January 20, 2015
A View from Estonia: Russia and the Threats Posed to Transatlantic Security
Date: January 20, 10:00am
Location: Heritage Foundation, Lehrman Auditorium, 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington DC
While Russia’s annexation of Crimea and further aggression against Ukraine in the Donbas came as a shock to many in Western Europe and the United States, these actions came as little surprise to those member states on NATO’s front lines – especially the Baltic states. Leveraging insights and experience from the nations in the Alliance that know Russia the best could prove a critical advantage as the U.S. and NATO develop a new strategy to deal with a resurgent Russia. Estonian Brigadier General Meelis Kiili, Commander of the Estonian Defence League, shares his insights on Russia. Join us to learn how energy, cyber, and information warfare are likely to factor into any potential future conflicts between Russia and the West.
Register to attend in person here or watch live online here.
Managing, Ending, and Avoiding Wars in the Middle East
Date: January 20, 1:00pm
Location: Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room (2168), Washington DC
The Middle East Policy Council invites you and your colleagues to our 79th Capitol Hill Conference. Live streaming of this event will begin at approximately 1:00 pm on Tuesday, January 20th and conclude at 3:30pm. A curated questions-and-answers session will be held at the end of the proceedings. Refreshments will be served.
Watch live online here.
The Transatlantic Bond in an Age of Complexity
Date: January 20, 2:45pm
Location: Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC
On January 20, the Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) at Brookings and the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) will host Federica Mogherini, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, for a public address on the European Union’s foreign policy priorities. In her remarks, High Representative Mogherini will explore the value of the transatlantic relationship in a volatile and interdependent world.
Federica Mogherini became high representative of the EU in November 2014. As the EU foreign policy chief, she represents the EU internationally, coordinates the work of all EU commissioners in charge of external relations portfolios, and chairs the monthly councils of EU foreign affairs ministers. Previously, HR/VP Mogherini was Italy’s minister for foreign affairs and a member of the Italian Parliament.
Brookings Vice President for Foreign Policy Martin Indyk will provide introductory remarks. Following High Representative Mogherini’s remarks, GMF President Karen Donfried will moderate a question and answer session.
Watch live online here.
January 21, 2015
Intelligence in a Dynamic World
Date: January 21, 10:15am
Location: Atlantic Council, 1030 15th Street NW, 12th Floor, West Tower, Washington DC
Please join the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security for a Commanders Series event with Dr. Michael G. Vickers, under secretary of defense for intelligence, to discuss the role of defense intelligence in tracking consistently morphing security threats at a time when technology has increased the ability of individuals and states to counter US intelligence methods.
The US intelligence collection system is increasingly challenged by a variety and dynamic set of threats. This year, Vickers said that “rapid technological change as well as political change” has led the US intelligence community to review the way it currently employs intelligence. What is the Department of Defense and the intelligence community doing to keep up with these changes to the global order? Will the United States stay ahead of these changes, or is the country falling behind in a turbulent 21st century? Dr. Vickers will speak to these and other questions.
Dr. Vickers is the under secretary of defense for intelligence, the principal intelligence adviser to the secretary of defense. Previously, he served as the first and only assistant secretary of defense for special operations/low-intensity and interdependences capabilities from 2007 to 2011. Before that, he held many positions as an Army special forces non-commissioned officer, a special forces officer, and a Central Intelligence Agency operations officer.
Register here to attend in person or watch live online here.
The Rise of Jihadist Attacks and the Fallacy of the “Lone Wolf” Terrorist
Date: January 21, 12:00pm
Location: Endowment for Middle East Truth, Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-369
This week’s tragic events in Paris have been a disturbing climax to a consistent trend of violent attacks from radical Islamic terrorists. Preceding the events in Paris was a string of violent actions in just the past few months which included the murder of a soldier in Canada, the hostage situation in Australia, and the beheading of a woman in Nebraska. The media and several counter-terror experts have since coined the term ‘lone wolf’ in reference to the supposed random and independent nature of these attacks. In October 2014, Patrick Poole in turn coined the term ‘known wolf’ to describe these attackers, pointing out the fact that many of them have been known by authorities to have ties to terror organizations and criminal behavior. Please join us as we host Mr. Poole for a seminar in which he explains why the perpetrators of these attacks are in fact ‘known wolves,’ and why it is important to change the way in which we think about these kinds of perpetrators.
RSVP here.
Cyber Risk Wednesday: Moving from Bad to Worse? Looking Back to 2014 and Implications for 2015
Date: January 21, 3:00pm
Location: Atlantic Council, 1030 15th Street NW, 12th Floor, West Tower, Washington DC
A year ago, cyber experts were calling 2013 “the year of the data breach” only to find 2014 had far worse in store. Not only did the year see massive intrusions at some of America’s most trusted companies, but critical vulnerabilities that had been undiscovered for years. Perhaps most dangerous of all, nations seem increasingly comfortable using cyber operations in the murky in-between space that lies between peace and war.
