The Evening: Domestic Terrorism, Russia Threat, On Your Way Down and More

October 22, 2020

Rise in Domestic Terrorism

White supremacists and other right-wing extremists accounted for two-thirds of domestic terror attacks so far in 2020, but attacks by antifascist and other leftist groups are rising, according to a new report by CSIS, as the WSJ reports.

Dive Deeper: “The War Comes Home: The Evolution of Domestic Terrorism in the United States,” by CSIS’s Seth Jones, Catrina Doxsee, Nick Harrington, Grace Hwang, and James Suber.

Russia Election Threat

While senior Trump administration officials said this week that Iran has been actively interfering in the presidential election, many intelligence officials said they remained far more concerned about Russia, which in recent days has hacked into state and local computer networks in breaches that could allow Moscow broader access to American voting infrastructure, as the NYT reports.

FDA Grants Full Authorization to Gilead’s Remdesivir

The Food and Drug Administration today gave final approval for remdesivir as a treatment for the coronavirus, making the Gilead Sciences drug the first coronavirus therapy to get over the goal line of full marketing approval, as the Washington Post reports.

Climate Check

"For all the talk about 'building back better,' and the focus on climate change in the public discourse, there is little evidence that countries are doing much more today to accelerate the energy transition than they were before the pandemic," writes CSIS's Nikos Tsafos in his analysis of the International Energy Agency's new World Energy Outlook.

CSIS Executive Education

Apply today to Understanding Washington, a virtual course designed to give business leaders, embassy officials, and nonprofit professionals the tools to master Washington’s complex policy ecosystem. Led by top CSIS experts and veteran Washington insiders, participants will hone their ability to engage key players, navigate crises, and assess breaking developments.

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

67%

White supremacists and other like-minded extremists conducted 67 percent of terrorist plots and attacks in the United States in 2020. Anarchist, anti-fascist, and other like-minded attacks and plots comprised 20 percent of terrorist incidents in 2020.

Source: CSIS

Critical Quote

“Equitable access to trusted health information is critical to keeping people safe and informed during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

— Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general on the WHO partnership with Wikipedia

iDeas Lab

Domestic terrorism incidents have not been isolated to specific geographic locations, suggesting that a rise in terrorism would likely be a national problem, not a regional one.

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

Optics

(Photo credit: Francois Mori/Pool/AFP via Getty Images.) Emmanuel Macron pays his respects to French teacher Samuel Paty at Paty's coffin inside the Sorbonne University's courtyard.

Recommended Reading

“The extension of a nuclear treaty between the U.S. and Russia would be a crucial, responsible step,” by George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, and Sam Nunn for the Washington Post.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 8:00 a.m., Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies will host a panel discussion exploring India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the center-state consensus mechanism central to its the implementation.

And then, at 10:00 p.m., join the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development for an event on how the international community can work to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on existing drivers of fragility and conflict through enhanced stabilization efforts.

Later, at 1:00 p.m., the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program hosts the the sixth and final session in its Energy Innovation Series, featuring a keynote from Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette.

Video

CSIS's Economics Program yesterday hosted former treasury secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. for a discussion of the economics of climate change. Watch the event here.

Podcasts

Mike Green is joined by his CSIS colleagues Jude Blanchette, Bonnie Glaser, and Scott Kennedy to discuss their recently launched project, “Mapping the Future of U.S. China Policy.” The discussion centers around the project’s five main takeaways on issues surrounding national security, economics and trade, and human rights.

Listen on Spotify, Google Play, & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“It's high time that you found
The same people you misuse on your way up
You might meet up
On your way down”

It was a blessing to reside in New Orleans while the great Allen Toussaint was alive. His music and influence was everywhere—the Meters, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, the Neville Brothers, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, Irma Thomas, and Patti Labelle to name a few. And then there was the spell he cast on the Band and Little Feat, which was also evident coming from speakers everywhere in the Crescent City.

I turned on my car the other day, plugged in my phone, and suddenly, the stereo came alive with Little Feat’s live version of Toussaint’s “On Your Way Down.” I didn’t select the song and hadn’t heard Feat’s version in forever. I somehow forgot that they covered it, and didn’t recall the version from their seminal live record “Waiting for Columbus” recorded at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium in August 1977.

It may be sacrilegious, but as much as Toussaint’s original with the Meters backing him is immortal, the Little Feat live version is almost as great. Here’s the Feat version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvFVbUOZIpY, and here is Toussaint’s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV-bFdf6yu8.

Either way, the song is as elegant as anything ever written in music and the lyrics are words to live by.