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The Evening CSIS: India Iran, China Space Base, It’s Alright Ma’ & 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) .


** India Iran
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US senators questioned today whether India's development of a port in southern Iran for trade access risked violating international sanctions, and a senior State Department official assured them the administration would closely examine the project. Jason Thomson of the Christian Science Monitor reports (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2016/0524/How-significant-is-India-s-500-million-deal-with-Iran) on the significance of the deal.

Dive Deeper: In a new commentary (https://www.csis.org/analysis/modi%E2%80%99s-first-24-international-perspective-economic-reform) , CSIS’s Rick Rossow writes that from the perspective of the international business community, there is a stark contrast between the Indian government’s extremely proactive measures to increase the scope for foreign investment and its simultaneous lack of interest in deepening India’s interconnectedness on trade.


** China’s Space Base in Argentina
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A space tracking, telemetry, and command facility operated by a unit of China’s People’s Liberation Army is nearing completion at a site in Patagonia, Argentina. The new base, the first of its kind outside of China, includes steerable parabolic antennas 13.5 and 35 meters in diameter, computer & engineering facilities, lodgings for technical staff, and a $10 million electric power plant. Chinese and Argentine officials announced in late April 2016 that the station will become operational in March 2017, as the Diplomat’s Victor Robert Lee today reports (http://thediplomat.com/2016/05/china-builds-space-monitoring-base-in-the-americas/) .

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Scott Kennedy and Chris Johnson published a new report this week, Perfecting China, Inc. (https://www.csis.org/analysis/perfecting-china-inc) , which examines China’s 13th Five-Year Plan.

CSIS’s Bonnie Glaser and the iDeas Lab recently launched "ChinaPower (http://chinapower.csis.org/) ," an immersive micro-website that provides users with interactive tools and analysis to compare Chinese power with that of other countries.

Plus, the Asia Society’s China File (http://www.chinafile.com/) is a smart online magazine that seeks to foster an informed, nuanced, and vibrant public conversation about China and its place in the world.


** Dimming Hopes
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The US killing of Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour marks a significant shift for President Barack Obama, highlighting a new willingness to target the group's leaders in Pakistan and risk retaliatory attacks against struggling Afghan security forces. The move also shows that Obama has—at least for now—abandoned hopes of bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table for peace talks, as the AFP today reports (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3607394/Strike-Taliban-chief-shows-dimming-US-hopes-Afghan-peace.html) .

Dive Deeper: CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman yesterday published a new commentary: Afghanistan: Deciding the Future of the Not Quite “Forgotten War” (https://www.csis.org/analysis/afghanistan-deciding-future-not-quite-%E2%80%9Cforgotten-war%E2%80%9D) .”

And Brookings’ Michael O’Hanlon yesterday published a new commentary: “Don’t hold back on fighting the Taliban (http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/order-from-chaos/posts/2016/05/23-fighting-taliban-afghanistan-ohanlon) .”

Plus, the Atlantic Council’s Ashish Kumar Sen yesterday published a commentary: “Taliban Leader’s Death Put’s Pakistan on Notice (http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/taliban-leader-s-death-puts-pakistan-on-notice) .”


** In that Number
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** 19
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The number of Islamic organizations that Kosovo authorities have shut down after a two-year investigation. Source: “How Kosovo Was Turned Into Fertile Ground for ISIS (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/world/europe/how-the-saudis-turned-kosovo-into-fertile-ground-for-isis.html?_r=0) ,” in the New York Times.


** Critical Quote
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** “The truth of the matter is we haven’t put anything behind us. The legacy a president can leave another president is never binding, and particularly in international affairs it’s always a more than one-person game.”
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—CSIS’s Anthony H. Cordesman on President Obama’s diplomatic moves with Vietnam, Iran, Cuba, and Myanmar. Source: AP (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/626559e89cb74711babac8e32bc85837/final-drive-obama-seeks-better-relations-us-foes) .


