Atlantic Council - AC INtel - Tuesday, June 2, 2026 - Katherine Golden, AC ıntel Anchor - three of our security experts, took on the question of what the US role in the world will be after the war ends.
After another day of mixed signals on the status of US-Iran talks, we still don’t know how this conflict will be resolved. But our experts are already thinking about what comes next.
Today, three of our security experts, all with deep defense and intelligence backgrounds, took on the question of what the US role in the world will be after the war ends.
According to former Pentagon official Matthew Kroenig, “the Middle East will likely remain an important theater for US grand strategy for years to come,” since Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the fragility of the global energy market will remain long after Operation Epic Fury. Likewise, former US intelligence official Beth Sanner calls for “all hands on deck” in the Middle East, focused on “constraining Iran from rebuilding its nuclear program,” working to “restrain Israel,” and reinforcing ties with Gulf countries.
But this war will reverberate beyond the Middle East. Your AC Intel starts there.
1.
Take lessons from the Iran war—and bring them to Asia
Former US intelligence officer Markus Garlauskas argues that the conflict could be a “catalyst” for some “long-overdue actions necessary to strengthen deterrence in East Asia,” such as building larger stockpiles of drone and missile interceptors in the region.
Don’t focus too much on the Iran negotiations’ daily “ups and downs”
Former Iran negotiator Nate Swanson tells The Hill that since the US and Iran have already broadly agreed to a deal, the two sides will eventually “reengage”: “It’s just a matter of how much economic pain we have to endure beforehand.”
This geoeconomics era is familiar but far more dangerous
In his authoritative guide to navigating this new era, GeoEconomics Center Senior Director Josh Lipsky warns in the IMF’s F&D magazine that governments could invoke “geoeconomics” to “justify any policy,” leading to unpredictability that halts investment and costs jobs. “Rediscovering geoeconomics the right way,” meaning altering the world’s rules-based system instead of abandoning it, “could not be more critical.”
Elisabeth Braw, who constantly monitors for new threats to navigation, warns in Foreign Policy that “predators” (such as Russia and North Korea) are distorting planes’ and ships’ navigational systems, which “could cause a serious accident” in our crowded skies and seas—and even shape modern warfare.
Jamaica cannot afford to wait on hurricane readiness
As the Atlantic hurricane season begins, Jamaican Finance Minister Fayval Williams told our audience today that she wants to see more “technical assistance” from the US in helping Jamaica rebuild with more resilience after Hurricane Melissa, particularly since American companies are larger, have more skills, and “can move faster.”
How the US and Europe can help Taiwan prepare its defenses
Current and former officials discuss opportunities for the United States, Taiwan, and Europe to improve their coordination on defense, supply chains, and more, featuring Alexander Tah-Ray Yui, representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the United States; Dovilė Šakalienė, former Lithuanian minister of defense; and Josh Cartin, formerly of the White House National Security Council.
No comments:
Post a Comment