The Evening CSIS: Thwarted, Korea's Burden, Sweet Jane & More

Good Evening,

Welcome to The Evening CSIS—my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day plus HIGHLY RECOMMENDED content from around the world. To subscribe, please sign up here.

NOTE: The Evening CSIS will be off for the US Thanksgiving holiday and will resume publication on Monday, November 28.

Thwarted

French authorities appear to have foiled a terrorist attack in the country, making seven arrests in Strasbourg and Marseille after a months-long investigation. Six of the men arrested were unknown to French intelligence before the investigation began. Benoît Morenne has the story in today’s New York Times.

Dive Deeper: How do you counter and combat the extremist threat worldwide? The CSIS Commission on Countering Violent Extremism spent a year trying to answer that question, see the results of this research in our latest interactive report Turning Point.

Korea's Burden

South Korea’s minister for defense acquisition program acquisition, Chang Myoung-jin, said today that Seoul would have to be prepared to increase its share of the defense cost burden if the Trump administration demanded it. Chang made the remarks in a keynote address at CSIS today, and Reuters’ David Brunnstrom has the story.

Dive Deeper: The CSIS Burke Chair in Strategy Anthony Cordesman today released The Military Balance in the Koreas and Northeast Asia, a comprehensive look at the trends shaping the region

In That Number

974,080

The estimated number of Syrians living under siege in the country, a figure up from 393,700 this time last year. Source: United Nations.

Critical Quote

“That is a real blow to US interests, economically and strategically, in terms of our position in Asia, but I think that is the reality, that the US is not going to be participating.”

— CSIS’s Matt Goodman on the prospects for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Source: AFP.

One to Watch

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaac/images/eb425dd8-ce25-401b-99af-3c556d4cc3b8.gif
Sharon Squassoni is director and senior fellow of CSIS’s Proliferation Prevention Program. Sharon previously advised Congress as a senior specialist on weapons of mass destruction at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. Today, Sharon authored a new critical questions: “Japan-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.”

Optics

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaac/images/aabdb140-c593-4feb-8953-745d8bfbacb8.gif
(Photo Credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images.)

China’s first sky train takes a test run along a 1.4-kilometer track in Chengdu, China, on November 21, 2016. The train is driven by lithium batteries and can hold over 100 passengers in each of its two cabins.

Highly Recommended

Steve Kroft’s piece for 60 Minutes last night: “Turkey’s disillusionment with the U.S.”

But, Lara Logan’s piece on Bruno Mars was even better.

CSIS Today

CSIS’s Korea Chair and International Security Program hosted “U.S.-Korea Defense Acquisition Policy and the International Security Environment.”

This Town Tomorrow

Join Johns Hopkins SAIS at 12:00 p.m. for “Secular Government and Civic Nationhood in Azerbaijan: History, Context, Implications.”

And join the World Affairs Council at 6:00 p.m. for an Ambassador Series with Kirsti Kauppi, ambassador of Finland to the United States.

CSIS On Demand

CSIS hosted a day-long conference in October to examine the Third Offset Strategy, a Department of Defense initiative that seeks to identify the next generation of concepts and capabilities necessary to guarantee US military superiority in the coming decades. Speakers included Secretary Ash Carter, Deputy Secretary Bob Work, and other US government and nongovernment officials.

Sounds

Smart Women, Smart Power released a new podcast today, “Syria and the Next Administration.”

I Like It Like That

Via the Verge, Instagram is the latest app to join the crowded market of live streaming, but with a unique twist.

Smiles

Lou Reed always made me smile. I feel so lucky to have seen him perform live. His legendary performances of “Sweet Jane” have always mesmerized me since I first became aware of Reed’s gritty, thought provoking music. And Lou was always so cool. Who else could play guitar, sing and define downtown cool like Lou? I don’t know of anyone else.

Feedback

I always welcome and benefit from your feedback. Please drop me a line at aschwartz@csis.org