| With the inauguration just one day away, grand strategists have fixated their eyes on President-Elect Joe Biden and his incoming foreign policy team. The biggest question is how the incoming administration will approach China, America's most powerful emerging geopolitical rival. Luke Nicastro helps frame this discussion by arguing that, contrary to much of the public rhetoric, China poses a conventional rather than existential threat and should be dealt with accordingly. As the outgoing Trump Administration flirts with Taiwan, Daniel Davis cautions American policymakers against being overconfident with respect to America's capacity to fight China over Taiwan. Finally, John Cookson provides a sober analysis on the China question by emphasizing that many key elements of the US-China relationship have remained stable, even as the public rhetoric has heated up over the past several years. Turning to other regions of concern, Bonnie Kristian has an insightful cautionary piece on Iran, urging policymakers to steer clear of war with Iran amidst all the domestic chaos at home. William LeoGrande advises the Biden Administration to roll back recent escalation with Cuba, and Willis Krumholz advises de-escalation with North Korea. On the ever-urgent question of troop withdrawals, Barnett Rubin argues that the Biden Administration should finish the task of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, and suggests how this might practically be accomplished. Finally, in deference to the adage that "personnel is policy" our curated content includes choice articles exploring the implication of Biden's personnel hires. James Carden's piece takes specific aim at Biden's Secretary of State for being sympathetic to neoconservative foreign policy. Gordon Adams registers concern with expected Biden SecDef nominee Lloyd Austin. Finally, Howard LaFranchi explores general tensions between the realist foreign policy community and the incoming Biden team. In the News Luke Nicastro, The Hill Gordon Adams, Responsible Statecraft Concerned Veterans for America Doug Bandow, American Conservative Ted Galen Carpenter, Antiwar.com William LeoGrande, Responsible Statecraft Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor Bonnie Kristian, American Conservative Willis L. Krumholz, The Federalist James Carden, American Conservative Ross Marchand, Responsible Statecraft Joe Cirincione, Responsible Statecraft Daniel Davis, Washington Examiner Adam Weinstein, Responsible Statecraft Steven Simon & David Schwartz, Foreign Policy Empire Has No Clothes This week on Empire Has No Clothes, Kelley, Dan, and I discussed the insurrection at the Capitol building and how we can avoid making the mistakes we made after 9/11. We also talked with Jonathan Bydlak of the R Street Institute about the Pentagon budget and why the taxpayer seems to get so little for so much Power Problems Did Russia commit a cyber attack or cyber espionage? What is the difference and how does it affect the U.S. response and future of cybersecurity? Cato Institute’s own Brandon Valeriano and Atlantic Council’s Erica Borghard join host John Glaser to discuss the severity of the SolarWinds hack and its implications for the broader cybersecurity political landscape. War on the Rocks Chris, Melanie, and Zack begin the show with a sober look at the events of Jan. 6, when a pro-President Donald Trump mob ransacked the Capitol and drove legislators from both chambers. With that out of the way, the three discuss Amb. (ret.) Michael McFaul’s analysis of the Cold War’s lessons for policy toward China. In the end, McFaul urges U.S. policymakers to adopt a “complicated, nuanced path” toward China, combining “sustained confrontation and cooperation, containment and engagement, [and] isolation and integration.” | 
