2010 National Security Seminars
Thursday, November 24, noon-1:30 p.m. — Admiral James G. Stavridis, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander, U.S. European Command will discuss challenges and opportunities for the United States in Europe. A surface warfare officer, Stavridis commanded the Destroyer USS Barry from 1993-1995, Destroyer Squadron 21 in 1998 and the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group form 2002-2004. From 2006 to 2009 he was the Commander, U.S. Southern Command. Stavridis has authored several books on naval ship handling and leadership and has served as a strategic planner on the staffs of the CNO and the CJCS. He was also executive assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense.
Thursday, November 18, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Former U.S. Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs will discuss "The Peace Process and the Middle East 'Periphery': The Changing Dynamics of Regional Politics." Kurtzer was U.S. Ambassador to Israel (2001-2005) and to Egypt (1997-2001) and also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. He is currently the S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle East Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University.
Thursday, November 4, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Robert Kaplan, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, and a member of the Defense Policy Board will discuss his new book Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power. In Monsoon, Kaplan argues that, during the 20th Century, Europe and the Atlantic Ocean were the locus of international power; now the geopolitical center has shifted to the Indian Ocean region. On November 4 he will discuss the impact of this power realignment on U.S. diplomatic, economic, and military interests in Asia and the Indian Ocean, especially as it relates to vital interests in energy independence and global stability.
Thursday, October 21, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Asia expert Ian Buruma will discuss "Democracy in China: A Pipe Dream?" Buruma will also expand on his January 29, 2010 Wall Street Journal essay “Battling the Information Barbarians” in which he posited that China views the ideas of foreigners – from 17th Century missionaries to 21st Century Internet entrepreneurs – as subversive imports and threats to the legitimacy of the state, and argued that Chinese nationalism has replaced Chinese Marxism as the new orthodoxy. Buruma is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Democracy, Human Rights, and Journalism at Bard College and the author of Inventing Japan, the China Lover, and Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents
Tuesday, October 12, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Dr. Sunil Dasgupta, director of the political science program at UMBC Shady Grove and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, will discuss the findings of his new book, Arming without Aiming: India's Military Modernization which he co-authored with Brookings Senior Fellow, Stephen Cohen. Set against the backdrop of India's new affluence, and newfound access to foreign military technology, the book explores what steps has India taken to expand its military, actions it might take in the future and the implications for the region. Dr. Dasgupta, who was previously national security correspondent for India Today in New Delhi, holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois and has written extensively on South Asian politics and security issues.
Thursday, September 23, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. — David Gardner, International Editor of the Financial Times of London will discuss "Can the Obama Administration Live with Islamists?" As the Times’ International Editor, David Gardner has overall responsibility for the paper’s foreign affairs content and contributes occasional columns and editorials often on topics related to the Middle East. Gardner was named a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College Oxford in 2008, and, in 2009, published “Last Chance: The Middle East in the Balance” a book which draws on his interviews over the years with key figures in Middle East politics including Yitzhak Rabin, Rafik Hariri and senior Saudi leaders.
Monday, September 20, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Dr. Michael J. Green, former NSC senior director for Asian Affairs, will discuss "America's Grand Strategy in Asia: What Would Mahan Do?” Green is senior adviser and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and an associate professor of international relations at Georgetown University. He is fluent in Japanese and spent more than five years in Japan working as a staff member of the National Diet and as a journalist. He holds an MA and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Tuesday, August 31, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Geoffrey Till, Professor of Maritime Studies at the Joint Services Command and Staff College and a member of the Defence Studies Department, part of the War Studies Group of King’s College London. Till is also the Director of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies and, for the past three years, has been a Research Fellow and Visiting Professor in Singapore and New Zealand and has completed a major study of the impact of globalization on naval development especially in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to many articles and chapters on various aspects of maritime strategy and policy, Till is the author of several books, his most recent being The Globalization and the Defence in Asia [Routledge, 2008], and a second edition of his Seapower: A Guide for the 21st Century [published in Spring 2009].
