The Evening: ISIS, Italy, Heart of Gold and More
August 20, 2019
ISIS Gained Ground
The Islamic State has gained ground in some areas, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Tuesday, despite President Trump’s proclamation that the extremist group had been vanquished, as the NYT’s Rick Gladstone reports.
Italy's Government Collapses
After 14 months of bickering, Italy’s government collapsed on Tuesday, plunging a key European nation already hobbled by financial fragility and political chaos into a renewed period of crisis and uncertainty, as the NYT’s Jason Horowitz reports.
U.S. Warning to Greece
The U.S. warned Greece against assisting the Iranian tanker released by Gibraltar as it continues efforts to block the vessel and further drags its allies into escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, as the WSJ’s Benoit Faucon reports.
EU Rebuffs Boris Johnson on Brexit
The European Union on Tuesday rebuffed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s demand that it reopen the Brexit divorce deal, saying Britain had failed to propose any realistic alternative to an agreed insurance policy for the Irish border, as Reuters 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.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!
In That Number
5
On average, North Korea carries out provocative actions five months after negotiations with the United States break down. True to form, North Korea has launched six sets of missile tests since July 25—five months after the Hanoi summit.
Source: CSIS's Beyond Parallel
Critical Quote
“We aren't scared."
— Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini
iDeas Lab
Tensions are again escalating in the Eastern Mediterranean over hydrocarbons and maritime borders. CSIS's Nikos Tsafos explains how these tensions fit into a broader political and geopolitical context.
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: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images). U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a Security Council meeting at the United Nations today in New York. Prior to the meeting on the Middle East, Pompeo acknowledged that ISIS has gained ground in some areas.
Recommended Reading
“Where Are the Northern Triangle Countries Headed? And What Is U.S. Policy?” by CSIS’s Mark Schneider and Michael Matera.
This Town Tomorrow
At 10:45 a.m., the Hudson Institute will host a panel to discuss ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions and U.S. efforts to build an anti-Iran coalition.
Video
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. These approaches often lie in the contested arena somewhere between routine statecraft and open warfare—the “gray zone.” Learn more here.
Podcasts
Hong Kong has again erupted in protest over frustrations with Beijing’s increasingly iron-clad rule. CSIS’s Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette and Chief Communications Officer Andrew Schwartz unpack the latest developments in this volatile conflict.
Listen on SoundCloud & Apple Podcasts
Smiles
Neil Young makes me smile. He’s 73 and he’s angry these days about streaming, Spotify, and what digital tech is doing to music (see this week’s New York Times Magazine piece by David Samuels), but I really love the guy and his music. Here he is just a couple of years ago with his backing band “Promise of the Real,” which includes Willie Nelson’s son Lukas Nelson.