Wednesday, October 10 at 2:00 pm
Unresolved: U.S. National Security
For the United States, tensions are rising with both allies and adversaries. Rogue states are racing to master new technologies and create weapons of mass destruction. And faith in international institutions is seemingly deteriorating. What does this all mean for U.S. national security?
Staged in our "unresolved" format, five esteemed foreign policy thought leaders will argue for or against a number of motions revolving around some of America’s most pressing national security issues, including: Is NATO no longer fit for purpose? Is the Russia threat overblown? And is it time to take a hard line on Iran?
The Debaters:
Derek Chollet
Executive Vice President, The German Marshall Fund of the United States & Fmr. U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense
Derek Chollet is a veteran of the Obama administration, where he served six years in senior positions at the White House, State Department, and the Pentagon. Most recently, he was the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. In that role, Chollet managed U.S. defense policy toward NATO, Europe, and the Middle East. Currently the executive vice president and senior adviser for security and defense policy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, he is the author of “The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America’s Role in the World.”
Stephen F. Cohen
Professor of Russian Studies and Politics Emeritus, New York University & Princeton University
Stephen F. Cohen is among the most distinguished scholars of Russia in the United States and is internationally recognized for his academic works on Russian and Soviet political history since 1917. He is professor emeritus of Russian studies, history, and politics at New York University and Princeton University and a contributing editor at The Nation. Also an expert on Russian-American relations, Cohen is the author of several acclaimed books, most recently “Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War.” His forthcoming book is “War With Russia? A Dissenting Narrative — From Putin and Ukraine to Trump and Russiagate.”
Reuel Marc Gerecht
Senior Fellow, The Foundation for Defense of Democracies & Fmr. CIA Case Officer
Reuel Marc Gerecht is a former case officer for the CIA, where he served as a Middle Eastern targets officer with the CIA's directorate of operations. He is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-partisan organization centering on national security, where he focuses on Iran, sanctions, terrorism, and the Middle East. An ardent opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, Gerecht is the author of “Know Thine Enemy: A Spy's Journey into Revolutionary Iran.”
John J. Mearsheimer
American Political Scientist & Professor, University of Chicago
John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison distinguished service professor of political science at the University of Chicago and one of the nation’s most influential political scientists. A New York Times best-selling author, he has written six books about security issues and international politics, including “The Tragedy of Great Power Politics,” “Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics,” and most recently, “The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities.” Mearsheimer has won several teaching awards and his work is frequently taught to, and read by, twenty-first century students of political science.
Kori Schake
Deputy Director-General, International Institute for Strategic Studies
Kori Schake is the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and was previously a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Schake is the editor, with Jim Mattis, of “Warriors and Citizens: American Views of Our Military” and author of “Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony.” She was the director for defense strategy and requirements on the National Security Council under George W. Bush, where she helped create NATO’s Allied Command Transformation and the NATO Response Force.
To listen to the audio of “Unresolved: U.S. National Security” on Intelligence Squared online, please click HERE.