Tuesday, August 24, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Vice Admiral William E. Gortney will give his perspectives on challenges facing the United States in the region. Admiral Gortney recently assumed his new duty as Executive Director of the Joint Staff. From 2008 to 2010 he was Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command a tour in which he supported combat operations for OIF and OEF, developed strategies for dealing with potential threats to U.S., Allied and partner forces from Iran and led his command in various maritime security operations including counter-piracy. Admiral Gortney's years at NAVCENT were his third command tour in the CENTCOM AOR. The first was Carrier Air Wing 7 onboard the JFK in support of OEF in 2002 and the second was Carrier Strike Group 10 onboard the Harry S. Truman in support of OIF and maritime security operations from 2007 to 2008. A naval aviator, Admiral Gorney has flown over 5360 flight hours and made 1,265 carrier arrested landings. He is a graduate of Elon College in North Carolina and holds a MA degree in International Security Affairs from the Naval War College.
Thursday, July 22, noon - 1:30 p.m. -- Brigadier General Lawrence D. Nicholson, USMC, will brief on the 2nd MEB's deployment in Helmand and Farah provinces in southern Afghanistan May 2009-April 2010 and offer views on the challenges he and his Marines faced in Afghanistan and what he projects going forward. General Nicholson will have just assumed his new duty as the Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He was previously the Commanding General, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and will Nicholson is a graduate of The Citadel, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the NATO Defense College in Rome. His overseas deployments include an assignment as a United Nations Observer for the UNTSO Palestine, as AO with the 26 MEU in the Balkans, and as Division G-3 with the 1st Marine Division in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. In July 2005 he assumed command of the 5th Marine Regiment and returned to Iraq with his regiment from January 2006 to February 2007.
Tuesday, June 15, noon-1:30 p.m. — Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith will discuss what his views on Afghanistan. Ambassador Galbraith was the first US Ambassador to Croatia (1993-1998) and has served at the United Nations (in the UN Transitional Administration for East Timor). Most recently, he was Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Afghanistan and an Assistant Secretary-General of the UN. He was recalled from Kabul in October 2009 after he urged the UN to take more forceful action to deal with fraud in Afghanistan's presidential elections.
Tuesday, May 25, Noon-1:30 p.m. -- Dr. Noel Brehony, diplomat and author of the upcoming book Yemen Divided: The Story of a Failed State in South Arab (IB Tauris, 2011) will discuss possible Saudi responses to the internal and external challenges facing the Kingdom in the next five years. Dr. Brehony has been following developments in Yemen and Saudi Arabia since the 1970's. During a 25 year diplomatic career he served in British embassies in Kuwait, Yemen, Jordan, and Egypt. He was then director of Middle East Affairs for Rolls Royce PLC. Currently Dr. Brehony is Chairman of the consulting firm Menas Associates, an advisor to Rolls Royce, a research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and Chairman of the British Yemen Society. He is former Chairman of the British Society for Middle East Studies and of the Council for British Research in the Levant. He was an advisor on the Middle East in the office of the British Prime Minister in 2003. Noon-1:30 p.m.
May 13 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. — Dr. Sheila A. Smith, with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), will discuss New Challenges for the US-Japan Relationship. Dr. Smith, a widely published author and expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, joined CFR from the East-West Center in 2007. From 2004 to 2007, she directed a multinational research team in a cross national study of the domestic politics of the U.S. military presence in Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. During that period, she also held an Abe Fellowship at Keio University in Tokyo where she researched and wrote on Japan's foreign policy toward China and Northeast Asia. Dr. Smith has also been a member of the faculty at Boston University (1994-2000) and a visiting researcher at two leading Japanese foreign and security policy think tanks. She holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.
April 22 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. — Journalist, Laura Secor will discuss the origins and current state of Iran's pro-democracy (green) movement and assess what impact increased Western sanctions may have on the ability of Iranian democracy activists to sustain their protests in the face of heightened repression and executions. Ms. Secor, who writes on contemporary Iran for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and other publications, has made four trips to Iran since 2004 and is working on a book about Iran's democracy movement, to be published by Henry Holt & Co. in 2011.
