Too many people I speak with, from academics to laypeople and in between, do not understand American civil-military relations and their role U.S. foreign policy. Next week, the Foreign Policy Research Institute will webcast a conference on Post-Iraq Civil-Military Relations in America, cosponsored by the Reserve Officers Association. It’s free and open to the public and apparently online audience members will be able to pose questions electronically.
Personally I won’t be able to see all of it due to standing Monday afternoon commitments, but Panels 1-3 are the lead issues for me right now (not to dismiss 4), so maybe I’ll catch most of it. I suggest you watch as well.
To register, click here.
The agenda for the webcast is below.
"Mind the Gap": Post-Iraq Civil-Military Relations in America A Conference Sponsored By:
Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Reserve Officers Association
Monday, October 15, 2007
Reserve Officers Association
One Constitution Avenue NE, Washington, DC
8:45 a.m. Panel 1: The Military and Society What is the current state of relations between the military and society? How representative is the military of civil society? What effect is the War on Terrorism having on military-societal relations?
Paper: John Allen Williams, Professor of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago
Commentators
Thomas E. Ricks, Military Correspondent, Washington Post Elizabeth Stanley, Assistant Professor of Government , Georgetown UniversityModerator: Mackubin T. Owens, Naval War College and Senior Fellow, FPRI
10:15 Break
10: 30 Panel 2: Interagency Process (International) Who has the lead on the ground overseas? Is the military the supporting or supported actor? What are the implications?
How can the interagency process contribute to complex operations? Should the military prepare to take on more state-building functions? What are the possible problems?
Paper: Bernard Carreau, National Defense University
(coauthor: Hans Binnedijk, Theodore Roosevelt Chair in National Security Policy, and Founding Director, Center for Technology and National Security, National Defense University, and Bernard Careau, National Defense University)
Commentators
Nadia Schadlow, Senior Program Officer, Smith Richardson Foundation A. Heather Coyne, Senior Program Officer, Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, United States Institute for PeaceModerator: Harvey Sicherman, President, FPRI
12:00 Break
1:00 p.m. Keynote Hon. Ike Skelton, Chair, House Armed Services Committee Introduced by Col. Paul R. Groskreutz, USAF (Ret.), National President, ROA
1:45 p.m. Panel 3: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Civil- Military Relations What impact has Operations OEF or OIF had on civil- military relations?
Paper: Frank Hoffman, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute
Commentators
Peter Feaver, Alexander F. Hehmeyer Professor of Political Science, Duke University Richard H. Kohn, Professor of History, University of North Carolina/Chapel HillModerator: Michael Noonan, Director, FPRI Program on National Security
3:30 p.m. Break
3:45 p.m. Panel 4: Professional Ethics and Dissent What is the line on offering advice? How much can/should the military speak out? What are the ethical dimensions of serving both branches of gov’t? What is the obligation that senior officers owe to their seniors, and to their juniors?
How much should officers be involved in the media?
Paper: Col. (Ret.) Don Snider, Visiting Professor, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College (on leave from the U.S. Military Academy)
Commentators
Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, USMC (ret.)Peter Hegseth, Vets for Freedom
Moderator: Lt.General Dennis McCarthy, USMC (Ret.) Executive Director ROA
5:00 Adjournment
For additional information about this conference contact:
Alan Luxenberg
Email: lux@fpri.org
Tel: (215) 732-3774 x105
