This week, the Munich Security Conference took place, President Trump discussed nuclear talks with Iran during his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright met with Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez to tour oil producing facilities, and NATO launched a new military effort to strengthen its presence in the Arctic.
Read more below.
Aspen Strategy Group at the Munich Security Conference
On Friday, February 13, the Aspen Strategy Group was pleased to co-host a reception on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference with Aspen Congressional Program, Aspen Digital, and Aspen Institute Germany. Senator Mark Warner and Senator Roger Wicker kicked off the event with a classic Bavarian tradition.
On Saturday, February 14, the ASG held a discussion at MSC with Senator Andy Kim, ASG Executive Director Anja Manuel, and ASG member and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Steve Biegun, moderated by the Financial Times’ Gideon Rachman. The discussion explored the theme “Wanderlust or Homebound? Where U.S. Foreign Policy Goes Next” and examined the United States’ evolving approach to a shifting strategic landscape.
Check out the 2026 Munich Security Report “Under Destruction”
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice, Philip Zelikow, Robert Blackwill, and James O. Ellis Jr. at the Hoover Institution’s Global Policy and Strategy Initiative webinar: “Alternative U.S. Grand Strategies: Past, Present, Future”
Nicholas Burns interviewed by Nick Schifrin for PBS News: “Jimmy Lai Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison by Beijing-Backed Court”
Nicholas Burns quoted by Cao Jiaxuan for the South China Morning Post: “What Will Headline the Xi-Trump Summit? Former U.S. Envoy Weighs In”
Nicholas Burns and Kay Bailey Hutchison et al. issued a joint statement: “NATO Is Vital to U.S. National Security”
Anja Manuel interviewed by Mika Brzezinski for MS NOW’s Morning Joe
Anja Manuel interviewed by Daniel Gateno for Estadão: “Brazil Effectively Used Its Leverage to Reduce Trump’s Tariffs, According to a Former U.S. Diplomat”
Anja Manuel interviewed by Francine Lacqua for Bloomberg’s The Pulse: “Poland’s Sikorski Says Europe Deserves Role in Ukraine Talks”
Kay Bailey Hutchison quoted by Sam Barron for Newsmax: “Kay Bailey Hutchison to Newsmax: Strike Iran if It Tries to Develop Nukes”
Chris Coons interviewed for CNBC: “Sen. Chris Coons: ‘Very Strained Relations With NATO Allies’”
Mark Esper interviewed by Derek Chollet for the JPMorganChase Center for Geopolitics: “A Conversation With Mark Esper”
Michael Froman for The New York Times: “It Is Decision Time for NATO”
Robert Gates interviewed by Carolina McCall at Texas A&M’s Memorial Student Center Student Conference on National Affairs: “Former Texas A&M President Dr. Robert Gates Speaks at Conference on National Affairs”
Jane Harman interviewed by John Berman for CNN
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “An Epic Feud Threatens Mideast Stability at a Delicate Moment”
Meghan O’Sullivan moderated a panel with Graham Allison, Rose Gottemoeller, Rafael Mariano Grossi, and Natalia Pouzyreff at the Munich Security Conference: “Mushrooming: Tackling Growing Nuclear-Proliferation Risks”
David Petraeus interviewed by Maria Bartiromo for Fox News’ Mornings With Maria: “Trump Warns Iran of ‘Very Traumatic’ Consequences if Nuclear Deal Talks Fail”
Jack Reed quoted by Karoun Demirjian, Eric Schmitt, Kate Kelly, Hamed Aleaziz, and Luke Broadwater for The New York Times: “Border Officials Are Said to Have Caused El Paso Closure by Firing Anti-Drone Laser”
Susan Rice interviewed by Tim Fullerton, Zak Kimball, and Rich Laguna for the Find Out podcast: “Susan Rice on Trump’s Lawlessness, U.S. Allies, and the Economic Fallout”
David E. Sanger and William Broad for The New York Times: “Newly Unbound, Trump Weighs More Nuclear Arms and Underground Tests”
Anne-Marie Slaughter for Internationale Politik Quarterly: “Does the Decline of U.S. Soft Power Matter?”
