The Evening: Campaigning in the Gray Zone, Iran’s Enrichment, Stay and More
July 8, 2019
New CSIS Report
“By Other Means: Part 1: Campaigning In The Gray Zone,” by Kathleen Hicks, Alice Hunt Friend, Melissa Dalton, Hijab Shah, Joseph Federici, Asya Akca, and Lindsey Sheppard.
The United States is being confronted with the liabilities of its strengths. Given the significant costs of engaging the United States in combat, and the growing range of indirect and non-military tools at their disposal, rivals are seeking ways to achieve relative gains without triggering escalation. From fake news and online troll farms to terrorist financing and paramilitary provocations, these approaches often lie in the contested arena somewhere between routine statecraft and open warfare—the “gray zone.” This new report released today argues that the United States must develop a campaign plan to deal with the gray zone challenge.
Iran's New Nuke Threats
Iran threatened on Monday to restart deactivated centrifuges and ramp up enrichment of uranium to 20% purity in a move away from the 2015 nuclear deal, but the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard insisted the world knows Tehran is not pursuing nuclear arms, as Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, as the FT reports, France has stepped up European efforts to save the Iran nuclear deal after Tehran confirmed its second breach of the terms of the agreement and threatened more in the growing fallout over the U.S. exit from the accord.
Dive Deeper: “Khamenei Will See Sanctions on Him as a Direct Challenge to the Revolution,” by the Washington Institute’s Patrick Clawson and Mehdi Khalaji.
New Greek PM
Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in as Greece’s new prime minister on Monday after leading his New Democracy party to a resounding election victory, as the FT’s Kerin Hope reports.
Enroll for Fall
Now enrolling for the Fall, CSIS & Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs offer a new Executive Master's in International Relations. Information here.
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify” and “High Resolution.” In under 90 seconds, CSIS experts tell you what they told Congress in testimony, or use high-resolution satellite images and advanced mapping to break down national security issues. And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!
In That Number
20%
Iran threatened on Monday to restart deactivated centrifuges and ramp up enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity, considered an important intermediate stage on the path to obtaining the 90% pure fissile uranium needed for a bomb.
Source: Reuters
Critical Quote
“The time is right for an informed review of the role of human rights in American foreign policy.”
— Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
iDeas Lab
In Peru's Tropical Pacific Sea, industrial fishing fleets and foreign pirates are threatening small-scale fishing communities. Read the Stephenson Ocean Security Project analysis.
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: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images). Megan Rapinoe of the USA celebrates with teammates Alex Morgan and Samantha Mewis after scoring her team's first goal during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Final.
Recommended Reading
“As the World Heats Up, the Climate for News Is Changing, Too,” by the New York Times’ Marc Tracy.
This Town Tomorrow
At 9:45 a.m., the Hudson Institute will host a symposium to explore the history of the U.S.-Indonesia relationship and discuss future opportunities and challenges facing both countries.
Then, at 10:00 a.m., the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will hold a panel discussion to mark the release of the Arab Barometer’s new public opinion survey on Tunisia.
And, at 12:30 p.m., the Council on Foreign Relations will host a conversation with Ash Carter about his legacy as the twenty-fifth Secretary of Defense and today’s national security strategies.
Video
CSIS released a new video, “What’s Happening in Taiwan,” to explain military provocations and rising tensions between China and Taiwan. Watch Bonnie Glaser, Director of CSIS’s China Power Project, discuss what is driving these escalations and implications for the U.S.-Taiwan security relationship here.
Podcasts
In a new episode, Mike and Andrew interview a true grandmaster of the Asia chessboard: former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
Listen on SoundCloud, Spotify, & Apple Podcasts.
Smiles
Many point to David Bowie’s “Berlin Trilogy” as a seminal period in his recording career. Indeed, the three consecutively released studio albums “Low” (1977), "Heroes" (1977) and “Lodger” (1979) are great works. But the record Bowie recorded in Los Angeles prior to the Trilogy, “Station to Station” (’76) is the one that keeps me coming back.
It’s mostly the wicked guitar work by Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar on “Station to Station” that hits so precisely with Bowie’s edgy vocal groove that is the lasting pull of the record. This performance of “Stay,” a standout track from 2000, underscores how the album holds up.