On November 15, the Brookings Institution will welcome former French Minister of Foreign Affairs Hubert Védrine to deliver the fourth annual Raymond Aron Lecture. Globalization by its very nature erodes national sovereignty. This process represents a particular challenge for France with its proud history of independence. In this lecture, Hubert Védrine will explore how France has managed to maintain its sovereignty and its influence in the midst of globalization.

Hubert Védrine was French Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2002, as well as diplomatic counselor and spokesman for President François Mitterrand. He is the author of several books on French politics and international affairs including Les Mondes de François Mitterrand (1996), Les Cartes de la France à l’heure de la mondialisation (2000), and Face à l’hyperpuissance (2003).

THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON, DC
Is Proud To Present:

A Foreign Policy Series Event

Talking with Tehran



Panelists Will Include:

Dr. Robert Litwak
Dr. Trita Parsi
Ms. Barbara Slavin

Moderated by
Ambassador John Limbert

What would happen if we opened up to Iran?

Are renewed negotiations with Iran feasible? What should each state expect in any future discussion? How might each nation’s policymakers ensure that talks are mutually beneficial and productive?

Following a series of significant foreign policy confrontations between Iran and the United States, including September’s speaking tour by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, many in the international circle have begun to reopen the debate over negotiation with Iran. This Foreign Policy Series discussion aims to shed light on the possible effects of a renewed dialogue with the Iranian government and how such an event might take place. At a time when Iran is largely viewed as America’s next foreign policy hurdle, regional experts Dr. Litwak, Dr. Parsi, Ms. Slavin and Ambassador John Limbert will stimulate a lively exchange of new foreign policy arguments and options and promise to broaden the international horizons of all who are able to attend.


Dr. Robert Litwak is currently the Direcor of International Security Studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relation. He was the director for Nonproliferation at the National Security Council. Dr. Litwak also has extensive educational honors, he was a fellow at the Center for International Affairs and Russian Research Center at Harvard University; and additionally, an executive fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. Dr. Litwak received a Bachelor of Arts at Haverford College and a Ph.D in International Relations at the London Schools of Economics. Dr. Litwak recently published a new book entitled Regime Change: U.S. Strategy through the Prism of 9/11

Dr. Trita Parsi is founder and president of the National Iranian-American Council. He is one of the few people in the US - if not the only one - that has traveled both to Iran and Israel and interviewed top officials in these countries on the state of Israeli-Iranian relations. He has conducted more than 130 interviews with senior Israeli, Iranian and American officials in all three countries. He has followed Middle East politics for more than a decade, both through work in the field, and through extensive experience on Capitol Hill and the United Nations. Dr. Parsi recently published a new book entitled Treacherous Alliance - The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States

Barbara Slavin is a senior diplomatic journalist for USA Today. She is the author of "Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S. and the Twisted Path to Confrontation.” She has covered such key issues as the U.S.-led war on terrorism and in Iraq, policy toward “rogue” states and the Arab-Israeli conflict. She has accompanied three secretaries of State on their official travels and also reported from Iran, Libya, Israel, Egypt, North Korea, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Syria. She is currently joined the U.S. Institute of Peace as a Jennings Randolph fellow, to continue her research on Iran.

Ambassador John Limbert is a professor of the Political Science Department at the U.S. Naval Academy. He was former Chargé d’Affaires of the American Embassy in Khartoum, John W. Limbert will direct the United States Mission in steering bilateral relations with Sudan from the beginning of its new Government of National Unity sworn in July 9, 2005. Former Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (2000-2003) during a time of increasing cooperation between the two countries. Ambassador Limbert holds the Department of State’s Meritorious Honor Award, two Superior Honor Awards, and the Award for Valor, the latter received after fourteen months as a hostage in Iran.

This summer's annual Pentagon report on the Chinese military noted the increasingly rapid expansion in the capabilities of the People's Liberation Army.  What was once a military notable for its outdated equipment, shoddy training, and lack of professionalism is becoming a leaner, more sophisticated force.  Which capabilities are of particular concern to the United States? What conclusions, if any, can be drawn from these developments? Please join Colonel Tom Ehrhard (USAF, retired), Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, to discuss these and other issues related to Chinese military modernization.