April 8 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. — Vice Admiral Bruce W. Clingan, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy (N3/N5) will address a variety of issues of interest including observations from his last assignment as Commander of the US 6th Fleet. Admiral Clingan is a naval aviator who flew F-14's during several overseas deployments. He commanded Fighter Squadron 11, the USS La Salle, USS Carl Vinson, Carrier Strike Group 3/Carl Vinson Strike Group and the US 6th Fleet. His first flag assignment was as Deputy J-3 for CENTCOM during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and during his time as Vinson Strike Group Commander served as CTF 50/152 during an extended deployment in support of Iraqi Freedom.
March 12 (Friday) - noon-1:30 p.m. — A special session of the CNA National Security Seminar series, held in collaboration with the Institute for Defense Analyses, featuring General William E. "Kip" Ward, Commander of the United States Africa Command. General Ward became the first Commander of U.S. Africa Command on October 1, 2007. Prior to assuming his position, he was Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command and served previously as the Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, from where he was selected by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be the U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority from March-December 2005. He was commissioned into the Infantry in 1971, is a graduate of Morgan State University, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army War College, and holds a M.A. degree in Political Science from Pennsylvania State University. His military service has included overseas tours in Korea, Egypt, Somalia, Bosnia, Israel, two tours in Germany and a wide variety of assignments in the United States.
March 4 (Thursday) - noon-1:30 p.m. — Dr. Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations and former Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times columnist. One of America's most prominent foreign policy experts, Dr. Gelb will speak about power, strategy, and the Obama foreign policy. Dr. Gelb served in senior positions in the Departments of State and Defense and is the author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (Harper Collins, March 2009). In May 2006, Dr. Gelb, along with then-Senator Joe Biden, authored "Unity Through Autonomy in Iraq," an op-ed published in The New York Times, that argued for an Iraq comprised of three largely autonomous regions. Although their proposal gained little traction, Gelb continues to offer informal advice to now Vice President Biden, an old friend.
February 17 (Wednesday) - noon – 1:30 p.m. — CNA's Dr. Carter Malkasian. Dr. Malkasian, who is on a leave of absence from CNA to work with the State Department in Afghanistan, serves as head of the Garmsir District Team in Helmand Province and is a political advisor to coalition forces. He will offer his assessment of the challenges and successes in Helmand. Prior to his current assignment, Carter led CNA's Stability and Development Program focusing on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Iraq. Between 2003 and 2006, he deployed three times to Iraq to advise the Marines on counterinsurgency, spending much of his time in Al Anbar province. He also led a team that advised provincial reconstruction teams in eastern Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008.
CANCELLED due to inclement weather. February 9 (Tuesday) — 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Journalist, Laura Secor. Ms. Secor, who writes on contemporary Iran for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and other publications, has made four trips to Iran since 2004 and is currently at work on a book about Iran's democracy movement, to be published by Henry Holt & Co. in 2011. She will discuss the origins and current state of Iran's pro-democracy (green) movement and assess what impact that increased Western sanctions may have on the ability of Iranian democracy activists to sustain their protests in the face of heightened repression and executions.
January 28 (Thursday) - 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. — Dr. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. One of the world's most prominent applied game theorists, Dr. Bueno de Mesquita was recently named one of Foreign Policy's top 100 global thinkers for 2009. He is a professor at New York University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and has written extensively on "political survival" or how leaders build coalitions to stay in power. Since the early 1980s, he has worked with the CIA to model more than a thousand outcomes of situations in which parties can be described as trying to persuade or coerce one another — and has experienced a reported success rate of 90 per cent. Dr. Bueno de Mesquita's most recent book is The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future.
