The Evening CSIS February 23 2015

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 click here.

Strategic Session

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter traveled this weekend to Afghanistan where he called the Afghan Army a “powerful force” but didn’t indicate whether the US will scale down training any time soon. AP’s Bob Burns is traveling with the secretary and filed this report.

And today in a closed-door strategic session in Kuwait, Secretary Carter met with about two dozen top US military and civilian officials to discuss ISIS. The Wall Street Journal’s Dion Nissenbaum is traveling with the secretary and filed this report.

Meanwhile, the US and allies staged 25 airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, Reuters reports.

Dive Deeper: A US Department of Defense report on the ISIS airstrikes can be found here.

Britain’s Daily Mail has this excellent map that shows how ISIS’s “tentacles now reach from Algeria to Afghanistan.”

CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman today circulated an updated version of his important report Transition in Afghanistan: Losing the Forgotten War? The report focuses on the lessons that need to be learned from the US experience in Afghanistan to date and the problems Afghanistan faces now that most US and allied combat forces have left.

Mall Threat

US malls are considering stepping up security following Al-Shabaab’s threat to the Mall of the Americas in the Minneapolis suburbs. In a video, the Somali terror group also threatened the West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the Westfield Mall in Stratford, England. NBC News provided this report, suggesting that there’s not too much that can keep Americans from shopping, which also has the Shabaab video.

Interesting facts about the Mall of the Americas: It has over 520 stores. And, 258 Statues of Liberty could lie comfortably inside the Mall.

Dive Deeper: The CSIS Africa Program’s The Reinvention of Al-Shabaab examines the evolution of Al-Shabaab’s leadership, ideological outlook, and military strategy.

In late October, the CSIS Africa Program hosted a discussion on Kenya’s longstanding threat from the Somali terrorist group—a threat that was underscored on September 23, 2013, when Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, killing 67 people and wounding 175.

The Council on Foreign Relations has an excellent “Backgrounder” on Al-Shabaab.

CNN has this primer on Al-Shabaab and four other terrorist groups that are “making headlines” this month.

In that Number

800
Number of years old the Magna Carta will be this June.
Source: US Department of Justice.

Critical Question

Asked: Does Turkey’s operation in Syria over the weekend signal a change in policy?

Answered: Bulent Aliriza, Turkey Project Director at CSIS; The operation to evacuate the 38 members of the Turkish military contingent who have been guarding the Suleyman Shah tomb in Syria should not be seen as a sign that Turkey will enter the fight against the Islamic State (IS). Turkey’s primary motivation was to avoid a situation where its forces would be subject to the kind of attack last summer on its Consulate in Mosul which had led to 49 of its citizens being held hostage by IS for many months. Turkey clearly felt that the risk to its soldiers had risen considerably because of the agreement it finally reached with the US immediately prior to the evacuation to arm and train Syrian rebels in Turkey. Ankara continues to insist that it wants those who it will train to fight the Assad regime as well as IS and has not indicated any change in its policy of avoiding involvement in operations in Syria unless they are part of a comprehensive plan aiming at Assad’s ouster. However, it is concerned that IS will now perceive it as a potential foe and target its soldiers accordingly.

CSIS on Demand

With Dilma Rousseff’s reelection, Brazil’s aversion to free trade may be reaching a turning point. The creative minds in the CSIS iDeas Lab have created this short (2:59) video on the future of Brazil’s economy, with Carl Meacham, director of our Americas Program. 

One to Watch

The Wall Street Journal’s Dion Nissenbaum (@DionNissenbaum). One of the top defense and national security reporters in Washington, Nissenbaum covers the defense industry and the Pentagon for WSJ. He previously served as a senior correspondent for the Journal in Kabul.

Optics 

Defense Secretary Ash Carter talks with troops at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 22, 2015. DoD photo by Glenn Fawcett.

Highly Recommended

“America’s Freelance ISIS Killers,” by Jesse Rosenfeld for the Daily Beast.

CSIS Today

Watch video of today’s events at our HQ.

CSIS hosted a panel discussion on advancements in effective, portable, and affordable Ebola diagnostic tools. Watch “Ebola Rapid Diagnostic Tests: What Lies Ahead?” here.

CSIS Wednesday

What’s in store at CSIS HQ on Wednesday.

CSIS will release a new report, Opportunities in Strengthening Trade Assistance, highlighting the critical role that trade-capacity-building programs play in an evolving US agenda. Join us on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. for the discussion featuring Rep. Charles W. Boustany (R-LA) and Rep. Jared S. Polis (D-CO).

This Town Tomorrow

The Center for American Progress, AEI, and the Brookings Institution will present first-year results of a new collaboration on America’s demographic changes and the implications at the national and local levels. “States of Change: Discussions on Demographics and Democracy” takes place tomorrow, February 24, from 9:00 a.m.–2:45 p.m., at the Center for American Progress.

Project results to be discussed include a trend analysis of 40 years of national and state-by-state demographic change in the United States, particularly as it has affected the pool of eligible voters. Register for the event or watch online here. 

Sounds

Kurdistan’s head of security intelligence services, Masrour Barzani, spoke with NPR’s Ari Shapiro on the proposed Mosul offensive. His thoughts on the Iraqi army? “I wish I could tell you they are ready, but they are not.” You can find the whole story here.

I Like It Like That

Eye catching things in CSIS’s orbit 

“Crisis Hotline: Veteran’s Press 1,” an HBO documentary about the Department of Veterans Affairs call center, won the Academy Award for best short documentary. VA secretary Robert McDonald said “We are hopeful that this documentary will help raise awareness of this important issue with the American public. Our Veterans in crisis need to know that there is hope and asking for help makes them stronger.”

Smiles

Last night’s Academy Awards ceremony was full of actors speaking up on behalf of the causes they believe in. J.K. Simmons, who won for best supporting actor, championed a cause that made me smile when he said, “If you’re lucky enough to have a parent or two alive on this planet, call ‘em. Don’t text. Don’t e-mail. Call them on the phone.” I followed J.K.’s advice and called my dad today. I think it made him smile too.

Feedback

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