CNA National Security Seminar Series

The CNA National Security Seminar Series continues CNA's long history of providing a venue where active-duty officers serving in the Washington, DC-area and government officials can interact with experts and distinguished guests. Each session is designed to be intellectually exciting, unique, and relevant to decision makers involved in setting our nation's security, economic, and foreign policies. All seminar presentations take place in the multi-purpose room of the Shaknov Conference Center at CNA headquarters in Alexandria, VA (click here for map and directions). 

Note:  If you have any thoughts or suggestions on potential topics and guests for the CNA National Security Seminar Series, or any questions about, or want to RSVP for an upcoming seminar, please e-mail us at cnaseminar@cna.org

CNA National Security Seminar Series Staff

RADM Michael A. McDevitt (Ret.), Chairman
703.824.2614

Rebecca Martin, Executive Assistant to the Chairman
703.824.2604

Brenda Caldwell, Sr. Coordinator & Executive Programs Specialist
703.824.2185 (O)    703.400.2612 (Cell)   703.824.2563 (Fax)

Mary Ellen Connell, Research Analyst
703.824.2281

Upcoming Seminars

May 15, noon - 1:30 p.m. — David Ensor, Director of the Voice of America, will discuss “Communicating with Difficult to Reach Audiences”. As Director of VOA, Ensor oversees a worldwide US Government multimedia operation broadcasting in 43 languages, reaching an estimated 141 million people each week via radio, television, mobile, and the internet.

David Ensor joined VOA in June 2011 after an extensive career in journalism. From 2010 to 2011 he served as Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Earlier in his career he reported for National Public Radio. From 1980 to 1998, he was a television correspondent for ABC News, and, from 1998 to 2006, he was CNN’s National Security Correspondent. From 2006 to 2009, Ensor was Executive Vice President for Communications and Strategy at the Mercuria Energy Group. He holds a BA in European History from the University of California, Berkeley and is a member of the US Council on Foreign Relations.

2012 Seminars

April 5, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Daniel Yergin, Ph.D., Pulitzer Prize winner and authority on energy policy and international politics and economics, will discuss the current state of the world’s petroleum industry.

Dr. Daniel Yergin is chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) and Executive Vice President of IHS, the parent company of CERA. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for his work, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power and was named one of the 500 most influential people in the U.S. in the field of foreign policy by the World Affairs Councils of America. Yergin’s book, The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy, has been translated into 13 languages, and made into a six-hour PBS/BBC documentary; and his most recent book, The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, was published last fall. Yergin received his B.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He also holds honorary degrees from the University of Houston and the University of Missouri.

March 22, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Former senior US Government counterterrorism analyst, Philip Mudd, will discuss the future of al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic fundamentalist movements in the Middle East.

Philip Mudd joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1985 as an analyst specializing in South Asia and then the Middle East. He left after the September 11 attacks for a short assignment as the CIA member of the small diplomatic team that helped piece together a new government for Afghanistan. He returned to the CIA in early 2002 to become second-in-charge of counterterrorism analysis in the Counterterrorist Center and was promoted to the position of Deputy Director of the Center in 2003, serving there until 2005. On the establishment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Security Branch in 2005, he served as the Branch’s first deputy director, and later became the FBI’s Senior Intelligence Adviser. He retired from the US government in 2010. He is a Senior Global Advisor with Oxford Analytica.

Mr. Mudd is the recipient of the highest US government awards for the excellence of his analysis and has appeared widely in the media as an expert commentator on terrorist issues.

February 23, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Dr. Paul Heer, National Intelligence Officer for East Asia, will discuss Chinese perceptions of and policies toward the United States.

Dr. Heer joined the National Intelligence Council from the CIA, where he was a member of the Senior Analytic Service in the Directorate of Intelligence. During his CIA career, he worked as a political and foreign policy analyst on China and Southeast Asia, and as an analytical manager and editor. Heer was a Visiting Intelligence Fellow on the Council on Foreign Relations (1999-2000) and was elected a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations in 2001. He holds a BA from Loras College, an MA in History from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in Diplomatic History from The George Washington University.