Next Steps with North Korea: Negotiating on Energy

Sponsored by the Sejong Society of Washington, D.C.

Featuring: The Honorable Robert L. Gallucci
Dean
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University

Date: Thursday, November 15, 2007

Time: 6:45 pm

Location: Bernstein-Offit Building Room 500, Fifth Floor 1717 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20036 (Closest Metro: Dupont Circle)  

Robert L. Gallucci was appointed dean of Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in 1996.  He had just completed twenty-one years of government service, during which time he was the lead Ambassador responsible for the negotiation of the 1994 Agreed Framework which significantly impacted North Korea's nuclear weapons program.  In 1998 he became the State Department's special envoy to deal with the threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. In 1991 he was appointed deputy executive chairman of the UN Special Commission overseeing the disarmament of Iraq. In 1992, he became senior coordinator for nonproliferation and nuclear safety initiatives in the former Soviet Union. Later in 1992 Dr. Gallucci was confirmed as the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.  

He has authored a number of publications on political-military issues, including Neither Peace Nor Honor: The Politics of American Military Policy in Vietnam, and Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis with Joel S. Wit and Daniel Poneman. For Going Critical, he was the recipient of the 2005 Douglas Dillon Award given by the American Academy of Diplomacy for a book of distinction in the practice of diplomacy. He holds a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a master's and doctorate in politics from Brandeis University. Before joining the State Department, he taught at Swarthmore College, The Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, and Georgetown University.


Please RSVP for this event by clicking here.

THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON, DC

Is Proud to Present an

AUTHOR SERIES EVENT


Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone

Rajiv Chandrasekaran

In Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Rajiv Chandrasekaran gives a revealing account of the postwar administration of Iraq that has both appalled and amused readers over the last year. Chandrasekaran describes the disaster of the Coalition Provisional Authority under L. Paul Bremer, which was chosen for its loyalty to the Bush administration, as it routinely ignored the reality of local conditions while residing in Saddam Hussein’s former palace. Chandrasekaran notes blunders of other Americans stationed in Iraq, from the cafeteria that served pork at every meal (a significant cultural mistake when dining with Muslims) to the army general who asserted that children terrified by nighttime helicopters should appreciate "the sound of freedom." And how did a twenty-four year old without any finance background get put in charge of rebuilding the Iraqi Stock Exchange?

Chandrasekaran gives an intimate portrait of life inside this Oz-like bubble, which continued unaffected by the growing mayhem outside. The author’s expresses that there is certainly “A Lot Left to Be Done,” so join him as he discusses the progress, or lack of, that has been made in Iraq since the publication of Imperial Life in the Emerald City.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the national editor of The Washington Post. Prior to that he was bureau chief in Baghdad before, during , and after the war. Previously he served as Cairo bureau chief and Southeast Asia correspondent, and covered the war in Afghanistan. He joined the Post in 1994. He has served as the journalist-in-residence at the International Reporting Project at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies in Washington, and as a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, also in Washington. Rajiv lives in Washington, D.C.

Annapolis and Beyond: What (Not) to Expect

Tuesday, November 20, 2007
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Ave, NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC

In October, the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program along with International Crisis Group and the U.S./Middle East Project organized a letter to President Bush and Secretary Rice titled “Failure Risks Devastating Consequences,” which was signed by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Lee Hamilton, Brent Scowcroft, Carla Hills, and four other former officials. Since the original release, over 50 prominent national security experts and former officials have signed on to the letter, which will be re-released with the new signatories at the Tuesday briefing.

You are invited to a CRCE Talk

by Alexandros Petersen

With Professor Philip Hanson in the Chair

“Security and Western Integration in the Caucasus”

Wednesday 21st November 2007, 6.30 for 7.00 p.m.

57 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QL

About the Speaker

Alexandros Petersen is Senior ACD Researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London.  He is on the editorial board of Millennium: Journal of International Studies and has been widely published in the United States and the CIS.  In 2007, he was a Visiting Fellow at CSIS and in 2006 he was a Visiting Scholar at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies in Tbilisi.  He is currently pursuing a PhD in International Relations at the London School of Economics. Alexandros Petersen is the Vice President of the London Branch of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy.

