You are on page 1of 4

Follow AEI and AEI Scholars on:

Good afternoon, and welcome to The Rundown. Among the many critiques leveled against President Obama and his administrations approach to Russia, one has been the presidents reticence in touting sanctions quietly leveled in recent weeks. We noticed the bold decision to end licensing for certain dual-use items, in particular the always-lethal horse. Yes, you read it right. Next: the zeppelin. As always, warmest wishes from your friends at The Rundown

Tweet of the Week


Danielle Pletka @dpletka This is what support from the US now means: RT @thehill: US ships 300,000 MREs to #Ukraine military http://trib.al/EhUZ5h5 by @JTSTheHill

In the News
Ukraine
Four hours of talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart failed to break a tense East-West deadlock over how to proceed on the Ukraine crisis, though the two men agreed the situation requires a diplomatic solution. At the moment, our preoccupation is with President Vladimir Putin's next move outside Russia. Will he invade eastern Ukraine? Will he move into Moldova? But even more worrisome than these territorial issues is what Putin may have in mind for Russia itself. The Russian president did not engineer the Ukrainian crisis, but he has exploited it to begin forging something far more dangerous than land grabs: namely, a political arrangement that could secure his rule of Russia for life. Leon Aron writes for the Los Angeles Times, The most important thing of all right now is awareness. The U.S. and its allies must attune themselves to the distinct and highly malignant change in the Russian leadership, which has sharply escalated the danger Russia presents to the world. Putins invasion and annexation of Crimea is just the first step in a dangerous evolution of the Russian regime. In a video interview with The Wall Street Journal on Putins G-7 suspension, Aron explains Putins strategies both domestically and internationally and warns that the West must develop a strategy to deal with the aggressive, nationalistic Russian foreign policy.

ICYMI: Paul Wolfowitz for the AEIdeas blog: An important point is that Russia is clearly in violation of its commitments under the Budapest memorandum and that is something to take very seriously. That is a violation of one of the most important agreements underlying the post-Cold War security structure of Europe. And invoking, as Putin has, his right to intervene on behalf of Russian minorities is still more threatening to European stability. Also on the blog: Marc Thiessen with his take on a Fox News poll finds that a majority of Americans believe that the country is weaker since Barack Obama became president. In Libya, we saw the birth o f the doctrine of Leading from Behind. In Syria we saw the administration threaten unbelievably small military strikes that would be just muscular enough not to be mocked (their words) and then fail to follow through. . . . And now in Ukraine weve seen the Obama administration stand by helplessly while Russia invades and annexes Crimea in the most blatant act of aggression on the European continent since the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968. Dont forget to rewatch John Boltons latest interview with Fox Business' "Lou Dobbs," Michael Rubins with Fox News' "O'Reilly Factor," and Thomas Donnellys with Hearst TV.

Defense
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will travel to the Pacific this week to convene a meeting of defense ministers from Asia against the backdrop of the massive regional response to the loss of the Malaysian jetliner. The US militarys most recent budget request provides even more detail about the consequences of continued automatic spending cuts. Yet the militarys challenges did not start with the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration; they have been underway for years, as the Armed Forces struggle to meet everincreasing global demands and challenges with fewer forces and resources. Read Mackenzie Eaglen for US News and World Report: Military strength gives states diplomatic leverage. It complements and magnifies other aspects of national power to give leaders a toolkit from which they can advance national interests globally. Consequently, it should come as no surprise today that as US combat power declines, so too does Americas diplomatic influence. Where President Jimmy Carter moved to restore the sinews of Americas weakened armed forces, today we adhere to the constraints of a Budget Control Act that is steadily eviscerating a battle-tested professional force. Carter, in the final year of what would prove to be a single term as president, took steps to create new options for future commanders-in-chief. Barack Obama, with three years left, appears resolutely committed to foreclosing American military options. Thomas Donnelly and Gary Schmitt write for National Review Online: This is a moment filled with possibility, one in which America might awake from the befuddlement of the postCold War era and the hangover of Iraq. Alas, President Obama seems more likely to hit the snooze button and go back to sleep. It is up to the other branch of government and the opposition party to do what they can start the process of rearmament when the commander-in-chief will not. Also read Donnellys blog for The Weekly Standard on how Republicans must meet todays foreign policy challenges.