February 9, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Ali Soufan, author of The Black Banners is a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent who investigated complex international terrorism cases, including the East Africa Embassy Bombings, the attack on the USS Cole, and the events surrounding 9/11.
During his career with the FBI, Soufan frequently operated in hostile environments and carried out sensitive missions and high-level negotiations, often collaborating with counterparts in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Soufan also served on the Joint Terrorist Task Force, FBI New York Office, where he coordinated both domestic and international counterterrorism operations.

Soufan presently heads the Soufan Group and serves as executive director of the Qatar International Academy for Security Studies. He is also a visiting senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

Soufan has been profiled in, and contributor to numerous publications, including the New Yorker, Newsweek, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Straits Times, and Asharq Alawsat. He holds degrees in International Studies and Political Science from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and received a Master of Arts in International Relations from Villanova where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

January 23, noon - 1:30 p.m. — CNA Military Advisory Board leaders General Jim Conway, USMC (Ret.), former Commandant of the Marine Corps; Admiral John Nathman, USN (Ret.), former Vice Chief of Naval Operations and Fleet Forces Command; and Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, USN (Ret.), former Inspector General of the Navy and current President of CNA Institute for Public Research will discuss the Board's most recent report “Ensuring America's Freedom of Movement: A National Security Imperative to Reduce U.S. Oil Dependence”
 

January 18, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Michael Ancram, Marquess of Lothian will discuss European perceptions of the U.S. “pivot toward Asia,” and offer his views on EU politics and current efforts to deal with the Euro crisis.

Lord Lothian, now a member of the House of Lords after spending more 35 years in the House of Commons, is the Founder and Chairman of the London-based, independent, non-partisan Global Strategy Forum dedicated to debate on foreign affairs and international security.

Lord Lothian was first elected to the UK Parliament in 1974 and served as a Conservative member of the House of Commons where he held the posts of Chairman of the Conservative Party, Shadow Foreign Secretary, and Shadow Secretary of State for Defence. In 2010 he became a member of the House of Lords where he serves as a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee. 

2011 Seminars

December 13, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Under Secretary of the Navy Robert O. Work will brief on the Air Sea Battle concept

Confirmed in May, 2009, Robert O. Work serves as the deputy and principal assistant to the Secretary of Navy and acts with full authority of the secretary in the day-to-day management of the Department of the Navy.

Before entering the administration, Secretary Work was vice president for strategic affairs at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) where he focused on defense strategy and programs, revolutions in war, Department of Defense transformation and maritime affairs. In addition, he studied and prepared several reports of future defense challenges and was an adjunct professor at the George Washington University.

Robert O. Work was a distinguished graduate of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Course at the University of Illinois and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1974. During his 27-year career in the Marine Corps, he held a wide range of command, leadership and management positions. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois, an M.S. in Systems Management form USC, an M.S. in Space Systems Operations from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a master's degree in International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

November 22, noon-12:30 p.m. – Eliot Cohen, Ph.D. will discuss his book Conquered Into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Warpath That Made the American Way of War.

Dr. Eliot Cohen is the Robert E. Osgood Professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) where he directs both the SAIS Strategic Studies Program and the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies. From 2007-2009 he was Counselor of the Department of State, serving as Secretary Condoleeza Rice's senior advisor on strategic issues including those relating to Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Russia. He is also the author of Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime (2002). Dr. Cohen has served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve, and as a member of the Defense Policy Board as well as other government advisory bodies. He holds a B.A. and a Ph.D. from Harvard.

November 3, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – CNA Senior Fellow, Dov S. Zakheim, Ph.D. will discuss "Funding Government Oversight and Management in Contingencies." Dr. Zakheim will draw on his experience a member of the independent, bipartisan legislative Commission on Wartime Contracting established to study wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. (The Commission. presented its final report to Congress in September 2011. )

Dr. Zakheim was Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and CFO for the Department of Defense from 2001 to 2004 serving as principal advisor on financial and budgetary matters. From 2002 to 2004 he was DOD's coordinator of civilian programs in Afghanistan. From 2004 to 2010, he was Senior Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton where he was a leader of the firm's defense practice. Dov Zakheim holds doctorates in economics and politics from St Antony's College, Oxford.

