Good afternoon, Welcome to this week's issue of "The Rundown," your weekly synopsis of developments in US foreign and defense

policy. As you anxiously await the royal babys birth and the inevitable BuzzFeed lists that will come along with it, take a moment to brush up on this weeks foreign and defense policy developments. Click here for the previous years most damaging national security breaches and here for the math behind the leak crackdown. Best, Your AEI Foreign and Defense Policy Studies team

Tweet of the Week

Sadanand Dhume @dhume01 Breaking: I won't be live tweeting #RoyalBabyWatch. [Anglosphere partisanship notwithstanding.]

In the News
Defense
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced on Friday that the House will take up its defense appropriations bill this week. The spending bill was planned to come to the floor as early as last week but has been delayed because of a debate over the amendment process. With sequestration a reality and little hope for a bargain on the horizon, the US military is facing a steeperthan-planned defense drawdown that few wanted but fewer still seem to be willing or able to stop. What are the implications for the men and women of the US Army if the sequester stays on the books for the

foreseeable future? On July 29th, Mackenzie Eaglen will host General Raymond Odierno, Chief of Staff of the US Army, for the second installment of a series of four events with each member of the Joint Chiefs. RSVP here. Thomas Donnelly will testify before the Senate Budget Comm ittee on sequestrations effects on national security and the economy on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Livestream here.

Iran
Newly retired US Central Command commander James Mattis said on Saturday that the US made a mistake by not responding more assertively to an alleged Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US. Mattis added that Iran has a solid record of targeting Saudi diplomats globally. The Critical Threats Projects (CTP) Will Fulton released his latest report on Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) command network, examining the formal structures that comprise the IRGCs senior leadership and the informal influence networks that dominate these structures. Be sure to keep up to date on the latest news on Iran on Irantracker.org.

Pakistan
Nawaz Sharifs new government in Pakistan has sent its top diplomat, Sartaj Aziz, to Afghanistan to help open peace talks with the Taliban. Nawaz Sharif has received a strong mandate from the electoral to promote an agenda quite different from that of Pakistans government. Understanding the likely direction the new administration will take and getting behind the face of public pronouncements will be key to understanding what to expect out of, and to deciding how the US should deal with, the new government. Check Criticalthreats.org for an analytical piece by CTPs Reza Jan on the direction Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Muslim League (M) are heading in.

Asia
Japans governing Liberal Democratic Party won by a landslide in parliamentary elections on Sunday, effectively returning Japan to one-party rule. Prime Minister Shinz Abes party will not face new elections for three years, potentially freeing him to implement his economic stimulus initiatives and strengthen Japans

military. On Wednesday, Michael Auslin will testify in front of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) on Rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific region and implications for US national security. Tune in to the HASC website at 10:00 a.m. to watch the testimony live. Also keep an eye out on AEI.org for Michael Auslins latest Wall Street Journal Asia piece on the elections for Japans upper house of parliament, to be published early this week.

Government Surveillance
On Friday, the federal government said that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has granted the governments request to continue the collection of millions of Americans' telephone records -- one of the data-collection efforts leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. AEIs John Bolton is participating in a debate sponsored by Mediaite and the Charles Koch Institute on July 23 at the Newseum. Bolton will discuss the intersection of technology, security, and freedom as well as the limits to government surveillance. Click here for more information and to livestream at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Best of Blogs
Here is the best of what AEI's foreign and defense policy scholars are reading this week: Amitai Etzioni at National Interest writes Road to Damascus runs through Tehran Brent Scowcroft and Eric D.K. Melby, writing for The Washington Post, urge, "Egypt needs our help now more than ever Kurt Weyland at the Atlantic explores "Why Latin America is becoming less democratic James Kirchick at the New York Daily News writes, "The NSAs an American Stasi? Outrageous Stephanie Gaskell at Defense One asks, "Can Samantha Power stop Assad? Dov S. Zakheim at National Interest discusses "The dangerous Afghanistan zero option Senators Carl Levin and Angus King, writing for The Washington Post, write, "For Syria, lessons from the Balkan War Jenna Fisher at The Christian Science Monitor on "Osama bin Laden's life in Pakistan" Matthew Levitt at the New York Post writes, "Beware of Hez in NY"

Joshua Muravchik at the Los Angeles Times considers "Tunisia's dark Turn" Marty Peretz at the Daily Beast asks, "What's left of Obama's Mideast policy?"

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