Subject: The Evening CSIS: NK Hacking Report, Iran’s Sanctions, Surfin’ USA & More
From: "Andrew Schwartz" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2016 00:01:56 -0000

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 Good Evening, 

We are glad to be dug out of the snow and to welcome you back 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. If you want to view this in your browser, click here [ http://CSIS.informz.net/InformzDataService/OnlineVersion/Individual?mailingInstanceId=5309046&subscriberId=1062005454 ] .

 Pushing Regional Unity
 Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in China for talks late today following several days of meetings with Southeast Asian nations to urge unity in the face of Beijing’s increasingly assertive behavior in the South China Sea, as the  Wall Street Journal ’s Felicia Schwartz reports [ http://on.wsj.com/20ro2lD ] .

 Dive Deeper:  CSIS’s Kathleen Hicks and Michael Green today published a new commentary, “Revving up the Rebalance to Asia [ http://bit.ly/20roe4D ] .”

 Lifting Iran's Sanctions
 Iran wants to become a major exporting nation following the lifting of international sanctions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today in Rome, adding that economic growth was crucial to defeating extremism in the Middle East, as Reuters reports [ http://bit.ly/20rorol ] . 

 Dive Deeper:  CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman published a new commentary today “New Estimates of Iran’s Petroleum Exports and Income after the Nuclear Implementation Day and Reductions in Sanctions [ http://bit.ly/20roCji ] .”

Plus, ICYMI, Brookings’ Robert Einhorn published a commentary last week “A major milestone for the Iran nuclear deal—but a bumpy road ahead [ http://brook.gs/20roLU1 ] .”

 North Korean Hackers
 South Korea raised its cyber alert level following the influx of malicious e-mails presumed to have originated from North Korea amid a spike in cross-border tensions after Pyongyang tested a fourth nuclear device earlier this month, as South Korea’s Yonhap News service reports [ http://bit.ly/20rpa91 ] .

 Dive Deeper:  CSIS’s Victor Cha, James A. Lewis, Jenny Jun, Scott LaFoy and Ethan Sohn today released a major report,  North Korea’s Cyber Operations:  Strategy and Responses [ http://bit.ly/1lPRYs4 ]  . The report’s executive summary was released in late December, but today marked the full launch of the report. It is the only comprehensive report out on North Korea’s cyber activities since the Sony hack in November of 2014.

 In that Number 
 36,528 

The number of refugees who risked the trip across the Mediterranean and Aegean seas in January 2016. 
Source: Foreign Policy [ http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/25/mapped-the-refugee-crisis-in-the-aegean-sea/?utm_content=buffer00bb0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer ] 

 Critical Quote
 "This was a tremendous success, but at best a partial success." 
- Anthony Cordesman, CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, on the recent victory against ISIS in the Iraqi city of Ramadi.
Source: Associated Press [ http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraqs-military-struggling-us-training-36528883 ] 

 One to Watch 

 

 

Julie Vitkovskaya (@Julie_Vit [ https://twitter.com/Julie_Vit ] ) is the  Washington Post ’s new [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/wp/2016/01/22/julie-vitkovskaya-to-become-deputy-digital-foreign-editor ]  deputy digital editor for foreign and national security. Julie was previously a producer on  WaPo ’s mobile innovations team, where she was a digital designer and curated content on their mobile apps. For innovative foreign affairs and national security coverage, Julie is one to watch.

 Optics
 We've experienced a winter wonderland in DC for many days now. Some have labeled it "Snowzilla." I was talking to a guy from BBC Singapore the other night and he even knew about our snowfall! ("I've seen the pictures, mate...") Our amazing CSIS photographer/producer Sam Ellis braved the tundra over the weekend and produced this photo essay [ https://swellis.exposure.co/snowzilla ] . It was shot in the neighborhood around Union Station and gives a sense of what some people experienced in this town.

 Highly Recommended
  [ http://thebea.st/1a6v4re ] “Mapped: The Refugee Crisis in the Aegean Sea” [ http://atfp.co/20rkHTG ]  by Foreign Policy’s Siobhán O'Grady.