October 13, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. -- CNA Vice President and Director of CNA China Studies, David Finkelstein Ph.D. will discuss "The Role of the People's Liberation Army in PRC National Security Policy Making."

A retired U.S. Army officer, Dr. Finkelstein is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, and the Army War College. He held command and staff positions at the platoon, company, battalion, and major Army command levels. He also held significant China-related positions at the Pentagon as an advisor to the Secretary of Defense and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, in addition to serving on the faculty at West Point, where he taught Chinese history. He received his Ph.D. in Chinese history from Princeton University and studied Mandarin at Nankai University in Tianjin, China.

September 12, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. – Dr. Richard Danzig will address "Talking with Terrorists about WMD: Lessons from Interviews with Leaders of the Aum Shinrikyo Cult." Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, USN (Ret), President of CNA's Institute for Public Research, will guest chair.

Dr. Danzig, who served as the 71st Secretary of the Navy from November 1998 to January 2001, and as Under Secretary of the Navy from 1993 to 1997, is a consultant to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security on terrorism. He is a member of the Defense Policy Board and the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and serves as a Senior Advisor at CNA and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also the Chairman of the Center for a New American Security's Board of Directors. Dr. Danzig a BA from Reed College, a JD from Yale Law School and Bachelor of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

July 19, 6:30 p.m. – Jeffery Bader, Ph.D. former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asian Affairs on the National Security Council, will discuss the Obama Administration and East Asia.

Jeffery Bader, Ph.D. formerly Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asian Affairs on the National Security Council was the founding director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, bringing to that role his expertise in U.S. foreign policy and Asian security gained from 30 years experience at the Department of State, with the National Security Council, and in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Bader joined the State Department in 1975 and spent most of his diplomatic career focused on China. He served in Taipei, Beijing, and Hong Kong and spent several tours in State's East Asia Bureau.

In 1996, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and, the following year, joined the National Security Council staff for the first time as Director for Asian Affairs with responsibility for U.S. relations with the PRC and Taiwan. From 1999-2001, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Namibia. Dr. Bader returned to Washington in 2001 serving as assistant U.S. Trade Representative responsible for the PRC, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mongolia. Jeffrey Bader is a graduate of Yale College and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in European History from Columbia University.

June 14, noon – 1:30 p.m. – Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen. Stephen Seche, will offer his personal views on "fixing" Yemen following the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Stephen Seche, who served as Ambassador to Yemen from September 2007 to August 2010 knows many of the Yemenis vying for leadership positions in the new regime, his views of “the ideal,” i.e. what should be done to prevent Yemen from becoming a failed state like Somalia, and “the real,” i.e. : pragmatically, what can be done to achieve those ends. From 2004 to 2007, Seche served as Deputy Chief of Mission and then Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Syria; his second tour in Damascus. From 2002 to 2004 he was the Director of the Office for Egypt and Levant Affairs at the Department of State. Seche is currently detailed from the State Department to the Georgetown U. Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.

May 25, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. – Chas W. Freeman Jr., who served as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and later was Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security, will discuss the strategic implications of the Arab revolutions.

Freeman was President of the Middle East Policy Council for more than a decade and is author of America’s Misadventures in the Middle East as well as The Diplomat’s Dictionary (Revised Edition) and of Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy. He is the Chairman of Projects International, a DC-based development firm specializing in international joint ventures, acquisitions, and other business operations for American and foreign clients; a member of the Board of Directors of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a member of the Executive Committee of the Atlantic Council of the United States and a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Security Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Freeman is fluent in Chinese, French, Spanish, and conversational Arabic and served as the principal interpreter during President Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972.

