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The Evening CSIS: Panama Papers, Targeted, ABACAB & More
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Good Evening,

Welcome 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. To subscribe, please send me an email at aschwartz@csis.org (mailto:aschwartz@csis.org) .


** The Panama Papers
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Iceland’s prime minister faced calls for his resignation and a large demonstration today in one of the first repercussions of an enormous leak of documents about offshore shell companies and tax shelters from a secretive Panamanian law firm. The “Panama Papers” have also implicated a range of politicians, celebrities, and sports figures, including close associates of Vladimir Putin, as the New York Times’ Steven Erlanger reports (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/world/europe/panama-papers-leaks-put-iceland-leader-under-pressure-to-quit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0) .

Dive Deeper: CNN’s Jethro Mullen writes on the “7 Things to know (http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/04/world/panama-papers-explainer/) ” about the Panama Papers.

And, Vox’s Tara Golshan today penned “The 8 most important things to read to understand the Panama Papers document leak. (http://www.vox.com/2016/4/4/11360290/panama-papers-findings-document-leak-explained) ”


** Targeted
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A US airstrike targeted a senior al Qaeda leader in northwestern Syria over the weekend, the Pentagon announced today. The object of the attack is known as Abu Firas al-Suri, a spokesman for Jabhat al-Nusra, the al Qaeda affiliate currently fighting in northern Syria. The Pentagon is still assessing whether he was killed, as the Washington Post’s Thomas Gibbons-Neff reports (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/04/04/u-s-strike-targets-syrian-al-qaeda-leader/) .

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman authored a new commentary today, “Syria and Iraq: How Should These Wars End? (http://csis.org/publication/syria-and-iraq-how-should-these-wars-end) ”


** Western Pacific Concerns
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The proliferation of “some very sophisticated weapon systems” in the Western Pacific, primarily by China and Russia, “is starting to change the balance of power” and could make it harder for the US military to exercise its power, a CSIS report warned today.

The best way to respond to that “deteriorating” security situation is for the United States, Australia, and Japan “to integrate our efforts better” and promote greater regional military interoperability, particularly in maritime operations, based on “the shared interests of our countries,” according to CSIS visiting fellow and former Australian national security adviser Andrew Shearer, as Otto Kreisher reports (http://www.seapowermagazine.org/stories/20160404-aussiejapan.html) for Seapower.

Dive Deeper: Shearer’s report, Australia-Japan-U.S. Maritime Cooperation, was released today at CSIS and can be downloaded here (http://csis.org/files/attachments/160404_Shearer_AustJapanUSMaritime.pdf) .

And, CSIS held an event today to discuss the report, which can be viewed On Demand (http://csis.org/event/australia-japan-us-maritime-cooperation) .

Plus, Shearer and CSIS’s Michael J. Green today had an op-ed published in the Australian: “Japan is our best strategic partner for submarines (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/japan-is-our-best-strategic-partner-for-submarines/news-story/0d42eb74127188637db49f2fb3238e49) .”


** Global Diplomacy Index
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A fascinating new interactive tool published by Australia’s Lowy Institute visualizes the diplomatic networks of all G20 and OECD nations (http://www.lowyinstitute.org/global-diplomacy-index/) . This is a must see.


** In that Number
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** 22
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The minimum number of members of the terror cell linked to the Brussels and Paris attacks that are still at large. Source: WSJ (http://graphics.wsj.com/brussels-terror-network/?mod=djem10point) .


** Critical Quote
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** “Russia doesn’t want conflict because it’s trying to increase its influence over both countries. If they can do that through resolving the conflict, then that’s an option, but failing that, the status quo benefits Russia fairly well.”
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—CSIS Russia & Eurasia Program deputy director Jeffrey Mankoff on whether Putin is serious about peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia following an uptick in violence in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Source: CS Monitor (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2016/0402/Is-Putin-serious-about-peace-in-the-Armenia-Azerbaijan-conflict?cmpid=push004s) .


