The Evening: Protective Gear Depleted, Plot Against U.S. Forces, Tangled Up in Blue and More

April 1, 2020

Protective Gear in National Stockpile is Nearly Depleted

The government’s emergency stockpile of respirator masks, gloves and other medical supplies is running low and is nearly exhausted due to the coronavirus outbreak as the Washington Post’s Nick Miroff reports.

And, as the Post reports, the death toll in the United States surpassed 4,000 and it continued to far outstrip other nations with more than 200,000 confirmed infections, about 20 percent of the global total.

Dive Deeper: “Which Covid-19 Future Will We Choose?” by CSIS’s Steve Morrison and Anna Carroll.

Plot Against U.S. Forces

U.S. intelligence out of the Middle East suggests that Iran or Iran-backed forces are planning a potentially serious attack against U.S. military personnel in Iraq, said officials monitoring the information, as the WSJ’s Gordon Lubold and Nancy Youssef report.

Iran Sanctions

As Iran struggles with the coronavirus, a broken economy and a severe shortage of medical equipment, it says that American sanctions are taking Iranian lives and has called for the U.S. to lift them on humanitarian grounds, as the New York Times reports.

On the Horizon

In The End of OPEC or a New Beginning?, the first commentary of our new series, Sarah Ladislaw examines how oil markets face unprecedented headwinds that will reshape oil market geopolitics even beyond the current crisis. Will this bring about the end of OPEC or a new beginning?

CSIS’s “On the Horizon” series offers insights into the more fundamental changes we might anticipate for our future social and economic world as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CSIS Executive Education

We invite you to apply to The Dynamics and Implications of China's Rise, a three-day course on China's domestic and elite politics, its growing international influence, and its economic development trajectory.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

89

Over a two-week period in March, Chinese government agencies, companies and charities donated more than 26 million face masks, 2.3 million testing kits and other supplies to 89 countries.

Source: WSJ

Critical Quote

“This is the most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War.”

— UN Secretary General António Guterres

iDeas Lab

Military outposts like the Tiksi Airbase enhance Russia’s ability to monitor surface and air domains or respond quickly with power project assets across the Arctic region.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

(Photo credit: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images). A pharmacist works while wearing personal protective equipment in the Elmhurst, Queens.

Recommended Reading

There’s a great new website that aids users in navigating the CARES Act and provides clarity to American's who are wondering whether they qualify for government aid and, if so, how much. It’s easy, you just go on the website and it asks you to take a short quiz to determine if you and your family, or your business, are eligible. Great resource!

Video

In an increasingly uncertain world, the analysis of CSIS's International Security Program has consistently been ahead of the game. In part three of this series, CSIS experts Suzanne Spaulding, Seth Jones, and Hijab Shah explain how their prescient research on Russian information. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

On a new episode of the Truth of the Matter, I speak with CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha about South Korea's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the innovative strategies they took to prevent a wider spread of the virus.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

As knowledge on COVID-19 evolves, Coronavirus Crisis Update brings you the latest updates and analysis from CSIS experts and the leaders directing the global response.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

Enough of the quiet, acoustic “live from home” gentle music—even though it’s been great. Let’s rock, it’s cathartic.