Categories: Daniel Serwer

Stevenson’s army, May 6

– As you know, I believe in professionalism. So it’s important to study when the amateurs are empowered. Both the Post and the Times have stories today about how the “task force” led by Jared Kushner bungled its job of expediting supplies of medical equipment. The untrained volunteers gave priority to politically connected VIPs .
– VP Pence says the coronavirus task force that has been meeting in the White House will be disbanded. The new focus will be on reopening the country. It sounds like Sen. George Aiken’s [R-Vt] proposal for Vietnam: just declare victory and pull out.[Note that our “tremendous progress” now includes a death rate of one 9/11 every 30 hours — and that by June 1st one forecast says we will suffer one 9/11 every day.]
– Compare that with South Korea’s success story.
– BTW, CJR has a good piece on how to interpret health study stories.

– The president says the US government wasn’t involved, so that must be true. But look at the story of the ragtag force that tried to seize power in Venezuela.
– David Ignatius calls Huawei a paper tiger.
– SecDef Esper says the defense budget will come under attack. [I agree.]

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).

Daniel Serwer

Share
Published by
Daniel Serwer

Recent Posts

Nuclear Iran – facts, goals and opportunity 

President Trump’s decision to kill the Iran nuclear deal was an obvious failure. Lack of…

2 days ago

Winning the war with equanimity

As I prepare to leave Kyiv Wednesday, here are notes on issues not covered in…

1 week ago

Ukraine’s opportunities and threats

Western appeasement would be a serious mistake. Ending Putin's threat to Ukraine will prevent war…

1 week ago

Ukraine’s strengths and weaknesses

Whatever the strengths and weaknesses on the Ukrainian side, Moscow will not implement whatever it…

1 week ago

Culture, religion, and education in Ukraine

We shouldn't expect world class museums, performances, and universities. When we find them, they merit…

1 week ago

Rebuilding Ukraine: Hopes and Challenges

I'll be speaking at the Kyiv School of Economics Monday, also via Zoom. Please join:…

2 weeks ago