Rebecca Skoryanc, Author at WestExec Advisors

Danny Russel quoted in The New York Times article, “‘Strategic Empathy’: How Biden’s Informal Diplomacy Shaped Foreign Relations”

"Beginning in early 2011 and over the next 18 months, the two men convened at least eight times, in the United States and in China, according to former U.S. officials. They met formally, took walks, shot baskets at a rural Chinese school and spent more than 25 hours dining privately, joined only by interpreters. Mr. Biden made a quick 'personal connection' with the Chinese leader, even if he sometimes confounded his Mandarin interpreter by quoting hard-to-translate Irish verse, said Daniel Russel, [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-07-10T09:54:38-04:00July 5, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Elizabeth Rosenberg quoted in The New York Times article, “Bill Targeting Banks Over China’s Hong Kong Law Passes U.S. Senate”

"Elizabeth Rosenberg, a sanctions expert at the Center for a New American Security, called the bill 'a very strong step,' adding, 'They're really upping their game and trying out some very powerful new economic tools...'" Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-07-10T09:53:10-04:00July 3, 2020|Economy & Trade|

Danny Russel interviewed in Nikkei article, “U.S. Response on Hong Kong Was Too Little, Too Late: Ex-Official”

"'One ounce of prevention is worth one pound of cure.' That was the analogy former senior U.S. official Daniel Russel gave when talking to Nikkei about the American response to China's new national security law for Hong Kong... "He blamed the failure to nip China's move in the bud on the lack of a united international front stemming from the current White House's inclination to put America first. The lack of bite in the international response, and President Donald Trump's concerns [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-07-10T09:41:49-04:00July 3, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Lisa Monaco quoted in The Hill article, “Trump Administration Planning Pandemic Office at the State Department: Report”

"Former Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco, who served under Obama, said that the Trump administration ran the risk of secluding the office from other government agencies by placing it within the State Department rather than the NSC. "'This move now to set this unit, re-set this unit up, although in a different building, on the one hand is the recognition that you do indeed need a specific identified place to constantly be focusing on pandemic response,' Monaco told CNN..." Read the [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-07-10T09:49:13-04:00July 2, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Ely Ratner writes with Richard Fontaine in The Washington Post: “The U.S.-China Confrontation Is Not Another Cold War. It’s Something New.”

"With U.S.-China relations in free fall, the Trump administration’s chief arms control negotiator recently proclaimed that 'we know how to win these races and we know how to spend the adversary into oblivion.' This obvious allusion to America’s triumph in the Cold War was only the latest sign that the decades-long rivalry with the Soviet Union has recaptured the attention of Washington’s foreign policy elite. "One prominent camp of experts and former dignitaries is arguing that a new Cold War with [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-07-10T09:21:41-04:00July 2, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Dennis Ross writes with David Makovsky in The Hill: “Israelis and Palestinians Must Realize That Each Needs to Give, Not Just Take”

"The White House reportedly held a key meeting this week to decide on how to deal with Israeli annexation of territories allotted to it in the Trump Peace Plan. "We have been critics of the plan, believing that by calling for the absorption of all 130 settlements — including the 78 outside the blocs — it makes separation of Israelis and Palestinians and a viable two state outcome nearly impossible. The Trump administration view is different, believing a Palestinian state neither [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-07-10T09:20:55-04:00July 1, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Julie Smith quoted in The Washington Post article, “China’s Campaign of ‘Genocide’ Could Bring the U.S. and E.U. Closer Together”

"A major problem, for now, is that Trump is a woeful standard-bearer of human rights and liberal values on the world stage, and his heavy-handed approach to Europe has impaired more substantive cooperation regarding China, said Julie Smith of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. "The Trump administration has 'spent far less time engaging European friends and partners on human rights issues, talking about things like Hong Kong, Taiwan and the situation of the Uighurs,' she said. A Democratic [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-07-10T09:43:47-04:00June 30, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Puneet Talwar writes in Foreign Affairs: “Iran and the United States Can’t See Each Other Clearly”

"Just before the novel coronavirus pandemic struck, the United States and Iran appeared to be set on a collision course. COVID-19 quickly displaced such concerns from international headlines. But as the world prepares for further outbreaks of the disease in the months ahead, it should similarly brace for tensions between the United States and Iran to flare up again. Domestic political dynamics in the two countries risk fueling a cycle of escalation. Each side is digging in and making decisions based [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-07-10T09:16:55-04:00June 29, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Michèle Flournoy interviewed on CNAS’ Brussels Sprouts podcast, “Defense Priorities in a New Administration”

"Michèle Flournoy joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss how a Biden administration can work with NATO to confront transnational threats. Flournoy has been a leader in defense policy under several administrations, including as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2009 to 2012. She is the managing partner of WestExec Advisors and former co-founder of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS)..." Listen to the full episode here: Full Episode

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-06-26T15:16:59-04:00June 26, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Michèle Flournoy quoted in Yahoo News article, “Former Pentagon Officials Blast Trump for Politicizing the Military”

"'Trump has constantly tried to use the military as a political prop,' said Michèle Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense for policy under Obama, citing, among other examples, the president’s interference in the military justice system to pardon two convicted war criminals and his decision to prevent the Navy from punishing a third — Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher. "Flournoy... is not shy about what she thinks is needed to right the ship. 'The way it can be repaired is by having a [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-08-01T12:53:11-04:00June 25, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

About Rebecca Skoryanc