Tag: Foreign Policy
Stevenson’s army, January 5
– It can happen! Ohio and Pennsylvania have just elected speakers in their state legislatures with bipartisan candidates.-
– David Ignatius interviews Jake Sullivan.
– Analysts propose a “Better Biden Doctrine.“
– Politico’s NatSecDaily reports on efforts to make State Dept less risk averse:
THE RISKY BUSINESS OF U.S. DIPLOMACY:Many State Department employees are unsure how much risk they can take and whether they can fail without undermining their careers, according to recent survey results.
The findings were laid out in a Dec. 20 email to State Department staffers from BRIAN McKEON, who recently ended his tenure as deputy secretary of State for management and resources. The survey was conducted as part of Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN’s effort to modernize the department.
McKeon’s note, obtained by our own NAHAL TOOSI, framed the results this way: “Nearly 75 percent of respondents said they did not receive clear communication from their leadership on risk tolerance; over 50 percent said they rarely or never participated in formal risk assessment activities; and over one-third did not feel empowered or equipped to manage risk. Moreover, a significant number of respondents associated risk with threat and related concepts like risk aversion, fear of failure, career, and security.”
“The bottom line is clear,” McKeon wrote. “If we are to succeed in advancing U.S. priorities, the department’s perception of risk must evolve. We need to be risk aware, not risk averse. We must accept the possibility of failure when taking risks, and risks must be viewed as opportunities for mission success, not just as threats.”
McKeon hinted at upcoming initiatives to “foster a culture of ‘failing well.’” Already, he pointed out, the department is trying to make it easier to open diplomatic facilities, which is never simple given security concerns.
A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal matter, said in a statement that Blinken wants to “shift the culture of the department to lead in the face of, rather than avoid, risk.” The spokesperson added: “The department defines risk as anything that has the potential to negatively (threats) or positively (opportunities) impact the Department’s capability to achieve its objectives.”
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, December 30
I have a piece in the Hill about the NDAA.
I’ve been reading a lot lately about the foreign policy debates during 1939-43. In many ways, the emerging split in the GOP is like the earlier one.
David Brooks in NYT calls attention to several long articles during the year, including this about the generational split among progressive groups.
WaPo says Venezuelan opposition has given up on Guaido.
Belarus blames Ukraine for attack.
AP reports on today’s Xi-Putin talks.
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, December 22
– The president has sent Congress his twice-yearly report on troops abroad under the War Powers law. The letter says the US has combat-equipped forces in 15 named countries, plus 90,000 in NATO and others “postured outside Afghanistan.”
– CFR has good data on US & other support to Ukraine
– CRS reports on Ukraine aid from State/Foreign ops
– AP reports that Zelensky took train to Poland, accompanied by US ambassador, then flew in USAF plane to DC.
– NYT says analysts forecast stalemate in Ukraine.
– WaPo notes Biden/Zelensky differences.
– Politico reports GOP opposition to future aid.
– RollCall lists biggest earmarkers.
– Vox summarizes new Electoral Count Act in omnibus.
– Defense News says some Taiwan aid was changed from grants to loans.
– Intercept says Twitter whitelisted unacknowledged Centcom accounts.
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Stevenson’s army, December 17
Most of you know that I’m a print guy, enjoying broadsheet newspapers and wishing everyone read them. But I see online that the NYTimes has an amazing piece on Russia’s Ukraine war, with numerous videos and artifacts and photographs. I suppose the print version will run tomorrow. Don’t wait. View the online version now.
-Yahoo News has a summary of what little new there is in the just-declassified JFK files.
– And for a comprehensive end of year assessment of US foreign policy by FDD, described as a “hawkish think tank,” read this.
Charlie also added this to yesterday’s edition:
– Someone listed as N.S. Lyons does a frightening job of foreign policy papers using Chat GBT.-[h/t Andrew Sullivan]
– An official review seems happy with current joint command of CyberCom and NSA
– Vox reports military-industrial complex is happy with Ukraine.
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, December 14
– Appropriators have a deal on the omnibus.
– It reportedly includes the Electoral Count Act.
– Pentagon wants to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine; Biden hasn’t yet approved.
– House Democrats rejected term limit proposal.
– Kori Schake has good piece about keeping military out of politics.
– At FP Steve Walt says liberalism makes it hard to show restraint in foreign policy.
– At NYT, Nate Cohn explains how GOP under-performed despite winning more House votes than Democrats.
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, November 28
– Ukraine aid slows arms to Taiwan.
– NATO uneasy with US hard-on-China push
– Ukraine fighting wears out its artillery.
And here’s news abut Taiwan’s elections this wekeend:
Taiwan’s ruling tough-on-China party gets clobbered
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as leader of the ruling Democratic Progress Party after it lost big to the opposition Kuomintang party, or KMT, in Saturday’s local elections. As expected, the KMT, which has long favored closer ties with Beijing but denies being pro-China, swept the polls across most big cities. The DPP had tried to turn the election into a referendum on protecting Taiwan’s democracy from Chinese encroachment, but it didn’t work: Voters responded better to the KMT’s pitch about prioritizing local issues such as COVID and the economy. Meanwhile, the upstart Taiwan People’s Party — seen as a rising alternative to the DPP and KMT — turned heads by capturing Hsinchu, known as the self-ruled island’s Silicon Valley because it is home to many semiconductor companies. The result ups the ante ahead of the 2024 presidential election, when voters will likely be more worried about China’s growing threat. A KMT victory would be welcomed by Beijing, but success in local elections doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll do well in 2024. After all, in early 2020, the DPP recovered from a similar local election defeat to reelect Tsai in a landslide.
Charlie added later:
Reuters says US may send missile with 100-mile range to Ukraine.
Dan Drezner has praise for Biden foreign policy.
He doesn’t like Biden’s trade policy, but the Politico weekly trade newsletter notes how carefully the administration is consulting with stakeholders over new rules.
Two GOP Members have bill to drive “wokeness” from the Pentagon. Their plan.
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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