On Shifting Ground

With a new administration in the White House, what will political change in Washington mean for transatlantic relations between Europe and the United States? From the turmoil in closely-linked financial markets to greater engagement with international institutions to combating terrorism and climate change, how can governments on both sides of the Atlantic turn a series of separate problems into a chain of interlinked opportunities? The Honorable John Bruton, former Irish Prime Minister and current EU Ambassador to the United States, joins the Council to discuss the future of EU-US relations and the prospect for a more outward-looking and engaged transatlantic partnership.

Direct download: 01-30-09Amb_John_Bruton.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:17am PDT

For many, the effects of climate change can appear far off—either geographically distant or isolated to the future. Stephan Faris joins the Council to reveal how climate change is at the root of many of the world’s current and impending crises. Reporting from Darfur to Napa Valley, Faris’ work linking the warming of our planet to local and global conflicts has been widely published and recently cited by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Direct download: 01-27-09_Stephan_Faris.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:14am PDT

The 9/11 attacks and the war in Iraq sprang in no small part from massive intelligence failures, that much is well understood. How the CIA got to a point where it could fail so catastrophically is not. John Diamond begins by looking at US intelligence during the dozen years from the end of the Cold War to the invasion of Iraq in early 2003 as a defining period in CIA history. Diamond argues that while the CIA had a role in the successful outcome of the Cold War, it also became a source of ridicule for missing the collapse of the Soviet Union. And so with its main mission at an end, the Agency faced staff and budget reductions and a decline in morale as it struggled to prove its relevance and redefine its role. It was during this period, when the CIA was at its weakest, that the Agency made critical misjudgments about Iraq and missed the emergence of its gravest challenge: al Qaeda. Join the Council for an analysis of the CIA past activities and to take a look at where the CIA will be heading under Barack Obama new CIA Director-designate Leon Panetta.

Direct download: 01-12-09_John_Diamond.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 12:01pm PDT

As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office, how will turmoil in the international financial markets impact the formulation of his economic and foreign policy agendas? Adam Posen joins the Council to shed light on the economic challenges and international implications facing the new Obama presidency. A widely cited expert on monetary policy from the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., Posen has been a consultant to the Departments of State and Treasury, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund on a variety of economic and foreign policy issues.

Direct download: 01-07-09_Adam_Posen.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 7:00pm PDT

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