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The Weekly Leaf

April 17, 2025

This week, President Trump met with Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni and President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele, Russian missiles struck Sumy, Daniel Noboa claimed victory in Ecuador’s presidential election, and the Rapid Support Forces declared a parallel government in Darfur.

Read more below.

This Week’s Content Highlights

Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members

Nicholas Burns quoted by David E. Sanger for The New York Times: “Trump’s Dilemma: A Trade War That Threatens Every Other Negotiation With China”

Condoleezza Rice quoted by Justin Reynolds for State Magazine: “Former Secretary Rice Stresses Importance of Winning Emerging Technology Race”

Anja Manuel interviewed by Alex Witt for MSNBC: “‘As Precarious as I’ve Ever Seen U.S.-China Relations’”

Stephen E. Biegun quoted by Jake Kang for The Michigan Daily: “UMich Experts Discuss U.S. Foreign Policy on Human Rights in the Trump Era”

Christian Brose interviewed by Colin Demarest at Axios’ Future of Defense event

William Burns, Chuck Hagel, and moderator Robert Pape at the University of Chicago: “The 2025 Hagel Lecture: America’s Role in the World – Prospects for Peace and Stability”

Kurt M. Campbell interviewed by Christiane Amanpour for CNN: “Neither China Nor the U.S. ‘Knows How to Climb Down,’ Says Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State”

Chris Coons interviewed by Dan Koh for The People’s Cabinet podcast: “Why Should You Care About Foreign Affairs?”

Elizabeth Economy interviewed by John Pienaar for Times Radio: “Trump HQ ‘Confused’ Over China Trade War Objective”

Michael Froman interviewed by Chery Kang and Martin Soong for CNBC: “Countries With China as Top Trading Partner Have ‘Vulnerability’: Former U.S. Trade Representative”

Michael J. Green interviewed Mira Rapp-Hooper for The Asia Chessboard podcast: “The Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Legacy”

David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “By Saying ‘No’ to Trump, Harvard Saves Its Soul”

Dina Powell McCormick quoted by Clifton B. Parker for The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University: “Purposeful Mentorship Is Key to Cultivating Leaders, Empowering Women”

David Petraeus appointed as Chairman of KKR Middle East

David M. Rubenstein interviewed Ajay Banga for Bloomberg: “The David Rubenstein Show: Ajay Banga”

Jake Sullivan and moderator Graham Allison at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School: “America’s Role in the World: A Conversation on National Security”

Lawrence H. Summers, Olivier Blanchard, and moderator Adam S. Posen at the Peterson Institute for International Economics: “The Macroeconomic Impact of New U.S. International Policies”

Robert Zoellick and moderator John Bitzan at the Challey Institute at North Dakota State University: “America in the World: U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy”

Tweet of the Week

Rising Leaders Program Highlights

Features from ASG Rising Leaders

Daniel Lippman (‘22) and Jack Detsch for Politico: “Third Top Pentagon Official Suspended in Leak Investigation”

Felicia Schwartz (‘24), Robbie Gramer, and Eric Bazail-Eimil for Politico: “Should Syria Get Sanctions Relief?”

Helen Toner (‘21) interviewed by Nathan Labenz for The Cognitive Revolution podcast: “Helen Toner: OpenAI Reflections, Adaptation Buffers, and AI in Warfare”

Things to Know

Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions

Samer Al-Atrush for The Times: “Israel ‘Was Poised to Strike Iran Before Trump Announced Talks’”

Vera Bergengruen and Michelle Hackman for The Wall Street Journal: “El Salvador’s Bukele Plans to Double the Size of Giant Prison Holding U.S. Deportees”

Eleanor Butler for Euronews: “ECB Cuts Rates Again as Trump Tariffs Weigh on Economic Outlook”

Benjamin Dodman for France24: “Bogged Down in East Ukraine, Putin’s Russia Eyes ‘Opportunistic’ Gains in Northern Sumy”

