The Evening CSIS May 1 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 and if you want to view this in your browser, click here.

ISIS Leader Incapacitated
ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi remains incapacitated due to suspected spinal damage and is being treated by two doctors who traveled to his hideout from the group’s stronghold of Mosul, the Guardian’s Martin Chulov reports.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman today published a new commentary: “A Public Relations Exercise without Meaningful Transparency: The First Quarterly Report of the New Lead Inspector General for Overseas Contingency Operations on Operation Inherent Resolve.”

According to Dr. Cordesman, “The report deserves careful attention from anyone concerned with both US operations in Iraq and Syria and the broader US campaign against terrorism, extremism, and instability in the Middle East. To put it bluntly, it seems to be far more of a public relations exercise than a serious attempt at reporting on nature and success of Operation Inherent Resolve.”

Abe Visit
The Economist has a solid article summarizing key takeaways of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the US this week.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) is an interactive, regularly updated source and web magazine for information, analysis, and policy exchange on maritime security issues in Asia. This week, the site is devoted to PM Abe’s visit and “A new era in US-Japan Defense Cooperation.”

And, today, CSIS hosted a conference on “US-Japan Security Cooperation after the Abe Visit.” which can be viewed on demand.

In that Number
19
The number of days it took a Chinese company to build a 57-story skyscraper in Hunan province. The company, Broad Sustainable Building Co., claims to be the world’s fastest builder.
Source: Associated Press.

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

Asked: What are the key problems with the recent Inspector General report on the war against ISIL?

Answered: Anthony Cordesman, CSIS Burke Chair in Strategy: The report highlights some very real progress within the Iraqi government, but it does not address its ongoing problems in dealing with Sunnis and Kurds in any detail, it does not mention Iran, it does not talk about cooperation with any Arab state, it does not mention problems with Turkey, and it does not address other extremist threats like the Al Nusra Front.

It does not discuss ISIL and other terrorist attacks outside the area occupied by ISIL, it does not discuss problems with Shi’ite militias, it does not highlight the coordination problems in dealing with the Iraqi government forces and pesh merga, and it does not even mention the past goal of establishing a Sunni National Guard.

No effort is made to discuss the broader problems in Iraq stability and planning for some form of Syrian recovery. No mention is even made of the Assad regime.

Read the full analysis here.

One to Watch

Geoff Dyer (@DyerGeoff) is a Washington-based Financial Times journalist covering US foreign policy. He is a former FT China and Brazil bureau chief and is author of The Contest of the Century (Knopf, 2014) on the US-China rivalry. His keen insight, stellar reporting, and smart remarks on Twitter make him one to watch.

Optics

Army Green Berets jump from a C-130H3 Hercules aircraft during Emerald Warrior on Hurlburt Field, FL, April 22, 2015. US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Joshua J. Garcia.

Highly Recommended
The Council on Foreign Relations has a terrific feature, “The World This Week,” which comes out on Fridays.

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

A delegation of Japanese defense experts joined CSIS to discuss defense policy reform in Japan and the next steps for U.S.-Japan defense cooperation. Watch the discussion here.

CSIS Monday
What’s in store at CSIS HQ Monday.

Join us at 9:00 a.m. as Dr. Cecilia Malmstrom, EU trade commissioner, speaks on the strategic goals Europe hopes to achieve through its trade policy and how free trade agreements can provide an additional boost to jobs and growth.

And, Dr. Abdullah Toukan will discuss the current and future threats that Arab Gulf countries face with the proliferation of ballistic missiles and the strategic partnership with the United States in ballistic missile defense. RSVP here or watch live at 2:00 p.m.

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

Brookings Institution will host members from the cabinet office of Japan for a discussion of issues relating to Japan’s economic and trade policies with regard to the United States and East Asian countries. RSVP here or watch live at 1:00 p.m.

CSIS on Demand
Get smart on how the US fits in the global development picture with this short video from the CSIS Ideas Lab.

Sounds
Heather Conley and Nina Easton discuss next week’s UK general election in this week’s Smart Women, Smart Power podcast.

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

Microsoft’s new demo site could make your day…or ruin it. Using facial recognition software the site— how-old.net—attempts to guess your age based on the photo you upload. It’s had some odd results, as Mashable explores.

Smiles
This weekend is the internationally famous New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival—an annual spring rite that began in 1970. I’m a Tulane University graduate and New Orleans is precious to me—especially the people of the city and its rich musical culture. When I attended Tulane (1986-1990), I lived in the 13th Ward, home to one of New Orleans’ most famous musical families, The Neville Brothers. I was blessed to live around the corner from Art, Aaron, Charles, and Cryil Neville, who at the time still lived in the Uptown neighborhood they grew up in. Art took me in as a pseudo grandson—his wife Lorraine welcomed me to their family dinner table. Cryil worked with me to spread the word throughout Tulane of the anti-apartheid movement, helping me engage in an international public policy debate for the first time in my life.

It is in this spirit and in celebration of Jazz Fest that I present a clip from a 1978 film by Tulane graduate Les Blank called “Always for Pleasure” about the joyful music that happens in New Orleans every day. In this clip you will see The Neville Brothers and The Wild Tchoupitoulas perform “Meet the Boys on the Battle Front” interspersed with neighborhood scenes of “second-line” dancing and parading. Various neighborhoods in New Orleans have for decades established their own “Mardi Gras Indian Tribes,” a culture built around beautiful costumes, comradery, and sublime music. The Wild Tchoupitoulas is the 13th Ward tribe that was led by the Neville Brothers’ uncle, the late George “Big Chief Jolly” Landry. Big Chief Jolly is the lead singer in this clip, backed by his nephews on vocals, Art Neville on keyboards, and Deacon John on guitar. Enjoy the clip and smile—it’s Jazz Fest!

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