DoD Budget Austerity and the New Strategic Guidance

On January 11th Dr. Lani Kass, former Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke at the Johns Hopkins University / Applied Physics Laboratory Rethinking Seminar Series. Dr. Kass addressed many questions relating to how DoD could plan to do more with less as will apparently be expected given the anticipated budget and the recently released Strategic Guidance which is pivoting the American focus more toward the Pacific region.

Condensed, bulletized notes for Dr. Kass’ 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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2012: Facing Political Changes in the US and China

On January 10, 2012 The Heritage Foundation hosted a two-panel event discussing the fact that both China and the US are facing the possibility or probability of major political transitions this year.  The panelists discussed the impact that China might have on the US election campaigns and the impact that the US may have on the anticipated Chinese succession issues.  Video and audio versions (duration 2hr:38min) of the panels are available from the Heritage Foundation.  Condensed, bulletized notes can be downloaded from www.NotableThinking.com  

PANEL 1 – US ROLE IN THE 2012 CHINESE POLITICAL TRANSITION Bruce Dickson, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University Phil Saunders, Director, Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, Institute for National Strategic Studies Derek Scissors, Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation Dean Cheng, Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation (Moderator) PANEL 2 – THE PRC’S ROLE IN THE 2012 AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION  Dan Blumenthal, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute  Philip Levy, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University Jeremie Waterman, Executive Director for Greater China, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Michael Franc, Vice President, Government Studies, The Heritage Foundation (Moderator)

Reaching Out: Cuba’s New Economy and The International Response

On November 18, 2011 The Brookings Institution launched a new in-depth study entitled Reaching Out: Cuba’s New Economy and The International Response. Using what is described as out-of-the-box thinking the study:

• Describes recent changes in the Cuban economy 
• Identifies current and potential relations between Cuba and International Financial Institutions 
• Makes recommendations about how the US and other market-oriented countries could and should help Cuba improve its situation

As part of the launch of Reaching Out, Brookings held a panel discussion that included:

• Ted Piccone - Moderator, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Foreign Policy, Brookings
• Richard Feinberg – Study Author, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings
• Carlos Alzugaray Treto - A Cuban Viewpoint, Professor, University of Havana 
• Gary Hufbauer – An Alternative Viewpoint, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

DOWNLOAD Bulletized Notes of this discussion enhanced with relevant hyperlinks. (Download free PDF Reader)