News - WestExec Advisors

Bridge Colby cited in The Japan Times article, “U.S. Plan to Fight China and Russia is Too Good To Be True”

"Second, horizontal escalation suffers from a time problem. Coercion — particularly economic coercion — takes a while to work. But in the meantime, analysts such as former Trump administration Pentagon official Elbridge Colby have pointed out that the aggressor will be consolidating its gains and fortifying a position from which it cannot easily be dislodged. While the U.S. is waiting for coercion to have its effect, the situation on the ground — and at the negotiating table — will be steadily [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:39:15-04:00July 12, 2019|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives, News|

Dan Shapiro and Yoel Guzansky write in Foreign Policy: “Gulf-Israel Ties Might Not Survive Trump’s Peace Plan”

"The U.S.-sponsored Peace to Prosperity workshop in Manama, Bahrain, last month—an effort spearheaded by U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, to sell the economic portion of a broader Middle East peace plan—had limited success in its stated purpose of advancing Palestinian economic development. But it showed more mixed results in another area: serving as a platform for Gulf Arab states and Israel to take meaningful steps forward in their still-emerging relationships. "The meeting had some positive moments [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:39:03-04:00July 12, 2019|Geopolitical Perspectives, News|

Dan Shapiro cited in TIME article, “‘Only the Strong Survive.’ How Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu Is Testing the Limits of Power”

"To some, Netanyahu is his own worst enemy. The September contest will pit the Prime Minister’s self-declared role as Israel’s protector, 'indispensable Netanyahu,' against 'Bibi fatigue,' says Daniel Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Driving the 'fatigue' are the three separate corruption investigations Netanyahu faces. One contends that he took gifts like cigars and bottles of sparkling wine from an Israeli Hollywood film producer and an Australian billionaire in exchange for political influence. The two other matters involve allegations that [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:39:26-04:00July 11, 2019|Geopolitical Perspectives, News|

Meghan O’Sullivan quoted in The Financial Times article, “US Will Keep Policing the Gulf Despite Trump Protests”

"...Over the past decade, security of oil supplies in the Middle East has become more critical to Asia than to the US. The Middle East now amounts to two-thirds of India’s crude imports, three-quarters of South Korea’s and a near 90 per cent of Japan’s. By comparison, the US relies on the region for a sixth of its oil imports, thanks to its shale boom that has turned it into the world’s largest oil producer. "'Two big things have changed: the [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:17:41-04:00July 10, 2019|News|

Dennis Ross writes in The Atlantic: “There’s a Deal to Be Had Between the U.S. and Iran”

"Iran is now incrementally walking away from the limits imposed on it in the nuclear deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA—exceeding the 300 kilograms of low enriched uranium it can have on hand and now enriching above the 3.67 percent allowed under the terms of the understanding. Don’t be surprised if it either starts to install its advanced centrifuges or begins to operate more than the 5,061 older centrifuges it is permitted for enrichment. Iran is not racing to [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:40:06-04:00July 10, 2019|Geopolitical Perspectives, News|

Julie Smith quoted in The New York Times article, “U.S.-British Relationship Sounding More Testy Than ‘Special’”

"...Julianne Smith, former deputy national security adviser to Vice President Joseph R. Biden, said this Trump Twitter storm, like many before it, would probably fade. "Years ago, such an ugly episode might have lasting implications for the bilateral relationship, Ms. Smith said, 'but in today’s political climate, where leaders like Trump and Boris regularly break protocol and tweet every inner thought, it won’t have much of an impact.'" "Even if Mr. Darroch ends up leaving Washington early, she said, 'his replacement [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:40:44-04:00July 9, 2019|News|

Danny Russel quoted in The Wall Street Journal: “Hopes for Resolving U.S.-China Trade Fight Hinge on Trump and Xi”

“'Any American who thinks they have great personal chemistry with the leader of a Leninist system hasn’t really been paying attention,' said Danny Russel, a former senior diplomat for Asia in the Obama administration and current vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute think tank. 'What it really all hinges around is Trump’s political calculus, and it’s not necessarily a static one.'” Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:18:06-04:00June 26, 2019|News|

Ely Ratner quoted in The Financial Times: “Trump and Xi’s ‘Sidelines’ Meeting Set to Overshadow G20 Summit”

"Ely Ratner, a China expert at the Center for a New American Security, a bipartisan US think-tank, said the odds of a big breakthrough were 'low' and the meeting would be largely 'theatre', in which case the result would be further acceleration of 'the now inevitable reversal of decades of economic integration between the US and China.'" Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:18:12-04:00June 26, 2019|News|

Bridge Colby cited in South China Morning Post: “What’s the difference between Indo Pacific and Asia-Pacific? Regional control for the U.S. or China”

"Elbridge Colby of the Washington-based Centre for a New American Security, however, maintained that the U.S. was not asking Southeast Asian nations to choose sides but was willing to help anyone who 'wants to defend their sovereignty' from Chinese economic coercion." Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:18:39-04:00June 24, 2019|News|

Liz Rosenberg quoted in The Atlantic: “Trump Goes After Iran’s Supreme Leader”

"Will this set of sanctions finally be what gets Iran to give up its hostility to negotiating with the U.S.? Or will it at least make it appreciably harder to stage attacks? Elizabeth Rosenberg, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told me she doubted that Khamenei was using financial instruments that are exposed to U.S. jurisdiction anyway. Rosenberg, who worked on Iran sanctions during the Obama administration, said the sanctions are more symbolic than practical. 'Not [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:18:47-04:00June 24, 2019|News|