January 12 (Tuesday) — 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. — Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, Thomas C. Krajeski, will provide his perspectives on the fragility of the Yemeni regime and attempts by Al-Qaeda to establish a sanctuary there. Ambassador Krajeski, one of the State Department's top Arabists, served as Chief of Mission at Embassy Sanaa from July 2004 to July 2007, and served at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador on Northern Iraq Affairs from 2008 to 2009, He is currently Senior Vice President, National Defense University.
Thursday, November 18, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Former U.S. Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs will discuss "The Peace Process and the Middle East 'Periphery': The Changing Dynamics of Regional Politics." Kurtzer was U.S. Ambassador to Israel (2001-2005) and to Egypt (1997-2001) and also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. He is currently the S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle East Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University.
Thursday, November 4, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Robert Kaplan, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, and a member of the Defense Policy Board will discuss his new book Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power. In Monsoon, Kaplan argues that, during the 20th Century, Europe and the Atlantic Ocean were the locus of international power; now the geopolitical center has shifted to the Indian Ocean region. On November 4 he will discuss the impact of this power realignment on U.S. diplomatic, economic, and military interests in Asia and the Indian Ocean, especially as it relates to vital interests in energy independence and global stability.
Thursday, October 21, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Asia expert Ian Buruma will discuss "Democracy in China: A Pipe Dream?" Buruma will also expand on his January 29, 2010 Wall Street Journal essay “Battling the Information Barbarians” in which he posited that China views the ideas of foreigners – from 17th Century missionaries to 21st Century Internet entrepreneurs – as subversive imports and threats to the legitimacy of the state, and argued that Chinese nationalism has replaced Chinese Marxism as the new orthodoxy. Buruma is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Democracy, Human Rights, and Journalism at Bard College and the author of Inventing Japan, the China Lover, and Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents
Tuesday, October 12, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Dr. Sunil Dasgupta, director of the political science program at UMBC Shady Grove and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, will discuss the findings of his new book, Arming without Aiming: India's Military Modernization which he co-authored with Brookings Senior Fellow, Stephen Cohen. Set against the backdrop of India's new affluence, and newfound access to foreign military technology, the book explores what steps has India taken to expand its military, actions it might take in the future and the implications for the region. Dr. Dasgupta, who was previously national security correspondent for India Today in New Delhi, holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois and has written extensively on South Asian politics and security issues.
Thursday, September 23, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. — David Gardner, International Editor of the Financial Times of London will discuss "Can the Obama Administration Live with Islamists?" As the Times’ International Editor, David Gardner has overall responsibility for the paper’s foreign affairs content and contributes occasional columns and editorials often on topics related to the Middle East. Gardner was named a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College Oxford in 2008, and, in 2009, published “Last Chance: The Middle East in the Balance” a book which draws on his interviews over the years with key figures in Middle East politics including Yitzhak Rabin, Rafik Hariri and senior Saudi leaders.
Monday, September 20, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Dr. Michael J. Green, former NSC senior director for Asian Affairs, will discuss "America's Grand Strategy in Asia: What Would Mahan Do?” Green is senior adviser and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and an associate professor of international relations at Georgetown University. He is fluent in Japanese and spent more than five years in Japan working as a staff member of the National Diet and as a journalist. He holds an MA and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Tuesday, August 31, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Geoffrey Till, Professor of Maritime Studies at the Joint Services Command and Staff College and a member of the Defence Studies Department, part of the War Studies Group of King’s College London. Till is also the Director of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies and, for the past three years, has been a Research Fellow and Visiting Professor in Singapore and New Zealand and has completed a major study of the impact of globalization on naval development especially in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to many articles and chapters on various aspects of maritime strategy and policy, Till is the author of several books, his most recent being The Globalization and the Defence in Asia [Routledge, 2008], and a second edition of his Seapower: A Guide for the 21st Century [published in Spring 2009].
