The Evening: Putin, NK, Werewolves in London and More
February 21, 2019
Putin: Ready For Another Cuban Missile Crisis
President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the United States wanted one, and that his country currently has the edge when it comes to a first nuclear strike, as Reuters’ Andrew Osborn reports.And as the NYT’s Neil MacFarquhar reports, Putin said Washington was fueling a new arms race by withdrawing from a landmark nuclear weapons treaty and possibly deploying new missiles in Europe.
U.S.—NK Negotiations
The United States and North Korea will seek a common understanding of what denuclearization means when President Trump presses Kim Jong Un next week to give up all of the North’s nuclear weapons, U.S. officials said on Thursday, as Reuters’ Jeff Mason and Steve Holland report.Dive Deeper: “Fifth Anniversary of the Landmark Report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on North Korean Human Rights,” by CSIS’s Robert King.
“Will Trump And Kim Be Bound Together By Strength or Weakness? ” by CFR’s Scott Snyder.
Iranian Cyberattack on Australian Parliament
Hackers based in Iran and implicated in attacks on the U.S. and Western allies were behind a computer breach of Australia’s Parliament and political parties, as the WSJ’s Rob Taylor reports.Dive Deeper: “Punishing Iran Is Not a Strategy,” by CSIS’s Jon Alterman.
“What Washington—and Iran—Should Take Away from the Warsaw Conference,” by the Washington Institute’s Dennis Ross.
Venezuela Closing Borders
Venezuela’s government said on Wednesday that it was closing its border to air and sea traffic from three Caribbean islands in an effort to block aid shipments to the country organized by the Venezuelan opposition, as the NYT’s Nicholas Casey reports.Dive Deeper: “Critical Questions: Humanitarian Aid Ready to Enter Venezuela on February 23” by CSIS’s Moises Rendon.
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.By The Numbers
Sign up to receive CSIS’s new Sunday morning newsletter By The Numbers. Each week, we’ll share with you some of the most compelling numbers, statistics, and data in our studies. Subscribe here.In That Number
$30 billion
China is proposing that it could buy an additional $30 billion a year of U.S. agricultural products including soybeans, corn and wheat as part of a possible trade deal.Source: Bloomberg
Critical Quote
— Vladimir Putin“Russia will be forced to create and deploy new types of weapons that could be used not only against the territories where a direct threat to us comes from, but also against the territories where decision-making centers directing the use of missile systems threatening us are located.”
iDeas Lab
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Recommended Reading
“China’s Nuclear Power Sector: What It Is and What It Is Not (Yet),” by CSIS’s Jane Nakano.This Town Tomorrow
At 10:00 a.m., CSIS will host a conversation on the Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam. Panelists will analyze the possibilities for denuclearization, and discuss regional implications of summit diplomacy for Northeast Asia.
Additionally, at 1:30 p.m., CSIS will host a conversation with Anna Ohanyan on Russia’s manipulation and interference in former Soviet states.
And, at 5:00 p.m., George Mason University will hold a conversation with Professor Lisa Anderson titled “From Truman to Trump: What Has Happened to U.S. Policy in the Middle East?”
Video
Today, the CSIS Energy and National Security Program hosted a panel discussion on the outlook for global energy markets. The discussion covered the geopolitical, economic, and other influences that will impact energy markets in 2019. Watch it here.Podcasts
Listen on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Smiles
Missed you all as we closed for a typical three inch snow day yesterday--but that’s our DC “southern efficiency” for you, my street wasn’t plowed until after 8PM last night. Oh well. I wonder what Amazon is going to think about DC shuttering over a few snowflakes…Anyway, it gave me a chance to read all of your great notes about the incomparable Warren Zevon. Thank you kindly for them. Zevon is one of those musicians who is irreplaceable. Fortunately he left us with his timeless music. I can’t wait for the day when one of my sons says to me, “Dad, do you know the song “Werewolves of London?”