Security for a New Century 110th Congress

Tracking the Trade in Illicit Nuclear Weapons

When: Tuesday, November 27 at 10:00am

Where: Senate Capitol, Room S120

David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, physicist, and former UN weapons inspector, will join us for a discussion on the illicit trade in nuclear weapons.  The nuclear blackmarket includes the trade in expertise, technologies, components and materials.  The A.Q. Khan network operated in over 30 countries, often exploiting loopholes in national export regulations, but most of those involved have never been prosecuted. Nuclear smuggling has continued unabated, and there are indicators that these networks are wider and more pervasive than is often understood. Why is the illicit nuclear trade so dangerous, why is it so persistent, and what can the US and the international community do to thwart it?

The Center for National Policy

invites you to a policy discussion entitled

Who Rules Pakistan?

The Islamic Republic in Crisis

featuring

Ambassador Teresita Schaffer

Director of the South Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

and

Husain Haqqani

Director of the Center for International Relations and Professor at Boston

Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World
A Discussion on America's Place in the World with Walter Russell Mead

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Ave, NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC

The great story of modern world history is the rise of a global system of power, commerce, finance, culture, and ideology resting first on the power of Britain and now on that of America. As horrified Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Soviets looked on, since 1688 the British have been on the winning side in every great power conflict in which they have fought — with the single exception of the American Revolution. In other words, the two great English speaking powers have either separately or together won every major war since the 17th century, and the global system resting on their military and commercial prowess remains the foundation of international order today.

“Britain Under Brown�

5 p.m. - Rome Building Auditorium, 1619 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.

Kendall Myers, SAIS adjunct professor of European Studies and senior analyst at the U.S. State Department; Edward Luce, Washington bureau chief of the Financial Times; and Matthias Matthijs, SAIS Ph.D. graduate in European Studies, will discuss this topic.

No RSVP required

Ronald Brownstein - The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 07:00 PM at Olsson's The Lansburgh/Penn Quarter, 418 7th St., NW, (202) 638-7610

From Los Angeles Times reporter and political commentaor Ron Brownstein, this is an important big-picture analysis of the forces that have made this era in American politics as divisive and bitterly partisan as any since the Civil War. Brownstein diagnoses the electoral, demographic, and institutional forces that have brought such change over the American political landscape, pulling politics to the margins and leaving precious little common ground for compromise. Brownstein begins with a history of the evolving climate for partisanship since the dawn of the modern political era in 1896, presenting a fresh and bold reinterpretation of American politics and the personalities who have shaped it from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

An Oil-Free Foreign Policy?

When:  Wednesday, November 28 at 10:00am

Where: Senate Dirksen, Room G11

David Sandalow, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of Freedom from Oil: How the Next President of the United States Can End the United States’ Oil Addiction, and Vijay Vaitheeswaran, correspondent for The Economist and author of ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future, will join us for a discussion on US energy consumption and US dependence on imported oil.

InfoShop, Gender and Development Group (PRMGE) & Development Research Group
(DECRG)

cordially invite you to a book launch and panel discussion featuring

The International Migration of Women
Edited by Andrew R. Morrison, Maurice Schiff and Mirja Sjöblom

It is estimated that more than 190 million people--3 percent of the world's
population-- presently live outside their country of birth. Of these
international migrants, close to one half are women. Despite the great number
of female migrants, there has been a striking lack of gender analysis in the
economic literature on international migration and development.

Blindside: How to Anticipate Forcing Events and Wild Cards in Global Politics
When

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Where

Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Directions

After six years of war spanning multiple theaters around the world, today's Army faces many challenges. In the near-term, continuing rotations through Iraq and Afghanistan raise questions about whether the volunteer force is suited to "persistent conflict," whether in Iraq or elsewhere.  In the longer-term, the Army is challenged with developing a truly full-spectrum force, capable of  operating in many different environments.  The story in both cases is not entirely bleak, despite the substantial stress in recent years, but much remains to be done - some of it requiring serious adaptation that is never easy.

