| This week's curated content continues to highlight the very best grand strategy analysis available on big topics such as China, the implications of the 2020 presidential election, troop withdrawals, the latest geopolitical hotspots, and much more. To kick off our China coverage, we recommend the ever-perceptive Bonnie Kristian, who encourages policy makers to think of the rise of China not as a zero sum game, but rather as a reality whose downsides we can deal with without adopting a full-blown militaristic posture. Kristian has another piece at The Hill arguing for the efficacy of a diplomatic approach with respect to China. Of course, advocating a diplomatic approach does not obviate the necessity of strength and deterrence. On this front, we recommend Alex Moore's piece on deterring China via a new START agreement. Both China policy and grand strategy generally will depend in large part on the outcome of the 2020 election. Accordingly, we have taken care to curate material that offers some perspective on the different candidates' positions on important matters related to grand strategy. Daniel DePetris has two pieces that offer perspective on Joe Biden's possible outlook: one on how his position on Afghanistan troops may have evolved, and another that looks at Biden's position on Syria. Joe Cirincione's piece gives advice to Biden on dealing with Iran. Finally, Alex Ward from Vox offers a dose of sobriety making the case that both Biden and Trump are in fact less anti-war than they present themselves to be. Essential Reading Mark Hannah, Caroline Gray, Eurasia Group Foundation Bottom Line: In a survey of Americans on foreign policy issues, respondents favor a less militaristic foreign policy and increased foreign diplomatic engagement. These positions are ... In the News Joe Cirincione, Responsible Statecraft Bonnie Kristian, Business Insider Alex Moore, Defense One Bonnie Kristian, The Hill William J. Burns and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Foreign Affairs Priyanka Motaparthy, Responsible Statecraft Stephen Wertheim, New Statesman Daniel DePetris, National Interest Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy Daniel Davis, Responsible Statecraft Danny Sjursen, Antiwar.com Michael Hall, National Interest Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, Responsible Statecraft Daniel Larison, American Conservative Ted Galen Carpenter, Responsible Statecraft The Red Line The US has now been at war in Afghanistan for almost 20 years, and three administrations have all failed to find a solution to this war. Now the clock is ticking, with the Taliban gaining more and more ground every day, and the US risks a second "Rout from Saigon". So the US is looking to a peace deal, but will it actually bring stability to the region or simply further splinter an already expanding civil war. Empire Has No Clothes Episode This week on Empire Has No Clothes, we talked with Harry Kazianis of the Center for the National Interest about why America’s policy on North Korea has gone awry and whether there’s hope yet for the Trump/Kim bromance. We also discussed the new Bob Woodward book and its implications for the Trump administration. TOLOnews Shabeer Ahmadi interviews Barnett Rubin, a senior expert on Afghanistan and South Asia, about the intra-Afghan negotiations, the US policy on Afghanistan, and other current topics. | 
