The Evening CSIS May 19 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.

Fall of Ramadi
The fall of Ramadi to ISIS has come as a rude awakening to Iraqi and Western officials, as CNN’s Tim Lister reports today in “ ISIS’ victory in Ramadi: Five lessons .”

The New York Times’ Tim Arango goes deeperin his report “With Fall of Ramadi, Plight of Iraq Sunnis Worsens.”

And, the New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins writes about “ The Real Problem in Iraq.”

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman today authored an op-ed for the superb Atlantic media web platform, Defense One: “Ramadi Is Only Part of the Problem with Iraq.”

Venezuela Falling
The Wall Street Journal’s Jose de Cordoba and Juan Forero reported late yesterday (featured in today’s paper) that US prosecutors are investigating several high-ranking Venezuelan officials on suspicion that they have turned the country into a global hub for cocaine trafficking and money laundering. A leading target is the president of the country’s congress, considered Venezuela’s second-most-powerful man.

And, Business Insider’s Linette Lopez writes today that “NYC’s most legendary prosecutor sees a darker threat in Venezuela’s alleged global cocaine hub.”

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Carl Meacham authored a new commentary today: “Will the Venezuelan state fail?”

NPT Review
Every five years since 1970, member states of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) meet at UN headquarters in New York to assess the implementation of the treaty. The 2015 Review Conference (the “Revcon”) will conclude at the end this week. CSIS’s Sharon Squassoni and Bobby Kim have a new Critical Questions (CSIS’s signature Asked & Answered series of short papers) that explains the importance of the Revcon .

In that Number
45.1 percent
India’s increase in foreign direct investment, 12-month rolling average, per India’s Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.
Source : CSIS US-India Insight.

Critical Question
Asked: What are the likely outcomes of the 2015 Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference?

Answered: Sharon Squassoni, director and senior fellow, CSIS Proliferation Prevention Program: With each review conference, diplomats hope for but try not to expect a final consensus document. Historically, half of the review conferences have produced consensus documents, although some have been more important than others (for example, the 2000 Review Conference consensus document helped to ratify the 1995 extension decision). Any number of developments could help derail consensus: US-Russian tensions, proposals for sweeping multilateral approaches like nuclear weapons conventions or bans, and dissatisfaction over the inability to move forward on a WMD-free zone in the Middle East. But the lack of a consensus document may not be the worst thing. Instead, a quiet reaffirmation of the goals set in 2010, whether or not parties are able to agree on a final document, would still provide an ambitious work plan for nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Read the full analysis.

One to Watch

CSIS’s Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies Rick Rossow ( @RichardRossow) helps frame and shape policies to promote greater business and economic engagement between the two countries. He joined CSIS in 2014, having spent the previous 16 years working in a variety of capacities to strengthen the partnership between the United States and India. Rick’s newest issue of US-India Insight makes him one to watch.

Optics
Britain’s Prince Charles shook hands with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams at the National University of Ireland in Galway today. Prince Charles is on an official visit to Ireland featuring two new milestones: his first meeting with leaders of Sinn Fein and his first trip to the fishing village where the Irish Republican Army killed his great-uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten in 1979.

Highly Recommended
For over 15 years, CSIS’s Pacific Forum has published a journal called Comparative Connections in which recognized specialists provide a brief article on key developments in 12 selected bilateral relationships, highlighting the impact on US interests. Published three times annually, articles include a chronology of key events. A regional overview puts the events of the trimester into a broader context, while also discussing multilateral developments.The latest issue of Comparative Connections, which covers January thru April 2015, was released in mid-May and is highly recommended.

CSIS Today

CSIS hosted an interesting discussion with Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on “Missile Defense and US National Security.”

Dive Deeper: Foreign Policy’s John Hudson today reports “Despite Moscow’s insistence, the Iran deal doesn’t change anything when it comes to America’s plans for a missile defense shield in Europe.”

CSIS also hosted H.E. Tomasz Siemoniak, Polish deputy prime minister and minister of defense, for a discussion on the deterioration of Europe’s security environment in the Baltic Sea region and Poland.

CSIS Tomorrow
Watch live at 9:00 a.m. as the CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power initiative hosts a discussion with Melinda Gates on “Women and Girls—Engines of Development.”

This Town Tomorrow
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing at 10:00 a.m. on “US-Cuba Relations—The Way Forward.” Click here for more.

The India Project at Brookings will host an event at 2:30 p.m. assessing the Modi government’s first year in office.

CSIS on Demand
Yesterday, CSIS hosted members of the US Army War College to present the findings of a war game they conducted looking at the future of US-Russia relations .

Sounds
International Capital Strategies CEO Heidi Crebo-Rediker explains the importance of “geoeconomics” and why complacency about a possible Greek exit from the euro zone is a major problem on the latest Smart Women, Smart Power Podcast .

I Like It Like That
Computer engineers at the University of Utah have announced a major breakthrough, potentially paving the way for supercomputers that process data thousands of times faster than they do now, as the Science Times reports.

Smiles
The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are heating up as we get closer to the finals. The playoffs feature some of the world’s top athletes and are filled with dramatic, “buzzer-beater” endings. But check out this guy, who doesn’t play for any team in the NBA but calls himself a “professional dunker.” And trust me, when you watch this, you will see that he is telling the truth.

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