Rebecca Skoryanc, Author at WestExec Advisors

Dennis Ross writes with David Makovsky in The Washington Post: “Trump’s Peace Plan Won’t Have A Chance Unless Israel Shows Restraint on Annexation”

"The Trump administration has now unveiled its Mideast peace plan. While we should expect plenty of debate about its terms, which represent a sharp departure from past U.S. peacemaking efforts, another development has essentially pushed the plan into the background. Israeli officials have announced that they plan to annex all West Bank settlements next week. If they do, this new phase of the process will be dead before it really starts. "The peace plan was supposed to take the interests of [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-31T16:08:05-05:00January 29, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Liz Rosenberg quoted in The New York Times article, “Bolton Book Puts New Focus on Trump’s Actions in Turkey and China Cases”

"Elizabeth Rosenberg, who served as a senior Treasury adviser working on sanctions issues during the Obama administration and who now studies sanctions policy at the Center for a New American Security, said Mr. Trump’s interventions were unusual and disruptive. “'This is not the norm in Washington,' she said. 'He is making up sanctions policy on his own, and influencing the course of policy in a way that undermines United States priorities and has shocked United States allies...'" Read the full article [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-31T16:10:04-05:00January 28, 2020|Economy & Trade|

Rachel Ellehuus quoted in The Economist article, “A Weaker Post-Brexit Britain Looks to America”

"Still, American diplomatic and military insiders tend to pooh-pooh the idea that the relationship is in crisis, or that France could supplant Britain. 'The uk is still our most capable partner militarily, and our most valuable partner politically,' says Rachel Ellehuus, who handled European and nato policy at the Pentagon until 2018..." Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-31T16:06:35-05:00January 20, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Dan Shapiro quoted in Vox article, “11 US Troops Were Injured in Iran’s Attack. It Shows How Close We Came to War.”

"'It certainly seems that Iran’s intent was different than earlier estimates,' says Dan Shapiro, who served as the US ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017, 'and there was a serious possibility of deaths of US troops.' "It appears the two reasons everyone stayed alive was because of US intelligence and a warning from Iraq to Iran about the incoming missiles that enabled US and Iraqi forces to quickly take precautions, such as hunkering down in bunkers..." Read the full article [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-24T08:07:46-05:00January 17, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Miriam Vogel featured in Design Week article, “Siri, Alexa And Unconscious Bias: The Case for Designing Fairer AI Assistants”

“'I have yet to meet the person who is designing to intentionally discriminate,' Miriam Vogel tells Design Week. 'But sometimes it’s hard to admit that you’ve designed something that might have gaps and flaws in.' "Vogel is executive director of EqualAI, a US-based initiative that aims to prevent unconscious bias in artificial intelligence (AI) development. But when it comes to one of the most widespread uses of AI — voice-assistants — the machines themselves do discriminate..." Read the full article here: [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-24T08:12:34-05:00January 17, 2020|News|

Michèle Flournoy testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on DOD’s role in the competition with China

Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Thornberry, distinguished members of the House Armed Services Committee, it is truly an honor to testify before you today on the Department of Defense’s role in the United States’ strategic competition with China. U.S.-China Competition Broadly Strategic competition between the United States and China is multi-faceted, with economic, technological, political, ideological, and military dimensions. Any successful approach to this competition must take account of each of these dimensions and neglect none. Therefore, before I outline the [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-16T11:04:24-05:00January 15, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives, Press Releases|

C-SPAN livestreams the Center for American Progress’ National Security Conference featuring Michèle Flournoy, Susan Rice, and Denis McDonough

"Obama administration officials discuss the national security priorities a progressive government should focus on during its first 100 days in office. Several topics were covered including the current tensions with Iran, President Trump’s handling of foreign policy, and repairing U.S. relationships with allies..." Watch the full panel here: Full Panel

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-16T21:57:13-05:00January 14, 2020|News|

Julie Smith quoted in Foreign Policy article, “Why Is the United States So Bad at Foreign Policy?”

"According to Julianne Smith of the German Marshall Fund of the United States: 'The Chinese have started brazenly claiming that it is China, not the United States, that shares more values with Europe. [They] also frequently remind European audiences that unlike the United States, China believes in climate change and multilateralism, a message that is especially powerful in a place like Germany.' "Now consider this: At a moment when the U.S. State Department is in free fall, China is upping its [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-16T22:01:29-05:00January 13, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Julie Smith writes in the Washington Monthly: “What the Next President Can Do to Save Our Alliances with Europe”

"The transatlantic relationship has suffered a series of near-fatal blows in recent years. President Trump has openly questioned America’s Article 5 commitment to defend any attacked NATO member, dubbed the European Union a 'foe,' and repeatedly disparaged some of America’s closest allies—for example, calling Germany 'captive to Russia.' The people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. France and Germany, instead of joining forces to chart a future course for the European project, have spent years trapped between [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-16T21:55:51-05:00January 13, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Lisa Monaco quoted in The New York Times article, “Esper Says He Saw No Evidence Iran Targeted 4 Embassies, as Story Shifts Again”

“'If indeed the strike was taken to disrupt an imminent threat to U.S. persons — and that picture seems to be getting murkier by the minute — the case should be made to Congress and to the public, consistent with national security,' said Lisa Monaco, a former senior F.B.I. official and homeland security adviser to President Barack Obama. 'Failure to do so hurts our credibility and deterrence going forward.' "Intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-01-16T21:58:50-05:00January 12, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

About Rebecca Skoryanc