Stevenson’s army, December 21

– Former head of the National Intelligence Council Greg Treverton warns a civil war is coming to the US.

– Manchin friend Steve Clemons explains the breakdown.

– US & UK helping Ukraine prepare for Russian cyber attack.

– NYT says drones tipped balance in Ethiopia war.

– Reuters says Chinese spies have infiltrated Taiwan military.

– Atlantic Council warns of 2022 problems.

I somehow missed this from Charlie yesterday:

– I’m surprised and puzzled by the Manchin statement on the administration’s domestic policy bill. Normally, experienced politicians keep their word. And it sure looked like Biden was treating the Senator gingerly, never pressuring him in public. But something led Manchin to break publicly — his own ambitions? something Schumer did? something Biden or his top aides have done? The WH statement is extraordinary. Nevertheless, Biden needs Manchin for other things, as do his colleagues, so I expect renewed talks after thingds cool down.

– Sen. Cruz got his vote promised and he let some nominees through. This is normal.

– FP has a story on how interns run Washington.

– NYT has a new story on how China manipulates Facebook and Twitter.

– Don’t forget to keep checking CRS for new reports. Here’s one on Use of Force in Cyberspace.  And an update on State/Foreign Ops appropriations.

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).