Tag: Biden transition

Stevenson’s army, February 2

The past 11 months have been like one Groundhog Day after another, right? Or should we call it a year of Blursdays?
In the news, the Biden administration is arguing over how to respond to the coup in Myanmar. CNN says they might not officially call it a “coup” in order to avoid triggering the law that requires an immediate halt to US aid.

[Remember what the Obama administration did following the coup in Egypt? They didn’t want to halt aid, so they determined that the law had no requirement to acknowledge a coup, just a requirement to cut off aid if they did. So they didn’t.]
Equal time: I reported the study questioning the effectiveness of US hypersonic weapons programs. Here’s the DOD rebuttal.
Just Security has a summary of the nomination hearing for the new UN Ambassador.
Two academics have some ideas on how to change US overseas military basing

Harvard’s Steve Walt analyzes President Xi’s speech at virtual Davos.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, February 1

Dan Drezner has a good analysis of how Biden’s presidency is different from Trump’s — notably the refusal to comment or act on a wide range of newsworthy topics.
WSJ notes that the Treasury-run CFIUS is broadening its investigations of Chinese investments in US startups. [Be advised: CFIUS is an important part of US foreign economic policy.]
 WSJ also reports that the CIA is changing its recruitment efforts to attract millennials.
So far so good for SecState Blinken. [But honeymoons always end.]
NYT says GOP can recapture House in 2022 just by normal gerrymandering.
NYT has long long tick-tock on Trump’s efforts to overturn election.
Axios says Trump’s trade war failed miserably.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, January 31

– NYT says Trump officials limited investigations of far-right activity.
– Both WaPo and NYT fact-check Biden and say he used misleading data on foreign contracts.
-RollCall says congressional staffs face brain drain to the administration.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, January 28

– SecState Blinken covers many topics.
Here’s DOS transcript.
Freeze on arms sales to UAE, Saudi Arabia. Review of US troop shift from Germany. New team on arms control.
Rapid ouster of Trump loyalists. Controversy over new official handling Iran.DHS warns of domestic extremists.
Last week I praised new book on stealth technology, which raised issue of how much to disclose publicly. SAIS prof Tom Mahnken has ideas on how to handle such problems.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, January 27

New START extended 5 years.

– Relations with Palestinians restored.

New SecState Blinken plans reviews.-SecDef Austin reviews Afghan withdrawals.

– US looks for new Saudi bases.

-Axios reports on a tech working group report on countering China’s technology.

– Atlantic sees problems ahead for Space Force.

– AU Prof has good ideas for how the cyber czar should operate.

– FP lists its recent articles by new Biden officials, potential guide to how they’ll act in office.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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Stevenson’s army, January 26

– McConnell backs down on filibuster demand; Senate moves to get organized.
– Defense News says Eisenhower’s military-industrial-[congressional] complex is still in place.
And as a reader of broadsheet newspapers, I was intrigued by this report on typography.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).

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