A Review of the First Year of President Obama's Foreign Policies
1/6/10
Speaker: Amb. Thomas Pickering

Drawing on a career in the U.S. Foreign Service that spanned five decades and reached the highest professional levels, former Ambassador and former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering, will review the foreign policy record of the Obama Administration's first year in office.

The Complex Issues Underlying the Tensions between Iran, the U.S., and Israel Today
1/13/10
Speaker: Dr. Trita Parsi

Dr.Trita Parsi founder and president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC is a vocal proponent of dialogue and engagement between the US and Iran); expert on US-Iranian relations, Iranian politics, and the balance of power in the Middle East; born in Iran; moved at age 4 to Sweden in order to escape political repression.

Obama, NATO, and the War in Afghanistan
1/20/10
Speaker: James M. Goldgeier

Sr. Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author James M. Goldgeier will discuss the ongoing war in Afghanistan during Obama’s first year and its implications for NATO.

A World Without Nuclear Weapons - A Fantasy or a Necessity?
1/27/10
Speaker: Amb. James Goodby

Global leaders today are faced challenges they have never faced before. One of the biggest is making decisions regarding the use of nuclear weapons. James Goodby has been involved with the study of nuclear weapons, their use, and various negotiations concerning them for many years. He will discuss preventive actions and instances when preemptive military actions may be necessary.

China’s Global Pursuit of Oil and Gas
2/3/10
Speaker: Steven Dachi

China’s innovative strategies and relentless search for new energy resources to fuel its rapidly growing economic and industrial growth is a central priority of its foreign policy. Steven Dachi discusses this policy and its impact on world affairs.

The Dragon and the Bear: The Emerging Partnership of Two Assertive States
2/10/10
Speaker: Gordon Chang

China and Russia are deeply suspicious of the West. They see themselves as rising powers. They want to reorder the international system. They share the same friends. They identify the same adversary. They are, unfortunately, working together to undermine the United States at a critical time in history. Gordon Chang looks at what will they do in the coming years? What should we do in response?

Commercially Available On-Site Renewable Energy Technologies and Zero Energy Buildings
2/17/10
Speaker: Scott Sklar

Commercially available energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies are now mature enough and accessible to be blended into everyday buildings to make them zero energy, or even excess energy generators. Scott Sklar looks at the current state of these buildings and what the future might bring. He owns two such buildings, his Virginia office building and his residence.

The Media’s Coverage of the Obama Presidency
2/24/10
Speaker: Dr. Susan MacManus

Dr. Susan MacManus will examine the media’s role in creating the "celebrity" President and First Lady, tracking the relative coverage of Obama’s personality and policies (domestic and foreign) -- the style v. substance dichotomy. Recognizing Americans’ changing media habits, what real impact on presidential politics is created by the media’s ideological segmentation and bias?

Turkey-United States Relations. What Should We Expect in 2010?
3/3/10
Speaker: Dr. Soner Cagaptay

Lately, U.S.-Turkish ties have been rife with discord. Washington and Ankara disagree on many issues. Dr. Soner Cagaptay will examine: What kind of cooperation can we expect from Turkey on foreign policy issues? What can we do to bridge the gap between Washington and Ankara?

Thicker Than Blood: Water and Conflict In the Bone-Dry Middle East
3/10/10
Speaker: Steven Solomon

"The next war in the Middle East will be fought over water", former UN Secretary General Boutros-Ghali once warned. Steven Solomon examines how the struggle to control the scarce water resources of the Nile, Jordan, Tigris-Euphrates and regional aquifers is altering regional power balances -- and the prospects of war and peace.

Afghanistan and the Future of Asia and of Europe
3/17/10
Speaker: Dr. Fredrick Starr

Dr. S. Frederick Starr, Founding Chairman and Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute will sketch the three main possible outcomes of developments in the Afghanistan region and suggest the implications for the U.S., NATO and the region itself.

Washington-Havana: Deadlocked, Again
3/24/10
Speaker: Johannes Werner

After minimal movement in the first year, the Obama Administration's Cuba policy is at a dead end again. While, Venezuela, Brazil, China and Russia look to the future and make massive investments on the island, the United States is stuck with policies designed sometime in the 1990s.