Tuesday, August 24, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Vice Admiral William E. Gortney will give his perspectives on challenges facing the United States in the region. Admiral Gortney recently assumed his new duty as Executive Director of the Joint Staff. From 2008 to 2010 he was Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command a tour in which he supported combat operations for OIF and OEF, developed strategies for dealing with potential threats to U.S., Allied and partner forces from Iran and led his command in various maritime security operations including counter-piracy. Admiral Gortney's years at NAVCENT were his third command tour in the CENTCOM AOR. The first was Carrier Air Wing 7 onboard the JFK in support of OEF in 2002 and the second was Carrier Strike Group 10 onboard the Harry S. Truman in support of OIF and maritime security operations from 2007 to 2008. A naval aviator, Admiral Gorney has flown over 5360 flight hours and made 1,265 carrier arrested landings. He is a graduate of Elon College in North Carolina and holds a MA degree in International Security Affairs from the Naval War College.
Thursday, July 22, noon - 1:30 p.m. -- Brigadier General Lawrence D. Nicholson, USMC, will brief on the 2nd MEB's deployment in Helmand and Farah provinces in southern Afghanistan May 2009-April 2010 and offer views on the challenges he and his Marines faced in Afghanistan and what he projects going forward. General Nicholson will have just assumed his new duty as the Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He was previously the Commanding General, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and will Nicholson is a graduate of The Citadel, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the NATO Defense College in Rome. His overseas deployments include an assignment as a United Nations Observer for the UNTSO Palestine, as AO with the 26 MEU in the Balkans, and as Division G-3 with the 1st Marine Division in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. In July 2005 he assumed command of the 5th Marine Regiment and returned to Iraq with his regiment from January 2006 to February 2007.
Tuesday, June 15, noon-1:30 p.m. — Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith will discuss what his views on Afghanistan. Ambassador Galbraith was the first US Ambassador to Croatia (1993-1998) and has served at the United Nations (in the UN Transitional Administration for East Timor). Most recently, he was Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Afghanistan and an Assistant Secretary-General of the UN. He was recalled from Kabul in October 2009 after he urged the UN to take more forceful action to deal with fraud in Afghanistan's presidential elections.
Tuesday, May 25, Noon-1:30 p.m. -- Dr. Noel Brehony, diplomat and author of the upcoming book Yemen Divided: The Story of a Failed State in South Arab (IB Tauris, 2011) will discuss possible Saudi responses to the internal and external challenges facing the Kingdom in the next five years. Dr. Brehony has been following developments in Yemen and Saudi Arabia since the 1970's. During a 25 year diplomatic career he served in British embassies in Kuwait, Yemen, Jordan, and Egypt. He was then director of Middle East Affairs for Rolls Royce PLC. Currently Dr. Brehony is Chairman of the consulting firm Menas Associates, an advisor to Rolls Royce, a research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and Chairman of the British Yemen Society. He is former Chairman of the British Society for Middle East Studies and of the Council for British Research in the Levant. He was an advisor on the Middle East in the office of the British Prime Minister in 2003. Noon-1:30 p.m.
May 13 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. — Dr. Sheila A. Smith, with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), will discuss New Challenges for the US-Japan Relationship. Dr. Smith, a widely published author and expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, joined CFR from the East-West Center in 2007. From 2004 to 2007, she directed a multinational research team in a cross national study of the domestic politics of the U.S. military presence in Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. During that period, she also held an Abe Fellowship at Keio University in Tokyo where she researched and wrote on Japan's foreign policy toward China and Northeast Asia. Dr. Smith has also been a member of the faculty at Boston University (1994-2000) and a visiting researcher at two leading Japanese foreign and security policy think tanks. She holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.
April 22 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. — Journalist, Laura Secor will discuss the origins and current state of Iran's pro-democracy (green) movement and assess what impact increased Western sanctions may have on the ability of Iranian democracy activists to sustain their protests in the face of heightened repression and executions. Ms. Secor, who writes on contemporary Iran for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and other publications, has made four trips to Iran since 2004 and is working on a book about Iran's democracy movement, to be published by Henry Holt & Co. in 2011.
