Subject: The Evening: Syria, Secret Iran Talks, I Got You and More
From: "Andrew Schwartz" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2018 22:08:43 +0000
List-Id: 833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaacmc list <833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaac.212205.list-id.mcsv.net>

The Evening: Syria, Secret Iran Talks, I Got You and More
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** Good Evening,
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It's Thursday, February 8th.

** In Syria
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Syria and Russia condemned America’s military presence in Syria as “illegal” today after an overnight confrontation in which U.S. warplanes bombed pro-Syrian government forces as they approached a U.S.-supported base, as the
Washington Post’s Liz Sly reports (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syria-accuses-us-of-aggression-after-its-warplanes-strike-pro-government-forces/2018/02/08/bab1502a-0cb4-11e8-8890-372e2047c935_story.html?utm_term=.bbc45f0c716f&utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

Meanwhile, Syrian Kurdish fighters have detained two British men infamous for their role in the Islamic State’s imprisonment, torture and killing of Western hostages, as the New York Times’ Adam Goldman and Eric Schmitt report (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/us/politics/britons-detained-american-hostages-syria.html?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

Dive Deeper: “America’s Way Ahead in Syria (http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/americas-way-ahead-syria?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) ,” by the Institute for the Study of War.

** Secret Talks with Iran
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The Trump administration secretly reached out to Iran in December to propose creating a direct channel to negotiate the release of prisoners held by each side, as the
Wall Street Journal’s Farnaz Fassihi and Felicia Schwartz report (https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-secretly-offered-iran-a-channel-for-talks-on-prisoners-1518085950?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

** North Korea Won’t Meet
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North Korea’s state media said today it has no intention of meeting U.S. officials during the Winter Olympics that start in South Korea on Friday, as Reuters' Christine Kim and Hyonhee Shin report (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2018-northkorea/north-korea-says-no-u-s-talks-planned-at-olympics-pence-vows-continued-pressure-idUSKBN1FR1V5?il=0&utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

Dive Deeper: A new study by CSIS’s Beyond Parallel (https://beyondparallel.csis.org/unification-north-koreans-hope-near-future/?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) surveyed North Koreans currently living in North Korea on unification. It found that 34 of 36 respondents, or 94%, think unification is necessary, a figure that is consistent with previous studies of North Korean defectors now living in South Korea.

** Executive M.A. from CSIS/Syracuse U
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CSIS & Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs offer Executive Master's in International Relations. Information here (https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/dc/emir/?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

** In That Number
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** 27
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Average age of the U.S. Winter Olympic team athlete.
Source: WSJ (https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-olympians-are-old-and-thats-ok-1518101304?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

** Critical Quote
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** “The defense hawks got everything they wanted in this deal.”
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— CSIS’s Todd Harrison (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/08/12-of-the-most-important-things-in-congress-massive-spending-deal/?utm_term=.7e37b72b34eb&utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

** iDeas Lab
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https://beyondparallel.csis.org/unification-north-koreans-hope-near-future/?utm_source=Members&utm_campaign=77e3da0489-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e842221dc2-77e3da0489-137545789&utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789
A new study from CSIS’s Beyond Parallel asked North Koreans currently living inside North Korea three questions:
1) Will unification happen in your lifetime?
2) Do you think unification is necessary?
3) What is the main reason that unification should occur?
View all of the findings on beyondparallel.csis.org (https://beyondparallel.csis.org/unification-north-koreans-hope-near-future/?utm_source=Members&utm_campaign=77e3da0489-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e842221dc2-77e3da0489-137545789&utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

** Optics
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Die Welt (Photo Credit: Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images). A damaged building today in Hualien, Taiwan after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit late Tuesday night.

** Recommended Reading
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“Trump’s favorite general (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/can-jim-mattis-check-an-impulsive-president-and-still-retain-his-trust/2018/02/07/289297a2-0814-11e8-8777-2a059f168dd2_story.html?utm_term=.3234bac2c434&utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) ,” by the
Washington Post’s Greg Jaffe and Missy Ryan.

** This Town Monday
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On Monday, join CSIS at 9:00 a.m. (https://www.csis.org/events/geostrategic-flashpoint-eastern-mediterranean?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) for a discussion with Admiral James G Foggo, III on NATO and U.S. Navy operational approaches to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Also on Monday, join the CSIS International Security Program at 2:00 p.m. (https://www.csis.org/events/oversight-and-accountability-us-security-sector-assistance-seeking-return-investment?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) for the launch of the report, Oversight and Accountability in U.S. Security Sector Assistance: Seeking Return on Investment.

** Video
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The New Barbarianism (https://www.csis.org/features/new-barbarianism?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) is an original documentary from the CSIS Global Health Policy Center that examines how hospitals and aid centers have become part of the battlefield in today’s wars.

** Sounds
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After a keynote address at CSIS, Russian presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak joined the Russian Roulette podcast to discuss her candidacy, her campaign, and what she hopes to achieve as president.

Listen here on Apple Podcasts (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/russian-roulette/id1112258664?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) or SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/csis-57169780/special-edition-featuring?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) .

** Smiles
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Okay, one more (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e7f-2hBFm8&utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789) from Wilco’s brilliant 1996 album, “Being There.” Some records you just never get tired of listening to.
I invite you to email me at [email-masked] (mailto:[email-masked]) and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz (https://www.twitter.com/handrewschwartz?utm_source=CSIS+All&utm_campaign=6f0b4873aa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f326fc46b6-6f0b4873aa-145367789)

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The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Colm Quinn, Sofie Kodner, and Jackie Ramsay.

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