Day: August 23, 2021
Stevenson’s army, August 23
– AP notes eagerness to recruit veterans to run for Congress in both parties.
– Breaking Defense says DOD wants to declassify new space weapon.
– NYT reports divisions in Congressional Black Caucus.
– Brookings’ Dan Byman sees counter-terrorism lessons from failed Reconstruction.
And on Afghanistan: NYT revisits US opposition in 2001 to including Taliban in Bonn Conference and new government.
– US sees ISIS threat to evacuations.
– Dan Drezner says Biden’s advisors also made big mistakes.
And Punchbowl says GOP is looking for ways to exploit Afghan developments:
The House Republican leadership is privately mulling over strategies to force floor votes on the situation in Afghanistan, as the U.S. evacuation of tens of thousands of American citizens and Afghan allies from the Kabul airport continues.
The House GOP is in the minority, so their options are limited. But they’re considering several procedural tactics, including motions to recommit and a vote on the previous question, as a way to force votes. These motions call for imposing stricter reporting requirements on the number of Afghan refugees, the status of tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military hardware left in-country and what exactly is President Joe Biden’s plan to get all American citizens and equipment out of the Taliban-controlled nation.
The Republican’s longer term strategy is to try to use the National Defense Authorization Act — the annual military policy bill — to force the Biden administration into an after-action report on what went wrong in Afghanistan. GOP leaders want the Pentagon, State Department and the White House to cough up documents detailing the run up to the disastrous U.S. withdrawal, as well as the administration’s plans for dealing with any future threats from the troubled Southwest Asian country. And an even longer-term view: If the GOP takes back the majority in 2022, we anticipate that this will be something they will focus on.
So far, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and top House Republicans have largely ignored calls from their fringe elements — and former President Donald Trump — demanding Biden’s resignation or impeachment hearings, although they have questioned his fitness for office. McCarthy has complained to us and other media outlets about the lack of information Congress has received on the crisis.
To counter the GOP criticism, and to provide answers to similar questions from her own rank-and-file, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pushed for both classified and unclassified briefings by senior administration officials. On Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m., Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chair Mark Milley and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines will hold a classified briefing for all House members. Pelosi has also asked for a “Gang of 8” briefing, which is the four elected party leaders from each chamber and the chair and ranking member of the House and Senate Intelligence committees.
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Peace Picks | August 23-27, 2021
Notice: Due to public health concerns, upcoming events are only available via live stream.
- Policy Pulse: The Fall of Afghanistan | August 23, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST | The Heritage Foundation | Register Here
In recent weeks, Americans have watched in horror as the Taliban overran Afghanistan. The scenes from Kabul have alarmed the nation, and the Biden Administration has denied responsibility while allowing the crisis to spiral out of control. In the midst of the chaos, decision-makers must be clear about how these events came about, how they will impact U.S. national security, and what America’s options are for securing its interests moving forward. Policy professionals won’t want to miss this 30-minute Policy Pulse as Heritage’s leading foreign policy minds to respond to the fall of Afghanistan and break down the critical steps that must be taken in the aftermath.
Speakers:
Luke Coffey
Director, Douglas & Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy
Jeff M. Smith
Research Fellow, South Asia
- Afghanistan’s Collapse and the Implications for Global Jihadism and Counterterrorism | August 23, 2021 | 10:30 AM EST | The Middle East Institute | Register Here
Emboldened by the U.S. decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in April, the Taliban has surged across the country in a dramatic offensive. In response, Afghan security forces have collapsed like dominos, militarily overwhelmed or simply coerced into surrender. The fate of Kabul and the central government looks decidedly uncertain. For the first time in many years, al-Qaeda and its central leadership look likely to have a safe-haven in which to operate, while the group’s network of jihadist allies will feel similarly confident about what the future holds.
What lessons can be learned from 20-years of counterterrorism operations? Should the West try to stop the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan? How has the Taliban’s ascendance impacted the Afghan terrorism landscape, and how does it affect global jihadism?
Speakers:
Karen Joy Greenberg
Director, Center on National Security, Fordham University School of Law
David Kilcullen
President and CEO, Cordillera Applications Group, Inc.; Director, Thesigers and Native Data
Anne Likuski
Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI)
Asfandyar Ali Mir
Senior Expert, United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
Charles Lister (moderator)
Senior Fellow and Director, Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism programs, MEI
- The State of Play in Afghanistan | August 23, 2021 | 11:30 AM EST | The Atlantic Council | Register Here
The Taliban’s swift and stunning takeover of Afghanistan has shocked the world. As the dire situation continues to unfold, critical questions arise about, most urgently, the safe and prompt evacuation of Americans and US allies and the needed force posture for accomplishing such operations.
Please join the Atlantic Council to hear from General David Petraeus (USA, Ret.), former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. General Petraeus served over 37 years in the United States Army; his assignments included commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and commander, US Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A). GEN (Ret.) Petraeus also served as the 10th commander, US Central Command (USCENTCOM).
General Petraeus will address a wide range of critically important issues, including the long-term implications for US alliances, particularly NATO, and what effective policy options are available to the United States for setting its relationship with a Taliban-led Afghanistan. Also central to this discussion will be the nature of any renewed terrorist threats from a reconstituted Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups who may seek safe haven in Afghanistan, and the most effective homeland defense and counterterrorism policies and posture in this new environment.