Francesco Guarascio, Khanh Vu, and Phuong Nguyen for Reuters: “China, Vietnam Sign Deals as Xi Visits Hanoi Amid U.S. Tariff Tensions”

Pierre Lepidi for Le Monde: “Coup Leader Brice Oligui Nguema Wins Gabon’s Presidential Election”

Billy Mitchell for DefenseScoop: “NATO Inks Deal With Palantir for Maven AI System”

Daniel Poneman interviewed by Kristin Hayes for the Resources Radio podcast: “A New Age for Nuclear Energy, With Daniel Poneman”

Jessica Rawnsley and Laura Gozzi for BBC News: “Trump and Meloni Talk Up Chances of U.S Trade Deal With Europe”

Federico Rivas Molina for EL PAÍS: “The Trump Effect and the Mistakes of Correismo Hand Daniel Noboa Victory in Ecuador”

Demetri Sevastopulo for the Financial Times: “U.S. Says Chinese Firm Is Helping Houthis Target American Warships” 

Warren P. Strobel for The Washington Post: “Richard Armitage, Powell Deputy and Foreign Policy Heavyweight, Dies at 79”

Declan Walsh for The New York Times: “Sudanese Paramilitary Group Declares Parallel Government as 400,000 Flee Offensive”

Ye Myo Hein for Foreign Affairs: “China’s Double Game in Myanmar”

From the Archives

Revisit our conversation on the energy transition from the

2024 Aspen Security Forum.

From Co to EVs: Global Energy Challenges

Ernest J. Moniz, Co-Chair and CEO, Nuclear Threat Initiative; 13th Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Meghan O’Sullivan, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University; Former Deputy National Security Advisor on Iraq and Afghanistan

Dan Stephens, Senior Partner, McKinsey

Moderator: Steve Clemons, Contributing Editor, National Interest

Book of the Week

Statecraft 2.0 What America Needs to Lead in a Multipolar World

By Dennis Ross 

“In a world that is multipolar and America has less relative power, the United States no longer has the luxury to practice statecraft badly…In Statecraft 2.0, Dennis Ross explains why failing to marry objectives and means has happened so often in American foreign policy. He uses historical examples to illustrate the factors that account for this, including political pressures, weak understanding of the countries where the U.S. has intervened, changing objectives before achieving those that have been established, and relying too much on ourselves and too little on allies and partners…

Ross uses case studies to look more closely at the circumstances in which administrations have succeeded and failed in marrying objectives and means. He distills the lessons from good cases of statecraft—German unification in NATO, the first Gulf War, the surge in Iraq 2007–8—and bad cases of statecraft—going to war in Iraq 2003, and the Obama policy toward Syria. Based on those lessons, he develops a framework for applying today a statecraft approach to our policy toward China, Iran, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The book concludes with how a smart statecraft approach would shape policy toward the new national security challenges of climate, pandemics, and cyber.”

Featured Partner Event

FTWeekend Festival: U.S. Edition

The Financial Times Weekend Festival returns on Saturday, May 10 in Washington, D.C. and online! Experience the paper come to life with debates, tastings, performances, and more.

With speakers including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Anthony Scaramucci, Katherine Maher, Teresa Carlson, and many more—this is a Saturday you will not want to miss!

As a Leaf subscriber, claim 25% off your pass today using promo code AspenxFT25!

Podcast of the Week

Kent Walker joined Tammy Haddad for the Washington AI Network podcast: “Google’s Kent Walker on AI Standards, Quantum Breakthroughs, DeepSeek, and the DOJ Case”

Join Our Team!

The Aspen Strategy Group is seeking a Scowcroft-Nye Fellow with a strong interest in foreign policy and national security. Join our small, fast-paced, collaborative team and contribute to the main pillars of our work, including the Aspen Security Forum, the Rising Leaders Program, and Track II Dialogues.

Thank you for sharing this opportunity with your networks.

The Weekly Leaf

This week, President Trump announced major AI chip agreements with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war were held in Türkiye, the U.S. and China reached a tariff reduction deal, and India and Pakistan declared a ceasefire after last week’s military confrontation.
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