May 10, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Richard Kauzlarich, who recently stepped down as the DNI's National Intelligence Officer for Europe, will discuss current stresses within the EU and NATO as these organizations deal with events resulting from the democratic revolts across the Arab world: the Allied military campaign in Libya, a major influx of economic refugees from North Africa, disruption of energy supplies etc.

Ambassador Kauzlarich served as National Intelligence Officer for Europe from September 2003 to April 2011. From 2002 to 2003, he was Director of the Special Initiative on the Muslim World at the U.S. Institute of Peace. During a his 30-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Azerbaijan. Earlier he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European Affairs and then Senior Deputy to the President's Special Representative to the Newly Independent States. Ambassador Kauzlarich holds a BA from Valparaiso University and MA degrees from the universities of Indiana and Michigan. He is a visiting fellow at the Joint Forces Staff College.

April 21, noon - 1:30 p.m. — Journalist, scholar and Middle East analyst David Ottaway, Ph.D. will discuss recent events in Saudi Arabia. Ottaway first visited Saudi Arabia in 1973 when he was based in Addis Ababa for the Washington Post and he has returned there regularly as he assumed the positions of the Post's National Security Correspondent and Investigative/Special Projects Reporter. He was a Woodrow Wilson Center Senior Scholar from December 2006 to December 2011, and is the author of King's Messenger: Prince Bandar Bin Sultan and America's Tangled Relationship with Saudi Arabia as well as articles on the US-Saudi relationship published in Foreign Affairs and the Wilson Quarterly. Ottaway holds a BA from Harvard University and a Ph.D in political science from Columbia University.

March 22, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. — Pakistani political/military analyst and author Ahmed Rashid will give his perspective on the current situation in Afghanistan and in Pakistan where he resides. Rashid is the author of the best-selling books Taliban, Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia and Descent into Chaos: U.S. Policy and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. He is a frequent commentator in the international media and his views are sought by thought leaders around the globe. Rashid was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan in 1948, and was educated at Malvern College in England, Government College University, Lahore and at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University.

March 10, noon – 1:30 p.m.— Vice Admiral John M. Bird, Director Navy Staff will discuss "Command and Control of Maritime Forces" drawing on his experience as Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet from July 2008 to September 2010. A career submarine officer, Vice Admiral Bird has served on both fast attack and ballistic missile submarines in the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. Following a two-year assignment as commander, Submarine Group, commander Task Force 74 and commander Task Force 54 in Yokosuka, Japan, he assumed duties as the deputy commander and chief of staff, U.S Pacific Fleet before becoming commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet in 2008. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he also holds a Master of Science degree in engineering management from Catholic University.

February 8, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. — Robert O. Work, Under Secretary of the Navy. Work serves as the deputy and principal assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and acts with full authority of the Secretary in the day-to-day management of the Department of the Navy. A distinguished graduate of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Course at the University of Illinois, Work was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1974. During his 27-year military career, he held a wide range of command, leadership and management positions. Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, he joined the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, first as the senior fellow for maritime affairs, and later as the vice president for strategic studies. In addition to his degree from the University of Illinois, Under Secretary Work holds a Master of Science in Systems Management from USC, a Master of Science in Space Systems Operations from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins SAIS.

January 11, noon-1:30 p.m. — Cameron R. Hume, former U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia 2007-2010, will discuss: "Indonesia: A Strategic Partner for the U.S. in 21st Century Asia?" During his career in the foreign service, Hume has served the U.S. State Department in Italy, Syria, Tunisia, Lebanon, the Holy See and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and, prior to his assignment in Jakarta, served as U.S. Chief of Mission three times – as Ambassador to Algeria, South Africa, and as Charge d' Affaires in Sudan. He has published three books and numerous articles on foreign policy and been a resident scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations and Harvard University. Currently, he is an independent consultant working on land-use policy issues.

 2010 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.