To address these issues, YPFP is pleased to welcome Thomas McNaugher, Senior Principal Researcher and the former Director of the Arroyo Center (Army Research Division) at the RAND Corporation.   The discussion will be held from 7:00-8:30 pm on Wednesday, November 28th.  To attend, please register by responding to events@ypfp.org

The SAIS Review and the SAIS International Policy Program Presents:

Blessing or Curse?: Natural Resources and Development

A Panel Discussion Moderated by:
Dr. Francis Fukuyama
Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy and
Director of the International Development Program, SAIS

Panelists Include:
Dr. Peter Lewis
Director of the African Studies Program, SAIS

Julia Nanay
Senior Director - Country Strategies, PFC Energy

David L. Goldwyn
President, Goldwyn International Strategies Former U.S . Assistant
Secretary of Energy for International Affairs

Rwanda Rising

Join the African Student Association of John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the UNA-NCA Young Professionals Africa Committee for a screening of the film,
Rwanda Rising

Post-film, Q&A moderated by Josh Marks, Independent Consultant
and Featuring Paulette Lee, Communications Officer for USAID and PEPFAR/Rwanda
Monique Bagirimvano, Youth Activist from Rwanda
Thursday, November 29 at 6:30 pm
SAIS Rome Building Auditorium,
1619 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20036

Please RSVP to:
ypicafrica@unanca.org
(Event is open to the public, but seating is limited, please RSVP by Nov. 26)
Light refreshments will be served

Turmoil in Pakistan: Implications for U.S. Security

Featured Panelists:
Senator Tom Daschle, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Robert Grenier, Managing Director, Kroll Inc. and former CIA Chief of Station, Islamabad
Robert Hathaway, Director, Asia Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Partisan Polarization and Foreign Policy  When

Friday, November 30, 2007
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Where

Somers Room
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Directions

Martyrs Without Borders
The Puzzle of Foreign Fighters in Iraq

Friday, November 30, 2007
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Ave, NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC

The rate of suicide attacks in the Iraqi insurgency has surpassed the number of suicide operations by all previous insurgent groups combined, including those by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, and Hamas in Israel. Many of the suicide bombers are foreign volunteers--they come from neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and Syria, and from as far away as North Africa and Europe. What motivates these foreign fighters to make this journey of death? Dr. Mohammed Hafez, author of Suicide Bombers in Iraq, will answer this and other vexing questions by examining the varied factions that comprise the Iraqi insurgency, the ideology and theology of martyrdom, and the prospects for a new generation of global jihadists forged in the crucible of Iraq.

Human Trafficking and Freedom
December 3, 2007, 10:00am-12:00pm
Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Building, SAIS, 1740 Massachusetts Ave, NW

The SAIS Protection Project and Freedom House will host a forum to examine the relationship between a country’s level of freedom and the efforts its government makes to fight trafficking. Mark Lagon, ambassador-at-large and director of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, will give the keynote address. Congressman Chris Smith (R.-N.J.), special representative on human trafficking issues for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, also has been invited to give remarks. Panelists include Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House executive director; Mohamed Mattar, Protection Project executive director; Holly Burkhalter, vice president of government relations at the International Justice Mission; and Neha Mistra, Solidarity Center migration and trafficking coordinator.

Boumediene v. Bush and the Rights of Enemy Combatants in Wartime

POLICY FORUM
Monday, December 3, 2007
12:00 PM (Luncheon to Follow)

Featuring Timothy Lynch, Cato Institute and Jeremy Rabkin, George Mason University Law School.

The Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

The war on terror has presented U.S. courts with many thorny legal issues relating to civil liberties and national security. On December 5 the Supreme Court takes up the case of Boumediene v. Bush, which centers on the right of "enemy combatants" being held in Guantanamo Bay to have their detention reviewed by American civilian courts. On one hand, what right does the president have to hold people indefinitely without recourse to judicial review? On the other, does the Constitution really require that everyone picked up by our military in wartime have access to our courts? Fundamentally, how do you balance liberty and security during a war without end where the enemy doesn't play by the traditional laws of war? Please join us for a spirited debate of these and related issues.

Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia When

Monday, December 03, 2007
1:00 PM to 2:30 PM

Where

Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Directions

Iraq After the Surge: The Perspective of H.E. Sayyed Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim

Date: Monday, December 3, 2007

Time: 4:00 PM- 5:30 PM

Location: U.S. Institute of Peace
2nd Floor Conference Room
1200 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Get Directions

Overview

With the apparent success of the surge, Iraq is at a crossroads. Will it take those steps necessary to build on the security improvement and develop political stability? Or will it falter and lose this opportunity? Many issues confront the Iraqi people. Progress toward national reconciliation at both the central and local levels; the effect of the "Sunni Awakening" on Iraq's political stability; Iran's influence and growing Shia resistance toward Tehran; and the inability of the parliament to pass election laws are only some of the hurdles facing Iraq. Please join us as H.E. Sayyed Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim addresses these and other issues.

"Kosovo's Final Status in Historical Context": A panel discussion with Professors Ivo Banac, Larry Wolff and Susan Woodward, Moderated by Anna Di Lellio

Kosovo's controversial final status talks are due to conclude in December. The stakes are high, with Kosovo seeking independence, Serbia opposing it, the prospects for compromise bleak and the current situation untenable. The outcome of the talks will have serious implications for the Balkans, the European Union, US-Russian relations and beyond. Come hear a panel of eminent scholars of the region take a step back from the confrontation and situate these unfolding events in historical context.

PLEASE NOTE THE REVISED TIME.   THE EVENT START TIME HAS BEEN MOVED TO 6:30 PM

These days, it can be a struggle to tell whether relations with Iran are moving closer to or farther from war. In recent months, the U.S. has marked the elite Iranian Quds force as a terrorist group and pushed for stronger sanctions at the United Nations, while engaging in direct talks with Iranian officials in Iraq and releasing Iranians held by the U.S. military. What do the final months of the Bush administration hold for the U.S. and Iran? Is the President willing to let the counter-proliferation problem fall to his successor, or does he intend to resolve it on his watch?

To discuss these issues and more, please join Danielle Pletka, Vice President for Foreign Policy and Defense Studies. The discussion will be held from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 3. To attend, please register by responding to events@ypfp.org with your name and affiliation.

Danielle Pletka

Danielle Pletka is the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI. Her research areas include the Middle East, South Asia, terrorism, and weapons proliferation. While at AEI, Ms. Pletka has developed a conference series on rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq and a project on democracy in the Arab world. She recently served as a member of the congressionally-mandated Task Force on the United Nations, established by the United States Institute of Peace. Before coming to AEI, she served for ten years as a senior professional staff member for the Near East and South Asia on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. She received a B.A. from Smith College and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies.

World Affairs Council Foreign Policy Series

Pakistan: At the Brink
With Ahmed Rashid

Ahmed Rashid, journalist and writer on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia reports on Pakistan’s deepening political crisis and implications for US policy in the region.

Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore. He is author of three books including Taliban and most recently Jihad. He has covered Afghanistan’s changing fortunes since the 1978 Soviet invasion, the rise of Osama bin Laden, and the destabilization of the entire strategic area. He writes for the ‘Far Eastern Economic Review,’ the ‘Daily Telegraph,’ and “The Wall Street Journal.� Rashid has been awarded the Nisar Osmani “Award for Courage in Journalism, British-Kuwait Society for Middle Eastern Studies� book prize in 2001, “The Media Personality of the Year,� and “ The Daniel Pearl Award (OMFA), which gives cash grants to newly starting print media in Afghanistan. So far it has distributed over $300,000 to newspaper and magazine entrepreneurs.

Wild Pitch: Curveball and Selling the Iraq War

Tuesday, December 4, 2007
12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Ave, NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC

In 1999, a mysterious Iraqi applied for political asylum in Munich. The young chemical engineer offered compelling testimony of Saddam Hussein’s secret program to build weapons of mass destruction. He claimed that the dictator had constructed germ factories on trucks, creating a deadly hell on wheels. His German hosts passed along his account to their CIA counterparts, but denied CIA agents access to their star informant. The Americans dubbed him with an unforgettable code name: Curveball. After September 11, 2001, the Bush administration seized on Curveball’s account as evidence that Saddam’s government needed to be overthrown—in spite of numerous indicators that the informant’s credibility was unraveling. Bob Drogin answers the crucial question of the Iraq war: how and why was America’s intelligence so wrong?

Please join Common Cause President Bob Edgar and our partners at a Town Hall Meeting to discuss potential U.S. conflict with Iran. Common Cause has a long history advocating that Congress do its duty under the Constitution as it pertains to declaring war. We are working with allies in the peace community and others to ensure that Congress exercises its legal role in any potential conflict in Iran.

Where: George Washington University, Jack Morton Auditorium (21st and H Streets NW in downtown DC)

Who: Secretary of State Colin Powell's former Chief of Staff, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson (ret.); former Assistant to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and President of the National Defense University, Lt. General Robert Gard (ret.); and former Congressman and House Armed Services Committee Member, Tom Andrews (D-ME)

Internet Development in China: Its Impact on Politics and Society

When

Tuesday, December 04, 2007
10:00 AM to 12:00 pm

Where

Saul/Zilkha Room
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Directions

Iraq's Displacement Crisis and the International Response

Thursday, December 6, 2007 9:00 am - 2:30 pm

The Iraq War has caused the largest population displacement in the Middle East since 1948. However, the dire situation has elicited neither a major international humanitarian response nor a policy debate over U.S. responsibility for the crisis. Sectarian fighting, political and criminal violence, lack of basic services, loss of livelihoods, spiraling inflation, and uncertainty about the future have pushed some 4 million Iraqis from their homes. Neighboring states, burdened by the influx of refugees and concerned for their own security, have imposed visa restrictions and effectively cut off entry. The Iraqis that have fled to neighboring countries face tremendous uncertainties, including the threat of deportation. Regional governments, coalition forces, and international organizations are grappling with the crisis while protecting against security vulnerabilities. The recent flow of Iraqis returning home may be a promising sign, but until security in Iraq improves and people can safely go back, critical attention must be paid to the remaining options: improved conditions inside Iraq, temporary placement in a host country, or resettlement in a third country.

Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC)

CHRC Taskforce on International Religious Freedom (TIRF)

Congressional Caucus on Vietnam (CCV)

Briefing:

Religious Freedom in Vietnam:

An Update

Thursday, December 6, 2007

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon

2255 Rayburn HOB

Please join the Congressional Human Rights Caucus for a briefing on religious freedom in Vietnam. The briefing will be held on Thursday, December 6th, 2007, from 10:30 a.m. to noon in room 2255 Rayburn House Office Building.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez will serve as Briefing Chair.

The Wilson Center's Asia Program is hosting a panel discussion on the situation in Afghanistan, six years later.

The panel will feature William C. Martel (The Fletcher School, Tufts University); Seth G. Jones (RAND Corporation); William Byrd (World Bank); and Malaly Pikar Volpi (U.S.-Afghanistan Reconstruction Council)

Event to occur December 6, 2007, 3:30-5:30pm, in the Woodrow Wilson Center's 5th floor conference room.

More information can be found at www.wilsoncenter.org/asia. RSVPs not required but media are asked to contact asia@wilsoncenter.org in advance.
The Center is located in the southeast wing of the Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. The closest Metro station is Federal Triangle on the blue and orange lines. For detailed directions, please visit the Center’s website, www.wilsoncenter.org/directions.

"IRAN-U.S. RELATIONS: ON THE BRINK OF DISASTER?": Relations between the U.S. and Iran have long been marked by mutual acrimony, hyperbole and intransigence, and prospects appear grim. Is there a possibility for compromise and coexistence? A panel of experts will reflect on the continuum of U.S.-Iran confrontations: from the 1979 Revolution against a U.S.-backed Shah to the present nuclear confrontation; from 12 years of U.S., and UN sanctions on Iran to recent collisions over Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

They will consider oil, religio-cultural factors, regional politics and domestic realities inside each country as factors impelling the present crisis, including the likelihood of U.S. military intervention as a second regional "war of choice";, and means for its avoidance. Audience discussion follows.

