Tag: Terrorism
Stevenson’s army, September 11
– In WSJ Daniel Byman explains why the US hasn’t suffered another 9/11-sized attack.
– In WaPo, Colbert King notes that most US deaths have been from domestic terrorists.
– Philip Zelikow of the 9/11 commission reflects on the attacks and aftermath.
– NYT notes where the US continues to go after terrorists. As I have mentioned, the presidential war powers report says the US still has troops “equipped for combat” in 18 countries.
– A US official who dealt with Pakistan after 9/11 tells that story.
-NYT investigated and now has persuasive information that the final Kabul drone strike did not kill terrorists, but several civilians.
– NYT also says US trained the soldiers who launched the coup in Guinea.
– BuzzFeed has more on how Capitol Police missed the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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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Patriots wear masks and get vaccinated, no compromise
Today is 9/11, but today is also a day on which more than 1500 Americans will die of COVID-19. That is half of the number dying every day as died in the 9/11 attacks twenty years ago. The total confirmed deaths due to the corona virus now number well over 600,000. That is close to 1000 times the number of American service members killed in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past twenty years. Or, if you prefer, about 500 times the number of troops and contractors killed during two decades of the war on terror and two hundred times the number killed on 9/11.
The differences are obvious: COVID-19 has killed people over a year and half, not in a single day, and all over the country, not in one, two, or three places. It has killed mostly older people with pre-existing conditions and mostly brown and black people. But I still find it hard to understand how (mostly white) people who regard themselves as patriots can resist doing what each of them needs to do to prevent fellow-Americans from dying:
These are not difficult things to do. They do not infringe on personal freedom. Virtually every American gets at least half a dozen required vaccines while growing up. Masking to prevent yourself from infecting others is a social obligation. It should be a no-brainer.
It isn’t. Why not? Because you identify with a party and politicians who have decided to oppose vaccines and masking no matter the consequences. Maybe you also think the US government had a hand in attacking the twin towers. Likely you thought Barack Obama was not born in the US. Even more likely, you think Biden won the 2020 election due to fraud. You are prepared to personally interfere with women’s freedom to choose whether she wants to have a baby (as encouraged by a recent Texas law), but you are not willing to have the government, which is responsible for the public welfare, or your employer, who is required to provide a safe workplace, insist that you take simple precautions not to infect others.
9/11 was a moment of extraordinary unity among Americans. We reacted in shock and horror, applauded the first responders, mourned the dead, and sought punishment for those who planned and ordered the attacks. The results 20 years later are not just disappointing but counter-productive: there are now more jihadists in more countries than ever before. It is hard to justify the sacrifice not just of Americans but also the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, Afghans, and others who have died in the war on terror.
Now we find ourselves sharply divided, between those willing to do what little needs to be done for the common good and those who are unwilling. That division doesn’t sound like a winning formula either, but we’ll have to live with it. The unwilling are not patriots. They have betrayed their fellow citizens and are willing to see many more die. President Biden is right to require them to protect others or lose their livelihoods. Patriots wear masks and get vaccinated. There should be no compromise.
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Peace Picks | August 30-September 3, 2021
Notice: Due to public health concerns, upcoming events are only available via live stream.
- Grim Prospects for Women and Girls in Afghanistan | Aug 31, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST | The Heritage Foundation| Register Here
As the world watched Afghanistan fall to the Taliban in a matter of weeks, one point was clear: the lives of Afghan women and girls would forever be changed. Over the last twenty years, women and girls made tremendous gains by going to school, holding political office, and entering the working world. Hard-won freedoms became a part of everyday life, and Afghan women were actively enjoying them.
With the Taliban back in power, many of these gains will likely be lost. So, what can be done now to safeguard the rights of Afghan women and girls? Join the Heritage Foundation as a distinguished panel of experts tackles the scale of the problem and realistic actions that the United States and the international community can take to mitigate the damage.
Speakers:
Lisa Curtis
Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security
Heela Najibullah
Conflict and Peace Researcher
Author of “Reconciliation and Social Healing in Afghanistan”
Amb. Roya Rahmani
Former Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States
Nicole Robinson (moderator)
Research Associate, Allison Center for Foreign Policy, The Heritage Foundation
2. #GermanyVotes – One month to go: The 2021 German elections and their implications | Sep 1, 2021 | 9:00 AM EST | Atlantic Council | Register Here
This event kicks off the Europe Center’s #GermanyVotes: The Superwahljahr Series, a collection of virtual and hybrid events focusing on Germany’s upcoming federal elections. Germans head to the polls on September 26 to pick a new government at a crucial moment in German politics. The elections will mark more than the usual electoral turnover as Chancellor Angela Merkel steps down after sixteen years at the helm of Europe’s largest political and economic power.
The panel will discuss what changes a new government and leadership in Berlin will bring about for Germany, Europe, and the transatlantic alliance. Against the backdrop of a still-new US administration, global crises including the impact of the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the COVID-19 pandemic, and new challenges to the country’s economic model, what new vision will a future German government and chancellor forge for Germany and its place in the world?
