Intelligence Events
U.S.-Pakistan Security Relations: From 9/11 to 2011, with an Eye on 2014
May 14, 2013 // 4:00pm — 5:15pm
Asia Program
A timely discussion of the security partnership forged by two uneasy allies in the post-9/11 world.
The Senate and Nonproliferation: Reflections over Two Decades
April 19, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:30pm
International Security Studies
The Woodrow Wilson Center and the Los Alamos National Laboratory presents "The Senate and Nonproliferation: Reflections over Two Decades" with Thomas Moore, Deputy Director, Proliferation Prevention Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies and former Senior Republican Professional Staff Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
April 11, 2013 // 4:00pm — 5:00pm
Asia Program
New York Times national security correspondent and former Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar Mark Mazzetti releases his new book on the CIA's shadow war.
On the Edge of the Cold War: American Diplomats and Spies in Postwar Europe
January 23, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:30pm
European Studies
Drawing on archival documents and testimonies of high-ranking American diplomats and intelligence officers, "On the Edge of the Cold War" explores the postwar political crisis in former Czechoslovakia from the perspective of the U.S. Embassy under Laurence Steinhardt and of U.S. Intelligence under Charles Katek and Spencer Taggart. The book paints a critical portrait of Ambassador Steinhardt, and shows that his groundless optimism caused Washington to ignore signs that democracy in Czechoslovakia was in trouble.
Radio Free Europe and the CIA Partnership
November 05, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
History and Public Policy Program
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty became successful substitutes for free media in the Soviet bloc during the Cold War. This seminar talk will draw on CIA and Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty archives to trace the history of their first two decades. It will address three questions: What was the evolving reason for CIA covert funding? What was the relationship between CIA and the Radios? Why did the Radios prove to be one of the most important and successful policy instruments of the United States during the Cold War?
Cuban Missile Crisis: Nuclear Order of Battle
October 24, 2012 // 3:30pm — 5:00pm
Nuclear Proliferation International History Project
Robert S. Norris, senior fellow for nuclear policy at the Federation of American Scientists will lead a Wilson Center panel discussion on "Cuban Missile Crisis: The Nuclear Order of Battle." Joining him will be defense analyst and nuclear historian David A. Rosenberg. The event will take place during the 50th anniversary of the 13 day crisis.
Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979-1988
October 15, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Cold War International History Project
With its remarkable declassified documentation and oral testimony that bear directly on questions of U.S. policymaking with regard to the Iran-Iraq War, "Becoming Enemies" reveals much that was previously unknown about U.S. policy before, during, and after the war. The authors go beyond mere reportage to offer lessons regarding fundamental foreign policy challenges to the U.S. that transcend time and place.
Terror and North America: The Causes and Directions of Cross-Border Extremist Activity
September 19, 2012 // 2:00pm — 4:00pm
Canada Institute
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, many American policymakers have grown increasingly concerned about terrorists or terrorist materials being smuggled into the United States from Canada. The myth that the 9/11 hijackers arrived in the United States through Canada contributed to the passage of laws that have increased the “thickness” of the border and hindered trade in the name of collective security. Do these rules safeguard against the true vectors of North American extremism? The Canada Institute’s “Terror and North America: The Causes and Directions of Cross-Border Extremist Activity” will examine how and why extremists travel between Canada and the United States, what effect these crossings have on our national security, and what possible policy solutions exist to better police the border.
OFF-SITE CONFERENCE: United Atoms in a Divided World: The Early History of the International Atomic Energy Agency
September 16, 2012 // 7:30pm — September 18, 2012 // 3:00pm
Nuclear Proliferation International History Project
The Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna in collaboration with the Wilson Center's Nuclear Proliferation International History Project will host an international conference on the history of the IAEA during the cold war years. The conference will cover a wide range of issues, including the creation of the Agency, its role in the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and the Agency's technical programs. Beyond that, the conference seeks to discuss the cultural, societal, and economic context of the IAEA's early history.
The Impact of Local Law Enforcement at the Canada-U.S. Border
June 14, 2012 // 9:00am — 11:00am
Canada Institute
Stretching 5,525 miles, the Canada-United States border is the longest international boundary in the world. Every day, border officers from both nations inspect about a billion dollars in trade and hundreds of thousands of people in order to interdict harmful goods and persons at our shared crossing. However, the agencies in charge of the border and customs only have primary jurisdiction along the band that makes up the international boundary. Outside of that area, border security is left to other federal, state, and provincial police forces.