The Five Front War: The Better Way to Fight Global Jihad

Monday, December 10, 2007
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Ave, NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC

Noted middle east and terrorism expert Daniel Byman offers a new approach to fighting the war on terrorism in his new book, The Five Front War. He argues that two of the main solutions to terrorism offered by politicians -- military intervention and the democratization of the Arab world -- shouldn't even be our top priorities. Instead, he presents a fresh way to face intelligence and law enforcement challenges ahead: conduct counterinsurgency operations, undermine al-Qaeda's ideology, selectively push for reforms, and build key lasting alliances.

Taiwan's Upcoming Elections

Speakers:
Session One - 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Taiwan's 2008 Legislative and Presidential Elections

Dr. Yu Ching-hsin, Director, Election Study Center, National Chengchi University

Session Two - 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.: Impact of Taiwan's Elections on Cross-Strait and International Relations

Dr. Cheng Tuan-yao, Director, Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University

• Tuesday, December 11, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Location: Chung-wen Shih Conference Room, The Sigur Center for Asian Studies, Suite 503, 1957 E Street, NW

Congressional Human Rights Caucus

Briefing:

Consumer Power and Responsibility: Genocide-free Investing

Tuesday, December 11

3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Room: 2200 Rayburn HOB

Please join the Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) for a briefing on genocide-free investing. This briefing will take place on December 11th from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in room 2200 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The briefing is open to the public and the media.

Ever since the Sullivan principles were successfully employed to fight apartheid in South Africa, human rights activists have sought ways to harness the tremendous economic power of the United States and the international community for the defense of global human rights norms. The State Department report to the OECD puts U.S. private capital flows abroad at $69.2 billion for 2006, and the OECD's Development Assistance Committee reported private European capital flows of $81.1 billion for 2005. These rather conservative numbers illustrate the huge economic leverage investors have if they were united in the support of socially responsible investment policies.

Parsing the Iran Challenge

Polenz, a senior CDU Member of the Bundestag, is one of the most powerful German voices on his country's foreign policy and national security policy issues. He has been focused on what is real, what is not, and what policy contours America and Europe should take towards Iran for some time. In addition, his Foreign Affairs Committee determines, with the government and the full Bundestag, whether or not German forces will be deployed, so he is keenly interested in NATO operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan and will speak to these topics in his remarks.


Featuring:
Ruprecht Polenz
Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committe, German Bundestag

Moderated by:
Steve Clemons
Director, New America Foundation/American Strategy Program

Date & Time:
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
10:30 am-12:00 pm

Location:
New America Foundation
7th Floor Conference Room
1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009

RSVP directly to this email or to communications@NewAmerica.net
or call Liz Wu at 202-986-2700, ext. 315

CSIS cordially invites you to a

Smart Power Speaker Series Event:

Lael Brainard
Vice President and Director, Global Economy and Development Program,
the Brookings Institution

CSIS is pleased to host Lael Brainard, vice president and director of the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development Program and former Deputy National Economic Advisor for President Clinton. Ms. Brainard will discuss the role of foreign assistance in restoring America’s inspirational power and her vision for reform of the foreign assistance system.

The Smart Power Speaker Series features opinion leaders from around the country and across the political spectrum to engage in a discussion on U.S. Smart Power. The series is a spin-off of the CSIS Commission on Smart Power.

The Commission on Smart Power, chaired by Harvard’s Joseph Nye and former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage,issued a report on November 6, 2007 on how to revitalize America’s image and influence in the world. To read the report or obtain further information, go to   www.csissmartpower.org.

Coffee, tea, and soda will be served.


Tuesday, December 12, 2007
1:00 –2:00 pm

1800 K Street NW
CSIS B-1 Conference Center
Washington DC, 20006


Please RSVP by emailing Peter Hering at phering@csis.org

Invitation
The Peterson Institute and the InfoShop at the World Bank
invite you to attend a book discussion:

Cline Discusses Global Warming and Agriculture

Speaker: William R. Cline, Peterson Institute

Time: 12 noon to 2:00 pm

Location:

InfoShop at the World Bank
Room J1-050
701 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433    

  Registration:  

Please RSVP to infoShopevents@worldbank.org.