 CSIS Tomorrow
 Join us tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. for the launch of a new CSIS initiative, “Defense Outlook: A CSIS Series on Strategy, Budget, Forces, and Acquisition.” [ http://csis.org/event/defense-outlook-csis-series-strategy-budget-forces-and-acquisition ]  And, stick around for “Clean Power Plan 2016,” [ http://csis.org/event/clean-power-plan-2016-outlook ]  as an energy expert panel discusses an overview of the state, federal, and court level activity planning for the upcoming year. And lastly, at 1:00 p.m. Admiral Harry B. Harris, Commander of the US Pacific Command, will join CSIS for a discussion on strategic opportunities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. [ http://csis.org/event/strategic-opportunities-indo-asia-pacific-admiral-harry-b-harris ] 

 This Town Tomorrow
 Join the Wilson Center tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. as they host a discusison on US-Russian cooperation in Syria; Russia experts will present their views on the geopolitical challenges in the region, as well as Russia’s role in resolving the Syrian crisis. For more information and to register, click here. [ https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/us-russian-cooperation-syria ] 

 CSIS on Demand
 Last week CSIS hosted a discussion on “Strategic Deterrent Forces: A Foundation for National Security,” featuring Admiral Cecil Haney, Commander of the US Strategic Command. Catch the insight event on demand here. [ http://csis.org/event/strategic-deterrent-forces-foundation-national-security ] 

 Sounds
 CSIS's latest podcast [ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-csis-podcast/id214886950?mt=2 ]  features Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as he speaks on the international challenges facing the country, and its role in the global order. 

 I Like It Like That 
 Eye-catching things in CSIS's orbit
 The  Washington Post  just launched a new feature called “Backdrop,” that will be part of their 2016 presidential race coverage. Backdrop is a pop up button located in the lower left-hand corner of politics articles. When you tap or click it, Backdrop will slide out and feature updates on the latest polling, video explainers, key quotes that illuminate candidates’ stances, charts on money in the election, and more as the campaign dictates. Here’s today’s latest use [ http://wapo.st/20rkcZK ]  of Backdrop

 Smiles
 It is great to be dug out of the snow and back at work. I’m not a big fan of winter and, unlike some ski bums I know, I do not worship “the pow(der).” 

I do however, worship the sun and the ocean. And one of these days I’ll be in full pursuit of an “Endless Summer.”

Not that I didn’t have fun digging out of three feet of snow—that’s always kind of fun and a good workout if not exactly a smile. While I was digging, I kept thinking about music that keeps me warm.

I thought of the Beach Boys and their mega-hit compilation record, “Endless Summer” which was released in late June, 1974. From the first time I laid eyes on it, I was obsessed with it.

When this record came out, the Beach Boys fame had faded quite a bit. Surf music was in decline and the mass audiences they once enjoyed in the US and UK didn’t think of the Beach Boys as anything more than beach bums.  

Their 1966 record, “Pet Sounds” had fallen on mostly deaf ears—except Paul McCartney and John Lennon paid quite a bit of attention to it. It’s now regarded as Brian Wilson’s masterpiece, but back then it was viewed as the beginning of the end of the Beach Boys’ successful surfing safari. For years following ’66, the Beach Boys were caught up in a constant wipeout.

But “Endless Summer” with its spectacular album artwork and peerless compilation of hits blew America’s doors down like the fast cars the Beach Boys famously sang about. The record hit number 1 and spent 155 weeks on the Billboard chart. 

Before “Endless Summer” resurrected the Beach Boys career, it had been all but forgotten that the band had once elicited a youth culture mania that rivaled The Beatles. 

Take this 1964 appearance filmed for the TAMI Show. To me, it’s one of the most electrifying performances in the history of rock and roll. The Beach Boys are at their very best. It’s the original 5 members of the group—brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. Here they are introduced by Jan & Dean, and they are actually playing their instruments and singing live—not miming to a soundtrack per usual. This clip of “Surfin’ USA [ http://bit.ly/1JCBvDd ] ” warms my heart, my soul and just makes me smile.   

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