News - WestExec Advisors

Bob Work and Eric Schmidt write in War on the Rocks: “In Search of Ideas: The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Wants You”

"Americans don’t want to grow old wondering what happened to their country’s place in the world. U.S. global leadership has fostered international institutions, strengthened human rights in international relations, and helped make what President Woodrow Wilson sought more than a century ago: a world 'safe for democracy.' But Americans should not take those features of the global order for granted. "After a briefer-than-expected period of unchallenged power and two longer-than-expected unconventional wars, the United States once again finds itself facing state [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:37:06-04:00July 18, 2019|Cybersecurity & Defense, News|

Julie Smith quoted in POLITICO article, “Trump’s New EU Foil: Another ‘Strong Female German Leader’”

"'That job was going to be tough for anyone, especially since Trump has called the EU a "foe,"’ said Julie Smith, a former Obama administration official who closely follows the transatlantic relationship. 'But putting a strong female German leader at the head of the commission will likely make it all the more difficult for the EU to strengthen ties with the Trump administration.'" Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:37:14-04:00July 17, 2019|Geopolitical Perspectives, News|

Michèle Flournoy featured in AXIOS event: “News Shapers: Foreign Policy”

"Michèle Flournoy, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the Obama administration focused on the importance of coherent foreign policy strategy and discussed the risks posed by unfilled leadership positions in security and foreign policy. "On the dangers of a leadership vacuum: 'The people who would likely serve in a Republican administration have signed anti-Trump letters. The administration is going to have a hard time filling out its national security ranks in the next two years — I don’t know [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:37:30-04:00July 17, 2019|Geopolitical Perspectives, News|

Danny Russel on The Diplomat podcast: “Improving China’s Belt and Road and Japan-South Korea Tensions”

"Danny Russel, vice president for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, joins The Diplomat‘s Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) to discuss China’s Belt and Road. Russel is the lead author on a recent Asia Society Policy Institute report on the Belt and Road. The podcast also covers what role the United States might play in helping Japan and South Korea resolve their ongoing dispute..." Listen [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2019-08-22T12:38:39-04:00July 16, 2019|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|

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 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|