Dan Sullivan quoted by Charles Creitz for Fox News: “‘They Were Spying’: Sullivan Sounds Alarm on Joint Russia-China Moves in U.S. Arctic Zone”
Jake Sullivan interviewed by Walter Isaacson for PBS’ Amanpour and Company: “Fmr. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on China, the U.S., and the AI Race”
Post of the Week
Young Leaders Spotlight
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Former Fellows
Rachel Myrick (‘21) and William Marble in National Affairs’ Winter 2026 issue: “Foreign Policy Failures and Global Attitudes Towards Great Powers: Evidence From the U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan”
Dale Swartz (‘21) et al. for McKinsey & Company: “Future Defense Tech: Multidomain Stacks to Build Affordable Mass”
Helen Toner (‘21) appointed as a core member of the Munich Security Conference’s Tech Strategy Initiative
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Alexis Akwagyiram for Semafor: “DR Congo Inks AI Deal With U.S. Firm to Map Country’s Critical Minerals”
Ghaith Alsayed for AP News: “Syria Says Its Forces Have Taken Over Al-Tanf Base After a Handover From the U.S.”
Aaron Boxerman for The New York Times: “Trump Says ‘Nothing Definitive’ Came Out of Meeting With Netanyahu on Iran”
Carole Dieterich for Le Monde: “Bangladesh Seeks Democratic Renewal in First Post-Uprising Election”
Brandon Drenon for BBC News: “U.S. Boards Tanker in Indian Ocean It ‘Tracked and Hunted’ From Caribbean”
Juan Forero and Ryan Dubé for The Wall Street Journal: “U.S. Energy Secretary Talks Oil Revival—and Democracy—in Venezuela Visit”
France 24: “Ukraine Will Not Hold Elections Until a Ceasefire Is in Place, Zelensky Says”
Abigail Hauslohner and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany for the Financial Times: “Rubio Tells Europe That U.S. Will Not Abandon Transatlantic Alliance”
Mary Ilyushina for The Washington Post: “Vance Visits Armenia, Azerbaijan as Trump Eyes Deals in Russia’s Sphere”
Kenji Kawase for Nikkei Asia: “China Looms Behind Takaichi’s Historic Win in Japan Election”
Joshua Kurlantzick for the Council on Foreign Relations: “Thai Voters Look for Stability as People’s Party Implodes”
Jesús Maturana and Aleksandar Brezar for Euronews: “U.S. Orders Its Largest Aircraft Carrier to Middle East in Show of Force to Tehran”
Andrea Palasciano and Sanne Wass for Bloomberg: “NATO Launches Arctic Mission After Trump’s Greenland Threats”
Richard Lloyd Parry and Matt Dathan for The Times: “Hong Kong Dissident Jimmy Lai Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison”
Michael M. Phillips for The Wall Street Journal: “U.S. to Send 200 Troops to Help Nigeria Fight Islamist Insurgents”
Recorded Future’s Insikt Group: “2026 State of Security” Report
Majda Ruge for the European Council on Foreign Relations: “One Battle After Another: Factional Struggles and the Making of Trump’s Foreign Policy”
Shakeel Sobhan for DW: “Japan Seizes Chinese Fishing Vessel in a First Since 2022”
Tara Suter for The Hill: “Carney Says He Had ‘Positive’ Conversation With Trump After Bridge Threat”
Aime Williams for the Financial Times: “U.S. and Taiwan Sign Trade Agreement to Seal Chip Investment”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation on Iran from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum.
Stephen Hadley, Founding Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC; Former U.S. National Security Advisor
Rachel Bronson, Senior Advisor, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Vali Nasr, Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
David Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent, The New York Times
Moderator: Dafna Linzer, U.S. News and World Report
Book of the Week
On My Watch: Leading NATO in a Time of War
By Jens Stoltenberg
“When Jens Stoltenberg took office as secretary general of NATO in 2014, the world was already changing. What followed was a decade marked by war, diplomatic crises, and decisions that helped shape the West’s shared security.
On My Watch takes readers behind closed doors and offers rare insight into how the world’s most powerful military alliance handles crises….This is not a book about division. It is a story of unity, of friendship—and of why NATO still matters. Through his reflections on disagreements and dilemmas, he offers a unique view into the art of diplomacy and the hard choices that must be made when global peace is at stake. He ultimately shows why openness is essential to preserve cohesion—and to face the challenges of tomorrow.”
Podcast of the Week
Elbridge Colby joined Mark Leonard for the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Mark Leonard’s World in 30 Minutes podcast: “Munich Security Conference Special With Elbridge Colby”
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.
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