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Fast Thinking

Dec 2, 2020

FAST THINKING: Iran sends a message

By Atlantic Council

Now we know how Iran will respond to the assassination of its top nuclear scientist: with an ultimatum to the Biden administration. Tehran enacted a law today to immediately ramp up uranium enrichment—and to expel international nuclear inspectors if US sanctions aren’t lifted by early February, right after Joe Biden takes office. What does the move mean?

Elections Iran

Fast Thinking

Dec 2, 2020

FAST THINKING: NATO’s 138-point plan for survival

By Atlantic Council

This week’s summit of NATO foreign ministers featured the release of an internal report on what it can do to stay relevant over the next decade. The study comes as the Alliance aims to recover from the drift of the Trump era and grapple with new challenges from Russia and China.

Elections International Organizations

Fast Thinking

Nov 30, 2020

FAST THINKING: A speed read on Team Bidenomics

By Atlantic Council

Joe Biden has selected a slate of economic advisers that just might please his party while also (mostly) surviving confirmation in a potentially Republican-controlled Senate.

Economy & Business Elections

Fast Thinking

Nov 24, 2020

Can Janet Yellen fix the COVID economy?

By Josh Lipsky and Julia Friedlander

If confirmed by the Senate, President-elect Biden’s nominee Janet Yellen will make history as the first female Treasury Secretary. That couldn’t come at a more opportune time, according to Josh Lipsky and Julia Friedlander. But Yellen faces an uphill battle at home and abroad as a sustained economic crisis looms large. Josh points out that […]

Fast Thinking

Nov 24, 2020

FAST THINKING: John Kerry, America’s first climate czar

By Atlantic Council

It’s one thing to say you take the threat of climate change seriously. It’s another to create a new cabinet-level post for a “climate envoy,” give it to John Kerry, and save him a seat on your National Security Council. That’s the plan Joe Biden laid out this week. What difference will it make?

Climate Change & Climate Action Elections

Fast Thinking

Nov 23, 2020

FAST THINKING: Meet the picks for Biden’s national security team

By Atlantic Council

Joe Biden’s selections for his incoming national security team are coming in fast. But what’s the bigger picture that’s coming into focus?

Elections Intelligence

Fast Thinking

Nov 23, 2020

FAST THINKING: It’s Yellen for Treasury

By Atlantic Council

Janet Yellen could face an economy devastated by the coronavirus and the haphazard response to it in Washington. Josh Lipsky provides insight into how she might manage a difficult recovery.

Elections Financial Regulation

Fast Thinking

Nov 23, 2020

FAST THINKING: How Tony Blinken sees America

By Atlantic Council

Joe Biden is reportedly about to make his first major foreign-policy move by announcing that he’ll nominate Tony Blinken, his longtime advisor and a veteran of the Clinton and Obama administrations, as secretary of state. To answer the big questions about who Blinken is and how he might serve in the role, we turned to Dan Fried, a former US ambassador who spent forty years in the foreign service and has known Blinken for decades.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

Fast Thinking

Nov 20, 2020

Can Joe Biden really revive the Iran nuclear deal?

By Barbara Slavin, Matthew Kroenig

Is the JCPOA DOA? On this episode of Fast Thinking, Barbara Slavin and Matthew Kroenig share their thoughts on whether the Biden administration will try to revive the controversial 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. But will Tehran even play ball? Barbara and Matt agree that there is a future for the deal, and with continued […]

Fast Thinking

Nov 20, 2020

FAST THINKING: Get up to speed on the crisis in Ethiopia

By Atlantic Council

A fast-developing crisis in Ethiopia has the crucial US ally edging closer to all-out war, just two years after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office promising democratic reforms and a year after he won the Nobel Peace Prize. So what happened? Today we’re turning to Cameron Hudson, an expert on the region and former US diplomat and intelligence officer, for a look behind the headlines.

Africa Conflict
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