This week, the U.S. prepared to send military assets to the Middle East following the Iranian regime’s deadly crackdown on protestors, European nations sent troops to Greenland following inconclusive talks between Danish, Greenlandic, and U.S. officials in Washington, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, and Taiwan agreed to invest $250 billion in the U.S. semiconductor industry in exchange for a reduction in tariffs.
Read more below.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Nicholas Burns quoted by Connor Greene for TIME: “Why Is Trump So Intent on Acquiring Greenland?”
Anja Manuel interviewed by Jason Bordoff for the Columbia Energy Exchange podcast: “Anja Manuel on the Next Era of Great Power Competition”
Antony Blinken interviewed by Andrew Ross Sorkin for CNBC’s Squawk Box: “Former Sec. of State Blinken: The Retreat Into a Spheres-of-Influence World Will Lead to Conflict”
Chris Coons quoted by Emmet Lyons for CBS News: “U.S. Lawmakers Seek to Reassure Denmark Amid Trump’s Push to Acquire Greenland”
Elizabeth Economy joined Daniel P. Erikson, Suzanne Maloney, Paul B. Stares, and moderator Linda Robinson at the Council on Foreign Relations’ Preventive Priorities Survey Launch: “What to Worry About in 2026”
Michael Froman interviewed by Brian Sullivan for CNBC’s Closing Bell Overtime: “Greenland Important for Arctic Security, Doesn’t Need to Be Owned by U.S.: Fmr. U.S. Trade Rep”
Michael J. Green for the Korea JoonAng Daily: “Regime Change in Venezuela Worked for Now but What Comes Next Will Impact East Asia”
Jane Harman interviewed by Joe Mathieu and Julie Fine for Bloomberg’s Balance of Power: “Is This the Most Dangerous Moment in Geopolitics for Trump?”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “How Trump Can Begin an Iran Transition After the Bloodbath”
Dina Powell McCormick joined Meta as President and Vice Chairman
Sam Nunn interviewed by Jeff Hullinger for Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Georgia Legends
Meghan O’Sullivan for Foreign Affairs: “How Venezuela Becomes a Quagmire: Washington Is Repeating Mistakes It Made in Iraq”
David Petraeus interviewed by Kasia Madera for BBC News: “Strategic Judgment in an Age of Global Volatility”
Jack Reed interviewed by Mika Brzezinski and Jonathan Lemire for MS NOW’s Morning Joe: “Reed Joins MS NOW’s Morning Joe to Discuss Venezuela, Greenland, and ICE”
David Rubenstein moderated a panel with Mary L. Dudziak, James M. Lindsay, and Christopher M. Nichols for the Council on Foreign Relations’ America at 250 series: “The Best and Worst Decisions in U.S. Foreign Policy”
Dan Sullivan at the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing: “Dan Sullivan Grills General Nominees on Addressing Trump’s New National Defense Strategy”
Jake Sullivan for China-U.S. Focus: “China and America Must Get Serious About AI Risk”
Post of the Week
Young Leaders Spotlight
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Former Fellows
Alma Caballero (‘22) appointed as Co-Chair of the Mexico Program Advisory Council for the Inter-American Dialogue
Joseph Dinkel (‘23) awarded the U.S. Naval Academy’s Clements Teaching Award
Chris Herrmann and Aslı Aydıntaşbaş for the European Council on Foreign Relations: “Venezuela, Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ and Three Dilemmas Facing Europe”
Rachel Myrick (‘21) interviewed by Jen White and Todd Zwillich for WAMU’s 1A: “If You Can Keep It: The Future of American Intervention Abroad”
Helen Toner (‘21) interviewed by Haslinda Amin for Bloomberg’s Insight: “Former OpenAI Board Member Helen Toner on Grok AI Image Controversy”
Zoe Weinberg (‘21) interviewed by Charlie Warzel for The Atlantic’s Galaxy Brain podcast: “Grok’s ‘Digital Undressing’ Crisis and a Manifesto to Build a Better Internet”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Stephen Borowiec for Nikkei Asia: “Opposites Attract: Takaichi, Lee Put Shared Interests Before Past Division”
Aleksandar Brezar for Euronews: “European Troops Arrive in Greenland as U.S. and Denmark Talks Fail to Resolve Dispute”
Isabel Debre for AP News: “Forget Tariff Wars: The EU and Mercosur Build One of the World’s Biggest Free Trade Zones”
Karen DeYoung, Claire Parker, and Heba Farouk Mahfouz for The Washington Post: “U.S. Announces Launch of Second Phase of Gaza Peace Plan”
Emmanuel Grynszpan and Thomas d’Istria for Le Monde: “Russia Steps Up Ukraine Strikes as Polar Cold Grips the Country”
Shelby Holliday, Costas Paris, and Milàn Czerny for The Wall Street Journal: “U.S. Forces Seize Sixth Oil Tanker Near Venezuela”
Preeti Jha for Semafor: “Uganda’s President Museveni Takes Early Lead in Election Results”
Yoko Kubota for The Wall Street Journal: “China and Canada Edge Closer With Progress on Trade”
Peter Nicholas and Monica Alba for NBC News: “Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Gives Trump her Nobel Peace Prize Medal”
David E. Sanger for The New York Times: “An Emboldened Trump Places His Bets From Caracas to Tehran”
Arsalan Shalah for Bloomberg: “Iran Averts U.S. Strikes for Now With Vow to Avoid Executions”
Jeremy Shapiro for Foreign Affairs: “How Greenland Falls: Imagining a Bloodless Trump Takeover”
Aime Williams, Kathrin Hille, and Michael Acton for the Financial Times: “U.S. and Taiwan Strike Trade Deal Tied to $250bn Chip Investment”
From the Archives
Revisit our recent conversation with Admiral Mike Mullen from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition.
Fireside Chat with Admiral Mike Mullen, USN (Ret.)
Admiral Mike Mullen, USN (Ret.), 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Moderator: Peter Spiegel, The Washington Post
Book of the Week
The Triangle of Power: Rebalancing the New World Order
By Alexander Stubb
“In The Triangle of Power, Finnish President Alexander Stubb argues that we are living through a hinge moment in history, akin to 1918, 1945, or 1989. A new international system is taking shape, driven by three major forces: the Global West, the Global East, and the Global South. At the center is the escalating competition between the United States and China, as both try to forge bilateral deals and regional alliances, but it is the Global South that will ultimately determine whether the future tilts toward cooperation or fragmentation. Drawing on decades at the front lines of diplomacy and blending personal insight with political and academic experience, Stubb delivers a passionate call for values-based realism and dignified foreign policy—and warns that unless the West learns to listen, it will lose its place in the world it once built.”
Podcast of the Week
Mark Dubowitz joined Kim Strassel for The Wall Street Journal’s All Things with Kim Strassel podcast: “How Should the U.S. Respond to Iran’s Brutal Crackdown?”
Intern with the Aspen Strategy Group!
The Aspen Strategy Group is seeking summer interns with a strong interest in foreign policy and national security. Interns will work closely with the ASG team to support all aspects of the planning and execution of the 2026 Aspen Security Forum. See the full internship description here. Applications close Friday, January 30.
Thank you for sharing this opportunity with your networks.
