This week, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted former President of Cuba Raúl Castro on murder and conspiracy charges, Iran reviewed the latest U.S. peace proposal after President Trump called off strikes, President Putin met with President Xi in Beijing, and the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC a “global health emergency.”
Read more below.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice interviewed by Peter Mallouk for the Icons and Ideas podcast: “Inside Global Power: Secretary Condoleezza Rice on Leadership and the New World Order”
Nicholas Burns interviewed by James M. Lindsay for the Council on Foreign Relations’ The President’s Inbox podcast: “What Trump and Xi Didn’t Settle in Beijing”
Anja Manuel quoted by Jonathan Gibson for The Dispatch: “Trump and Xi Confront a Changing AI Landscape”
Antony Blinken, Linda Thomas Greenfield, Andy Kim, and moderator Jen Psaki at the Center for American Progress’ 2026 IDEAS Conference: “The Future of American Foreign Policy”
Christian Brose interviewed by Aaron MacLean for the School of War podcast: “Grading Operation Epic Fury”
Kurt Campbell interviewed for CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia: “Russia-China Ties Expose ‘Less-Fulfilling’ U.S.-China Relationship”
Chris Coons interviewed by Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu for Bloomberg’s Balance of Power: “Trump Took ‘Critical Step Backwards’ on Taiwan”
Elizabeth Economy for the Financial Times: “The U.S. and China Crave Hegemony Without Responsibility”
Mark Esper and Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the GLOBSEC Forum 2026: “Europe’s New Security Reality”
Michael Froman for the Council on Foreign Relations: “Beyond Taiwan, a ‘Decent Peace’ at the Trump-Xi Summit”
Robert Gates interviewed by Margaret Brennan for CBS News’ Face the Nation
Jane Harman for The Hill: “How Trump Could Stop Losing in Iran”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “The Trump-Xi Narrative Isn’t True. America Keeps Falling Uphill.”
Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson interviewed Tom Wilson for Semafor’s The CEO Signal podcast: “Allstate CEO Tom Wilson on Trust, Purpose, and Why CEOs Should Speak Up”
David Rubenstein interviewed by James Stavridis for The Carlyle Group’s Navigating Leadership series: “David Rubenstein on Resilience, Risk, and What Really Drives Success”
Post of the Week
Young Leaders Spotlight
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Former Fellows
Rebecca J. Anderson (‘26) et al. for McKinsey Global Institute: “Ramping Up Manufacturing in America?”
María Fernanda Bozmoski (‘26) et al. contributed to the Atlantic Council’s Dispatches: “After the Castro Indictment, What Is Trump’s Endgame in Cuba?”
William Chandler (‘26) et al. for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: “U.S. Trade Court Strikes Down Section 122 Tariffs, but Ruling’s Fate Is Uncertain and Practical Impact Is Limited”
Liana Fix (‘23), Jennifer Kavanagh, Justin Logan, and moderator Katherine Thompson at the Cato Institute: “Should the United States Withdraw Troops From Germany?”
Thomas J. Shattuck (‘26), Shihoko Goto, Chris Estep, and Prashanth Parameswaran for the Foreign Policy Research Institute: “FPRI Experts React | Trump-Xi Summit”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Nicholas Bariyo for The Wall Street Journal: “As Ebola Spreads in Congo, Islamic State and Rebels Slow Rescue Efforts”
Catherine Belton and Rudy Lu for The Washington Post: “As Putin Visits China, Distrust Simmers Beneath an Anti-U.S. Alliance”
John Burn-Murdoch for the Financial Times: “Why Birth Rates Are Falling Everywhere All at Once”
Peggy Corlin for Euronews: “EU Parliament Approves Implementation of U.S. Tariff Deal Under Pressure From Trump”
Sam Dagher for Bloomberg: “Attack on UAE Nuclear Plant From Iraq ‘Warning Shot’ by Iran”
David Ehl for DW: “What’s Behind Bolivia’s Ongoing Protests?”
Adrian Elimian for Semafor: “Senators Propose Overhaul of U.S.-Tanzania Relationship”
France 24: “Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Refinery, Zelensky Says, as Kyiv Intensifies New Tactic”
Ashley Gold, Maria Curi, and Sam Sabin for Axios: “Anti-‘Doomer’ Feedback Derails Trump’s AI Executive Order”
Jacob Judah for the Financial Times: “Donald Trump’s Risky Military Options to Break Iran Deadlock”
Samy Magdy and Sam Mednick for the AP: “U.S. Says ‘Slight Progress’ in Iran Talks Amid Uncertainty About Whether War Will Resume”
Rachel Oswald for Foreign Policy: “The Calls for a U.S. War on Cuba Are Getting Louder”
Alexander Palmer for CSIS: “The Killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki and the U.S. Military’s Deepening Involvement in Nigeria”
Meaghan Tobin and Tripp Mickle for The New York Times: “Trump Approved a Nvidia Chip for Sale in China. Beijing Doesn’t Want It.”
Oliver Wright for The Times: “Landmark Gulf Trade Deal ‘Will Boost Growth by £3.7bn’”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation on cyber intelligence from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum.
Cyber Intelligence: An Enabler of Security and Resilience
Johan Gerber, Executive Vice President, Head of Security Solutions, Mastercard
Rob Joyce, Founder, Joyce Cyber; Former Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator, U.S. National Security Council
Jenna Ben-Yehuda, Executive Vice President, Atlantic Council
Moderator: David Sanger, The New York Times
Book of the Week
Keeper of My Kin
By Ada Ferrer
“In 1963, four years after Fidel Castro came to power, Ada Ferrer’s mother made the agonizing decision to flee Cuba with her infant daughter, Ada, and to leave behind her nine-year-old son, Poly…. In this beautiful memoir, Ferrer masterfully shifts between her roles as historian and family member, weaving a multigenerational tale that reaches into the past to understand the circumstances and choices that led to the present… Moving between Cuba and the United States and then back again, the book unpacks the experience and emotion of migration, in the moment of separation and over the long-term, for those who left and those who stayed…. Using a treasure trove of letters written across the gulf of family separation and found after the death of Ada’s parents, as well as government documents acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests, Ferrer offers us a profound reflection on belonging, memory, and the lasting imprint of history.”
Podcast of the Week
Frank Donovan joined Ryan Evans for the War on the Rocks podcast: “What Does SOUTHCOM’s New Autonomous Warfare Command Herald?”
