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The RundownNews and analysis from AEI's Foreign and Defense Policy team. |
Scholar Insight |
Last week, Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa visited Washington and became the first Syrian head of state since 1946 to visit the White House.
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“If appearances are any guide, the ‘attractive’ Syrian president and ex-member of al Qaeda Ahmad al Sharaa had a great visit to Washington. However, amid concerns about the role of terrorists in the new Syrian army, and the rights of Syrian minorities under the new government, Sharaa failed at job number one—persuading Congress to fully repeal the so-called |
Caesar sanctions on Syria. Still, it’s early days for the nominally reformed terrorist, and many hope that Sharaa will be the leader that will finally bring Syria back into the community of civilized nations.”
If Sharaa pursues further reforms, will Congress bite at lifting sanctions? Would sanctions relief open the door to deeper regional cooperation?
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South Korea can help revitalize American shipbuilding at home and increase @USNavy readiness forward. The benefits far outweigh the risks. Let’s seize this opportunity with urgency, imagination, and ambition! |
Special Feature |
Article Brian Carter and Kelly Campa | Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute Syrian transitional president Ahmed al Sharaa and his political allies are building a new Syrian army. Brian Carter and Kelly Campa argue that the establishment of a professional army that both responds to civil control and protects the entire Syrian people will be necessary to ensure long-term stability. Sharaa must integrate competing armed groups into his army, professionalize forces, and ensure their readiness and capability in the short term. Failure in even one of these challenges risks destabilizing the country, which would undermine long-term stability in Syria. US decision-makers should evaluate Syria’s direction in large part by how Sharaa integrates Syria’s postwar armed factions and the extent to which he invests in meaningful efforts to professionalize the new army. |
US Foreign and Defense Policy |
In the News |
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President Trump said the US might hold discussions with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro amid its campaign against Venezuelan drug traffickers. |
Op-Ed Michael Rubin | Washington Examiner The fall of the US Agency for International Development resulted in the slashing of democracy promotion funds and programs. Michael Rubin argues that US national security could soon be threatened by a lack of focus on democracy promotion; in Bangladesh, the Islamic coalition that ousted the democratically elected government has begun releasing radical Islamists and even terrorist group members from prison. In Turkey, the US has turned a blind eye to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s election fraud and arrest of opponents. The antidemocratic tendencies do not stop there: From Albania to Africa, dark clouds have gathered on the horizon for democracy. Despite taxpayer savings now, there will be billions of dollars in repercussions later. |
Op-Ed Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari | War on the Rocks In his acquisition transformation rollout, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Pentagon to improve budget flexibility. Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari argue that to do so, the Pentagon should collapse program elements into mission portfolios so money can follow midyear technological shifts. To assuage appropriators’ concerns about unmanageable flexibility, it should propose a tiered reprogramming model that ties percentage-based limits to portfolio size. Similarly, it should shift accountability from process compliance to outcome performance to demonstrate that flexibility delivers results. It must also build a workforce that manages risk dynamically rather than bureaucratically and work with Congress to define appropriate transparency and reporting mechanisms. If Hegseth can align accountability with agility, the Pentagon’s machinery will be ready to meet modern conflict. |
Asia |
In the News |
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China-Japan tensions soared after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that a Chinese blockade or invasion of Taiwan could compel a Japanese military response. |
Op-Ed Nicholas Eberstadt | Commentary Today’s human rights situation in North Korea is devastating. Nicholas Eberstadt explains that nonetheless, left partisans in South Korea maintain doctrinally that there can be no violations of human rights under socialism in Korea, so they simply ignore egregious abuses in the North. Paradoxically, while the left despises the idea of fighting for North Korean human rights, the dictatorship in the North positively fears it. Moreover, because of their complacency, internalized defenses that should guard the South’s own rights are only half built. In standing up for North Koreans’ human rights, South Koreans have the chance to save their own. |
Blog Post Some in Washington are now arguing that the US should continue chip sales to China to avoid empowering Huawei to develop competitive alternatives. Ryan Fedasiuk argues that China’s chip ambitions predate US export controls by decades, and US export controls injected brutal friction at an inopportune moment for China’s technology industry. The real choice is not between selling to China or watching Huawei dominate global markets. When the time does come to export, Huawei will face the same capacity limits and strategic choices that confront the US today. It will first saturate the domestic Chinese market before moving abroad. And as it does, the US should let China struggle to meet its own inference demand—not ease the pressure by shipping them American chips. |
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