist role in the region, despite fears that President Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria marks a new phase of withdrawal, as the NYT’s Declan Walsh and David Sanger report.
Dive Deeper: “Sending the Right Message in Cairo: Advice for Secretary Pompeo,” via the Washington Institute.
Maduro’s Second Term
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro started a second term today, defying critics in the United States and Latin America who called him an illegitimate usurper of a nation where economic chaos has wrought a humanitarian crisis, as Reuters reports.
Also see the Washington Post editorial, “Latin America has never seen a crisis like Venezuela before.”
Flexible Rate Outlook
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell today said muted inflation will give the central bank the ability to be patient in raising its benchmark short-term rate this year, as the WSJ’s Nick Timiraos reports .
Your Questions
Do you have any questions about trade and how a changing U.S. trade policy may affect your life? If you do, please email me your question(s) to aschwartz@csis.org. We’ll publish some of the best questions and get our experts to answer them on an upcoming CSIS podcast.
CSIS’s Trade Guys Crash Course
Now enrolling for CSIS Crash Course, a one-day seminar on the fundamentals of U.S. international trade policy and politics for trade professionals. This program will be conducted by CSIS experts Scott Miller and Bill Reinsch, known as the Trade Guys from their highly-rated weekly podcast. Information here.
In That Number
$8 billion
The U.S. spent $8 billion on Afghanistan's Air Force.
Source: NYT
Critical Quote
“The age of self-inflicted American shame is over.”
— Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
iDeas Lab
CSIS launched the The Stephenson Ocean Security (SOS) Project, a new initiative that highlights security challenges that arise from marine resource competition and promotes solutions that support sustainable development, coalition building, and the need for American leadership. Visit the SOS Project website to learn more about the intersection of ocean health and global security.
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: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool/AFP/Getty Images). Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks today at the American University Cairo.
Recommended Reading
“America’s Electric Grid Has a Vulnerable Back Door—and Russia Walked Through It,” by the WSJ’s Rebecca Smith and Rob Barry.
This Town Tomorrow
At 10:00 a.m., join CSIS for an event with Dr. Dennis de Tray, author of Why Counterinsurgency Fails: The U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Then, at 10:30 a.m., stick around CSIS for an armchair discussion about the political, diplomatic and legal implications of Venezuela's mafia state after the new presidential period begins and how the international community should respond.
At 9:00 a.m., The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will host a symposium assessing Japan’s policy priorities and defense capabilities while also considering implications for the U.S.-Japan alliance and regional security in the future.
And, at 12:15 p.m., New America will hold a discussion about what comes next for Guantanamo Bay after its 17th anniversary.
Video
Today, CSIS hosted a Maritime Security Dialogue event with the United States Naval Institute (USNI) featuring a discussion on the challenges and opportunities of future fleet manning and training from the senior enlisted perspective. Watch the full event here.
Podcasts
Trade experts Scott Miller and Bill Reinsch break down the buzz around trade, how it affects policy, and how it impacts your day-to-day. The Trade Guys is hosted every week by H. Andrew Schwartz.
Listen on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.
Smiles
One more from Roy Buchanan “Live From Austin City Limits.” This is Buchanan’s version of “Hey Joe.” The way his guitar playing sounds is just astonishing, and there’s a little surprise at the end of the song.
I invite you to email me at aschwartz@csis.org and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz