The Evening CSIS: Rescued, Defense Budget Showdown, Expresso Love & More

Good Evening,

Welcome to The Evening CSIS—my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day plus HIGHLY RECOMMENDED content from around the world. To subscribe, please click here and if you want to view this in your browser, click here.

Tonight’s edition of The Evening CSIS is dedicated to our late colleague, mentor, and friend, Arnaud de Borchgrave, as we celebrate his remarkable career with “The Inaugural Arnaud de Borchgrave Transnational Threats Dialogue.”

Rescued
About 70 hostages facing “imminent mass execution” were rescued and an American service member was killed in an operation against an ISIS-controlled prison in northern Iraq, the Pentagon said today, as the New York Times’s Michael Gordon reports.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Kathleen Hicks, testified today before the Senate Armed Services Committee on “Global Challenges, U.S. National Security Strategy, and Defense Organization.” Dr. Hick’s statement to the committee is available for download.

Defense Budget Showdown
President Obama today vetoed the $612 billion National Defense Authorization Act, the law that funds the Pentagon for the 2016 fiscal year, setting the stage for a political showdown with Congress, where the bill had been approved with wide, bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, as VICE News reports.

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s short video, “Past, Present, and Future of War Funding,” is helpful for understanding one of the key issues surrounding the defense budget, the Overseas Contingency Operations budget or OCO.

And, CSIS’s report, The FY 2016 Budget: The Defense Impact , is a deep read into the key issues.

Plus, Anthony Cordesman’s The FY2016 Defense Budget and US Strategy: Key Trends and Data Points is another useful resource.

Not to be Forgotten
As Reuters reports, President Obama today met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan to stress concerns about Pakistan’s expanding nuclear arsenal and seek help in bringing the Afghan Taliban back to peace talks.

And, as the Wall Street Journal’s Saaed Shah and Adam Entous report, despite the Obama-Sharif talks today, there is another Sharif, Gen. Raheel Sharif, chief of Pakistan’s army, that the US needs to pay attention to.

Dive Deeper: In an op-ed for the Diplomat, CFR’s Daniel Markey, author of No Exit from Pakistan: America’s Tortured Relationship with Islamabad, writes today that this is “No Time for a Nuclear Deal with Pakistan.”

In that Number
150,000
Russia’s new permanent military compound in the Arctic is 150,000 square feet and can accommodate 150 troops.
Source: VICE News.

Critical Quote
“It’s already vitally important, and they [Russia and Canada] only see it getting more important in the future.”
—Heather Conley, director of the CSIS Europe Program, on the Arctic and increasing strategic jockeying for the land.

One to Watch

Isabel Coles (@IsabelColes) has been reporting for Reuters from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for the past three years. For the latest news on the Kurds and anti-ISIS efforts, Isabel is one watch. Photo Credit: LinkedIn

Optics

Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met in Berlin today to discuss ways to de-escalate the latest round of violence. Secretary Kerry left the meeting cautiously optimistic, according to Reuters. Photo credit: Department of State

Highly Recommended
Foreign Policy ’s Colum Lynch on “At the U.N., Beijing Begins to Shift Away From Putin.”

CSIS Today
General James L. Jones Jr. and HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia participated in the Inaugural Arnaud de Borchgrave Transnational Threats Dialogue . The Dialogue seeks to enhance public debate on transnational threats and engage key government audiences. Catch a recap of the fascinating discussion on transnational threats.

CSIS Tomorrow
Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., General John F. Kelly, commander of US Southern Command, will join CSIS to discuss the challenges in maintaining US and regional security. He will also discuss how US defense policy can help development efforts in areas of conflict. Register or watch live here.

This Town Tomorrow
Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan will speak at the US Institute of Peace, reflecting on developments in his country and the broader region, as well as the future of US-Pakistan relations. Although the event is closed, be sure to watch the webcast here.

CSIS on Demand
CSIS hosted Dr. Nils Muiznieks, commissioner for human rights, Council of Europe, to discuss the human rights challenges around the world, including the refugee crisis and the war in Ukraine. Watch the insightful discussion here and hear how the US can help the international efforts.

Sounds
As thousands of migrants show up at European borders daily, the EU is pressing Turkey to keep Syrians and other migrants in-country. Peter Kenyon, NPR’s international correspondent, has the latest on Turkey’s migration policy and the issues facing the region.

I Like It Like That
Eye-catching things in CSIS's orbit

Twitter’s power.

Smiles
Encore. For Dire Straits who had to step out of the way for the Beatles yesterday.

One of the world's most commercially successful bands, with worldwide album sales of over 120 million, Dire Straits even created a catch phrase “I want my MTV” with their late 1980s hit featuring Sting on backing vocals “Money for Nothing.”

But my favorite Dire Straits smile is “Expresso Love,” which came out in 1980. Here’s why.

Feedback

I always welcome and benefit from your feedback. Please drop me a line at aschwartz@csis.org.