The Evening CSIS March 23 2015

Good Evening,

Welcome to The Evening CSIS—Andrew is away, so for this week you’re in the mostly capable hands of Nahmyo Thomas and Colm Quinn. We’ll still aim to bring you context on the events of the day and be sure to send you to the best content from within our orbit and beyond. To subscribe, please click here.

DoD Firepower
HASC chairman Mac Thornberry joined CSIS this morning to unveil a new defense acquisition reform strategy—a feat that defense leaders have attempted for over a decade—to improve the way DOD acquires cutting-edge technology, weapons, and services. Optimistic about his ability to work with Secretary Carter, Thornberry argued that our military has to be both strong and agile.

Dive Deeper: Defense One provides a good summary of how the new chairman aims to cut through the bureaucracy and change how weapons are purchased at the Pentagon.

The committee fact sheet has all the highlights and you can watch Thornberry’s 2013 CSIS speech announcing the multiyear reform effort here.

Singapore Mourns
The death of Lee Kuan Yew—Singapore’s founding father—led to outpourings across the world as the country enters a seven-day period of mourning. The Washington Post has this analysis in the wake of his passing.

And our own Ernie Bower, head of our Southeast Asia studies, assesses what’s next for Singapore following Lee Kuan Yew’s death.

Dive Deeper: Graham Allison and Robert Blackwill literally wrote the book on Lee Kuan Yew and it's available here.

Ghani Returns
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visits Washington this week and there is much to discuss regarding the future of Afghanistan and the US role in it.The New York Times’ Michael Shear and Mathew Rosenberg have the profile here ahead of his visit.

Dive Deeper: Last Friday CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman released thereport Afghanistan at Transition: The Lessons of the Longest War, page 17 of which goes into detail on Ghani’s potential as a reformer.

In that Number
$53,300,000,000

The amount requested by the Department of Defense for the FY15 cost of the Afghan War.
Source : CSIS

Critical Question
A daily shortened sampling of our signature "Asked & Answered" series.

Asked: Do you think Chairman Thornberry’s acquisition reform strategy can succeed, and what makes it unique?

Answered: Andrew Hunter, director of the CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group:

"Chairman Thornberry’s acquisition reform strategy is highly likely to succeed in meeting the goals he has laid out. He clearly recognizes that there is no single, silver bullet fix that will address every problem in the acquisition system. He has set his sights on making concrete progress on a defined set of manageable issues while planning to maintain focus on the effort over a period of years. In addition to dividing the labor of this enormous task into manageable pieces that Congress can handle, this approach gives him time to build consensus on the next steps in the process with industry, DoD, and with his colleagues before moving forward. Given Secretary Carter’s and Senator McCain’s strong knowledge of and interest in acquisition, as well as the long track record of success in passage of the annual defense authorization bill, the opportunity to achieve a workable consensus on acquisition reform is very real.

The possibility of a consensus approach to acquisition reform holds out the promise that real change can happen. With Congress and DoD leadership united on a common approach, the reinforcing policies and messages would have a powerful effect on the system. The major reform elements that Chairman Thornberry has discussed show he understands the key needs. These include giving program officials the freedom to manage after working out a carefully thought-through acquisition strategy; ensuring accountability rests with those officials; using better communication and incentives to align the interests of industry with those of the government; and continuing to build the professionalism of the acquisition workforce. It will be critical to the long term success of the effort that these changes, and those of succeeding years, enable the Department to adapt to the evolving global innovation environment, in which cutting edge technology is increasingly commercial in origin, globally sourced, and often not readily accessible through traditional acquisition approaches. This will ultimately be the true test of the effort’s success or failure."

One to Watch

On Friday, The Guardian appointed Katharine Viner as its new editor-in-chief, making her the first female to hold this post since its inception 194 years ago. Viner has been with The Guardian since 1997 and is currently deputy editor and US-branch editor-in-chief. Follow her @KathViner.

Optics
A centuries old mystery has been put to rest, literally, as King Richard III, whose remains were famously unearthed in an English parking lot, finally had his funeral. Thousands lined the streets of Leicester as the monarch, who reigned before Columbus even set out west, had his final procession.

Highly Recommended
Former UN delegate Jeff Robbins published a thoughtful op-ed in the Boston Herald today entitled “Kurdish People Yearn for Freedom,” featuring CSIS trustee Fred Khosravi.

CSIS Today
Watch video of today’s events at our HQ.

Be sure to watch Chairman Thornberry unveil his DOD acquisition reform package, before the official legislative release on Wednesday.

The CSIS Energy and National Security Program hosted a timely event on assessing the impact of low oil prices and policy on the sustainability of domestic energy production.

Kanda Vajrabhaya, chairperson of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, joined CSIS to share her perspective on women’s empowerment and gender equality as part of the post-2015 development agenda. With powerful remarks, Vajrabhaya underscored “we need to hold the firm concept that women’s rights are human rights.”

CSIS Tomorrow
What’s in store at CSIS HQ on Tuesday.

His Excellency Cemil Cicek, speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, joins CSIS for a discussion on the continuing evolution of Turkey’s important relationship with the United States. Click here to RSVP or watch live at 1:30 p.m.

CSIS will host Ambassador of Vietnam Pham Quang Vinh and Ambassador of the United States to Vietnam Ted Osius for a discussion on the 20th anniversary of the normalization of US-Vietnam diplomatic relations and the opportunities and challenges facing the bilateral relationship in the years ahead. Join us at 12:00 p.m.

This Town Tomorrow
So many important things in this town- so little time. Of note:

The Carnegie Endowment will host an event on “Taiwan’s Economic Role in the Asia-Pacific,” featuring CSIS’s Scott Miller, Scholl Chair in International Business, along with other trade and regional experts. Click here to RSVP or watch live at 10:00 a.m.

CSIS on Demand

The Afghan president’s wife, Rula Ghani, outlined her vision for Afghanistan in our Smart Women, Smart Power forum in February.

Sounds
CSIS has been following the events in Yemen for the past few months. Listen to Jon Alterman give context to the week’s events on The CSIS Podcast episodes “Yemen Unravels” and “Yemen’s Disarray.”

I Like It Like That
Eye catching things in CSIS’s orbit

If you don’t listen to Story Corps already, it’s where "people share stories with loved ones as we get to listen in and often reach for tissue." Now you can share your story with Story Corps and add it to those already archived at the Library of Congress using a newly-designed app.

Smiles
You don’t have to be a Badger (and we have a few here at CSIS) to enjoy this. From this year’s NCAA tournament, a dunk so good it goes in twice. Watch the vine (over and over and over) here.

Feedback

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