2009 Seminars

December 15 (Tuesday) — 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. — Dr. Jerry Meyerle, research analyst with CNA Stability and Development will discuss "Assessing the Ground War in Southern Afghanistan." Dr. Meyerle's work at CNA focuses on counterinsurgency, irregular warfare and post-conflict reconstruction and he is an expert on operations in southern Afghanistan, He has published studies on the Pakistan military, insurgent tactics in Afghanistan, the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas, and the insurgency in Kashmir. and, in 2008, deployed to eastern Afghanistan to advise the commander of the Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team. Dr. Meyerle He speaks Urdu and Hindi, and has a Ph.D. in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Virginia.

December 3 (Thursday) — 6:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. — Dr. Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, will give an assessment of the impact of the November 24th visit of Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to the U.S. and will discuss "India, Pakistan and Afghanistan: Linkages and Issues."

Dr. Tillis is a prominent expert on South Asia issues and specializes in international security, defense, and Asian strategic matters. While on assignment to the US Department of State as Senior Adviser to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, he was intimately involved in negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India. Previously he was commissioned into the Foreign Service and served as Senior Adviser to the Ambassador at the US Embassy in New Delhi. He also served on the National Security Council staff as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and Southwest Asia. He earned his MA and PhD in Political Science at the University of Chicago and holds BA and MA degrees in Economics from the University of Bombay.

November 19 (Thursday) – 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. — Dr. Martin C. Libicki will discuss "Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar." Dr. Libicki has been a senior management scientist at RAND since 1998, focusing on the impacts of information technology on domestic and national security. He has published extensively on cybersecurity and related topics including: "The Challenge of Domestic Intelligence in a Free Society (2009 monograph), "Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar" (2009 monograph), "Cybersecurity Economic Issues: Corporate Approaches and Challenges to Decisionmaking" (2008 monograph), and "Conquest in Cyberspace: National Security and Information Warfare" (2007 book). Before joining RAND, Dr. Libicki spent 12 years at the National Defense University, three years on the Navy Staff as program sponsor for industrial preparedness, and three years as a policy analyst for the GAO's Energy and Minerals Division. He holds an M.S. and a Ph.D from the University of California Berkeley.

November 13. (Friday) – 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. — Journalist and author Gretchen Peters will discuss the research and findings which are the basis of her new book Seeds of Terror: How Heroin is Bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda. Ms. Peters has covered Pakistan and Afghanistan for more than a decade — first for the Associated Press and later for ABC News — and was nominated for an Emmy for her coverage of the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto. She has also been a commentator for National Public Radio and CNN. She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in homeland security and criminal justice at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies.

October 27 (Tuesday) – 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. — Robert D. Kaplan, prolific and influential writer for the Atlantic Monthly and now Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), will discuss the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean region, the focus of a number of his recent articles and of a book he is writing for CNAS.

October 13 (Tuesday) – 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Former CIA officer Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow at the Brooking Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy who, from March through May 2009, chaired the Obama administration's review of Afghanistan and Pakistan policy, (together with Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy) will reflect on that process and the challenges identified going forward. Mr. Riedel has been a senior advisor to three U.S. presidents on Middle East and South Asian issues, and holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. from Harvard University.

August 20 (Thursday) – 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq from 2007 to 2009 where he forged a strong partnership with General David Petraeus, Ambassador Crocker retired this spring following nearly four decades of service in some of the State Department's most difficult and dangerous assignments.

Jun 10 (Tuesday) – 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Linton Brooks

May 21 (Thursday) – 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Bing West

May 14 (Thursday) – 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Rear Admiral Terry McKnight, USN, will address "Piracy off the Horn of Africa: The View from CTF 151" and provide insights into coalition operations off Somalia, including his interactions with the PLA Commander of China's counter-piracy efforts. Admiral McKnight assumed his duties as Commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 2 in September 2007, and was ordered to the Gulf of Aden in January 2009 to become the first commander of CTF 151.

May 13 (Wednesday) – 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. — Major General John F. Kelly USMC, will discuss "Prospects for Stability in Iraq." General Kelly has just returned from Iraq where, during 2008 and early 2009, he commanded the I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) based in al-Anbar Province.

