The Weekly Leaf
This week, President Trump made a deal with President Putin to lift U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports; Ukraine resumed attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and reported Starlink disruptions; the Houthis escalated attacks across the region, targeting Saudi airports and striking Yemen’s presidential palace; and Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Read more below.
Out Now: New ASG Publication
The Future of the Americas: A New Agenda?
On Thursday, October 15, the Aspen Strategy Group released a series of original papers and op-eds authored by ASG members and distinguished experts who joined us for the 2026 ASG Summer Workshop. This collection examines strategic challenges and opportunities in the Western Hemisphere.
Thank you to Robert Zoellick, Anja Manuel, Sara Carter, Alejandro Cacace, Emilio Ocampo, Leopoldo López, Rosa María Payá, Ricardo Zúniga, Rafael Fernández de Castro, Jean Manes, Jane Harman, Marc A. Thiessen, Paola Sapienza, and María Fernanda Bozmoski for contributing to this effort.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Nicholas Burns, Ban Ki-moon, and Anthony Foxx at the Harvard Kennedy School: “Global Climate Leadership: Our Planet at a Crossroads With Ban Ki-moon, Fmr. U.N. Secretary-General”
Anja Manuel for The Hill: “Americas First: Trump and Latin America”
Kay Bailey Hutchison interviewed by Cathy Newman for Sky News: “U.S. Approach to Putin ‘Hard to Explain’”
Chris Brose interviewed by John Bickley and Georgia Howe for The Daily Wire’s Morning Wire: “Will Robots Fight America’s Next War?”
William Burns was presented the American Foreign Service Association’s Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award at Georgetown University
Kurt Campbell interviewed by Shi Jiangtao and William Zheng for the South China Morning Post: “Kurt Campbell on U.S. Deterrence, the Quad, AUKUS, and Taiwan After Xi-Trump Summit”
Chris Coons interviewed by John Berman for CNN
Elizabeth Economy interviewed Martin Chorzempa for the Hoover Institution’s China Considered podcast: “The U.S.-China AI Race: Competing Models, Global Stakes”
Mark Esper interviewed by Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz for Bloomberg’s Balance of Power: “Esper Says Iran Can Still Disrupt Strait of Hormuz”
David Ignatius for The Washington Post: “‘Make the Problem and the Solution Bigger’: The Plan to End the Ukraine War”
David Petraeus, Beate Gangås, Jim Himes, and Celeste A. Wallander at the Warsaw Security Forum: “The First Line of Defence: Are Intelligence Services Already at War?”
Daniel Poneman, Neda Bolourchi, and moderator Irina Faskianos for the Council on Foreign Relations: “Global Affairs Expert Webinar: U.S.-Gulf Relations and the Strait of Hormuz”
Susan Rice interviewed by Tim Miller for The Bulwark Daily podcast: “Vote Like Your Life Depends on It”
David Rubenstein interviewed by Donny Deutsch for the On Brand With Donny Deutsch podcast: “David Rubenstein on Trump, Iran, AI, & Why He Bought the Orioles”
David E. Sanger for The New York Times: “Why Trump Made a Diesel Deal With Putin”
Robert B. Zoellick for Foreign Affairs: “Trump Is Gutting America’s Core Geopolitical Advantage”
Post of the Week
Features from ASG Rising Leaders and Fellows
Liana Fix (‘23) and Rafaela Uzan for the Council on Foreign Relations: “Russia’s Attacks in Europe Are Escalating. Here Is How to Push Back.”
Steph Guerra (‘22) for RAND: “Biosecurity in the Age of AI: Q&A With Steph Guerra”
Connor McCubrey (‘24) for Aprio: “GovCon M&A Trends: Defense Tech and Venture-Backed Buyers”
Rachel Myrick (‘21) received Georgetown’s Lepgold Book Prize for her book “Polarization and International Politics: How Extreme Partisanship Threatens Global Stability”
Thomas Shattuck (‘26) for the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House: “Assessing Existing Proposals at the Nexus of Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Risk Reduction”
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Susie Blann for the AP: “Ukraine Abandons Truce and Attacks Russian Oil Refinery as Zelenskyy Says He Feels Betrayed by Trump”
Meghan Bobrowsky for The Wall Street Journal: “Meta Says New AI Model Is State-of-the-Art, Will Make Muse Agent Smarter”
Choe Sang-Hun for The New York Times: “North Korea and China Open Their Biggest Border Bridge”
Olivia-Anne Cleary and Callum Sutherland for TIME: “Who Are the Houthis and Why Are They Attacking Saudi Arabia’s Airports?”