Join the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative on January 21 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. for a moderated discussion with Shane Harris, senior intelligence and national security correspondent for Daily Beast and Dmitri Alperovitch, the cofounder & CTO of CrowdStrike, for a discussion on Harris’ book @War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex, the trends in cybersecurity derived from breaches and incidents such as Target and Sony in 2014, and what we are likely to see (and suffer from) in 2015.
Register here to attend in person or watch live online here.
Ukraine’s Crisis through Ukrainian Eyes
Date: January 21, 4:15pm
Location: Elliot School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street NW, 7th Floor, Washington DC
What do Ukrainian citizens themselves think about the crisis that has engulfed their country since late 2013? This multidisciplinary panel brings together top research teams that have organized and carried out original survey research in Ukraine (including eastern Ukraine, western Ukraine, and Crimea) during 2014 to share their most interesting findings on the ongoing crisis. Topics will include what people think of the Euromaidan movement, why people join volunteer militias, how identity issues influence political preferences, whether Ukrainian elections have been free and fair, and what the patterns of support for the West, Russia, and their leaders are.
RSVP here.
January 22, 2015
Reflections from the Frontline of the Ebola Response in Liberia
Date: January 22, 1:30pm
Location: E.B. Williams Library, 5th Floor Atrium, Georgetown University Law Center, 111 G Street NW, Washington DC
The O’Neill Institute is privileged to launch our Spring Conversation Series with Daniel Lucey, MD, MPH as he shares his reflections on his time in West Africa combatting the Ebola epidemic. Dr. Lucey spent several weeks on the frontline of the Ebola crisis in West Africa. As a volunteer in both Sierra Leone and Liberia, he tirelessly treated patients and trained fellow health care workers in the proper use of personal protective equipment. Dr. Lucey explored new ways to encourage his patients, at times, the solution being as “simple as a straw.” He focused on increasing survivorship and bolstering hope despite the bleak circumstances.
Dr. Lucey is an adjunct professor of microbiology and immunology at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and is a Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute. A physician trained in infectious diseases and public health, he has taught for 11 years at Georgetown on global emerging infectious diseases. He completed his infectious disease training and MPH at Harvard and worked in the US Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health. His infectious disease training and MPH were at Harvard 1985-1988, after medical residency at UCSF, and medical school and college at Dartmouth. After working at the NIH and Washington Hospital Center until 2002, he co-founded a graduate program on emerging infectious diseases and biohazardous threat agents at GUMC. He has traveled widely in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to exchange information regarding infectious diseases such as SARS, influenza, Nipah, HIV, anthrax, and MERS. Dr. Lucey is an author on over 100 papers and book chapters.
Space is limited so please RSVP to Caroline Gould at ceg73@law.georgetown.edu.
January 23, 2015
Egypt’s Revolutions Four Years Later: Reflecting on the Past and Looking Ahead to the Future
Date: January 23, 10:00am
Location: Center for American Progress, 1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor, Washington DC
Four years after the first protests ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt remains in the midst of unfinished political and economic transitions at a time of new security threats across the Middle East. As the most populous Arab country, Egypt is central to achieving stability and progress in the Middle East.
On January 23, please join the Center for American Progress and The Century Foundation for a program reflecting on the past four years of Egypt’s transition, featuring a keynote address by retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, former commander of the U.S. Central Command. The program will include an expert panel discussing the Center for American Progress’ new report “A New Anchor for U.S.-Egypt Relations: Looking to the Future and Learning from the Past Four Years of Egypt’s Transitions,” authored by Brian Katulis and Mokhtar Awad.
It will also feature a discussion on a new book by The Century Foundation’s Thanassis Cambanis’ new book Once Upon a Revolution: An Egyptian Story. In the book, Cambanis argues that after Egypt’s failed revolution, the country will face continued turmoil until its government begins to address the root economic and political grievances that drove the 2011 uprising and until the country’s opposition forces repair their own profound divisions. The book will be available for purchase at the event.
Register to attend here.
Global Oil and the Middle East Economic Outlook
Date: January 23, 12:00pm
Location: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC
The steady decline of global oil prices since June 2014 is shifting economic, political, and strategic calculations of key Middle East actors, and adding a new element of uncertainty at a time of increased regional conflict and polarization. Carnegie will host the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss the 2015 update of the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and North Africa. The conversation will focus on the impact of both lower oil prices and slower demand growth on the region in the year ahead.
Masood Ahmed, along with Carnegie’s Uri Dadush and Deborah Gordon, will discuss the impact of fluctuating oil prices on regional economies, and the overall outlook for global markets and international economic relations. Carnegie’s Katherine Wilkens will moderate.
Register here.
