Chris Meserole - Mentions and Appearances
The White House and intelligence community don’t see eye to eye on the threat Putin poses, particularly in cyberspace, so the leaks are designed to tie Trump’s hands while also communicating to the Kremlin that Russia is even more vulnerable to cyber attacks than we are.
Xi’s regime views the internet as a tool for surveillance and suppression as much as communication.
The government needs to pay close attention to the technology’s effects on society as it is adopted in areas such as finance, education, law enforcement, and moderating online speech… [American leadership in artificial intelligence is built on diverse talent made up of] a small pool of folks, maybe ten to twenty thousand people, and a lot of those are foreign-born Americans. We’re going to need a sensible immigration policy to maintain our lead in AI.
The thing about peace plans is that they’re supposed to be about peace. Kushner‘s plan has yet to be revealed in full, but so far it appears to be more about inflaming tensions than reducing them. The plan will need buy-in from Israel’s neighbors to succeed. But if it hinges on depriving Palestinians outside of Israel of their refugee status, as has been rumored, it’s hard to see how it ever gets support outside of Jerusalem
Civil society plays a vital role in countering terrorism, particularly in societies where there are acute sectarian cleavages. In Bahrain, the more the Shia community can rely on civil society organisations to address its needs and policy challenges, the less daylight Iran will have to mobilise the Shia population instead.
If all that’s alleged [regarding Khashoggi] is true, WeWork will be in bed with a regime that has expressed brazen disregard for virtually any norm of international politics. They should tread carefully before accepting a majority stake from a fund that’s in effect a Saudi investment vehicle.
[On Alex Jones' banning from Facebook and Youtube] It’s interesting they finally pulled the trigger. I think the biggest point of vulnerability on social media platforms is anti-competitive behavior. To me, it always seemed this is the way it would play out is for folks who disagree with the way the tech platforms are targeting the alt-right in particular or folks like Alex Jones. The leverage they have to get back on them is on they’re effectively a monopoly in control of online communication.
Power abhors a vacuum, and in the absence of strong U.S. leadership on Syria, Russia and Iran have been more than happy to move in. It's a measure of just how much they've come to dominate the conflict that they'll be the only major foreign powers at the summit. The White House has largely washed its hands of Syria. But with Iran entrenched in Damascus, and the Islamic State biding its time in the far countryside, it's likely only a matter of time before our hands are dirtied again. When that happens we'll likely look at these negotiations as a lost opportunity.
The main takeaway from Facebook's announcement is not just that Russia-style meddling is exportable, but that it's inevitable. If Moscow authored the playbook, Tehran read it word for word, and they won't be the only country to do so. Spreading disinformation on Facebook is so easy and effective that we need to assume every foreign adversary will now do it.
Sanctions relief may not have lifted the Iranian economy as a whole, but it has lifted the fortunes of Iranian elites. Zarif may frame sanctions in terms of the harm it’s doing to Iran overall, but he’s really concerned about the checkbooks of the political, financial and military elite that the regime in Tehran depends on for support and legitimacy.