Speakers:
Tyson Barker
Head, Technology and Global Affairs Program, German Council on Foreign Relations
Constanze Stelzenmüller
Senior Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe; Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and trans-Atlantic Relations, Brookings Institution
Ines Pohl (moderator)
Washington Bureau Chief, Deutsche Welle
- The 9/11 Attacks from a Historical Perspective | Sep 2, 2021 | 7:45 AM EST | Royal United Services Institute | Register Here
The attacks by the Al Qaeda terrorist organisation on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon, on 11 September 2001 were cataclysmic in totally changing the global strategic environment. This event will commemorate the 20th anniversary.
Speakers:
Prof. Peter Neumann
Professor of Security Studies, Department of War Studies, King’s College London; Senior Associate Fellow, RUSI
Suzanne Raine
Trustee, RUSI
Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE
Distinguished Fellow, RUSI; Former Chief, MI6
- Tunisia – What Now? | Sep 2, 2021 | 9:00 AM EST | CSIS | Register Here
Tunisia, the lone democracy remaining from the Arab Spring, is at a crossroads. The Covid-19 pandemic devastated an already struggling economy, while the political system has grown increasingly ineffectual. Last month, Tunisia’s president Kais Saied suspended the parliament, sacked the prime minister, and significantly increased his own power for 30 days, and on August 23 he extended those moves indefinitely.
What does the future hold for Tunisia? What can the United States and its allies, who together have invested billions of dollars in the Tunisian democratic experiment, do to support Tunisia in its crisis?
Speakers:
Congressman David Price (D-NC)
Chairman, House Democracy Partnership; Member, House Appropriations Subcommittee on State Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Bowman Cutter
Chairman, the Tunisian Enterprise Fund
Mohamed Malouche
Chairman, Tunisian American Young Professionals
Lobna Jeribi
Founder and President, Solidar Tunisia
Shawna Bader-Blau
Executive Director, Solidarity Center
Jon B. Alterman
Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program, CSIS
Marti Flacks
Director and Senior Fellow, Human Rights Initiative, CSIS
5. Climate Change: Entry Point for Regional Peace in the Middle East | Sep 2, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST | Clingendael Institute | Register Here
Climate change is hitting the Middle East region hard with unbearable temperatures, water scarcity, desertification and saltwater intrusion undermining local food production. After the recent eruption of violence the need to address underlying stresses of grievances of people living in the region is mentioned as a factor that deserves extra attention. Whereas conflicts over identity and history are hard to overcome, it may still be possible to enter into renewed dialogues over how to build resilience against climate change and use renewables to enhance the level of energy security that could be used for air conditioning and water desalination. In a region prone to tensions, climate change is a common enemy that people in the region are facing.
By using practical examples, this online event will consider how a focus on climate adaptation and mitigation could be used as an entry point for bringing together people that otherwise might hardly talk to each other. What can they gain from entering into a dialogue over better management and distribution of scarce natural resources, and may this also foster a more general spirit of mutual understanding?
Speakers:
Yana Abu Taleb
Director, EcoPeace Middle East – Jordan
Rene van Nes
Head, Division of Conflict Prevention and Mediation Support, European External Action Service
Prof. Alon Tal
Member, Knesset
Dr. Shaddad Attili
Advisor ranking Minister, Negotiations Support Department, PLO
Louise van Schaik (moderator)
Head, EU & Global Affairs Unit, the Clingendael Institute
Tobias von Lossow (Q&A)
Research Fellow, the Clingendael Institute
6. Syria Today: How Assad “Won” beyond the Military | Sep 2, 2021 | 11:00 AM EST | Middle East Institute | Register Here
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to announce a panel discussion featuring contributors to The Middle East Journal’s 2021 Spring and Summer Issues. As the civil war in Syria endures after a decade of conflict, Bashar al-Assad continues to pursue his consolidation of authority and regime legitimization. Aside from military tactics, Assad has diversified his approach to this pursuit through a number of tactics, including swaying influential social and religious leaders to support state security measures and depending on foreign aid to support the reconstruction of the country. A panel of journal contributors will join to discuss these broader themes featured in their articles and delve deeper into the internal workings of the Syrian regime.
Speakers:
Rahaf Aldoughli
Contributor, Middle East Journal; Lecturer, Middle East and North African Studies, Lancaster University
Guy Burton
Contributor, Middle East Journal; Visiting Fellow, LSE Middle East Centre
Eric Lob
Contributor, Middle East Journal; Associate Professor, Department of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University
Emma Beals (moderator)
Non-resident scholar, MEI
7. Prospects for US-Iran Relations under Raisi | Sep 2, 2021 | 11:00 AM EST | Arab Center Washington DC | Register Here
The Iranian Studies Unit of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and Arab Center Washington DC invite you to a lecture by Dr. Vali Nasr on the prospects for US-Iran relations under the Ebrahim Raisi and Joe Biden Administrations. Dr. Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center.