Intelligence

Nearly a year after Edward Snowdens revelations, President Obama announced last Tuesday that his administration will be pushing legislation to curb the National Security Agencys (NSA) bulk collection of phone records. Obama has proposed an alternative to the NSAs bulk data collection process. Counter to the agencys current mass surveillance practices, the new legislation would require that records remain with respective phone providers and be obtained on an as-needed basis only, and only with a court order. Obamas alternative, as explained by Gary Schmitt, barely preceded another proposal offered by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). Gary Schmitt writes for AEIdeas, Both proposals will need to be passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. Given how little bully pulpit President Obama has used to talk about this issue, there are significant doubts that any bill will find a majority at presentmeaning that current program will probably stay in place until perhaps even 2015 when, because of sunset provisions in the Patriot Act, the legal mandate for the bulk collection program will simply expire. You can also hear Schmitts thoughts on the new NSA restrictions in this clip from "PBS NewsHour, which aired Tuesday, March 25.

Asia
Big news this week in Asia: For the first time since both entered office more than a year ago, Japanese leader Shinz Abe and South Korean leader Park Geun-hye met, on the sidelines of a nuclear-security summit in the Netherlands. That this first meeting was so significant reveals how dysfunctional relations are between Tokyo and Seoul these days. And the beneficiary of this state of affairs, of course, is China. In his latest Wall Street Journal editorial, Michael Auslin examines the implications of this meeting and Chinas fomenting of anti-Japanese hatred: Beijing's actions should serve as a major warning sign to those who believe that diplomatic relations between Northeast Asia's largest powers will eventually improve due to the importance of economic relations...Northeast Asia's three great powers deeply distrust, if not hate, each other. They may trade regularly and meet at international summits, but they are more than willing to risk letting nationalist passions trump cooperation. For more on the same, read Auslins blog for Commentary Magazine, The president sees a different reality in Northeast Asia. In India, anticipation is building ahead of the country's general elections. From April 7 to May 12, some 814 million eligible voters will head to the polls to choose representatives for the 543-seat Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament, in what will be the biggest election in India's history. On Thursday, AEI's Sadanand Dhume hosted a Google Hangout discussion with three leading experts from India on who fielded questions on India, its foreign policy, and its civil liberties under Narendra Modi's potential leadership. Also, reread Dhumes latest Foreign Policy piece, Beware the tax man, which sheds light on another variable in the upcoming elections: Arvind Kejriwal, a former tax inspector whose supporters see him as a squeaky-clean outsider who will transcend narrow appeals to caste and community to banish corruption from public life. But his detractors see instead a slippery opportunist less interested in g overning than in grandstanding for the cameras with outlandish protests and florid allegations against top politicians and businessmen.

Europe
Germany is considering offering military support to some eastern European members of the NATO defense alliance in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea, news magazine Der Spiegel reported over the weekend. In his book Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy, from 1453 to the Present (Basic Books, 2013), historian Brendan Simms argues that the struggle for the German heartland shaped the modern world. Today, with the European Union struggling to advance its interests, Germany continues to be an organizing principle in world geopolitics. In his Bradley Lecture on April 7, Simms will explore Berlins role as a decisive player in both the ongoing eurozone crisis and Russian aggression in the former Eastern Bloc. He will also describe the Anglo American model of political union as the model Europe must adopt if it wishes to surmount the grave fiscal and military challenges it faces today.

American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research | 1150 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 P: 202.862.5800 | F: 202.862.7177 | www.aei.org @AEIfdp Questions or comments about what you read? Contact Alex Della Rocchetta at adr@aei.org. If you have trouble reading this message, click here to view it as a web page. If you were forwarded this message, click here to sign up for The Rundown.

You might also like