The Economist: “India’s Government Fails to Crush Gen Z Protests”
Shauna Farnell for BBC: “‘A Fortune of Failures’: The Colorado Ghost Town That Almost Became Aspen”
France 24: “Student Protests Spread in Albania as Demonstrators Call for PM Resignation”
Susannah George for The Washington Post: “Iranian Attacks Sink Two Ships in Strait of Hormuz”
Marta Iraola Iribarren for Euronews: “Kenya Records Second Ebola Case as Outbreak in Congo Keeps Growing”
Nik Martin for DW: “Air Strikes Kill Dozens of Gold Miners on Sudan-Egypt Border”
Tom Parfitt for The Times: “European Leaders Rally Around Zelensky After Trump Outburst”
Faris Tanyos and Chris Livesay for CBS News: “Pope Leo Recovering ‘As Expected’ After Surgery and Lung Cancer Diagnosis, Vatican Says”
William Wallis for the Financial Times: “Former DR Congo Leader Joseph Kabila to Lead New Rebel Alliance”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation on Ukraine’s innovation and adaptability on the battlefield, Russia’s vulnerabilities, European rearmament, and how drones and AI-enabled systems are transforming modern warfare from the 2026 Aspen Security Forum.
Bear in Mind: Ukraine and Russia
Oleksiy Honcharuk, Former Prime Minister of Ukraine; Chair of the Board of Directors, UFORCE
Stephen E. Biegun, Former Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State; Vice Chairman, National Endowment for Democracy
Kaupo Rosin, Director General, Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service
Chris Ruddy, CEO, Newsmax Media
Moderator: Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal
Book of the Week
Sea Change: America’s New Great Game in the Arctic Circle
By Rana Foroohar
“As polar ice melts and new sea routes open, the Arctic has become the most consequential—and least understood—geopolitical theater in the world. In Sea Change, Rana Foroohar takes readers aboard America’s only Arctic icebreaker and inside the halls of power in Washington, Beijing, Moscow, and allied capitals to reveal how climate change is reshaping global trade, national security, and industrial policy.
Drawing on unprecedented access to Coast Guard missions, senior officials across multiple administrations, labor leaders, and international partners, Foroohar shows how being a strong sea power is vital and how the U.S. is struggling to catch up. She also explains how control of Arctic shipping lanes, shipbuilding capacity, underwater data cables, and untapped natural resources will determine economic and military supremacy in the decades ahead. Both a gripping voyage and a clear‑eyed analysis of global power, Sea Change argues that America’s future prosperity and security may well be decided at the top of the world.”
Podcast of the Week
Ambassadors Pete Romero and Charlie Ray joined Laura Bennett for the American Foreign Service Association’s American Diplomat podcast: “Business, or Human Dignity?”
Join Our Team!
The Aspen Strategy Group is seeking a Program Manager to oversee and manage our main leadership initiatives: the Rising Leaders Program (RLP), which is now in its sixth year, and the Albright International Leaders Program (AILP) which will be launched in 2027. While the focus of the role will be on these leadership programs, the Program Manager will also contribute across the other pillars of our work including the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum.
This position is set in a very collaborative, ambitious, dynamic-team, and fast-paced environment. As the ASG team prepares for each new cohort/class of leaders, meeting, program, and project, the Program Manager is given a high level of responsibility and ownership to manage the responsibilities and portfolio assigned to them. We seek candidates with the ability to work both efficiently as part of a team and independently to ensure the success of the ASG’s various activities.
Thank you for sharing this opportunity with your networks.