February 11 (Wednesday) – 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. — Henry Crumpton

January 29 (Thursday) – 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Sarah Chayes

January 13 (Tuesday) – 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m — Walter Pincus, Washington Post national staff reporter covering the intelligence community, will discuss the challenges that will face President-elect Obama's Director of National Intelligence

2008 Seminars

December 16 (Tuesday) - 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. — Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Admiral Thad W. Allen will speak on the topic of "Maritime Security Challenges."

December 4 (Thursday) - 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m — Dr. John Duke Anthony, President of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, will discuss challenges the Obama administration will face in dealing with the Arab world.

November 25 (Tuesday) - 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. — Ambassador Victoria Nuland will discuss some of the challenges the new administration may face in dealing with Russia and in managing the US/NATO relationship. From July 2005 until she stepped down earlier this year, Ambassador Nuland was the United States Permanent Representative to NATO. She is currently teaching at the National War College. A career foreign service officer, Victoria Nuland was Principal Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Cheney from July 2003-May 2005. She has held a number of significant positions at the U.S. State Department primarily relating to Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union. During the Clinton Administration, she served as Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott.

September 30 (Tuesday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — Vice Admiral Kevin J. Cosgriff, USN (Ret.), who recently stepped down as Commander U.S. Fifth Fleet, will provide insights from his tenure during 2007-2008, a particularly eventful period in the Gulf. Admiral Cosgriff is presently at CNA as he transitions to the private sector. Immediately prior to his assignment in Bahrain, he was the Deputy Commander, Fleet Forces Command. A graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kevin Cosgriff was among the first to receive a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence form the Defense Intelligence College. He served as Director of the White House Situation Room and on the National Security Council.

September 24 (Wednesday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — Vice Admiral Doug Crowder, USN, recently assigned as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations Plans and Strategy (N3/N5), will address his nearly two years in command of the US Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific. He is well-known to the policy community having previously served as Director of N31/N52, as Director of Deep Blue, the Navy Operations Group and as Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy and Operations.

July 31 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m — Admiral William J. Fallon, recently retired from the US Navy after 41 years of distinguished service. Admiral Fallon has accepted an appointment at the MIT Center for International Studies as a Robert E. Wilhem Fellow. Before he begins his academic collaboration at MIT, we are pleased that he has agreed to reflect on US strategic challenges as viewed from his vantage point as Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command from February 2005 to March 2007 and Commander of the U.S. Central Command from March 2007 to March 2008. He previously served as Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command from September 2003 to February 2005. He was the 31st Vice Chief of Naval Operations from October 2000 to August 2003.

July 10 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — Congressman Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee), Chairman, Panel on Roles and Missions, House Armed Services Committee. Topic: The roles and missions review and its implications for reform within the U.S. military.
Access the panel's report: http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/Reports/HASCRolesandMissionsPanelReport.pdf

June 6 (Friday) - 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (note different time) — Ahmed Rashid, world-renowned Pakistani journalist and author of several best-selling books on the Taliban, militant Islam, and Central Asia. Mr. Rashid will discuss his newest, just-released book, Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Mr. Rashid writes regularly for the BBC, the Washington Post, the New York Review of Books, and the Daily Telegraph (London), among other publications. He also appears regularly on NPR, CNN, and the BBC World Service.

June 5 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — ADM Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations. Topic TBD

April 24 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — Kurt Campbell – "Difficult Transitions: Why Presidents Fail in Foreign Policy at the Outset."

April 3 (Thursday) - 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. — Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Activities, United States Africa Command will be our distinguished speaker. AFRICOM is unique in having two co-equal deputies--a civilian deputy and a military deputy. Ambassador Yates directs the command's plans and programs associated with health, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian mine action, disaster response, and security sector reform. From 2005 to 2007, she served as Foreign Policy Advisor to the United States European Command. A career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service, Mary Carlin Yates was U.S. Ambassador to Ghana from 2002 to 2005 and U.S. Ambassador to Burundi from 1999 to 2002. She has also served in Zaire (Congo), France, Philippines and Korea.

