This week, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, two gunmen with alleged ties to ISIS killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach, Chile elected conservative José Antonio Kast as its next president, President Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela, the U.S. announced its largest ever arms sales package to Taiwan, and European leaders agreed on a €90 billion loan to Ukraine.
Read more below.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice spoke at the Innovate Alabama forum: “At Innovate Alabama Forum, Leaders Focus on Keeping Talent Home”
Nicholas Burns interviewed by Lynn Thoman for the 3 Takeaways podcast: “What U.S. Ambassador to China Nick Burns Saw That Terrified Him”
Anja Manuel selected for Board Prospects’ “100 Exceptional Private Company Board Members”
Kay Bailey Hutchison contributed to POLITICO: “The Trump Effect: How One Man’s Politics Rewired Europe”
Kurt Campbell interviewed by Demetri Sevastopulo for the Financial Times: “On the Farm With Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell”
Elizabeth Economy for Foreign Affairs: “How China Wins the Future: Beijing’s Strategy to Seize the New Frontiers of Power”
Michael Froman interviewed by Jordan Schneider for the ChinaTalk podcast: “CFR’s Mike Froman on Détente 2.0 and Running a Think Tank”
Michael J. Green interviewed Christopher Johnstone for The Asia Chessboard podcast: “The Necessary Deepening of Japan’s Alliances”
Jane Harman interviewed by Joe Mathieu for Bloomberg’s Balance of Power podcast: “Trump Vows ‘Big Damage’ After Attack on U.S. Troops in Syria”
David Petraeus interviewed by Dan Murphy for CNBC
David Rubenstein interviewed by Nicolai Tangen for the In Good Company podcast: “David Rubenstein: Defining Great Investors, Guiding Presidents, and Preserving History”
Jake Sullivan for Project Syndicate: “China and America Must Get Serious About AI Risk”
Robert Zoellick for The Wall Street Journal: “White House National-Security Strategy Reflects Vance’s Thinking”
Post of the Week
Rising Leaders Program
Features from ASG Rising Leaders
Daniel Lippman (’22) and Maggie Miller for POLITICO: “Trump Sends Nomination of Joshua Rudd — Potential NSA, Cyber Command Leader — to Senate”
Victoria Murrieta (’25) interviewed by Lucy Bravo for adn Noticias
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Vera Bergengruen, Kejal Vyas, and Costas Paris for The Wall Street Journal: “Trump Orders Blockade of Sanctioned Oil Tankers In and Out of Venezuela”
Aleksandar Brezar for Euronews: “Putin Touts Battlefield Gains, Signaling War in Ukraine Will Continue”
Kaia Hubbard for CBS News: “Senate Passes NDAA in 77-20 Vote, Sending $900 Billion Defense Policy Bill to Trump”
Raya Jalabi and Nic Fildes for the Financial Times: “Bondi Beach Massacre Renews Fears of ISIS-Inspired Attacks”
Saikou Jammeh for The New York Times: “Under U.S. Pressure, Militia Backed by Rwanda to Withdraw From City in Congo”
Matthew Lee and Simina Mistreanu for AP News: “U.S. Announces Massive Package of Arms Sales to Taiwan Valued at More Than $10 Billion, Angering China”
Shibani Mahtani for The Washington Post: “Jimmy Lai Case Shows How China Is Rewriting Hong Kong’s History”
Virginie Malingre and Philippe Jacqué for Le Monde: “EU to Loan €90 Billion to Ukraine While Delaying Mercosur Deal”
Matthew Malinowski, Antonia Mufarech, and Carolina Gonzalez for Bloomberg: “Kast’s Landslide Win Propels Chile Into U.S.-Led Conservative Orbit”
Barak Ravid for Axios: “Netanyahu Approves $35 Billion Gas Deal With Egypt Under U.S. Pressure”
Majda Ruge for Foreign Policy: “Trump’s Business Model Is to Break Europe”
Feliz Solomon for The Wall Street Journal: “Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan Stumbles Over Hamas Disarmament”
Sebastian Strangio for The Diplomat: “Thailand, Cambodia Agree to Deployment of ASEAN Observers, Malaysian PM Says”
From the Archives
Revisit our recent conversation on the current state of U.S. foreign policy with Senator Dave McCormick from the 2025 ASF: DC Edition.
Fireside Chat with Senator Dave McCormick
Dave McCormick, U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania, U.S. Senate
Moderator: Matthew Continetti, The Wall Street Journal
Book of the Week
The Land Trap: A New History of the World’s Oldest Asset
By Mike Bird
“In The Land Trap, Mike Bird—Wall Street editor at The Economist—reveals how this ancient asset still exerts outsize influence over the modern world. From the speculative land grabs of colonial America to China’s real estate crisis today, Bird shows how fortunes are built—and destroyed—on the bedrock of land. Tracing three centuries of history, Bird explores how land quietly became the linchpin of the global banking system, driving everything from soaring housing prices to rising geopolitical tensions. As governments wrestle with inequality and land grows ever scarcer, The Land Trap offers a powerful new framework for understanding the hidden force behind today’s most urgent challenges.”
Around the Aspen Institute
This week, Aspen Institute Germany released a new publication, Structural Change in the Western Balkans edited by Stormy-Annika Mildner, Tina Bories, and Avi Shapiro.
“This publication captures the key insights, debates, and recommendations from the conference ‘Structural Change in the Western Balkans,’ held in Tirana in October 2025. Organized by the Aspen Institute Germany in cooperation with the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, the conference brought together leading voices from politics, academia, business, and civil society to foster in-depth discussions on policy responses shaping the region’s future.”
Podcast of the Week
Caroline Costello and Joshua Eisenman joined Eric Olander and Géraud Neema for The China-Global South Project’s The China in Africa Podcast: “China’s Outsized Role in West Africa’s Illegal Resource Trade”
