Aspen Security Forum

The nonpartisan #AspenSecurity Forum brings together leading thinkers, government officials, and journalists to explore key security issues. RT ≠ endorsement.

[The Lowy Institute @LowyInstitute]

At the @AspenSecurity Forum, @mfullilove shared the the findings from the 2026 Lowy Institute Poll that reveal Australians' views on President Trump and the broader US–Australia alliance.
📺https://t.co/v8XVFdqPsw

[CSPAN @cspan]

.@SenBillCassidy & Sen. @JohnCornyn Discuss Tech Innovation & U.S. Leadership at @AspenSecurity Forum – LIVE at 1:40pm ET on C-SPAN2 https://t.co/Pt7qiBuuxY

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

On China graduating more engineers than the U.S.: “Legal immigration has been sort of the secret sauce for America… I’m all for border security and enforcement of existing laws, but we have to build on that to reform our immigration laws to attract the best and brightest people in the world to win the race with China so we can continue to attract the best and the brightest people in the world to help us win that race,”@JohnCornyn, U.S. Senator for Texas, U.S. Senate said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

“Congress has become famous for dysfunction… I remember when I was a kid, Art Buchwald wrote a column saying it would take Congress three years to cook Three-Minute Rice, and he wasn't that far off,” U.S. Senator for Louisiana @SenBillCassidy said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

“We need to make significant strides to address our nation's indebtedness…Taking care of our fiscal house is important for that reason — to show that Congress can actually work together and pass the budget,” U.S. Senator for Louisiana @SenBillCassidy said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

On the need for permitting reform: “President Trump’s got the idea right: we need to build more things here… but we can’t do that if we can’t get the permitting at the state and local level on a timely basis,” @JohnCornyn, U.S. Senator for Texas, U.S. Senate said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

On U.S.-China policy: “We want China to be a ‘frenemy,’ not an enemy. I think this is a way to confront them in something consistent with Western values, as opposed to a kinetic war, which is something we should all fear,” U.S. Senator for Louisiana @SenBillCassidy said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

On AI and the labor market: “If this technology reaches its full potential, will it have the impact of a shift in the means of production that we have seen with previous major technologies? And if that is true, there is a role for government to set the conditions for the employment of that technology,” 4th Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and 19th Director, National Security Agency Timothy Haugh said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

“We should be talking about what matters to the people around the kitchen table; and right now, they can't afford their health care, their housing, their groceries, or their gasoline,” U.S. Senator for Louisiana @SenBillCassidy said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

Heard at 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum:
@PasiRayala: “My audacious idea — this is very radical — please hold on to your seats: what if we started viewing our allies as an asset and not as liabilities?”

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

On his “audacious idea” and scientific cooperation: “We need to be able to communicate with the Russians. We need to find and work toward a peace. And we have to do it from a position of strength… We want cooperation here in the Arctic,” Chairman @US_ARC @TomDansCFA said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

On Greenland: “Look, it's North America. We respect the people of Greenland, we respect our partners in the Kingdom of Denmark. We want the best for everybody. I think there's a great group of people having a productive dialogue on that… But we have overriding necessities that we need to collaborate and cooperate on,” Chairman @US_ARC @TomDansCFA said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

“The Arctic is our future…. To pursue the wealth that is actually there in the Arctic, we have to work on the mission that we want high north with low tensions,” General Eirik Kristoffersen said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

“Russia is increasingly dependent on China for financing, for technology, and for other types of support… I don't think it's a marriage of love between China and Russia. It's a marriage of convenience,”@PasiRayala, Political State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence of Finland, said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

“Russia is the concern because Russia has their nuclear deterrence and their submarines based just outside Norway and Finland… Those weapons are not aimed at Helsinki or Oslo — they are aimed at the United States, Berlin, London, Paris,” Norway’s Chief of Defence Eirik Kristoffersen said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

On Arctic security: “Finland and Sweden are in NATO, so we have a stronger presence, but we need to have boots on the ground… we need ships in the seas… we need satellites in the skies,” @PasiRayala, Political State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence of Finland, said at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum.

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

Overheard at the 2026 #AspenSecurity Forum:
@SCClemons, Editor at Large @TheNatlInterest: “[Rwanda’s] other partners are out there as well. So which do you like better: the United States partnership or the Russia partnership?”
Rwandan Minister of Interior @VBiruta: “We need all of them.”
@SCClemons: “You’re hedging your bets.”

[Aspen Security Forum @AspenSecurity]

@ComfortEro’s “audacious idea” at 2026 #AspenSecurity: “Don’t fetishize local actors. Look at them, study them, see what they’re doing. They’re part of the fabric of weaving a path to peacekeeping, peacemaking, and reconciliation.”