** One to Watch
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Robert D. Lamb is a nonresident senior associate of the International Security Program at CSIS and a visiting research professor at the US Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute. Dr. Lamb has developed a new platform called “American Town Hall,” a social experiment designed to find out where we Americans agree with each other on important public policy problems. See it first here (https://usatownhall.ethelodecisions.com/projects/5726b8e570726f7263080000/vote/project/login/welcome) .

Optics

(Photo credit: SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP/Getty Images.)
Solidarity groups hold a sign reading “Europe doesn’t care if you suffer” during a protest against the forced evacuation of migrants and refugees from a makeshift camp close to the Greece-Macedonia border, near the village of Idomeni today.


** Highly Recommended
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Michael Gerson writes in today’s Washington Post that the new CSIS original documentary, “Ebola in America: Epidemic of Fear,” is “excellent.” You can watch the CSIS Original here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74IiXfa1J1w&feature=youtu.be) .


** CSIS Today
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CSIS’s America’s Program hosted “Press Freedom in the Americas (http://csis.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaac&id=6694cd65fb&e=d556e146bd) ,” with Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron.

CSIS’s Strategic Technologies Program hosted “Cybersecurity After Information Sharing,” (http://csis.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaac&id=1f10420eba&e=d556e146bd) featuring Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.

CSIS’s Russia and Eurasia Program held a discussion on “Russian Higher Education: Trends and Prospects in the Shadow of Economic Crisis (http://csis.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaac&id=3470275757&e=d556e146bd) .”

And CSIS’s Energy and National Security Program hosted “Energy in China: Market Dynamics and Policy Development (http://csis.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=833ec271d60c6750d9c3baaac&id=2e5b72ef67&e=d556e146bd) .”


** This Town Tomorrow
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Join CFR tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. for “War by Other Means: Geoeconomics and Statecraft (http://www.cfr.org/diplomacy-and-statecraft/war-other-means-geoeconomics-statecraft/p37876) ,” a book launch with authors Robert Blackwill and Jennifer Harris.


** CSIS on Demand
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Last week, CSIS’s Simon Chair in Political Economy hosted “G7 Ise-Shima Summit: What’s at Stake? (https://youtu.be/2tp-24f3J-M) ” Watch it On Demand for background ahead of the G7 Summit.


** Sounds
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CSIS’s Gregory Poling joined the Diane Rehm Show (https://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-05-24/the-u-s-expands-ties-to-vietnam) today to discuss US-Vietnam relations.

CSIS’s Russia and Eurasia Program released a new episode of the Russian Roulette podcast today, listen to “Moscow in Spring (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/russian-roulette/id1112258664?mt=2) .”


** I Like It Like That
Eye-catching things in CSIS's orbit
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This world population history map (http://worldpopulationhistory.org/) with data visualization is just superb.


** Smiles
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“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.”

John Lennon said that. American author and essayist Chuck Klosterman argues that this is true in his new book “But What if We’re Wrong?” to be published in June.

I disagree. No disrespect to Chuck. I love Chuck Berry. The first song I ever played my first born son was “Johnny B. Goode.” My son was only a couple of weeks old and I wanted to begin his musical education the right way. I rocked him so hard in that easy chair that he spit up—I guess I did something right?

But while we don’t really know where rock and roll begins (was it Chuck, Little Richard, Elvis?), we know where it ends.

There won’t ever be anyone more important in rock and roll music than Bob Dylan.

Dylan turned 75 today. He has no equal. Dylan said that about Jerry Garcia when Jerry passed away. He was right about old Jerry of course. It’s not even worth debating if Dylan himself has any equal. And when Dylan is gone someday, we won’t debate it. 300 years from now, no one will debate it.

Is there anyone, will there ever be anyone, who can rock as hard as Dylan does, as this stark performance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYajHZ4QUVM) underscores?

So Happy Birthday Bobby. Your latest record “Fallen Angels” which just came out last week is a smile. So is the summer tour with Mavis Staples that you’ve just announced.


** 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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