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Writer's pictureThe Aspen Strategy Group

The ASG Weekly Leaf: 5/7/21


This week, President Biden supported waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, the G7 convened foreign ministers in London to discuss issues including threats from China and Russia, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a new government coalition by the set deadline. Read more below.

 

This Week's Content Highlights

Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members


Madeleine Albright, Timothy Garton Ash, and Esther Brimmer in an Atlantic Council discussion: "Embracing Our Transatlantic History"


Zoë Baird's Markle Foundation press release: "Rework America Alliance Launches Local Partnerships to Help Connect Job Seekers to Good Jobs"


Chris Coons’ trip to the Middle East covered by ABC News: “U.S. Officials in Mideast to Reassure Jittery Allies over Iran”


Michèle Flournoy in Foreign Affairs: “America’s Military Risks Losing Its Edge”


Michael Green in The Hill: “A Bad Idea on Students from China”


Jane Harman and David Ignatius in a Washington Post Live conversation


Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times: “Joe Biden Is Electrifying America Like F.D.R.”


Anja Manuel spoke with Gary Cohn and Chuck Robbins at the Financial Times Global Boardroom Conference and was featured in the Trinity University Policy Makers Series


Dina Powell McCormick interviews President George W. Bush


Joseph Nye and Ezekiel Emanuel in The Wall Street Journal: “American Health Depends on Exporting Covid Vaccines”


David Petraeus in a France24 interview: “U.S. Troop Withdrawal 'Is Not Going to End the Endless War In Afghanistan'”


Philip Zelikow’s book reviewed in The Telegraph: “Could the First World War Have Been Ended Two Years Earlier?”

 

ASG Rising Leaders in the News


“The U.S. and Japan are poised to remain world leaders in the scientific and

technological industries of the future and the growing national security and economic implications of these endeavors in science, technology, and space bodes well for the enduring nature of the U.S.-Japan alliance in these key fields.”


Read ASG Rising Leader Erik Jacobs’ piece entitled “Prospects for the Future of U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Relations” here.


“In reporting on ransomware, a couple of things have become clear: the volume of attacks is increasing, the sophistication of attackers continues to evolve and… it is increasingly a security priority for the U.S.”


ASG Rising Leader Alyza Sebenius moderated a discussion on ransomware as a national security threat for the Institute for Security and Technology.

 

Tweet of the Week


 

Things to Know

Stay Informed with Important Analysis Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions


Emma Bowman and Ashish Valentine for NPR: "Biden Backs Waiving International Patent Protections for Covid-19 Vaccinations"


Christopher Brito for CBS News: "'The Situation Is Out of Control': 24 Dead in Anti-Government Protests in Colombia"


Ashraf Ghani in Foreign Affairs: “Afghanistan’s Moment of Risk and Opportunity: A Path to Peace for the Country and the Region”


Steve Hendricks and Shira Rubin in The Washington Post: “Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid Gains Chance to Form Government, Oust Netanyahu”


Jill Lawless for AP News: “G7 Foreign Ministers Meet Face-To-Face After Pandemic Pause”


New York Times Editorial Board: “Should Young Americans Be Required to Give a Year of Service?”


David Smith in The Guardian: "Hillary Clinton: 'There Has to Be a Global Reckoning with Disinformation'"


James Stavridis on CNBC: “Former NATO Commander Worries U.S. Troop Pullout from Afghanistan ‘Will Cause a Collapse’”


Dov Zakheim in The Hill: “Washington's Split with Turkey Widens — But It Is Up to Turkey to Heal the Rift”

 

Book of the Week


By Robert Gates

"From the former secretary of defense and author of the acclaimed #1 bestselling memoir, Duty, a candid, sweeping examination of power, and how it has been exercised, for good and bad, by American presidents in the post-Cold War world.


Since the end of the Cold War, the global perception of the United States has progressively morphed from dominant international leader to disorganized entity. Robert Gates argues that this transformation is the result of the failure of political leaders to understand the complexity of American power, its expansiveness and its limitations. He makes clear that the successful exercise of power is not limited to the ability to coerce or demand submission, but must also encompass diplomacy, strategic communications, development assistance, intelligence, technology, and ideology. With forthright judgments of the performance of past presidents and their senior-most advisers, insightful ­firsthand knowledge, and compelling insider stories, Gates’s candid, sweeping examination of power in all its manifestations argues that U.S. national security in the future will require abiding by the lessons of the past, reimagining our approach, and revitalizing nonmilitary instruments of power essential to success and security."

 

ICYMI

The Biden Administration's First 100 Days in Review


Featuring


Jake Sullivan

Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs


Kathleen H. Hicks

Deputy Secretary of Defense


Stephen Beigun

Former Deputy Secretary of State


Thomas E. Donilon

Chairman, BlackRock Investment Institute and Former National Security Advisor


Jennifer Griffin

National Security Correspondent, Fox News


Helene Cooper

Pentagon Correspondent, The New York Times


Gerald F. Seib

Executive Washington Editor, The Wall Street Journal


 

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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.


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