** One to Watch
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(Photo Credit: Twitter.)

Jeremy Bender (@BendedBrains (https://twitter.com/BendedBrains) ) is a military and defense reporter at Business Insider. Jeremy previously served as an editorial fellow at Buzzfeed and was a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Turkey. For the latest defense news, Jeremy is one to watch.


** Optics
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In Jerusalem, the Israeli minister of national infrastructure, energy and water resources, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, and the U.S. secretary of energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz, signed a new energy agreement (http://energy.gov/articles/us-and-israeli-energy-ministers-sign-new-energy-agreement) to further deepen cooperation between the two countries.


** Highly Recommended
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Via Foreign Affairs, “The Myth of the Islamic State (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2016-04-03/myth-islamic-state) ” by Mohammed Ayoob.


** CSIS Tomorrow
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Join us tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. for “Breaking New Ground: Preparing DoD for the Future with Secretary Ash Carter (http://csis.org/event/breaking-new-ground-preparing-dod-future-secretary-ash-carter) .” Register or watch live here (http://csis.org/event/breaking-new-ground-preparing-dod-future-secretary-ash-carter) .

Join us at 10:00 a.m. for “World Energy China Outlook 2016 (http://csis.org/event/world-energy-china-outlook-2016) ,” which will present a Chinese perspective on world energy trends. Register or watch live here (http://csis.org/event/world-energy-china-outlook-2016) .

Also tomorrow, join us at 3:00 p.m. for “American Innovation Roadshow: Panel Discussion (http://csis.org/event/american-innovation-roadshow-panel-discussion) ” featuring Ambassador David Thorne, senior adviser to the secretary of state; Charles H. Rivkin, assistant secretary of state; and Ziad Haider, special representative for commercial and business affairs. Register or watch live here (http://csis.org/event/american-innovation-roadshow-panel-discussion)


** This Town Tomorrow
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Join the Wilson Center tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. for “Latin America in International Politics: Challenging US Hegemony.” Register or watch live here (https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/latin-america-international-politics-challenging-us-hegemony) .


** CSIS on Demand
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Last week CSIS hosted the Washington book launch of The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World by Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad. Watch the event On Demand (https://youtu.be/ZcRBXVY_vd8) .


** Sounds
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The first episode of the Brookings “Intersections” podcast series was released today. Listen to “Confronting the issues: The presidential election (http://www.brookings.edu/research/podcasts/2016/03/confronting-the-issues-the-presidential-election) ,” featuring Brookings scholars Elaine Kamarck and Michael O’Hanlon.


** I Like It Like That
Eye-catching things in CSIS's orbit
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Watching video On Demand is fast becoming part of the daily viewing habits for many people globally. According to Nielsen (http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2016/on-demand-demographics-vod-viewing-across-generations.html) , it cuts across generations too.


** Smiles
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Don’t worry, we’ll come back to Daniel Lanois. But today, let’s talk about another artist/band that changed the way music sounded in the 1980s. No one was bigger in the 80s than Genesis and singer/drummer Phil Collins. No one.

Collins’ voice and Genesis’ 80s sound is unmistakable, infectious and instantly familiar for so many of us. My post-workout smoothie today was rendered much groovier by hearing one of my favorite all-time Genesis tracks that happened to be playing over the loudspeakers in the smoothie shop: “Abacab.”

I hadn’t heard “Abacab” in forever. The song defines the genre known as “modern art rock.” The title refers to the original song structure (parts A-B-A-C-A-B). I’ve never understood what the words were about and never really cared. It was always the groove, the new wave jammy interplay between synthesizers, guitars and drums. And then there is Collins’ incredible voice.

This live version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G6KrQG7fOs&feature=youtu.be) has all of that. It was filmed at London’s Wembley Stadium in the summer of 1987. Such a smile.


** Feedback
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I always welcome and benefit from your feedback. Please drop me a line at aschwartz@csis.org.


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