Speakers:
Vali Nasr (speaker)
Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Khalil E. Jahshan (moderator)
Executive Director, Arab Center Washington DC
Mehran Kamrava (moderator)
Chair, Iranian Studies Unit, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies
8. Learning the Lessons of Afghanistan | Sep 2, 2021 | 7:00 PM EST | Institute for Policy Studies | Register Here
IPS’ Fellow, Phyllis Bennis will be featured in a webinar series, presented by Massachusetts Peace Action. A forum of three deeply knowledgeable speakers who will give their response to these themes and their suggested lessons.
Speakers:
Kathy Kelly
Nonviolent activist
Phyllis Bennis
Middle East Politics Specialist, Institute for Policy Studies
Chris Velazquez
Afghanistan War veteran; Digital Director, Veterans for Peace
Will Hopkins (moderator)
New Hampshire Peace Action
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Stevenson’s army, August 20
– WSJ says 2 dozen US embassy staffers sent warning of Afghan collapse via the dissent channel in July, urged earlier start to evacuations.
– Military Times says British & French forces are escorting their nationals to the Kabul airport.
– Politico has its own ticktock of the Afghan developments.
-AP notes Biden argument that US faces terrorist threats from many places beyond Afghanistan. New poll shows Americans agree.
– Atlantic Council reports on Taliban’s operational art.
– National Security Archive lists huge array of declassified documents on the war.
– WSJ says Putin opposed allowing US troops in Central Asia.
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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Peace Picks | August 16-20, 2021
Notice: Due to public health concerns, upcoming events are only available via live stream.
- What’s Next for Cross-Strait Relations? Trends, Drivers, and Challenges | Aug 17, 2021 | 8:30 AM EST | CSIS | Register Here
Please join CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette for a discussion on the future opportunities and challenges that confront cross-Strait relations with Chiu Chui-cheng, Deputy Minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council.
Speakers:
Chiu Chui-Cheng
Deputy Minister, Mainland Affairs Council, Republic of China
Jude Blanchette
Freemand Chair in Asia Studies, CSIS
- Karun: The tragedy of Iran’s longest river | Aug 17, 2021 | 12:00 PM EST | Atlantic Council | Register Here
Recent protests in Iran’s Khuzestan province have brought new attention to the country’s serious and mounting water shortages caused by decades of mismanagement, exacerbated by droughts and climate change. To delve deeper into these issues, the Atlantic Council’s Future of Iran Initiative invites you to view “Karun,” an award-winning documentary by filmmaker Mohammad Ehsani. It traces the path and the environs of the Karun River, Iran’s longest waterway, which used to be an important source for agriculture and drinking water in Khuzestan. Kaveh Madani, a noted Iranian environmental expert, will provide commentary.
Speakers:
Kaveh Madani
Visiting Fellow, MacMillan Center, Yale University
Barbara Slavin (moderator)
Director, Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council
- Against the Clock: Saving America’s Afghan Partners | Aug 19, 2021 | 2:30 PM EST | Center for a New American Security | Register Here
With the departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s rapid military gains, the United States must act urgently to protect thousands of Afghans who aided the war effort as local translators, fixers, drivers, guides, security guards, and in other critical roles.
While the first group of Afghans recently touched down in the U.S., the vast majority of the nearly twenty thousand special immigrant visa (SIV) applicants and their families await relocation—part of a lengthy process that, as it stands, will long surpass next month’s troop withdrawal deadline. This is not the first time the U.S. has been faced with this challenge: in 1975 the Ford administration evacuated more than 100,000 Vietnamese refugees to the U.S. via Guam; and the U.S. similarly airlifted thousands of Iraqis and Kosovar Albanians to safety in 1996 and 1999, respectively. Today, as the Taliban seizes key ground across Afghanistan, there is little time to spare.
This panel will discuss the status of U.S. efforts to relocate Afghan visa applicants, lessons learned from similar evacuations in the past, and what must be done next.
Speakers:
Rep. Seth Moulton
Co-Chair, Honoring Our Promises Working Group
Member, House Armed Services Committee
Amb. Richard Armitage
President, Armitage International
Former Deputy Secretary of State (2001-2005)
Richard Fontaine
Chief Executive Officer, CNAS
Lisa Curtis
Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, CNAS
Former Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior
Director for South and Central Asia, National Security Council
- The Deeper Consequences of the War on Terror | Aug 19, 2021 | 3:00 PM EST | CSIS | Register Here
The January 6 Capitol attack stunned the nation, but Karen J. Greenberg argues in her new book that the pernicious effects of disinformation, xenophobia, and disdain for the law are rooted in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) International Security Program will host this conversation on how the war on terror may have resulted in unseen effects on democratic norms, and how those democratic norms have evolved over time.
Speakers:
Karen J. Greenberg
Director, Center on National Security, Fordham University School of Law
Emily Harding
Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, International Security Program, CSIS
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Stevenson’s army, August 7
– To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the PDB warning of what became the 9/11 attacks, WOTR reprints the document and an excerpt from the 9/11 Commission report.
-Politico details the budget games and deceptions used by Trump to get money for the border wall.
– New Yorker writer complains about the press blackout in Afghanistan.
– Notre Dame prof summarizes his new book on Soviet-German cooperation during 1920s-30s.
-SAIS prof Anne Applebaum dumps on Tucker Carlson over Hungary, as does a TPM writer.
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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