Rebecca Skoryanc, Author at WestExec Advisors

Jay Shambaugh quoted in Financial Times article, “Governments puzzle over how to unwind job protection schemes”

“US temporary job losses are declining, pushing the unemployment rate down from 14.7 per cent in April to 10.2 per cent in July. "But on both sides of the Atlantic, the improvements are showing worrying signs of petering out. “'This is slowly morphing into a long-term unemployment problem,' said Jay Shambaugh, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and former White House adviser, noting that 5 per cent of the US workforce had now been unemployed for more than 15 weeks..." Read [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T21:11:53-04:00August 20, 2020|Economy & Trade|

Michèle Flournoy quoted in The Jerusalem Post article, “Ex-Biden security advisor: Sitting with Iran isn’t conceding ‘leverage’”

"Michèle Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense during the Obama administration, said that the Trump administration’s approach of maximum pressure 'has [put] a lot of pressure on Iran, but it hasn’t created any path to the negotiating table.' "'There’s no way for them to get back into negotiations,' she continued. 'And so, in desperation they have turned to China. Every US administration since Nixon has had a strategic dialogue with China, except this one. This one has taken a very transactional unilateral [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T21:18:21-04:00August 19, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives|

Bridge Colby quoted in The New York Times article, “U.S. Tries to Bolster Taiwan’s Status, Short of Recognizing Sovereignty”

"'Taiwan is the most important thing from a military and credibility point of view,' said Elbridge A. Colby, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development. Mr. Colby wrote the Trump administration’s national defense strategy, which emphasizes competition with China and Russia... "'We need to change things on Taiwan to improve the deterrent and make clearer where we stand, especially by ending any remaining ambiguity about how we’d react to the use of force and altering our [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T21:17:23-04:00August 17, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives|

Puneet Talwar writes in Foreign Policy: “China Is Getting Mired in the Middle East”

"Recent reports of an ambitious 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Iran and China have reverberated across Southwest Asia and beyond. The agreement raises the question of whether we are witnessing a tectonic shift in Asia’s geostrategic landscape or merely a marriage of convenience. The answer is not yet clear, but the agreement will likely face several hurdles, and may have unintended consequences by drawing China into the vortex of Middle Eastern politics..." Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T21:29:30-04:00August 17, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Dan Shapiro writes in Haaretz: “UAE’s Unique Leverage Over Israel Buried Annexation to Enable Normalization”

“When the United Arab Emirates’ Ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, decided to publish an op-ed in Hebrew in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot in mid-June, his intent was to influence the Israeli debate on West Bank annexation. "The op-ed hit its mark. Al-Otaiba’s unprecedented, unmediated address got Israelis’ attention and dominated political conversations for days. But he did more than that. He also opened the door to a major step forward in breaking down barriers in Israeli-Arab ties, realized [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T21:02:13-04:00August 16, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Chris Inglis writes with Tatyana Bolton in Lawfare: “Improving Cyber-Oriented Education, One Cyber Clinic at a Time”

"Cybersecurity talent gaps continue to exist across the United States, yet private sector leaders and the federal government have not been able to make the meaningful investments necessary to fill the more than half a million current vacancies nationwide, including more than 33,000 vacancies in the public sector workforce alone. Cybersecurity clinics offer a high-potential path to sharply increase the number of experienced cybersecurity professionals coming out of U.S. universities at minimal cost and with low barriers to expansion. Located in [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T20:59:57-04:00August 15, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Dan Shapiro quoted in The Washington Post article, “Inside the secret-not-secret courtship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates”

“During the administration of President George W. Bush, Israeli officials visiting Washington would hold secret hotel room meetings with the UAE’s influential ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, according to Dan Shapiro, who would later become a U.S. ambassador to Israel. Shapiro served on President Barack Obama’s National Security Council and said the White House at that time was kept informed of the meetings. "In early 2010, the contacts came to halt when the UAE accused Israel of assassinating Mahmoud [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T21:19:44-04:00August 14, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Danny Russel quoted in the Los Angeles Times article, “Why Biden might follow Trump’s hardline policy on China”

"'The China that will face Joe Biden in January of 2021 is vastly more powerful and more formidable as an adversary than the China that he and Obama dealt with up until the end of 2016,' said Daniel Russel, a top Asian affairs official in the Obama administration and now a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute..." Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T21:46:21-04:00August 14, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Dennis Ross quoted in The New York Times article, “Netanyahu Drops Troubled Annexation Plan for Diplomatic Gain”

"Dennis Ross, a former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations, said that another lure for the Emiratis was the possibility of obtaining advanced weaponry they have long sought, which the United States sells only to countries at peace with Israel to preserve its qualitative military edge in the region. “'It doesn’t mean the limits are gone, but they’re more favorable,' Mr. Ross said. He said he would expect the U.A.E. to get weapons like advanced drones. "Mr. Ross said [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T21:13:43-04:00August 13, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Dennis Ross writes in The Washington Post: “The Israel-UAE agreement is a key step for peace and sends a crucial message to Palestinians”

"We don’t hear many good news stories out of the Middle East, particularly recently, in the midst of the despair over Beirut, regional conflicts and the ravages of covid-19. But on Thursday there was a hopeful development: President Trump announced a historic peace agreement that will normalize relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. "Now what had been taking place below the table will be put on top of it. Security cooperation can be acknowledged in public and won’t have [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-09-01T17:04:19-04:00August 13, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

About Rebecca Skoryanc