| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sneak Peek | | By the Axios Politics team ·Feb 13, 2022 | | 🏈🏈 Welcome back to Sneak. A quick update before kickoff. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,046 words ... 4 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Scoop - State's swastika shocker |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | A swastika drawn on a window shade in purple ink was found inside the U.S. embassy in Bulgaria last month, Axios has learned, raising concern within the State Department headquarters itself about antisemitism. Driving the news: News of the discovery circulated in Washington on Friday after the embassy in Sofia sent back a diplomatic cable describing the incident, Axios' Hans Nichols and Barak Ravid write. - The image was first identified on Jan. 28, a day after International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Another swastika was found inside the department itself last July, as first reported by Axios.
Why it matters: The latest swastika was found in a secure part of the embassy, indicating whoever drew it had access inside an American diplomatic outpost, according to sources with knowledge of the cable. - "The department takes this matter extremely seriously," said Ned Price, a State Department spokesperson. "We unequivocally condemn any instances of hate or bias in the workplace, which this appears to be."
- "This is a repugnant symbol that stands for everything we as a department are standing against," he said. "We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the State Department, including our posts overseas, remain a welcoming, inclusive and bias-free workplace."
Keep reading. Go deeper: Barak Ravid is one of the most wired reporters in the Middle East. Read his reporting each Tuesday in Axios from Tel Aviv. |     | | | | | | 2. Learning Afghanistan's lessons |  | | | Citizens of Kyiv, Ukraine, take part in an open military training for civilians today. Photo: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images | | | | Russia may be on the cusp of invading Ukraine, but it's the Taliban's advance on Kabul shaping much of the U.S. response, Axios' Zachary Basu and Glen Johnson write. Why it matters: After being branded incompetent and seeing their popularity ratings plummet after the Afghanistan debacle, President Biden and his team have decided to overshare information, coordinate closely and publicly with allies and tell Americans to leave the embattled country — now. - "There will not be a military evacuation in the event of an invasion," national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's "State of the Union" today.
- It was one of the clearest delineations from Afghanistan, where the administration worked furiously to evacuate tens of thousands with an airlift from Hamid Karzai International Airport.
The big picture: Biden's approach to Ukraine has been defined by a daily blizzard of meetings and calls among top U.S. officials and European counterparts. - Almost all are accompanied by formulaic readouts emphasizing allied support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity — leaving no divisions or doubts for Russia to exploit.
- Another lesson learned was heeding warnings about the potential for a country to be overrun.
- And Sullivan said today the United States government is being so blunt in its warnings to U.S. citizens because of the nature of an expected Russian attack.
What they're saying: "That is why we are being so clear and direct to American citizens that while commercial transport options are still available, they should take advantage of them." Keep reading. | | | | | | | | 3. Mapped: Democracy's decline |  Data: Economist Intelligence Unit; Map: Jared Whalen/Axios An annual global democracy index dropped to its lowest score since tracking began in 2006, with just 45.7% of the world's population currently living in a democracy of some sort, Zachary also reports. Why it matters: At his inaugural "Summit for Democracy" in December, Biden cast the global advance of authoritarianism as "the defining challenge of our time." He pledged to spend up to $424 million over the next year on democratic renewal initiatives. The big picture: The average global score in the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2021 Democracy Index fell from 5.37 to 5.28 — the largest annual drop since 2010, after the global financial crisis. - The index ranks countries on a scale of 1-10, based on 60 indicators grouped into five categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties.
- 120 countries, or 71.8%, registered a decline or stagnation in their average score in 2021.
Zoom in: Ongoing political polarization during Biden's first year in office contributed to a democratic decline in the U.S., branded a "flawed democracy" that saw its score drop from 7.92 to 7.85. Keep reading. Go deeper: Read the full report. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Local D.C. News in Your Inbox | | |  | | | | Axios D.C. features the best local news written and curated by the reporters who know the city best. Subscribe for free. | | | | | | 4. Worthy of your time |  | | | Secretary of State Antony Blinken (center) is seen in silhouette before he flew from Hawaii to Maryland on Saturday. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Pool/AFP via Getty Images | | | | ⚖️ Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee urging Biden to nominate Judge J. Michelle Childs to the Supreme Court, took his support a step further today. "Anyone else would be problematic," he told ABC's "This Week," Axios' Andrew Solender reports in today's Sneak roundup. - Childs, a South Carolina native, is seen as a more moderate pick for the bench, likely to rankle progressives but also to win the votes of Graham and other Republicans in the 50-50 Senate.
🚚 The Biden administration is "working closely" with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to end blockades of U.S.-Canada border crossings by Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates, White House Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall said in a statement. - Canadian ministers said "most protesters have been cleared" from the Ambassador Bridge. Trespassers will have their vehicles towed and authorities plan to reopen the bridge today, according to Sherwood-Randall.
🤝 A group of Trump-critical Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is quietly trying to recruit establishment heavy-hitters to compete against Trump-endorsed candidates in Senate primaries in order to thwart Trump's image of invulnerability in GOP politics, the New York Times reported. - He's struggled to make headway, though, failing to get New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu or Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan to run — and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey appears to be on the same path.
📈 A CNN poll found that only 45% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters want to see Biden renominated in 2024, while 51% want the Democratic Party to find another presidential candidate. - Republicans are similarly divided about former President Trump, with 50% wanting him renominated and 49% wanting a different candidate. Among those wanting someone else, 21% named Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as their pick.
📺 Super Bowl LVI is set to feature at least two ads by Republican Senate candidates, including one from Pennsylvania's Dave McCormick centered on the anti-Biden chant "Let's Go Brandon." - Jim Lamon, a Trumpy candidate in Arizona, reportedly spent $30,000 for a Super Bowl ad depicting him as a Wild West sheriff shooting at and disarming fictionalized versions of Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
| | | | | | | | 5. Pic du jour |  | | | Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images | | | | A wreath adorns the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, which would have been President Lincoln's 213th birthday. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Local D.C. News in Your Inbox | | | | | | | | Axios D.C. features the best local news written and curated by the reporters who know the city best. Subscribe for free. | | | | 🚀 Thanks for starting your week with us. A reminder your family, friends and colleagues can subscribe to Sneak or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. |  | Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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