| This week's curated content continues its special focus on both the grand strategy implications of a Joe Biden presidency, and the implications of Donald Trump's decisions between now and Inauguration Day With Trump's troop withdrawal announcement, the question of Afghanistan remains very much in view. We especially recommend Andrew Bacevich's piece on the virtue of the troop withdrawal and how this positions incoming-president Biden. Mark Perry's piece goes even further, suggesting that the troop withdrawals amount to Trump's "gift" to the Biden Administration. Irrespective of how Biden takes Trump's last foreign policy moves in Afghanistan, the question remains as to whether Biden will govern like a foreign policy hawk. For a pessimistic, but insightful, account on this front, we recommend David Harsanyi's piece on how Biden represents the return of the dreaded foreign policy "Blob." As a supplement to this piece, readers would do well to consult Christian Britschgi's piece detailing the interventionist inclinations of Biden's pick for Secretary of State. Meanwhile, Doug Bandow signals alarm over Biden's interventionist policies with respect to the contested Senkaku Islands. Whatever Biden's initial inclinations, there is always a chance that he can be swayed by sound advice. On this front, we strongly recommend Benjamin Friedman & Stephen Wertheim's piece calling on Biden to finally end our "Forever Wars," as well as a nuanced piece by Charles Peña on how Biden might profitably reimagine NATO in the 21st century. Essential Reading A. Trevor Thrall, Jordan Cohen, Caroline Dorminey, Strategic Studies Quarterly Bottom line: The United States is doing too little to incorporate risk assessments into its arms sales decisions. It should analyze arms sales along a risk matrix assessment and avoi... In the News Bonnie Kristian, Military.com Mark Perry, National Interest Doug Bandow, National Interest Benjamin H. Friedman & Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Policy Daniel Davis, Business Insider Elizabeth Shackelford, Inkstick Andrew Bacevich, Responsible Statecraft David Harsanyi, National Review Christian Britschgi, Reason Charles Peña, National Interest Daniel DePetris, Responsible Statecraft Doug Bandow, Antiwar.com Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review Richard Hanania, NBC News Paul Pillar, National Interest The Weeds The Atlantic Council’s Emma Ashford joins Matt to explain the president-elect’s approach to national security Berggruen Institute Despite America's fractious politics, leaders of both parties agree that the United States must deploy its military across the globe and use it to enforce world order. But U.S. military dominance is facing mounting domestic opposition from the left and the right, not to mention internationally. Historian Stephen Wertheim thinks this trend is likely to continue, and should be welcomed, because armed supremacy has lost its reason for being. Brookings Institution On November 24, in partnership with the Charles Koch Institute, Foreign Policy at Brookings hosted a discussion with foreign policy scholars on the future of U.S. foreign policy, war in the broader Middle East, and other issues facing the new administration Things That Go Boom What exactly defines this Blob can be as amorphous as the movie monster, so we reached out to three people to explain who exactly belongs in this group. The term, we learned, describes a perspective that transcends party lines and has remained relatively unchallenged for decades. In this episode, we'll explore the moment that all changed, and the Blob came face-to-face with... the anti-Blob. Reason The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft is promoting a more restrained foreign policy from inside the Beltway. But will the Biden administration listen? | 
