The Obama Doctrine at Year Three: An Assessment

On February 22^nd The Heritage Foundation hosted a panel discussion on the concept of whether there is an Obama Doctrine for foreign policy and, if so, how well it has worked over the last three years. The panelists addressed issues of current geo-politics including the “Reset” with Russia and the Administration’s response to the Arab Spring.  One panelist also went into some detail about the current state of intelligence gathering as compared to that of the Bush Administration when more terrorists were captured for interrogation rather than killed by drone attacks.

The panelists were:

·         Kim R. Holmes, VP, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation

·         Marc A. Thiessen, Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

·         Clifford D. May, President, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

·         Helle Dale, Senior Fellow for Public Diplomacy, The Heritage Foundation

Video and audio versions (duration 1hr: 20min) of the discussion are available on the Heritage Foundation website.  Condensed, bulletized notes can be downloaded from www.NotableThinking.com 

All notes are in PDF format. (Download free PDF Reader) 
Comments about this panel discussion may be made by clicking on the comments link below.

Maritime Security: Confronting New & Non-Traditional Challenges in the Age of Austerity

On February 13, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted two panels of distinguished speakers on Maritime Security. The Commandant of the Coast Guard also gave a detailed keynote address detailing the status of the Coast Guard. 

Representatives from the US Coast Guard, the US Navy, and the National Security Council discussed the underlying strategy used to develop the 2013 Maritime Security budget.  The panels focused on:

• The Current and Future Strategic Maritime Environment 
• Identifying, Prioritizing, and Coordinating Necessary Maritime Capabilities

Video and audio versions of the panels are available from the CSIS website. Condensed, bulletized notes can be downloaded from www.NotableThinking.com. All notes are in PDF format.

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Declining National Security Spending - Implications for Intelligence

On February 15th, Dr. Mark Lowenthal, former Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Analysis and Production and Vice Chairman for Evaluation on the National Intelligence Council, spoke at the Johns Hopkins University / Applied Physics Laboratory Rethinking Seminar Series. Dr. Lowenthal, who is now the President and CEO of the Intelligence & Security Academy, discussed current Intelligence Community challenges including:

• The Intelligence budget and how to think about cutting it
• Intel workforce and education 
• Data versus knowledge debates and innovation in Intel 
• Standards for assessing Intelligence 

Condensed, bulletized notes for Dr. Lowenthal's talk are available on the JHU/APL Rethinking Seminar website as well as audio and video versions of the event. Notes on this talk and other recent geo-political events are also available through the www.NotableThinking.com. All notes are in PDF format.

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