Tag: houthis
Stevenson’s army, January 25
– Slovakia makes a U-turn to support Ukraine
– Orban now seems willing to let Sweden join NATO
– McConnell backs away from Ukraine + border bill
– Biden pressures Congress on F16s for Turkey
– All but 2 Senate Democrats cosponsor amendment calling for 2 state solution. Here’s the text
– SFRC approves bill to use Russian assets for Ukraine
-Here’s the text of the Kaine et al letter on war powers for Houthi attacks
– RollCall reports 2023 lobbying expenses. Note how little was foreign policy related.
And read this delightful interview with Sen. Angus King [Ind-Maine] about when he was a young Senate staffer. Times have changed.
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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, with occasional videos of my choice. 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).
Stevenson’s army, September 24
– Turkey approved Sweden in NATO; Hungary still needs to act.
– Republican Senators fight over border & Ukraine, shows weakened McConnell
– Some Senators question Biden authority to attack Houthis [My view: President has authority & precedents for Red Sea operations, not for defense of Israel]
– Taiwan Caucus group goes to Taiwan.
– WOTR writer sees corruption in Chinese rocket forces
– Scottish prof says AI is already changing the battlefield
– WSJ says US sees new threats in West Africa
– Deja vu: Heritage supports Jimmy Carter’s road-mobile ICBM plan
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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, with occasional videos of my choice. 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).
Stevenson’s army, January 23
-Politico reports attacks on Houthis.
-Defense Priorities analyzes the options.
– Fred Kaplan is encouraged by emerging Gaza peace plan.
– RollCall sees Palestinian aid as an issue.
-Semafor says Israel want 2km no man’s land in Gaza
– Iran hawks Gerecht and Takeyh say Iran doesn’t want a war
– NYT worries about tipping point in Mideast conflicts
– FP’s Steve Walt says in terms of foreign policy, it doesn’t matter whether Trump or Biden wins
– New reports on Trump on Ukraine and Trump on Taiwan [from Politico’s China Watcher:
TRUMP WON’T COMMIT TO TAIWAN’S DEFENSE: The likely Republican candidate in the November U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump, refused to commit to a U.S. defense of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion attempt.
Publicly declaring his position on Taiwan’s defense would put him in “very bad negotiating position” with Beijing, Trump said in a Fox News interview on Sunday. Trump laced those comments with complaints about the self-governing island’s dominance of the global semiconductor supply chain. “Taiwan did take all of our chip business … they took our business away. We should have stopped them. We should have taxed them. We should have tariffed them,” Trump said.
Lawfare summarizes new cyber laws.
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, with occasional videos of my choice. 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).
Stevenson’s army, January 21
OK, so you don’t have to wait for the broadsheets. Here are some stories, already online, that will be on front pages tomorrow.
– US is working with Arab governments on a master plan to end the Gaza war, as both Axios and WSJ report.
– WSJ also reports that US intelligence says Israel has destroyed only 20-30% of Hamas forces.
-WaPo says US plans long campaign against Houthis.
– Politico says Houthis expect new weapons from Iran.
– NYT reports growing doubts about US in Taiwan.
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, with occasional videos of my choice. 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).
Stevenson’s army, January 19
There’s other news, but I want to draw your attention to an excellent piece in NYT on what Congress knew about the Manhattan Project to build atomic weapons. It’s detailed, accurate, and includes links to several important documents. Sadly, I don’t see it anywhere on the NYT website, but I knew it existed because I saw it in the printed paper.
Reporter Catie Edmondson shows that at least 7 members of Congress knew key details, including the $800 million initial funding, because Secretary of War Stimson had briefed them. Speaker Sam Rayburn told others “trust me,” and they did. Edmondson doesn’t mention that wartime appropriations bills were lump sum measures, with very few line items, so most details of military spending were known only to a few members. I see this as proof that there was knowledge and accountability, despite the necessary secrecy.
[Be sure to read the Rayburn interview with Forrest Pogue, which has several stories about how Rayburn operated.]
– FP has more details about the Houthi terrorist designation.
– FT says Arab nations have a plan to recognize Israel in return for a Palestinian state
– WSJ assesses Iran’s military capabilities.
– Semafor says some of Speaker Johnson’s problems come because he “talks like a lawyer”
– Lawfare ponders sources of JCS Chairman’s power
– DIA released report on Iranian UAVs in Ukraine
– It now looks as if Speaker Johnson, talking with Trump, wants to prevent a border security bill [so the GOP has the issue] and avoid any votes on Ukraine [where GOP is divided] Unclear how many GOP Senators agree with that strategy.
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, with occasional videos of my choice. 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).
Stevenson’s army, January 18
– Pakistan has struck back at Iran.
– US has made special terrorist designation of Houthis. Note the legal nuances.
– New Taiwan leader says he’ll stick to status quo.
– US pressures Israel on Gaza electronics
– WSJ says US plans for Mideast aren’t gathering support
-Kevin Drum says the Fed is doing business differently
– SAIS prof Hal Brands assesses US support for 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, with occasional videos of my choice. 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).