Tag: State Department

Stevenson’s army, August 23

– Retiring Sen. Pat Leahy [D-VT] laments changes in politics and the Senate. A GOP friend of mine chatted with him in Nov., 2020 and reported he said, “We don’t talk to each other any more.”

-A new NBC poll has a lot of surprises; one is that “threats to democracy” is now the “most important issue facing the country,” ahead of jobs and the cost of living. [Scroll to the end]

– FP says most of Indo-Pacific sides with Beijing.

– FP says Poland and  Hungary have a falling out.

– NYT says Ukraine is siphoning humanitarian aid from other countries.

– Politico has more details on classified materials at Mar-a-Lago.

– Politico also reports WH is at odds with intelligence community over reducing classifications.

– WaPo has a friendly profile of SecState Blinken.

– A California prof says VP Pence had no authority to summon troops to protect Capitol.

– Fearing attacks in civilian areas, US warns Americans to leave 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. 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, June 19

– CNA’s Russia expert assesses the Ukraine war today.

– FP says China is gaining in Thailand.

– Rand study finds support for US Foreign Service.

– Atlantic article warns against militarizing our police.Fo

– The always thought-provoking Ezra Klein has surprising details about artificial intelligence.

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. 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 9

– WSJ touts US information warfare over Ukraine.

– Politico reports some intelligence officials think too much is being released.

– Russians deny promises to Macron.

– At FP, writer sees Xi-Putin statement as no big deal.

– Maybe hypersonic weapons can easily be defeated, but that technology is on the critical list.

– The FY23 budget was due yesterday, but the 2022 budget hasn’t been passed. Expect lengthy delays.

Sanctions against Honduran president revealed.

Updated version of WaPo report on Afghan evacuation gives more evidence supporting my view that a key factor was the organizational culture clash between a State Dept that always resists closing an embassy and was sympathetic to the destabilizing effects on the host nation government and a military that makes detailed, rigid plans without regard to diplomatic and psychological consequences — coupled with a White House that prefers hedging to binary choices.

CORRECTION: The stopgap spending bill runs to March 11, not April as I wrongly said yesterday.

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. 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 16

Congress passed an NDAA for the 61st year in a row, despite never letting it be debated and amended in the Senate. SASC summary is here. Bill text is here. [2,120 pages!]The 670 page statement of managers [explaining provisions and why changed or dropped] is here.

– WSJ has interesting piece on how President Xi micromanages.

China pressures and punishes Lithuania.

– Karzai says he invited Taliban into Kabul.

-Menendez added State Authorization bill as part of NDAA.

Congress revised Pacific Deterrence Initiative in NDAA.

-Aussie analyst changes mind on AUKUS.

Worth considering: Space Force needs different personnel system.WOTR author notes good and bad ways for military to dissent. More from Tom Edsall on threats to democracy.

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, December 15

Today is Bill of Rights Day: celebrate!

-NDAA should be passed today. No wonder.

UAE unhappy with US arms sale because of China restrictions.

– Deal in works to end holds on ambassadors.

– Democratic analyst has gloomy political survey.

2022 Hill calendar has Senate and House with many different recess days.

-CSIS has new analysis of defense budget.

– Dan Drezner says Iran sanctions have failed.  Conservative Max Boot says we should learn to live with a nuclear Iran.

– Mike Mazarr of Rand says US should stop trying to change regimes.

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, November 11

– Politico foresees GOP control of House and probably Senate after 2022 elections.

– NYT reports on the busy CBO as it does cost estimates.

– Harvard law prof says Lincoln really made the Constitution after breaking the 1787 model.

– Another writer suggests Havana syndrome maybe psychogenic [he uses “sociogenic”]

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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