This week, the U.S. proposed a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine; Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced Saudi Arabia will increase its investment commitments in the U.S. to almost $1 trillion following his visit to the White House; and the G20 summit is set to start tomorrow in South Africa without senior participation from the U.S.
Read more below.
The Weekly Leaf will be on hiatus next week. Thank you to all of our readers and wishing you a happy Thanksgiving!
Registration Open | Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition
There is still time to register for the Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition! We hope you will join us for an afternoon of conversations on the most pressing national security and foreign policy challenges of our time. If you are interested in attending, please apply here.
Stay tuned for an ASF: DC agenda release in early December! Make sure you are following us on Instagram for a sneak peek of the agenda ahead of the official release.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice for the Hoover Institution’s Freedom Frequency: “Strengthening America’s Education System to Secure Our Future”
Nicholas Burns awarded the Dayton Peace Prize at the Dayton Peace Accords 30th Anniversary Gala
Kay Bailey Hutchison, Jeff Flake, Michael McFaul, and moderator Jeffrey Goldberg at the Texas Tribune Festival
Antony J. Blinken delivered the 31st Nexus Lecture: “Present at the Re-Creation”
Mark T. Esper for USA Today: “U.S. Can’t Secure the Border Alone. Mexico Must Take a Real Stand Against Cartels.”
Peter Feaver interviewed Salam Fayyad for Duke’s Program in American Grand Strategy
Michael Froman for the Council on Foreign Relations: “Trade Beyond Tariffs”
Robert M. Gates interviewed by William Inboden for the University of Texas’ Texas National Security Forum
Michael Green quoted by Kim Eun-joong for The Chosun Daily: “West Sea Risks Becoming Another South China Sea, Experts Warn”
Jane Harman interviewed by Joe Mathieu and Michelle Jamrisko for Bloomberg’s Balance of Power podcast: “Trump Defends Saudi’s MBS With Billions in Tech, Defense Deals on the Table”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “For a ‘Future King’ in Washington, Past and Future Each Weigh Heavily”
Jack Reed quoted by Burgess Everett and Reed Albergotti for Semafor: “Democrats Fighting to Preserve States’ Ability to Regulate AI”
David M. Rubenstein interviewed Walter Isaacson for the America’s Book Club podcast: “Walter Isaacson on the Minds That Shape Our Modern World”
Anne-Marie Slaughter and William Burke-White for Bloomberg: “Argentina’s $16 Billion Payment Would Disrupt Global Legal Order”
Dan Sullivan and Kristi Noem at the signing of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact with Finland and Canada
Jake Sullivan interviewed by Jordan Schneider for the ChinaTalk podcast: “Jake Sullivan on China and AI”
Post of the Week
Rising Leaders Program
Features from ASG Rising Leaders
Alma Caballero (‘22) moderated a panel with Esteban Moctezuma Barragán and Cameron MacKay at the North Capital Forum: “Feeling Good: USMCA Ambassadors Take the Stage”
Lauren Dickey (‘22) testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “Reviewing the Implementation of the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act and Future Opportunities for U.S.-Taiwan Cooperation”
Jennifer Schuch-Page (‘21) quoted by Jean Iau for the South China Morning Post: “Atomic Ambitions: Singapore Eyes the Nuclear Option for a Net-Zero Future”
Helen Toner (‘21) quoted by Cade Metz and Eli Tan for The New York Times: “In the A.I. Race, Chinese Talent Still Drives American Research”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Michael Acton and Tim Bradshaw for the Financial Times: “Nvidia Shrugs Off ‘AI Bubble’ Anxiety With Bumper Chip Demand”
Michael Albertus for Foreign Policy: “Maduro Needs a Golden Parachute”
Agnieszka Barteczko for Bloomberg: “Poland to Close Russian Consulate in Response to Rail Blast”
Gracelin Baskeran for the Center for Strategic & International Studies: “What’s in the New U.S.-Saudi Minerals Agreement?”
Robert Bociaga for The Diplomat: “China’s Sahel Gamble Falters as Insurgencies Rage”
CBS News: “UN Security Council Approves U.S.-Brokered Gaza Peace Plan”
Edward Fishman and Julian Gewirtz for TIME: “How to Win the Economic War With China”
Stephen Gibbs for The Times: “Communist and Conservative to Face Off in Chile’s Presidential Race”
Lauren Hirsch for The New York Times: “Saudi Arabia, Once Shunned, Has Corporate Titans Swooning for Deals”
Gerald Imray for AP News: “Leaders Arrive for a First African G20 Summit Overshadowed by a Rift Between the Host and the U.S.”
Laura Kelly for The Hill: “Trump Special Envoy for Ukraine to Leave Post”
Supriya Kumar for The Washington Post: “In India, Modi’s Party Cements Its Rule With Sweeping State Election Win”
Simon Mundy for the Financial Times: “COP30 Enters Endgame With Tensions on Fossil Fuels and Finance”
Yukio Tajima for Nikkei Asia: “Japanese, Chinese Diplomats Spar Over Taiwan Row, Signaling Long Standoff”
Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman, and Laurence Norman for The Wall Street Journal: “Trump Peace Plan Demands Major Concessions From Ukraine”
From the Archives
In light of the recent ICE Pact between the U.S., Canada, and Finland, revisit our conversation on Arctic security from the 2023 Aspen Security Forum.
On Thin Ice? Navigating the New North
Esther D. Brimmer, James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance, Council on Foreign Relations
Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator for Alaska
Vice Admiral Frank ‘Trey’ Whitworth, Then Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Moderator: Jim Sciutto, Anchor and Chief National Security Analyst, CNN
Book of the Week
The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States
By Kori Schake
“America’s Founding Fathers feared that a standing army would be a permanent political danger, yet the U.S. military has in the 250 years since become a bulwark of democracy. Kori Schake explains why in this compelling history of civil-military relations from independence to the challenges of the present….The U.S. military is historically anomalous for maintaining its strength and popularity while never becoming a threat to democracy. Schake concludes by asking if its admirable record can be sustained when the public is pulling the military into the political divisions of our time.”
Around the Aspen Institute
On November 18, Aspen Digital celebrated 10 years of dialogue at the 2025 Aspen Cyber Summit in Washington, D.C. The 2025 Summit put cybersecurity front and center for the government officials, business leaders, nonprofit advocates, and future defenders who are crucial to creating a safer world, online and off. Speakers included Sean Cairncross, General Paul M. Nakasone (Ret.), Senator Mike Rounds, Sandra Joyce, and more. Watch the session recordings below.
Podcast of the Week
David A. Gantz joined Monica de Bolle for the Peterson Institute’s Policy for the Planet podcast: “The Imperiled Future of the Panama Canal”
Application Open | Rising Leaders Program
Applications for the Rising Leaders Program Class of 2026 are open! Throughout the year-long program, Rising Leaders learn from key decision-makers—and most importantly, each other—under the aegis of the Aspen Strategy Group.
Apply by December 14 or share this opportunity with your networks.
