North America

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On the eve of the Beijing Summer Olympics, a full fledged war broke out between Georgia and Russia over Russian support for the Georgian break away provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. What kind of regional implications does Russian violation of Georgian sovereignty have, and how does this crisis affect Russia's relationship with NATO and the West?  To discuss this and the current state of U.S.-Georgian relations, please join Vasil Sikharulidze, Georgian Ambassador to the United States.
To attend, please register by responding to events@ypfp.org with your name and affiliation.

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Following a U.S.-sponsored summit in November 2007, Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have again hit major roadblocks.  Issues such as security, the status of Jerusalem, West Bank settlements, and refugees continue to stifle progress. Though outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have continued to meet, results of the recent Israeli elections and an up-tick in violence in Gaza have added uncertainty to the future of the peace process.  What is the current status?  Have meetings after the September 16 opening of the United Nations General Assembly refreshed negotiations? What is needed from the current and future U.S. administrations? To discuss these questions and more, directly from the General Assembly opening, please join Wassim Khazmo, Communications Advisor for the Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiations Support Unit.

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Iraqis who aid Coalition Forces are frequently ostracized by their respective communities and targeted for political assassination.  As a result, many have sought asylum in countries neighboring Iraq, which often lack adequate infrastructure and resources to accept and assist refugees.   With nowhere to turn that is close to home, what other options exist for these refugees?  Could this be considered a refugee crisis?  How have the United States and other members of the Multi-National Force Iraq responded to the plight of these individuals?  What additional challenges do these people face when seeking asylum in the United States?  To discuss these questions and more, please join Kirk Johnson, Founder and Director of the List Project.

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Georgian relations with Russia have been tense over the years, particularly with Moscow's support for breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.  Events boiled over in July 2008, leading to open hostilities between the two countries.  Rapid Russian recognition of South Ossetian and Abkhaz independence, coupled with military support for the separatists, strained European relations with Russia and have left the United States and NATO struggling to find an appropriate response.  What strategic goals underpinned Russian use of force in Georgia?  How will this affect stability in the Caucasus and Black Sea regions?  Will the incursion impact the NATO membership bids of Ukraine, Georgia, and other countries?  How should the United States and NATO respond?  To discuss these issues and more, please join Stephen Flanagan, Senior Vice President and Director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. To attend, please register by emailing events@ypfp.org with your name and affiliation.

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As you may know, YPFP sent three teams to the CSIS-AILA Debates last month, and one of our teams claimed the Gold! YPFP would like to continue developing its members' debating skill sets, so we've scheduled an informal Speed Debates Practice Session on Thursday, August 21st, from 6-8PM at 1800 K Street, NW.   Separately, we are creating a database of YPFP members who would be interested in debates of different sizes and formats moving forward.    If you are interested in participating in the August 21st debates, and/or would like to be on our new debates listserve, please e-mail Ryan Miller, YPFP's Debates Coordinator, at ryan.miller@ypfp.org with your name and affiliation. In addition to debaters, we also need individuals who would be interested in judging this Thursday.

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The rise of East Asia has caused massive changes in the global economy.  As trade flows have increased, the prices of consumer goods around the world have dropped.  But this flood of trade has also caused challenges, straining regulatory frameworks in the United States, and sometimes allowed unsafe goods to enter U.S. markets.  How should the United States manage and monitor the vastly increased trade with East Asia?  In the face of rising protectionist sentiment, how should the United States define its economic interests in the region?  To address these issues and more, please join Karan Bhatia, Vice President and Senior Counsel for International Law and Policy at General Electric and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 2005 until 2008.

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Young Professionals in Foreign Policy is pleased to present the third session in a non-partisan series of events that aims to offer our members rare insight into the presidential campaign process. 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 all the while bearing in mind the momentous choices their candidate may face as the next President.

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Singapore has long been an ally of the United States, supporting political and economic stability in a region which is increasingly important to U.S. interests.  As a leading member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which is housed in Singapore, Singapore also plays an active role in Southeast Asian regional organizations.  What are the important trends in Southeast Asia?  How do regional bodies such as ASEAN and APEC shape the political and economic order?  How has the United States fit into this order and the past, and what role will it play in the future?  To address these issues and more, please join Chan Heng Chee, Singaporean Ambassador to the United States.

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In just a few weeks, YPFP will be participating in this summer's CSIS-AILA Debates.  These debates aim to provide a fun yet challenging forum for improving the communication skills of young professionals.  In each debate, two teams of two face off in a 10 minutes debate on a random topic, with no prior research or special preparation required. 
YPFP has the opportunity to send six members to this event.  To select the best teams (and maintain YPFP's long-held reputation of debate dominance), we will hold an internal YPFP competition.  The top 3 teams in this preliminary competition will return to CSIS on Wednesday, July 23 to defend the YPFP title. You will need to participate in the July 16 debates in order to compete on July 23. 

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Policy researchers and political scientists have struggled to understand terrorism, with traditional theories of international relations often unable to fully explain the actions of terrorists and terrorist organizations.   Psychology offers a different approach to the terrorist problem by trying to understand and profile the terrorist mind-set.  What can psychology tell us about the beliefs and motivations that drive the decisions of terrorists? Can we develop useful psychological profiles of these groups and individuals?   How can psychology help develop plausible strategies for combating terrorism at home and abroad? To discuss these questions and more, please join Dr. Jerrold Post, Director of the Political Psychology Program at George Washington University and a 21 year veteran of the CIA.

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Globalization is one of the most commonly discussed traits of the world today, and it forces leaders to work in different cultures with both public and private organizations.  Within the United States, we understand how the government and private sectors work together, but how are public-private partnerships, and globalization in general, viewed in other countries?  What opportunities and challenges does this create for U.S. and world business?  How can the United States continue build and benefit from such partnerships?  To discuss these issues and more, please join LTG (Ret.) Daniel W. Christman, Senior Vice President for International Affairs at the United States Chamber of Commerce.

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Brooks Tigner is both the Chief Editor for Security Europe and the Europe Defence Technology Editor with Jane’s Defence Weekly and Jane’s International Defence Review. In this capacity he reports on European security and defence issues at both NATO and the EU. Mr. Tigner has been following the development of European security and defence policy for the past 16 years, and will make a presentation and lead a discussion on the impact of France’s upcoming EU Presidency on ESDP. 
To attend, please RSVP by writing to events.brussels@ypfp.org

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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 .