CUSE will host its Fifth Annual Conference at Brookings on Tuesday, May 20, 2008. As in previous years, the Conference will bring together scholars, officials, and policymakers from both sides of the Atlantic to examine the evolving roles of the United States and Europe in the global arena.

This year’s panel discussions will examine trans-Atlantic relations beyond the Bush presidency; Sarkozy’s plans for France’s EU presidency; and the future of Russia under Medvedev. We are pleased to announce that this year’s confirmed speakers include: Jan Petersen, former Norwegian Foreign Minister; Pierre Levy of the French Foreign Ministry’s Planning Staff; Sir Lawrence Freedman of King’s College, London; Gary Schmitt of the American Enterprise Institute; Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times; and Strobe Talbott, President of Brookings.

Addressing the failures that led to the 9/11 attacks spurred change in the U.S. intelligence community, most notably the founding of the DNI and DHS.  Yet early opposition to creating these organizations reminds us that these changes were not inevitable.  The United States has suffered other intelligence failures in recent decades, like the failure to predict the collapse of the USSR, but none has resulted in such sweeping changes.  What forces led the country to create DHS and the DNI?  How did the Bush Administration choose the shape these organizations would take?  Did the historical experience of the intelligence community influence this process?  To discuss these questions and more, please join Dr. John Gannon, Senior Vice President for Global Analysis at BAE Systems and former chairman of National Intelligence Council.

To attend, please register by emailing events@ypfp.org with your name and affiliation .