One
of the big areas of contention during the presidential election was the
issue of military spending. How much should the U.S. be spending on the
military? Where does the military fall on the list of priorities for
the United States? Christopher
A. Preble, the vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at
the Cato Institute and an expert on military spending, writes
extensively about this issue and how the government should address it.
His publications include The Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe. In
an excerpt from his blog, Preble calls for a more in depth and
transparent discussion of the costs of the U.S. nuclear weapons program.
He asserts that the costs are largely unknown, and because of this, it
is difficult to manage spending on the program. Preble’s lecture on
December 6th will focus on rationalizing the U.S. nuclear weapons
delivery systems.To
read Christopher’s Preble blog about nuclear spending, visit the
following link:
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/questions-about-nuclear-weapons-6214For more information about Christopher Preble’s lecture, visit the event page on our website.Please
note that this lecture is at 6:00 p.m. at the Anchorage Museum. You can
RSVP by calling us at (907)276-8038 or emailing us at info@alaskaworldaffairs.org. All payment for admission will be at the door is $10 for members and $15 for non-members.
Although
written a little more than a year ago, in June 2011, Mikkal Herberg’s
editorial “China’s Energy Rise and the Future of U.S.-China Energy
Relations” couldn’t be more relevant. Herberg points out the capacity
that China has to completely reshape the global energy landscape and the
challenges that poses to the United States. How should the U.S.
approach the situation? After
a very in-depth analysis of the factors surrounding the U.S.-China
energy relationship, Herberg concludes, “Stronger cooperation between
China and the U.S. on global energy issues is vital to addressing our
key global energy challenges, most importantly our common energy
security dilemma. ... The issue is not cooperation on better U.S.-China
relations for its own sake but cooperation that addresses our vital and
common interests in energy security on a global basis.” To achieve this,
Herberg suggests that the Obama administration focus on both short and
medium term goals, and he encourages the creation of more multilateral
institutions to manage energy security. To read Mikkal Herberg’s full article, visit the New America Foundation.Mikkal
Herberg will speak to the Alaska World Affairs Council on Wednesday,
November 28, at noon at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel. To pay in advance,
click here.To RSVP and pay at the door, call us at (907)276-8038 or email us at info@alaskaworldaffairs.org
Farideh
Farhi is an independent scholar and expert on Iranian politics and
comparative revolutions. Currently, she is a graduate faculty member in
the political science department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
An engaging and informed speaker, Farhi be speaking to the Alaska World
Affairs Council on November 16th, and she is not to be missed.As
we prepare to elect the next President of the United States, foreign
policy has moved to the forefront of the national discourse. One of the
many questions we must consider is how the next president will confront
the issue of Iran's nuclear policy, as Iran's actions will inevitably
affect our own nuclear and foreign policy decisions. To make things more
complicated, understanding Iran's policies is difficult, particularly
because at its heart is a " basic contradiction … seeking to be a
respected member of the international community while also loudly
challenging international codes of conduct," as Farhi points out in her
blog.To
gain a better understanding of Iranian politics, and its nuclear
policies in particular, come hear from Farideh Farhi on November 16th.To read more of Farhi's blog click here.
For
more information about Farhi's lecture, visit our website.
