June 24, 2020
COVID-19 Is Here to Stay; Alliances & Leadership: America Is Slipping; Travel & Borders; Global Election Watch; India in the Hot Seat; Putin's Russia; Will Tensions Go Nuclear?; and Living in History
Quotes of the Week
“ Testing is a double-edged sword. When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases, so I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’”

-- President Donald Trump, at the Tulsa rally on Saturday during a speech discussing COVID-19 testing in the U.S.

" It was a comment that he made in jest."
-- Kayleigh McEnany, White House Press Secretary, in a press conference on Monday to address President Trump's COVID-19 testing slowdown comments.

“ I don’t kid. Let me just tell you. Let me make it clear."
-- President Donald Trump, in a comment to reporters on Tuesday when asked if his Tulsa remarks about COVID-19 testing were intended as a joke.
COVID-19 Is Here to Stay
“ Why the Coronavirus Is Winning” David Leonhardt -- New York Times, June 24, 2020 


" Inside a Mass COVID-19 Testing Site in Beijing" David Culver -- CNN, June 24, 2020

" The Pandemic's Worst-Case Scenario Is Unfolding in Brazil" Julia Leite; Simone Iglesias; Martha Beck; Ethan Bronner -- Bloomberg, June 24, 2020
 
Alliances & Leadership: America Is Slipping
“ How America Can Maintain Its Alliances Even During the Coronavirus Pandemic” Ryan Ashley and Abby Bard -- The National Interest, June 23, 2020 

“ Ending America’s Grand Strategic Failures” Anthony Cordesman -- Center for Strategic and International Studies, June 22, 2020  

“ The Sorry State of Germany’s Armed Forces” Rajan Menon -- Foreign Policy, June 18, 2020 
 
“ Why Trump’s Plan to Withdraw Troops Has Dismayed Germany” Jenny Hill -- BBC, June 17, 2020 
 
“ The Death of Cosmopolitanism” Rachel Donadio -- The Atlantic, June 23, 2020 
Travel & Borders
“ EU May Bar American Travelers as It Reopens Borders, Citing Failures on Virus” Matina Stevis-Gridneff -- New York Times, June 23, 2020 

“ It’s Been Four Years Since the Brexit Vote: Everything and Nothing Has Changed” Anand Menon -- The Guardian, June 23, 2020 
Global Election Watch
“ Singapore Election Comes With Extra Drama: 7 Things to Know” Dylan Loh -- Nikkei Asian Review, June 24, 2020 

“ Duda’s Unnecessary Gamble” Adam Twardowski and Carisa Nietsche -- RealClear World, June 24, 2020 
 
“ China Must Be Pulling for Four More Years of Trump” Mark Gongloff -- Bloomberg, June 23, 2020 
India in the Hot Seat
“ Worsening China-India Clash Would Be Bad Move for Both Economies” William Pesek -- Nikkei Asian Review, June 22, 2020 

“ China Is Losing India” Tanvi Madan -- Foreign Affairs, June 22, 2020 

“ India Is Paying the Price for Neglecting Neighbors” Sumit Ganguly -- Foreign Policy, June 23, 2020 
 
“ India Picks a Side in the New Cold War” Gideon Rachman -- Financial Times, June 23, 2020 
Putin's Russia

“ Putin’s New History of Europe and the Rehabilitation of Stalin” George Friedman -- Geopolitical Futures, June 23, 2020 

“ Putin’s Rating Is Collapsing as Anger Grows in Russia” Roman Dobrokhotov -- Al Jazeera, June 17, 2020 
 
“ Putin’s Majority 3.0” Andrei Kolesnikov -- The Moscow Times, June 22, 2020 
Will Tensions Go Nuclear?
“ Russia’s New Nuclear Doctrine: Don’t Mess With Us - But Let’s Talk” Richard Weitz -- World Politics Review, June 22, 2020 

“ Tipping the Nuclear Dominoes” Conn Hallinan -- Foreign Policy in Focus, June 17, 2020 
 
“ Reviving Revolutionaries: How Trump’s Maximum Pressure Is Shifting Iran’s Domestic Politics” Ellie Geranmayeh -- European Council on Foreign Relations, June 23, 2020 
Living in History
“ Things Were Going to Be So Much Better” Shadi Hamid -- The Atlantic, June 22, 2020