Rebecca Skoryanc, Author at WestExec Advisors

Michèle Flournoy writes with Steve Hadley in The Washington Post: “The U.S. Deal with the Taliban is an Important First Step”

"The agreement just signed between the United States and the Taliban is an important first step in a complex negotiation to end the war in Afghanistan. Under its terms, the Taliban agrees not to fund, train or otherwise support, within the territory it controls, any terrorist groups (including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State) that threaten the United States or the Afghan state it has helped to establish. If the Taliban fulfills this commitment, it will reduce the terrorist threat to Americans [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-03-06T12:16:11-05:00February 29, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Dennis Ross quoted in The Times of Israel article, “Moving the U.S. Embassy Back to Tel Aviv? Technically Possible, But Very Unlikely”

"'It would not be easy for [Senator Sanders] given the legislation,' said Dennis Ross, a former US diplomat who has worked on the Israeli-Palestinian file for decades. "'The waiver was provided to justify why the embassy had not been moved given the requirement to do so. In theory, he might try to say for national security reasons we needed to do so. But what would those reasons be? For peace? What would be the signs this would make a difference?...'" Read [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-03-06T12:19:30-05:00February 27, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Nick Rasmussen writes in Just Security: “The President’s War on Intelligence: Yes, It’s Worse Than You Think”

"Once again, the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) finds itself exactly where intelligence officials never want to be: in the headlines and being talked about on cable news —without the ability [to] speak publicly to defend their work or their professionalism. Instead, IC leaders and professionals are left playing defense against a president who routinely demonstrates his lack of understanding of their craft, his disregard—and even contempt—for their work product, and his mistrust of any IC leader who hasn’t affirmed personal fealty [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-03-06T12:06:32-05:00February 27, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Lisa Monaco quoted in The Hill article, “Trump Shakes Up Justice Department, Intelligence Community”

"'You’re seeing a real strain on these institutions and the strain is coming in the form of really challenging the norms under which they’ve operated in the past,' said Lisa Monaco, who served as assistant attorney general for national security during the Obama administration... "'In my 15 years of experience, I have never seen that happen before where the attorney general kind of reaches in to overrule the line prosecutors, and even as they were pursuing what was consistent with Justice [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-03-04T11:01:57-05:00February 27, 2020|News|

Lisa Monaco on CNN’s Newsroom

"One of the problems is that the response has been chaotic with lots of mixed messages. On the one hand, you have the experts, our experts here in the CDC, telling us that spread is inevitable. Tony Fauci has said that we are likely on the cusp of a pandemic with this virus. And, on the other hand, political advisers in the White House and the chair of the National Economic Council said we've got this contained. I think we need [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-03-04T10:53:48-05:00February 26, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Julie Smith quoted in The New York Times article, “For a President Who Loves Crowd Size, India Aims to Deliver”

"'World leaders have learned to shorten or scrap the historical tours, remove local delicacies from the menu and focus on one thing only: feeding his ego,' said Julianne Smith, the director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. 'That’s taken different forms in recent years, but the goal is always the same—make Trump feel like he’s getting something unique: a parade in Paris, a grand state dinner at Buckingham Palace or a sumo match with [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-03-04T11:00:44-05:00February 23, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Dennis Ross writes with David Makovsky in The Hill: “The Problem With Trump’s Middle East Peace Plan”

"The Trump administration cannot decide if its peace plan is an opening gambit to trigger a compromise or a fait accompli that precludes one. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in answering a question about Palestinian responses to the Plan said, 'I hope they will then present a counteroffer if what’s presented isn’t acceptable.' Fair enough, except that David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, declared that Israel can unilaterally annex territories allotted in the plan once a bilateral U.S.-Israeli panel finishes [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-03-04T10:55:07-05:00February 23, 2020|Geopolitical Perspectives|

Lisa Monaco on The Lawfare Podcast

"Lisa Monaco was Barack Obama's counterterrorism and Homeland Security advisor in the White House, and headed the Justice Department's national security division. Sophia Yan is a Beijing-based correspondent for the British newspaper The Telegraph. Lisa and Sophia may not seem to have a lot in common, but these days, they are both spending a lot of time thinking about coronavirus. Monaco managed epidemic and pandemic disease events for the Obama administration, and Yan is in the middle of covering the ongoing [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-04-07T17:29:28-04:00February 22, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense|

Michèle Flournoy quoted in The Washington Times article, “Trump’s Peace Hopes for Afghanistan Threatened by Confusion in Kabul”

"'The whole purpose of this U.S.-Taliban agreement is to induce the Taliban to come to the negotiating table with the Afghan government and other representatives of Afghan society,' said Michèle Flournoy, who was a high-level Pentagon official in the Obama administration. "'It’s very, very important that the delegation that sits across from the Taliban be inclusive, not only members of the Ghani administration, but also the political opposition, civil society and especially women and younger Afghans,' Ms. Flournoy said this week [...]

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-03-04T10:52:19-05:00February 20, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, Geopolitical Perspectives|

Lisa Monaco quoted in POLITICO article, “Trump Taps Fierce Ally Grenell As Top Intelligence Official”

"Lisa Monaco, who served as homeland security director in the Obama White House, said, 'The intelligence Community is a diverse enterprise; given the wide array of threats and complexity of the global challenges we face -- this country and, most importantly, the men and women of the intelligence community, need an experienced national security and intelligence professional at the helm...'" Read the full article here: Full Article

Rebecca Skoryanc2020-02-24T15:46:24-05:00February 19, 2020|Cybersecurity & Defense, News|

About Rebecca Skoryanc