Tag: China

Stevenson’s army, October 6

– Politico surveys expert opinions on what’s wrong with US politics

– Theda Skocpol sees the end of the Tea Party dynamic

-Former CRS analyst explains power of Speaker Pro Tem

Democrats on Rules have their views

– FP lays out schools of thought in US foreign policy

In the news, Trump allegedly told nuclear sub secrets to friends

– Max Boot says ex-generals need to denounce Trump

– WaPo says Biden & XI will meet in November

– WSJ says Army plans cuts in special operations forces

-Academic analyzes which countries support Russia

Biden backtracks on border wall and Venezuela

– The political reaction

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, October 5

SecState plays a guitar cover of Muddy Water’s “Hoochie Coochie Man” during a launch event for the Global Diplomacy Music Initiative.

– Walter Pincus describes GOP maneuvering on defense appropriations.

– Quincy Institute says 80% of retired 4 star officers go into defense industry.

– RollCall details big changes House made to defense budget request.

– UNSC is sending Kenyan police — not military — to Haiti

– Fred Kaplan says Philippines stood up to China

– David Andelman analyzes recent foreign elections

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, October 3

– John Kelly tells the truth about Trump. WaPo analyzes.

– NYT describes evolution of GOP attack Mexico proposals.

-US sees corruption danger in Ukraine.

-WSJ sees Chinese gains in Arctic

– “Black Hawk Down” 30 years ago: Mark Bowden has new document; Andrew Exum sees a lesson learned

-Former GOP congressman has some regrets.

From Politico:

MATH IS HARD: Over the past month, we’ve seen some wildly different numbers about how much total aid Washington is giving Ukraine. The Center for Strategic and International Studies says it’s $135 billion, The Washington Post wrote over the weekend that it’s around $60 billion, POLITICO and others have written that it’s more than $100 billion.

That’s because the smaller number (currently $73 billion in aid) is often cited from the Kiel Institute, which tracks only funds that have been delivered directly to Ukraine, CSIS’ Cancian and the Council on Foreign Relations’ JONATHAN MASTERS told NatSec Daily. Higher estimations show the total Ukraine-related packages requested by the White House, which include funds for American forces, aid to NATO allies and other things that don’t appear in the Kiel database, they said.

“The divergence in dollar figures reported by various outlets likely muddles the debate to an extent, particularly when you’re talking about tens of billions,” Masters said, adding that he prefers the Kiel Institute’s data because it clearly compares U.S. aid to other countries’ assistance.

Neither figure is better or more accurate — it’s a matter of preference: “I think the appropriations total” — the higher figure — “is a better number because it captures all of the U.S. efforts as a result of the war in Ukraine,” he said.

Cancian recommended outlets and think tanks, if they use the larger number, describe it as something like “U.S. efforts as a result of the war in Ukraine” instead of “U.S. aid to Ukraine.” Masters also called on outlets and think tanks to be clearer in defining how they came to a number.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, September 25

While the Senate decides how to handle almost any given measure by a Unanimous Consent agreement [UC], the House votes on special rules from the Rules Committee. To pass 4 appropriations bills in one package, Rules has reported this 63-page rule. But as Politico points out, Speaker McCarthy faces a huge dilemma.  I don’t see how we can avoid at least a short shutdown.

One of the reasons for party polarization and leadership dominance of House and Senate is the competition for control. As this chart shows, party control in House, Senate, or White House has changed in at least one of the three every two years since 2013. In fact, the same is true since 2006. The fear of losing, or the prospect of gaining, the majority has led the congressional leadership to control floor action tightly, often blocking any amendments from the minority.

A new political science study says it’s impossible to pick which campaign ads work.

NYT says China is creating a very military Coast Guard.

Admit it, Trump is advocating violence.

I agree with Peggy Noonan on the Senate dress code.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, September 23

– The indictment of Sen. Menendez [D=NJ] certainly makes him look sleazy.

– He is accused of taking bribes and then acting officially, including on matters of Egyptian arms sales.

As I read the indictment, however, several of his actions as SFRC chairman do not appear outrageous. Telling the Egyptians the number [but not the names] of American and Egyptian nationals working at the Cairo embassy doesn’t seem significant. Alerting Egyptians of his dropping a hold on an arms package isn’t inappropriate. Meeting with Egyptians and listening to their concerns is normal.

As required by Senate Democratic rules, he has stepped down from SFRC chairmanship. It’s unclear whether he will be succeeded by Sen. Cardin [D-MD] or Sen. Shaheen [D-NH]. CRS has more on the rules regarding indicted members.

In other news, NYT says US and Ukraine are arguing over military strategy.

But US and China are reopening lines of communication on economic matters.

And if you’ve just upgraded your Apple devices, check this out.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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, September 19

President Biden at the United Nations General Assembly today

– Politico’s story on the farm bill shows how lobbyists work.-

– National review shows Europe is helping Ukraine.

– NATO members have also been increasing their own defense budgets

– WSJ says Chinese Foreign Minister was fired for having an affair while ambassador to US

– NYT says US wants a security treaty with Saudi Arabia modeled after Japan treaty

– House GOP pretends they have a plan to balance the federal budget

– Meanwhile the House GOP has failed to move either its spending package or the DOD appropriations.

My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. 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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