Speakers:
General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army (retired)
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Board Director, Atlantic Council; Partner, KKR and Chairman, KKR Global Institute
Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky
Vice Chair, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
Barry Pavel
Senior Vice President and Director, The Atlantic Council
- How Veterans can Protect American Democracy | August 24, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST | Brookings Institute | Register Here
Democracies around the world are under attack and authoritarianism is on the march in nations like Turkey, Venezuela, Hungary, and Poland, resulting in an unprecedented loss of public faith in our institutions and troubling hyper-partisanship here at home. Many Americans understand that democratic values must be protected and passed from one generation to the next, and few take this obligation more seriously than the men and women who have sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and placed their bodies in harm’s way in the defense of the nation. This spirit of service to the country does not end when one leaves the military, and most veterans believe it is their duty to continue to protect American democracy as engaged citizens.
Speakers:
The Honorable Sean O’Keefe
69th Secretary of the Navy, Department of Defense
General Tony Zinni, USMC (retired)
Former Commander-in-Chief, United States Central Command
Admiral Jim Loy
21st Commandant, United States Coast Guard
The Honorable Louis Caldera
17th Secretary of the Army, Department of Defense
Michael E. O’Hanlon (moderator)
Director of Research, Foreign Policy; Co-Director, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Africa Security Initiative; Senior Fellow – Foreign Policy, Center for Security, Strategy and Technology
- Syria and the West: The Efficacy of Economic Sanctions | August 24, 2021 | 11:00 AM EST | The Middle East Institute | Register Here
The U.S. and European Union have constructed an expansive and complex array of sanctions against Syria’s regime over the last 30 years, and particularly in the past decade. While such measures have been punitive in nature, the West has sought to utilize them since 2011 as a source of pressure and diplomatic leverage amidst the long-standing deadlock facing negotiations over the country’s future. Despite the best intentions, sanctions have not yielded any meaningful change in Syria diplomacy and as a result, they have become a source of intense political and analytical debate – for some, they are still of value and for others, they are only a source of humanitarian suffering, even if unintentional.
Speakers:
Natasha Hall
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Jomana Qaddour
Nonresident Senior Fellow & Head of Syria, Atlantic Council
Karam Shaar
Research Director, Operations Policy Center (OPC); Nonresident Scholar, MEI; Senior Lecturer, Massey University
Andrew Tabler
Martin J. Gross Fellow, Geduld Program on Arab Politics, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy; former Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Engagement
Charles Lister, moderator
Senior Fellow and Director, Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism programs, MEI
What are the successes and failures of Western sanctions against the Syrian regime? How can Western governments adapt their strategies moving forward? In what ways might sanctions be used to effectively change nefarious behavior and create diplomatic leverage?
- Afghanistan Aftershocks | August 25, 2021 | 1:00 PM EST | Center for Strategic and International Studies | Register Here
Following the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, aftershocks are being felt worldwide. Please join the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday, August 25 for a discussion with our experts on the global impacts of the U.S.’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and of the Taliban assuming control.
The conversation will cover critical questions surrounding human rights under the Taliban, the impending refugee crisis, the proliferation of Salafi-Jihadist terrorist groups, the United States’ global reputation, the responses of Russia, China, and Iran, and the broader geopolitical impacts in South and East Asia, among other topics.
CSIS Chief Communications Officer H. Andrew Schwartz will give opening remarks, followed by an expert panel discussion moderated by Susan Glasser of The New Yorker. The panel discussion will feature CSIS’s Seth G. Jones, Harold Brown Chair and Director of the International Security Program, Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, and Marti Flacks, Director and Senior Fellow of the Human Rights Initiative.
Speakers:
Seth G. Jones
Senior Vice President; Harold Brown Chair; and Director, International Security Program
Marti Flacks
Director and Senior Fellow, Human Rights Initiative
Michael J. Green
Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair
H. Andrew Schwartz
Chief Communications Officer
- The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order | August 26, 2021 | 11:00 AM EST | Brookings Institute | Register Here
China has emerged as a global superpower that could rival, if not eclipse, the United States. What does China want, does it have a grand strategy to achieve it, and what should the United States do about it?
In his new book from Oxford University Press — “The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order” — Rush Doshi outlines how China’s grand strategy has evolved and offers solutions for an effective U.S. response.
On August 26, the Foreign Policy program at Brookings will host a webinar exploring the themes addressed in this new volume. The event will feature a moderated discussion with Rush Doshi, former director of the Brookings China Strategy Initiative and a former fellow in Brookings Foreign Policy, and Michael O’Hanlon, director of research in Brookings Foreign Policy, followed by a panel discussion with experts who will focus on analysis concerning the U.S.-China relationship and China’s grand strategy.
Speakers:
Suzanne Maloney
Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy
Michael E. O’Hanlon (moderator)
Director of Research, Foreign Policy; Co-Director, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Africa Security Initiative; Senior Fellow – Foreign Policy, Center for Security, Strategy and Technology
Rush Doshi (discussant)
Former Brookings Expert
Thomas Wright (moderator)
Director, Center on the United States and Europe; Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Project on International Order and Strategy
David Edelstein (panelist)
Vice Dean and Professor, Georgetown University
Jackie Deal (panelist)
Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute; President and CEO, Long Term Strategy Group
Jude Blanchette (panelist)
Freeman Chair in China Studies, CSIS
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