Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Turkey shot down a Syrian government warplane on Tuesday over northwestern Syria in an escalating campaign against Assad’s forces, reports Reuters. It was the third warplane Turkey has shot down since Sunday.

United Nations investigators alleged on Monday that Russia had committed war crimes in Syria by carrying out airstrikes on civilian targets in 2019, according to the New York Times. The investigators said the Syrian government and its allies continue to use these tactics in the northwestern province of Idlib. Meanwhile, border guards have begun pushing back thousands of migrants hoping to cross from Turkey into the E.U. following Turkey’s Feb. 27 announcement that it would re-open its borders with Europe, reports the Washington Post.

Washington state health officials reported six deaths due to coronavirus and 18 confirmed cases as multiple schools closed for disinfection, writes the Wall Street Journal. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point today as fears about the economic impacts of coronavirus mount, according to the New York Times. And Americans’ worries about medical bills for testing and lost pay if they take time off when sick may thwart efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus, according to health-care experts, reports the Washington Post.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday he has signed off on American troops beginning their withdrawal from Afghanistan, reports the Washington Post. The Trump administration will make available to Congress two secret military implementation documents related to the United States’ peace agreement with the Taliban as early as today, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, according to Politico. And the United States reportedly used different language in agreements with the Taliban and the Afghan government, writes Reuters. While the US-Taliban deal says the Afghan government will free up to 5,000 Taliban detainees by March 10, the U.S.-Afghan declaration only commits Kabul to participating in U.S.-brokered talks on the feasibility of such a release.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a significant lead in his third electoral contest with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, but fell two seats short of an outright parliamentary majority, reports the New York Times. Netanyahu faces trial in two weeks on felony corruption charges.

U.S. indictments were unsealed yesterday against two Chinese nationals accused of helping North Korean hackers launder roughly $100 million in stolen Bitcoin, according to the Wall Street Journal. Officials described the theft of cryptocurrency as an increasingly important revenue stream for the North Korean regime’s nuclear weapons program.

The Trump administration ordered China’s major state media companies to sharply reduce the number of Chinese employees in the U.S., imposing a personnel cap of 100 in total on four Chinese media companies, writes the Wall Street Journal. China’s foreign minister said yesterday that Beijing may take measures in response to Washington’s decision, reports Reuters.

The White House withdrew the nomination of Elaine McCusker for deputy defense secretary and comptroller after alleged concerns arose in the Trump Administration over her opposition to the 2019 suspension of military aid to Ukraine, reports the Wall Street Journal.

President Trump will meet today with Senate and House Republicans to discuss the upcoming USA Freedom Act reauthorization, writes the Hill. The group includes Attorney General Barr as well as some lawmakers who seek to make broad changes to the operations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court,reports the Wall Street Journal.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Elliot Setzer shared a joint statement from the heads of numerous departments and federal agencies on “Super Tuesday” election security.

Elliot Setzer shared a ruling holding that Ken Cuccinelli’s appointment as acting USCIS director was unlawful.

Aurel Sari examined whether Turkey could request military assistance for its campaign in Idlib under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

Salam Fayyad argued that no Palestinian could accept Trump’s Middle East peace plan.

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