Andrew Curtis, Author at WestExec Advisors

Andrea Kendall-Taylor quoted in Voice of America article, “US Further Punishes Russia for Cyberattacks, Election Meddling”

"According to Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, this package of sanctions does not really relate to what is going on with Ukraine. She terms it the Biden administration's way of wrapping up unfinished business with other issues, allowing a pivot 'to a more proactive, future-oriented relationship with Russia…'" Read the full article here: Full Article

Andrew Curtis2021-04-15T16:24:29-04:00April 15, 2021|Economy & Trade|

Joe Maguire quoted in The New York Times article, “How the U.S. Plans to Fight From Afar After Troops Exit Afghanistan”

"'As good as our intelligence and over-the-horizon capabilities are, there is no substitute for being there,' Joseph Maguire, a former top Navy SEAL commander who served as acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, said in an interview. 'Our effectiveness in protecting our homeland will be significantly diminished…'" Read the full article here: Full Article

Andrew Curtis2021-04-15T00:00:35-04:00April 15, 2021|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Dennis Ross quoted in The Jerusalem Post article, “How Will the Natanz Incident Affect Iran’s Vienna Negotiations?”

"Ambassador Dennis Ross, a distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Post that the incident in Natanz won’t change the Iranian desire to get sanctions lifted. 'It may reduce the sense of urgency on the part of the Biden administration to restore the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) lest the Iranian break-out time continues to be reduced,' said Ross. 'Thus, the disruption of the Iranian effort to produce and install more advanced centrifuges reduces the [...]

Andrew Curtis2021-04-14T20:53:47-04:00April 14, 2021|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Jim Jeffrey writes in The Washington Post: “The Biden Administration’s Wrong Move on Iran”

"The Biden administration has suddenly abandoned its tough position on a return to the nuclear deal with Iran (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), for a breathtakingly broad interpretation of which post-2016 U.S. sanctions Iran can insist be lifted to include not just, reasonably, sanctions inconsistent with the JCPOA, but also those 'inconsistent with the benefits that Iran expects from the JCPOA.' That benefits language is not consistent with the agreement itself (which allowed continued nonnuclear related U.S. sanctions) [...]

Andrew Curtis2021-04-14T16:33:12-04:00April 14, 2021|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Danny Russel quoted in The New York Times article, “Xi’s Gambit: China Plans for a World Without American Technology”

"China is freeing up tens of billions of dollars for its tech industry to borrow. It is cataloging the sectors where the United States or others could cut off access to crucial technologies. And when its leaders released their most important economic plans last week, they laid out their ambitions to become an innovation superpower beholden to none… "'China wants to reduce its dependency on the world — not to reduce its trade and interaction but to ensure that it is [...]

Andrew Curtis2021-04-13T00:00:48-04:00April 13, 2021|Economy & Trade|

Danny Russel quoted in The Wall Street Journal article, “China’s Message to America: We’re an Equal Now”

"China retaliated against the EU sanctions by blacklisting European lawmakers and think tanks, although that might make the EU parliament’s ratification of a pending investment treaty with China more difficult. "'It’s a high-stakes gamble for the Chinese,' says Daniel Russel, a former Obama China official, now a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a think tank. 'But it’s not a gamble they are certain to lose…'" Read the full article here: Full Article

Andrew Curtis2021-04-12T10:06:21-04:00April 12, 2021|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Charlie Bolden quoted in Space article, “60 Years of Human Spaceflight Brings In Tech Changes and Emphasis on Diversity”

"In an exclusive interview with Space.com in 2020, Charles 'Charlie' Bolden — a former astronaut who served as NASA administrator from 2009 to 2017 — reflected on his experiences as a Black man and leader of space exploration, along with his feelings about racism and violence against people of color today, which he said are ubiquitous in American society because 'this is what our nation was founded on…'" Read the full article here: Full Article

Andrew Curtis2021-04-12T00:00:28-04:00April 12, 2021|Social Impact|

Danny Russel quoted in The Washington Post article, “Kerry Expected to Travel to China in First Visit by Top Biden Official”

"Following the contentious meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials in Anchorage in March, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that the two sides had decided to set up a working group on climate change among other modest but specific joint initiatives. But U.S. officials told The Washington Post that no such agreements were made — a point analysts said reflected the Biden administration’s aversion to get trapped into Beijing’s style of formalized meetings that may or may not produce results. "'These [...]

Andrew Curtis2021-04-10T13:18:46-04:00April 10, 2021|Climate & Environment|

Jim Jeffrey quoted in Asia Times article, “US Needs Turkey for Its Al-Qaeda and ISIS Links”

"This year, in an interview on March 8, James Jeffrey, who served as US ambassador under both Republican and Democrat administrations and most recently as special representative for Syria during the Donald Trump administration, was quoted as saying that HTS has been 'an asset' to America’s strategy in Idlib, the northwestern province of Syria bordering Turkey…" Read the full article here: Full Article

Andrew Curtis2021-04-10T00:00:47-04:00April 10, 2021|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Danny Russel quoted in The Economist article, “China Thinks It Can Avoid Middle Eastern Traps That Caught America”

"Some Chinese experts talk of America leaving a vacuum in the Middle East. Danny Russel, America’s assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in 2013-17, agrees that China senses a demand for a Chinese presence in the Middle East, amid talk of American unreliability. Chinese companies have been told to go out and sell advanced technologies that will carry their country’s values and technical standards around the world, notably via the Belt and Road Initiative. But ambitious deals [...]

Andrew Curtis2021-04-10T00:00:11-04:00April 10, 2021|Geopolitical Perspectives|

About Andrew Curtis