Quick Hits

Quick Hits

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Quick Hits
  • Smart in 60 Seconds: Has the Iran-Israel conflict entered a new phase?

    While the latest round of hostilities between Iran and Israel, culminating in Iran’s April 14th attack, have gone quiet, the latest escalation may point to a new status quo.

    Raz Zimmt, a researcher at Tel Aviv University, writes that while both countries have avoided a full-fledged military con...

  • Julianne Smith: Expect ‘bridge’ to NATO membership for Ukraine at DC summit

    "What I am expecting allies to do is to construct a bridge to membership by offering Ukraine a deliverable that will enable them to become even closer to this alliance," said US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith.

    She said she expects Ukraine to become a member of the NATO alliance, but she doe...

  • What the TikTok ban means for US users

    While the US passed legislation that will ban or force of sale of TikTok by the app’s China-based parent company ByteDance, questions remain about legal challenges, a forced sale, and enforcement of a potential ban.

    Kenton Thibaut, a Senior Resident Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Digital Fo...

  • Smart in 60 Seconds: US aid brings Ukraine new hope

    With the approval of a long-awaited, $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, the US is renewing its critical commitment to supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression after months of political deadlock.

    Peter Dickinson, editor of the Atlantic Council’s Ukraine Alert writes that “For many...

  • How Jordan and Saudia Arabia were impacted by Iran's strikes on Israel

    Jonathan Panikoff explains the regional implications for Iran's weekend strikes on Israel, with a focus on how Jordan and Saudi Arabia have reacted to the unprecedented strikes.

    ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 4/18/24

  • Hung Tran's takeaways from the start of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings

    Hung Tran, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and the former Deputy Director of the IMF, reacts to the first day of the IMF’s 2024 Spring Meetings.

    Watch more from the 2024 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the link below.

    https://www.atlanticcoun...

  • Why did Iran strike Israel, and how should Israel and the US respond?

    Over the weekend, Iran unleashed a large-scale attack on Israel using drones and missiles—the first time Iran has directly attacked Israel. The two countries have long been engaged in a “shadow war,” with Iran using its proxies and Israel undertaking targeted assassinations. Most recently, an Isr...

  • What to expect from the 2024 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings

    WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE 2024 IMF-WORLD BANK SPRING MEETINGS - Finance ministers and central bank governors from over 180 countries will converge on Washington, DC, next week for the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.

    Josh Lipsky breaks down key issues on the agenda and what to expect.

    ORIGINAL AI...

  • Decoding the UN Charter: Legal grounds for striking targets in Russia

    Debra Cagan, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, highlights the legal framework of Article 51 of the UN Charter, asserting Ukraine's legitimate right to strike targets within Russian territory that pose a threat of warfare.

    "Under Article 51 of the UN Charter...Ukraine has a...

  • Smart in 60 Seconds: Why 2024 is a big year for African democracy

    With 19 elections across the continent this year, Africa is in the midst of transitions that will alter democracy, and a widespread “democratic fatigue”, for years to come.

    Rama Yade, Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, writes that “By the end of 2024, the face of political...

  • How to use lessons from Ukraine to deter Chinese aggression in Taiwan

    "In retrospect, we probably should not have focused less on the sanctions, it's critical, but a little bit more on the military resilience for Ukraine and supporting Ukraine," says Peter Harrell, nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the former senior director f...

  • Smart in 60 Seconds: How Hamas funds its terror operations

    While Hamas has been hit with sanctions from the US, EU and G7 countries, the organization continues to manage an investment portfolio worth at least $500 million dollars, partly due to the lack of a terrorism designation for the group by the UN and partners in the Arab World.

    Read the full ana...

  • Estonian Foreign Minister on the importance of NATO

    Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia are celebrating their 20th Anniversary in NATO today.

    Watch Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna explain the importance of this milestone and priorities for the Alliance ahead of the Washington Summit this summer.

  • US SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Laura Richardson on the crisis in Haiti

    US SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Laura Richardson on the crisis in Haiti

    "We're seeing a lot of challenges in Haiti," says General Laura Richardson, commander of US Southern Command while speaking at an #ACFrontPage event at the @AtlanticCouncilUS headquarters in Washington, DC moderated by POLITICO's...

  • Smart in 60 Seconds: Investing in women is crucial for prosperity

    The world is experiencing more conflict than any time since World War II.

    Female freedom and workforce participation are critical for security as well as economic prosperity, and as Nicole Goldin with the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center writes, "Gender inclusion cannot be an afterthought....

  • For better or worse, Chinese electric cars are coming to the US

    Chinese battery electric vehicles, or BEVs are yet to hit the US market due to tariffs, but they likely will soon, and US officials are worried about the security implications.

    Joseph Webster, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, writes that the cars pose complicated ...

  • Smart in 60 Seconds: Violence is escalating between Israel and Lebanon

    Since the the Hamas attacks on October 7, Lebanon-based Hezbollah and the IDF have engaged in tit-for-tat missile and drone strokes, and the attacks are escalating.

    Hezbollah is refusing to negotiate until the War in Gaza ends, and more than 80,000 residents of northern Israel have evacuated an...

  • Chad's PM: "we expect support from an old democracy like the United States"

    "The United States and Chad have common values with many African countries, including the values of democracy," said Chad's newly-elected Prime Minister Succès Masra during his first visit to the United States in that role.

    He was speaking to Rama Yade, Senior Director of the Atlantic Council's ...

  • Polish foreign minister: Helping Ukraine is a...good deed. It’s also a good deal

    “American investment in Ukraine’s capacity to defend itself is a literal proof that by helping others, you help yourself,” says Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radosław Sikorski.

    In a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, he appealed to the United States to give Ukraine the su...

  • Smart in 60 Seconds: Drones are defining the war in Ukraine

    Ukraine has bet big on drones, and the gamble has paid off, coming to define the conflict. Now, as the war enters its third year, the improvised tactic is quickly hardening into doctrine.

    Mykola Bielieskov writes for the Atlantic Council's Ukraine Alert, "the ubiquity of drones in Ukraine is le...

  • Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins on being a role model for Black leaders in government

    “I’m hoping that I can be a role model for people I know [and] people I don’t know who can also aspire to be in leadership roles in government,” says Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security at the US Department of State.

    She was speaking at an Atlanti...

  • Smart in 60 Seconds: Why foreign investors in China are jumping ship

    China's stock market downturn is the latest in a series of economic blunders that have led to a mass exodus of foreign investors.

    On top of a real estate crisis, a decline in manufacturing, and sanctions on state-owned companies by Western governments, Jeremy Mark, a Nonresident Senior Fellow w...

  • Ukraine's vast potential to diversify critical raw materials, low-carbon energy

    Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal, sees Ukraine's potential in critical raw materials and low-carbon energy.

    "Ukraine has... what we need, and what we've been obtaining from Russia," he said.

    During an #ACFrontPage conversation wit...

  • Smart in 60 Seconds: Who's next to lead Indonesia?

    Indonesians will go to the polls on February 14, with three high-profile candidates vying to be the country's next president. Joko Widodo is leaving office after 10 years, and with more than 200 million eligible voters, the race to succeed him is complicated affair.

    Read the full analysis by Pa...