Recent Events

December 2001

12/11/01: Hosted Lecture

Tom Johnson, "Winning the Peace in Afghanistan: More Difficult than Winning the War"

Mr. Johnson, Director of the Modeling and Simulation Technical Research Institute, and long-time Afghanistan expert, provided a compelling account of the circumstances that enabled the Taliban to gain control of Afghanistan and the conditions that led to their ruin. Reviewing the personalities, tribes, and outside actors that vie for power in Afghanistan, Johnson explained the formidable challenges the United States and its international partners face in trying to leave a stable government in Afghanistan after their military forces withdraw.

12/10/01: Hosted Lecture

Dave Kiefer, "The U.S. Missile Defense Program"

Mr. Kiefer, Director of International Affairs at the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (now redesignated as the Missile Defense Agency) described the military utility of missile defenses in protecting the United States and its operational forces abroad, in the event that deterrence fails. A mix of both offensive and defensive missile systems also serves to strengthen deterrence by reducing incentives for the further proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by U.S. adversaries.

12/5/01: Public Forum Participation

World Affairs Council, "South Asia In the Maelstrom: Options for the U.S., India, and Pakistan"

CCC Director Peter Lavoy and CCC Research Fellow Surinder Rana, along with Tariq Rauf from the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) provided an overview of the long-standing India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir, and options U.S. policy makers face in dealing with separatist violence and escalating nuclear and missile capabilities in the region. The consensus of these observers was that an effective U.S. foreign policy for South Asia must be based on a regional strategy, rather than an accumulation of bilateral strategies for India, Pakistan, and the smaller countries of the region.

12/3/01: Hosted Lecture

Brad Roberts, "The Biological Warfare Challenge"

Dr. Roberts explained how common myths about the non-occurrence of biological warfare, the poor military utility of biological weapons, and the perceived lack of means to respond to this threat have obstructed the counterproliferation efforts of the United States and its Allies. Roberts argued that although U.S. officials should expect to encounter biological weapons in future wars - and thus must improve U.S. counterproliferation capabilities - it was unlikely that terrorists or other non-state actors would inflict large casualties by using biological agents on U.S. territory.