April 8 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. — Vice Admiral Bruce W. Clingan, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy (N3/N5) will address a variety of issues of interest including observations from his last assignment as Commander of the US 6th Fleet. Admiral Clingan is a naval aviator who flew F-14's during several overseas deployments. He commanded Fighter Squadron 11, the USS La Salle, USS Carl Vinson, Carrier Strike Group 3/Carl Vinson Strike Group and the US 6th Fleet. His first flag assignment was as Deputy J-3 for CENTCOM during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and during his time as Vinson Strike Group Commander served as CTF 50/152 during an extended deployment in support of Iraqi Freedom.
March 12 (Friday) - noon-1:30 p.m. — A special session of the CNA National Security Seminar series, held in collaboration with the Institute for Defense Analyses, featuring General William E. "Kip" Ward, Commander of the United States Africa Command. General Ward became the first Commander of U.S. Africa Command on October 1, 2007. Prior to assuming his position, he was Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command and served previously as the Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, from where he was selected by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be the U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority from March-December 2005. He was commissioned into the Infantry in 1971, is a graduate of Morgan State University, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army War College, and holds a M.A. degree in Political Science from Pennsylvania State University. His military service has included overseas tours in Korea, Egypt, Somalia, Bosnia, Israel, two tours in Germany and a wide variety of assignments in the United States.
March 4 (Thursday) - noon-1:30 p.m. — Dr. Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations and former Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times columnist. One of America's most prominent foreign policy experts, Dr. Gelb will speak about power, strategy, and the Obama foreign policy. Dr. Gelb served in senior positions in the Departments of State and Defense and is the author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (Harper Collins, March 2009). In May 2006, Dr. Gelb, along with then-Senator Joe Biden, authored "Unity Through Autonomy in Iraq," an op-ed published in The New York Times, that argued for an Iraq comprised of three largely autonomous regions. Although their proposal gained little traction, Gelb continues to offer informal advice to now Vice President Biden, an old friend.
February 17 (Wednesday) - noon – 1:30 p.m. — CNA's Dr. Carter Malkasian. Dr. Malkasian, who is on a leave of absence from CNA to work with the State Department in Afghanistan, serves as head of the Garmsir District Team in Helmand Province and is a political advisor to coalition forces. He will offer his assessment of the challenges and successes in Helmand. Prior to his current assignment, Carter led CNA's Stability and Development Program focusing on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Iraq. Between 2003 and 2006, he deployed three times to Iraq to advise the Marines on counterinsurgency, spending much of his time in Al Anbar province. He also led a team that advised provincial reconstruction teams in eastern Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008.
CANCELLED due to inclement weather. February 9 (Tuesday) — 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Journalist, Laura Secor. Ms. Secor, who writes on contemporary Iran for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and other publications, has made four trips to Iran since 2004 and is currently at work on a book about Iran's democracy movement, to be published by Henry Holt & Co. in 2011. She will discuss the origins and current state of Iran's pro-democracy (green) movement and assess what impact that increased Western sanctions may have on the ability of Iranian democracy activists to sustain their protests in the face of heightened repression and executions.
January 28 (Thursday) - 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. — Dr. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. One of the world's most prominent applied game theorists, Dr. Bueno de Mesquita was recently named one of Foreign Policy's top 100 global thinkers for 2009. He is a professor at New York University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and has written extensively on "political survival" or how leaders build coalitions to stay in power. Since the early 1980s, he has worked with the CIA to model more than a thousand outcomes of situations in which parties can be described as trying to persuade or coerce one another — and has experienced a reported success rate of 90 per cent. Dr. Bueno de Mesquita's most recent book is The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future.
January 12 (Tuesday) — 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. — Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, Thomas C. Krajeski, will provide his perspectives on the fragility of the Yemeni regime and attempts by Al-Qaeda to establish a sanctuary there. Ambassador Krajeski, one of the State Department's top Arabists, served as Chief of Mission at Embassy Sanaa from July 2004 to July 2007, and served at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador on Northern Iraq Affairs from 2008 to 2009, He is currently Senior Vice President, National Defense University.
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