The Uses and Abuses of Expertise in War and Reconstruction in Iraq


Featuring:

Juan Cole
Richard P. Mitchell Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan And author of Informed Comment (www.juancole.com)

McGuire Gibson
Professor in the Oriental Institute and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago And former consultant to UNESCO on the subject of Iraqi antiquities

Moderated by:

Steve Clemons
Director, New America Foundation/American Strategy Program

Date & Time:

Thursday, December 13, 2007
12:00-1:30 PM
Location:

New America Foundation
7th Floor Conference Room
1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009

RSVP directly to this email or to communications@NewAmerica.net
or call Liz Wu at 202-986-2700, ext. 315

Nuclear Meltdown: Rebuilding a Coherent Policy Towards Iran

A book discussion with Barbara Slavin and Trita Parsi
December 13, 2007, 12:30pm – 2:00pm

A light buffet lunch will be served at 12:00 p.m.

Featured Panelists:
Barbara Slavin, Senior Diplomatic reporter for USA Today (on leave this year as a fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace) and the author of Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S., and the Twisted Path to Confrontation

Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council and author of Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States

Student Movement DC Happy Hour

Finally, the much anticipated Happy Hour in Washington DC hosted by the Student Movement for Real Change!

Come join your friends and other folks interested in changing the world at Mandu at 18th and S streets just off Dupont Circle.

Event is Thursday, December 13th from 6pm to 8pm.  All are invited, so bring your friends from work and tell everyone you know to join in.  We can’t wait to see you there.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DATE AND TIME FOR THIS EVENT HAS BEEN REVISED - THE EVENT WILL NOW HAPPEN ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13th FROM 6:30-7:30pm

Young Professionals in Foreign Policy is pleased to present you the first in a non-partisan series of events that aim to offer our members rare insight into the presidential campaign process as it unfolds. These events are not opportunities to showcase particular candidates, but to talk to the influential foreign policy advisors of Republican and Democratic campaigns about their experiences and opinions, the challenges of life on the campaign trail, the complex interactions between domestic politics and foreign policy, and the momentous choices that will face the next President.

Though the entire world confronts the threat of climate change, developing countries are poised to bear the brunt of its ill effects. Clustered in tropical areas, they risk experiencing increased natural disasters and facing dramatic declines in agricultural productivity. Moreover, developing countries are least able to afford the precautionary measures necessary to protect against global climate change. On the other hand, developing countries may also use the climate change threat as an opportunity to "leapfrog" the dirtier technologies of the industrialized world. A growing number of scholars and development practitioners are addressing these questions, and YPFP is delighted to welcome David Wheeler, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, to speak on this important issue.

This discussion will take place from 6:30-8:00 pm on Thursday, December 13. To attend, please register by responding to events@ypfp.org.

Addressing Internally Displaced Persons in a Peace Process

Date and Time
Friday, December 14, 2007
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Location
U.S. Institute of Peace
2nd Floor Conference Room
1200 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Directions

RSVP Today

There is growing momentum within the international community and the UN system to address internal displacement in peace processes and mediation efforts. Resolving displacement is inextricably linked with achieving peace, especially where the scale of displacement is significant. Helping displaced populations to return and reintegrate can simultaneously address the root causes of a conflict and help prevent further displacement. However, IDPs often have needs that are different both from refugees and other war-affected civilian populations, and thus they require special attention in peace processes.

Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) Roundtable on Interagency Reform:
U.S. Landmine Policy and the Ottawa Process

Speaker:
COL. Dennis Barlow (ret.), Director of the Mine Action Information Center, James Madison University

* Friday, December 14, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
* Location: Hudson Institute, Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center, 6th floor auditorium, 1015 15th Street, NW
* Sponsor: Hudson Institute
* Please RSVP by sending your name and current institutional affiliation to Richard Weitz at Weitz@hudson.org.