This edition marks the one-year anniversary of the Weekly Leaf -
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This week, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his home, President Biden announced that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will be completed by August 31, and China committed to tightening restrictions on companies listed overseas. Read more below.
This Week's Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Madeleine Albright gave the keynote address at the Almedalen Democracy Summit
Ash Carter shared an announcement with Harvard’s Belfer Center: “Remembering Donald Rumsfeld”
Chris Coons, Dan Sullivan, et al signed a bipartisan letter highlighting the importance of U.S.-Taiwan trade talks
Robert Gates quoted by Gerald Seib in The Wall Street Journal: “U.S. Exit From Afghanistan Seems Illogical; Why It’s Happening Anyway"
David Ignatius in The Washington Post: “As Biden’s Plans Struggle in Congress, His Back-Door Actions Could Get A Jump on Reshaping the Economy”
Joseph Nye on Project Syndicate: “What Did Biden Achieve in Geneva?”
William Perry, Jerry Brown, and Jon Garamendi on Insider: “Spending $2 Trillion on New Nuclear Weapons Is A Risk to More Than Just Your Wallet”
David Rubenstein debuted his new show: “Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein”
David Sanger and Nicole Perlroth in The New York Times: “Attempted Hack of R.N.C. and Russian Ransomware Attack Test Biden”
Anne-Marie Slaughter and Melody Frierson in a New America discussion: “Is the United States Still a ‘New’ Democracy?”
Fran Townsend and James Stavridis on Real Clear Defense: “Talk Must Turn Into Action to Combat China’s Growing Tech Influence”
Tweet of the Week
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Things to Know
Stay Informed with Important Analysis Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
BBC News: “Haiti President Jovenel Moïse Killed in Attack at Home”
Miriam Berger in The Washington Post: “More Than 1,000 Afghan Soldiers Flee Into Tajikistan as Taliban Extends Control, Tajik Officials Say”
Hudson Lockett and Tabby Kinder in Financial Times: “China’s Crackdown on U.S. Listings Threatens $2tn Market”
Evan Medeiros and Ashley Tellis in Foreign Affairs: “Regime Change Is Not an Option in China”
Brie Stimson for Fox News: “Coronavirus Death Toll Hits 4 Million Worldwide as Delta Variant Spreads”
Christina Wilkie and Amanda Macias for CNBC: "U.S. Military Mission in Afghanistan Will End by August 31, Biden Says"
Book of the Week
By Carter Malkasian
“The American war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001, is now the longest armed conflict in the nation's history....In The American War in Afghanistan, Carter Malkasian provides the first comprehensive history of the entire conflict. Malkasian is both a leading academic authority on the subject and an experienced practitioner, having spent nearly two years working in the Afghan countryside and going on to serve as the senior advisor to General Joseph Dunford, the U.S. military commander in Afghanistan and later the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
Drawing from a deep well of local knowledge, understanding of Pashto, and review of primary source documents, Malkasian moves through the war's multiple phases: the 2001 invasion and after; the light American footprint during the 2003 Iraq invasion; the resurgence of the Taliban in 2006, the Obama-era surge, and the various resets in strategy and force allocations that occurred from 2011 onward, culminating in the 2018-2020 peace talks....The ultimate outcome after America leaves is inherently unpredictable given the multitude of actors there, but one thing is sure: the war did not go as America had hoped."
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