This week, the EU and India signed a free trade agreement, a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group arrived in the Middle East, China purged two of its top military leaders, President Putin hosted Syrian President al-Sharaa in Moscow, and President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Read more below.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice for the Hoover Institution’s Freedom Frequency: “Informed Minds—and Decisions—Are Essential for Freedom and America’s Future”
Kurt Campbell for The New York Times: “On China, Trump Is Rolling the Dice on America’s Future”
Michael Froman for Project Syndicate: “Why Greenland Matters”
Jane Harman quoted by Jamey Keaten for the AP: “Trump Steals the Show in Davos With a Mixed Bag of Rhetoric and Results at Elite Gathering”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “Behind the Scenes, a Real Plan Is Underway for Rebuilding Gaza”
Meghan L. O’Sullivan et al. for POLITICO: “Trump Is Demolishing the Global Order. Here’s What Might Come Next.”
Susan Rice interviewed by Nicole Wallace for MS NOW’s The Best People: “‘Clearly Diminishing’: Susan Rice Sounds Alarm on Trump Insulting U.S. Allies”
David Rubenstein interviewed by Jonathan Ferro and Annmarie Hordern for Bloomberg Surveillance: “Fed Chair Powell Has Done a Good Job, Rubenstein Says”
David E. Sanger, Mark Mazzetti, Julian E. Barnes, and Ronen Bergman for The New York Times: “War Threats and Ambiguous Evidence: Trump Again Confronts Iran”
Jake Sullivan and Tal Feldman for Foreign Affairs: “Geopolitics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”
Post of the Week
Young Leaders Spotlight
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Former Fellows
Nicholas Hanson (‘25) and Madeline Field for War on the Rocks: “Economic Statecraft Is Back. Is America Ready?”
Victoria Murrieta (‘25) joined adn Noticias as Foreign Affairs Commentator
Helen Toner (‘21) co-published a report for Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology: “When AI Builds AI: Findings From a Workshop on Automation of AI R&D”
Featured Partner Content
It’s Time for a Data-Driven Foreign Policy Reboot
The 2026 NDS and NDAA call for greater security cooperation and efficient resource allocation to build a dominant posture against adversarial major powers. MITRE has developed an evaluation model that enables a structured, data driven framework for prioritizing U.S. engagement with emerging and middle-income countries (EMICs) based on these priorities.
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Daniel Carvalho for Bloomberg: “‘Davos of Latin America’ Tests Lula’s Regional Clout”
Thompson Chau for Nikkei Asia: “Taiwan’s KMT, Chinese Communist Party to Hold ‘Think Tank Exchange’”
Peggy Corlin and Maria Tadeo for Euronews: “EU Inks ‘Mother of All Deals’ With India Trade Agreement Amid Global Turmoil”
Steve Fisher, Alexander Ward, and Santiago Pérez for The Wall Street Journal: “A Secret FBI Bust Nabbed an Alleged Drug Lord–and Rocked Ties With Mexico”
Ghazal Golshiri, Elise Vincent, and Chloé Hoorman for Le Monde: “Trump Ramps Up Pressure on Iran by Deploying Aircraft Carrier and Threatening Strikes”
Christopher Johnson for Foreign Affairs: “The Unsettling Implications of Xi’s Military Purge”
Matthew Lee, Stephen Groves, and Joshua Goodman for AP News: “Rubio Defends Trump on Venezuela While Trying to Allay Fears About Greenland and NATO”
Heba Saleh for the Financial Times: “Trump’s ‘New Gaza’ Vision Collides With Devastation on the Ground”
Paul Sonne and Christina Goldbaum for The New York Times: “Putin, Still Harboring Assad, Welcomes New Syrian Leader to Moscow Again”
David L. Stern and Serhiy Morgunov for The Washington Post: “Russia Reveals Ukraine Energy Ceasefire Pushed by Trump Is Nearly Over”
Steven Swinford and Anna Mikhailova for The Times: “China Lifts Sanctions on MPs and Peers After Starmer-Xi Meeting”
Nick Timiraos for The Wall Street Journal: “Kevin Warsh’s Long Road to the Fed Chair”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation on Indian politics from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum.
Shaurya Doval, Member Governing Council, India Foundation
Šumit Ganguly, Director, Huntington Program on Strengthening U.S.-India Relations, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Sachin Pilot, Former Minister, Corporate Affairs, Telecom & Information Technology, Government of India; General Secretary, Indian National Congress
Moderator: Edward Luce, Financial Times
Book of the Week
To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution
“Much of the history of U.S. defense over the course of 250 years has been a story of success. Insulated by two oceans and mostly friendly neighbors, but constantly ambitious abroad, America has dared mighty things and often achieved them, argues defense analyst Michael O’Hanlon….But it is a more ‘dangerous nation’ than most citizens appreciate, given that its leaders, as well its people, are highly self-confident and activist. O’Hanlon claims that only by understanding this ‘national DNA’ can we hope to steer safely through the twenty-first century. He further argues that, in contrast to its consistently assertive grand strategy, there has been no single defining American ‘way of war’ since 1775—a good thing, since what often worked for the country in the past may be of less relevance for the modern age.”
Around the Institute
Join the Aspen Society on February 26 from 5:30–6:30 PM ET at Aspen Institute’s Washington, DC headquarter offices for an evening discussion with Ambassador Dennis Ross, who will share insights from his book, Statecraft 2.0: What America Needs to Lead in a Multipolar World. In a time when U.S. dominance is no longer assured, Ross argues for a disciplined, goal-driven foreign policy—one that aligns strategic objectives with the full range of diplomatic, military, and economic tools. The conversation will be moderated by Farah Pandith.
Podcast of the Week
Laura Bicker and Yang Zi joined Mariko Oi for BBC World Service’s Asia Specific podcast: “China’s Extraordinary Purge of Military Leaders”
