|
|
Seoul and Washington: Far from United on North Korea
|
|
|
The Winter
Olympics open today in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the government
hopes to use the Games to achieve diplomatic progress. But shortly
thereafter, Seoul and Washington will engage in annual military exercises
likely to infuriate North Korea.
Tim
Willasey-Wilsey, a former senior British diplomat, says the South
Korean government isnt’ exactly in lock-step with Washington on the North
Korean crisis:
- “It
is reasonable to suppose that they will hope to make sufficient
diplomatic progress during the Games themselves to persuade
Washington to further delay the exercises or even to scale them back
to desk-top level. For Seoul, there will be a difficult balance to
strike: to avoid damaging the progress with North Korea while not
leading Washington to conclude that their ally is unreliable.”
- “The
truth is that the government of President Moon Jae-in is fundamentally out of
sympathy with the present U.S. administration…[Moon’s advisors] are
genuinely convinced that inter-Korean relations are the solution to
the current crisis.”
|
|
|
Is America’s Balancing Act in the Gulf Sustainable?
|
|
|
Photo:
Getty Images
As the ongoing
dispute between Qatar and Arab countries enters its eighth month,
the U.S. has been forced to strike a delicate balance in its dealings
with critical allies in the Middle East.
- The
volatility triggered by this divide has paved the way for Iran to expand its subversive
regional activity without encountering resistance posed by a unified
Gulf Cooperation Council.
- The
U.S. appears to have taken a neutral position, but increasingly risks
jeopardizing ties to both sides as Iran continues to build momentum
in its quest to form a Shia crescent spanning the Middle East.
Furthermore, the dispute has required Washington to prioritize
cooperating with and appeasing allies on both sides instead of
focusing on resolving other pressing conflicts in Syria, Yemen,
Libya and throughout the region.
Read the full brief,
with expert commentary by:
- Norm Roule, former National
Intelligence Manager for Iran, ODNI
- Gary Grappo, former
U.S. Ambassador to Oman
|
|
|
Winnefeld on US Clash with Syrian Forces
|
|
|
Earlier this week,
the U.S. coalition says it killed an estimated 100 pro-Assad regime
fighters in Syria in defense of its own troops. It’s the largest
clash reported to date between U.S.-backed forces and pro-regime forces
in Syria.
Here’s what
happened, according to public statements given by actors
involved:
- About
500 pro-regime troops “initiated an unprovoked attack” against a Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) headquarters, where U.S. coalition advisors
were working with the U.S.-backed fighters, according to statement
from U.S. Central Command.
- The
exchange took place 5 miles east of the established
Euphrates River de-confliction line, where the pro-regime forces had
advanced “likely to seize oilfields in Khusham,” a U.S. official
told Reuters.
- Coalition
and Russian officials were “in regular communication…before, during and after”
the assault, the same official said. Russian officials assured the
Coalition they would not engage coalition forces in the vicinity.
Is it that simple? What does
“self-defense” mean in this instance? And what about Russian contractors
that were spotted in the area?
We asked retired
Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, former Vice Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, for his take on the incident.
- “It
is easier for Russia to deny involvement in an action, particularly
if there is collateral damage or human rights are violated, when it
uses contractors who do not wear Russian military uniforms. It also
lowers (in only a very small way) the likelihood of a confrontation
with the U.S. if these forces come into contact.”
|
|
|
Your Weekly Intelligence Gossip
|
|
|
Every week, we
pull together a collection of weird and interesting stories just for
you!
A highlight from this week’s Dead Drop:
- The
Intelligence Game: Back
in 1985, the creator of “NFL Challenge,” one of the first sports
simulation games for computers, wrote to the Director of Central
Intelligence William Casey, proposing creating a computer simulation
game for training intelligence analysts. According to the folks at
Muckrock.com, the head of CIA Public Affairs (name redacted in the
declassified document) returned a sample program with a note saying,
“There is no interest for such software at this time.”
|
|
|
