This week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump for the second time, Kyrgyzstan and Uganda held presidential elections, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made multiple last-minute diplomatic changes including designating Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism and the Houthis in Yemen a terrorist group. Read more below.
Deadline Extended
The deadline to apply for the Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leaders Program has been extended to Sunday, January 17 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
This Week's Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Madeleine Albright and Derek Mitchell share a National Democratic Institute statement
Kurt Campbell and Rush Doshi in Foreign Affairs: "How America Can Shore Up Asian Order"
Peter Feaver in Foreign Policy: “The Military Stayed Out of the Insurrection, But It Isn’t Over Yet”
Nick Kristof in The New York Times: “Trump Incites Rioters”
Joseph Nye in The National Interest: “American Soft Power Will Survive Donald Trump”
William Perry and Tom Collina in Politico: “Trump Still Has His Finger on the Nuclear Button. This Must Change.”
David Sanger in The New York Times: “Biden to Restore Homeland Security and Cybersecurity Aides to Senior White House Posts”
Fran Townsend on CBS News: “Capitol Breach Raises Security Concerns”
Tweet of the Week
Upcoming Events
The View from Kabul:
A Live Conversation with the President of Afghanistan
Friday, January 29, 2021
10:25 AM ET
Speaker:
Ashraf Ghani
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Moderated by Carol Lee
Correspondent
NBC News
Things to Know
Stay Informed with Important Analysis Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Thierry Breton in Politico: “Capitol Hill–The 9/11 Moment of Social Media”
David Ignatius in The Washington Post: “Biden Plans to Nominate William J. Burns, A Former Career Diplomat, to Run the CIA”
Vladimir Isachenkov in AP News: “Newly-elected Kyrgyzstan President to Boost His Powers”
Michele Kelemen for NPR: “U.N. and International Aid Groups Express Concerns Over Pompeo's Latest Moves”
Rodney Muhumuza in AP News: "'The World Is Watching': Ugandans Vote in Tense Election"
Jacob Pramuk on CNBC: "Trump Becomes First President To Be Impeached Twice, As Bipartisan Majority Charges Him with Inciting Capitol Riot"
Book of the Week
By Philip Gordon
"Since the end of World War II, the United States has set out to oust governments in the Middle East on an average of once per decade—in places such as Iran, Afghanistan (twice), Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and Syria. The reasons for these interventions have been extremely diverse, and the methods by which the United States pursued regime change have also been highly varied, ranging from diplomatic pressure alone to outright military invasion and occupation. What is common to all the operations, however, is that they failed to achieve their ultimate goals, produced a range of unintended and even catastrophic consequences, carried heavy financial and human costs, and in many cases left the countries in question worse off than they were before.
Losing the Long Game is a riveting look at the U.S. experience with regime change over the past seventy years, and an insider’s view on U.S. policymaking in the region at the highest levels. It is the story of repeated U.S. interventions in the region that always started out with high hopes and often the best of intentions, but never turned out well. No future discussion of U.S. policy in the Middle East will be complete without taking into account the lessons of the past, especially at a time of intense domestic polarization and reckoning with America’s standing in the world."
Partner Events
Building Political Will in the Americas
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
12:00 p.m. ET
In this conversation, three leaders — Madeleine Albright in the United States, Lloyd Axworthy in Canada, and Mayu Brizuela de Ávila in El Salvador — will discuss proposed domestic actions and policies as well as the international peace and security diplomacy needed to build political will and transform governance to reset the response to forced displacement. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof will moderate the event.
This event is presented by the Aspen Ministers Forum and the World Refugee Council and Migration Council.
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As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute.