The Evening CSIS: Putin's Dance, Dilma's Shuffle, Keith's Strut & More

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.

Tea in Paris, Bombs in Syria
President Obama today said that President Vladimir Putin of Russia had to go into Syria out of weakness, not out of strength, as Bloomberg reports.

The New York Times today reports from Moscow, “Russia Hits ISIS Territory in Syria With Airstrikes but Ignores Western Demands.”

And, the New York Times has updated graphics that are “Tracking the Russian Airstrikes in Syria.”

Meanwhile, as the Wall Street Journal reports from Paris, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande complained to Putin about Moscow’s airstrikes in Syria and then engaged in hours of negotiations with him to keep the peace process in eastern Ukraine on track.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman today authored a new commentary: “The Background to Putin’s Actions in Syria and the UN: Russia’s New View of the US and Western Strategy.”

And, the Wall Street Journal today published an opinion piece by Dr. Cordesman: “Why Outside Powers Can’t End the Destruction in Syria.”

Rousseff Reshuffle
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff fired eight of her 39 ministers on Friday and redistributed the remaining posts among her coalition allies, to head off an impeachment movement, as the Financial Times reports.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Carl Meacham today authored a new commentary: “Is Dilma’s Ship Sinking?”

Mr. Jokowi's Coming to Washington
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $500 million in loans for Indonesia today to help stimulate the country’s energy sector and support government reforms, as the Economic Times reports.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Ernest Bower authored a new commentary regarding Indonesian president Joko (Jokowi) Widodo’s visit to Washington later this month: “Washington Debut: A Strategic Jokowi?”

In that Number
31
The number of countries worldwide that currently have nuclear power programs.
Source: CSIS, “U.S.-South Korean Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.”

Critical Quote
“More and more, there is a focus on the eastern Mediterranean, where Russia has strategic opportunities.”

—Jeff Mankoff, deputy director of the CSIS Russia and Eurasia program, on Russia’s Mediterranean power play in Syria.

One to Watch

Alexander Heffner (@heffnera ) is the host of The Open Mind, an in depth public affairs program that his grandfather hosted for 57 years. You can watch the show online or on PBS if you live in New York. For interviews that are intimate and ideas focused, Alexander is one to watch.

Optics



Reporters gather in the White House, waiting for President Obama. Photo courtesy of BBC White House correspondent Tara KcKelvey.

Highly Recommended
Steven Pearlstein’sfascinating article for the Washington Post on “The smartest economist you’ve never heard of.”

CSIS Today
Today CSIS hosted a half-day conference featuring CSIS trustee and former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, CSIS president and CEO John Hamre, and other distinguished policymakers from around the world. “Striving for Northeast Asian Peace” discussed prospects for regional cooperation among the major powers of East Asia, in advance of the White House summit between the United States and the Republic of Korea.Catch the recap. Additionally, watch the discussion with Kavi Chongkittavorn, senior fellow at Chulalongkorn University’s Institute of Security and International Studies, on Thailand’s relations with major global powers and ASEAN dynamics.

CSIS Monday
Join us at 2:00 p.m. as the CSIS Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies hosts Antonio T. Carpio, senior associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, with introductory remarks by Jose L. Cuisia, ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States. Carpio will discuss China’s nine-dash line as the root cause of the South China Sea disputes and show how it encroaches on the maritime zones of other coastal states.

This Town Monday
During their speeches before the UN, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama traded strong words on issues from Ukraine to arms control to Syria. To better understand what lies ahead for Russian foreign and security policy, the Brookings Institution will host an event on Monday at 10:00 a.m. Register for the event or watch live.

CSIS on Demand
With polio 99.9% eradicated worldwide, the CSIS Global Health Policy Center hosted CDC director Tom Frieden on the success of global polio eradication , as well as current and future challenges. Conference participants also discussed measures to address the hampering of polio vaccination efforts by political instability and insecurity.

Sounds
Tony Cordesman outlines the stakes and the reasoning behind Russia’s involvement in Syria for this week’s CSIS Podcast.

I Like It Like That
Eye-catching things in CSIS's orbit
I love China’s newest theme park. And I love Vice News for reporting things you probably won’t find anywhere else.

Smiles
We conclude Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos week with this little bit of happiness .

This clip was filmed in December of 1988 at the Hollywood Palladium in LA. One of the X-Pensive Winos, then and now, is Ivan Neville—son of Neville Brothers’ vocalist Aaron Neville. Ivan’s the guy on stage next to Keith in the cutoff denim jacket and wearing sunglasses.

When Ivan wasn’t on tour with Keith Richards he was usually hanging out in his dad’s house in New Orleans, right around the corner from where I lived at the time with my best friends while we were going to Tulane. We heard Ivan play some pretty incredible music in our neighborhood, and, as you might imagine, we heard some great stories from him which made us all smile.

Feedback

I always welcome and benefit from your feedback. Please drop me a line at

aschwartz@csis.org

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