March 25 (Tuesday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — Major General Charles J. Dunlap Jr., Deputy Judge Advocate General of the United States Air Force. He speaks and writes widely on legal and national security issues. An early indication of his ability to provoke was his 1992 National War College paper, later published in Parameters: "The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012." More recently General Dunlap has written a monograph "Shortchanging the Joint Fight" which critiques the U.S. Army and Marine Corp's counterinsurgency manual for failing to sufficiently take account of the role of air power. In his January 9 New York Times op-ed, "We Still Need the Big Guns," General Dunlap points out that the lesson of Iraq is that "old fashioned force works." For this seminar, he will be expanding on the points made in his op-ed and monograph.

March 6 (Thursday) - 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. — General Joseph Ralston, former Commander, U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe NATO, will be our distinguished speaker on 6 March, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Joe is now a Vice Chairman with the Cohen Group.

February 28 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — Dr. Thomas J. Christensen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. The rise of China is going to be an issue for the next administration, as it will for many succeeding administrations. There is no one in the United States Government better positioned to discuss US-China relations and speculate about future issues than Tom. He is on public service leave from Princeton University where he is Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Director of the Princeton-Harvard "China and the World" Program.

February 5 (Tuesday) - 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. — our distinguished speaker will be Admiral Henry G. "Harry" Ulrich, III, USN (Ret.) who relinquished command of Naval Forces Europe and as NATO's Allied Joint Force Commander Naples in November. Admiral Ulrich will discuss his experiences in conducting maritime security operations along the Mediterranean littoral, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Black Sea. He will reflect on lessons learned and will discuss why maritime security operations in these areas will be important to the nation in the future.

January 29 (Tuesday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — the Honorable Dr. Patrick M. Cronin, newly appointed Director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) of the National Defense University, will discuss the challenges posed by Iran and North Korea. Dr. Cronin is the editor and co-author of Double Trouble: International Security and the Challenge of Iran and North Korea. His presentation is in keeping with our early 2008 theme of near-term issues facing the country and the next administration.

January 7 (Monday) - 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. — Dr. David Gordon, the State Department"s Director of Policy Planning, kicks off the year by previewing the policy challenges facing us in the months to come. The Director and Policy Planning Staff serve as a source of independent policy analysis and advice for the Secretary of State. Their mission is to take a longer term, strategic view of global trends and frame recommendations for the Secretary.

2007 Seminars

December 13 (Thursday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — Vice Admiral John Stufflebeem, Director, Navy Staff, will give "A View from Lisbon: NATO Transformation, Pakistan Relief, and Lebanon Crisis Response." His previous assignment was Commander 6th Fleet, Deputy Commander Naval Forces Europe, Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Europe, Commander Strike and Support Forces NATO and Allied Commander Joint Command Lisbon. A naval aviator who has flown more than 4,000 hours, Admiral Stufflebeem has served in a variety of assignments including as Military Aide to President George H.W. Bush.

December 6 (Thursday) - 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m — Mr. Ahmed Rashid, one of Pakistan's top journalists, will speak about the current situation in Pakistan and the policy choices confronting that nation's leaders. His 2000 book, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, was a New York Times bestseller.

November 26 (Monday) - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — Gen. Joseph Ralston has been the Vice Chairman of The Cohen Group since his retirement from the United States Air Force in 2003. He was Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1996-2000) and the Commander of the U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, NATO (2000-2003). He was appointed by President Bush to serve a one-year term (Aug 2006-Aug 2007) as a Special Envoy for countering the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK). He will discuss the urgent need to resolve the PKK, Turkey, Iraq crisis.

November 7 (Wednesday) - 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. — Mr. Stephen Fidler, Defense and Security Editor of the Financial Times, based in London and in the U.S. on a reporting trip, will offer insights from his editor's notebook on France and NATO, the UK defense budget, and other European security issues (very topical subjects in a week in which President Bush will meet with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel).