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This event is part of The Cyber Intelligence Initiative Series sponsored by The Institute of World Politics. About the lecture: A discussion of the challenges presented by the increasingly complex environment created when cyber, information, and intelligence operations overlap and collide. This presentation will explore case studies where the lines between various concepts become blurred, complicating the response and implications. Specifically, we will explore recent items of interest from the increasingly contentious relationship between the US, Russia, and China. How will leaders and managers operative effectively in this environment? What are the important aspects of decision-making in these situations? Why is it even important to get a handle on these dynamics? About the speaker: Jason Atwell is a Specialist Master and Manager with Deloitte’s Government and Public Sector Cyber Risk Advisory practice and an intelligence officer in the US Army Reserve. Over the last few years, he has served as a senior advisor to the CIOs of the US House of Representatives, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health helping to navigate the increasingly complex cyber threat environment. During his career he has been a key member of military and civilian staffs conducting civil-military operations in Baghdad, solving complex geospatial problems for the DIA, and working to counter foreign intelligence and influence operations at the US Department of State. He has lectured on Russian information operations at the National Defense University, Iranian use of social media as an enabler at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and cyber threats to supply chains at the Joint Counterintelligence Training Center. His education includes a Master’s degree in English Literature from American University and a fellowship in cyber leadership from Yale. He is also a graduate of both the US Army Intelligence School and John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and completed coursework at the National Intelligence University.
This event is part of the China Series sponsored by The Institute of World Politics. About the lecture: Dr. Tara O will discuss China’s influence in South Korea, including its extensive Belt and Road Initiative and nearly 30 Chinatowns throughout the country. She will also discuss the implications for South Korean national security. About the speaker: Dr. Tara O is the founder of the East Asia Research Center. She has worked at the Pentagon and the Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command as a U.S. Air Force officer focusing on East Asia issues. Her research areas include national security, alliance, human rights in North Korea, defectors, unification, and political and economic systems.
About the book: The dramatic, untold story of one of the CIA’s most successful Cold War intelligence operations. December, 1981—the CIA receives word that the Polish government has cut telephone communications with the West and closed the Polish border. The agency’s leaders quickly inform President Ronald Reagan, who is enjoying a serene weekend at Camp David. Within hours, Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski has appeared on Polish national television to announce the establishment of martial law. A new era in Cold War politics has begun: Washington and Moscow are on a collision course. In this gripping narrative history, Seth G. Jones reveals the little-known story of the CIA’s subsequent operations in Poland, which produced a landmark victory for democracy during the Cold War. While the Soviet-backed Polish government worked to crush a budding liberal opposition movement, the CIA began a sophisticated intelligence campaign, code-named QRHELPFUL, that supported dissident groups. The most powerful of these groups was Solidarity, a trade union that swelled to a membership of ten million and became one of the first legitimate anti-Communist opposition movements in Eastern Europe. With President Reagan’s support, the CIA provided money that helped Solidarity print newspapers, broadcast radio programs, and conduct a wide-ranging information warfare campaign against the Soviet-backed government. QRHELPFUL proved vital in establishing a free and democratic Poland. Long overlooked by CIA historians and Reagan biographers, the story of QRHELPFUL features an extraordinary cast of characters—including spymaster Bill Casey, CIA officer Richard Malzahn, Polish-speaking CIA case officer Celia Larkin, Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, and Pope John Paul II. Based on in-depth interviews and recently declassified evidence, A Covert Action celebrates a decisive victory over tyranny for U.S. intelligence behind the Iron Curtain, one that prefigured the Soviet collapse. About the speaker: Seth G. Jones holds the Harold Brown Chair, is director of the Transnational Threats Project, and is a senior adviser to the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He teaches at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Prior to joining CSIS, Dr. Jones was the director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation. He also served as representative for the commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, to the assistant secretary of defense for special operations. Before that, he was a plans officer and adviser to the commanding general, U.S. Special Operations Forces, in Afghanistan (Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command–Afghanistan). In 2014, Dr. Jones served on a congressionally mandated panel that reviewed the FBI’s implementation of counterterrorism recommendations contained in the 9/11 Commission Report. Dr. Jones specializes in counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, unconventional warfare, and covert action, including a focus on al Qaeda and ISIS. He is the author of A Covert Action: Reagan, the CIA, and the Cold War Struggle in Poland (W.W. Norton, 2018), Waging Insurgent Warfare (Oxford University Press, 2016), Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of al Qa’ida after 9/11 (W.W. Norton, 2012), and In the Graveyard of Empires: America’s War in Afghanistan (W.W. Norton, 2009). Dr. Jones has published articles in a range of journals, such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and International Security, as well as newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Dr. Jones is a graduate of Bowdoin College and received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
This event is part of The China Series sponsored by The Institute of World Politics. About the lecture: Dr. Spalding will discuss the origins of the pandemic, implications for US-China economic and other relations, and the state of play in 5G. About the speaker: Dr. Rob Spalding is a national security policy strategist, and globally recognized for his knowledge of Chinese economic competition and influence, as well as for his ability to forecast global trends and develop innovative solutions. He has served in senior positions of strategy and diplomacy within the Defense and State Departments for more than 26 years, retiring as brigadier general. He was the chief architect for the Trump Administration’s widely praised National Security Strategy (NSS), and the Senior Director for Strategy to the President at the National Security Council. Dr. Spalding has written extensively on national security matters. His book, STEALTH WAR: HOW CHINA TOOK OVER WHILE AMERICA’S ELITE SLEPT (Portfolio; 2019) is an executive summary of his almost decade-long work countering Chinese Communist Party influence. It has been translated into additional languages. His academic papers and editorial work are frequently published and cited, both nationally and internationally. His Air Power Journal article on America’s Two Air Forces is frequently used in the West Point curriculum. He has been interviewed about the economy and national security on FOX News, BBC, OAN and CNBC, as well as numerous radio and YouTube channels, both nationally and internationally. Dr. Spalding is a skilled combat leader and a seasoned diplomat. Under Dr. Spalding’s leadership, the 509th Operations Group—the nation’s only B-2 Stealth Bomber unit—experienced unprecedented technological and operational advances. Dr. Spalding’s demonstrated acumen for solving complex technological issues to achieve operational success was demonstrated when he led a low-cost rapid-integration project for a secure global communications capability in the B-2, achieving tremendous results at almost no cost to the government. As commander, he led forces in the air and on the ground in Libya and Iraq. He is a former China strategist for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, as well as having served as the senior defense official and defense attaché in Beijing. During the UUV Incident of 2016, Dr. Spalding averted a diplomatic crisis by negotiating with the Chinese PLA for the return of the UUV, without the aid of a translator. Dr. Spalding’s relationship with business leaders, fostered during his time as a Military Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, allowed him to recommend pragmatic solutions to complex foreign policy and national security issues, now driving positive economic outcomes for the nation. Dr. Spalding’s groundbreaking work on competition in Secure 5G has reset the global environment for the next phase of the information age. Dr. Spalding is an Olmsted Scholar, a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C., as well as a Senior Associate Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society of London. He has lectured globally, including engagements at European Cybersec 2019, KAS-ASPI, the Naval War College, National Defense University, Air War College, Columbia University, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and other Professional Military Educational institutions. Dr. Spalding holds a doctorate in economics and mathematics from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He was a distinguished graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey and speaks both Chinese Mandarin and Spanish
About the lecture: An ephemeral victory for Germany, the Treaty of Brest Litovsk was the first international conference ostensibly appealing to the ideal of national self-determination. It reduced Bolshevik-controlled Russia to the size of its medieval Muscovite predecessor; it also theoretically recognized Ukraine as an independent state, while vassalizing it in practice. The Treaty laid the ground for Germany's domination in the Intermarium. However, its promise soon dissipated as Berlin lost the war to Western Allies, the United States in particular. About the speaker: Dr. Chodakiewicz currently serves as a Professor of History at The Institute of World Politics, where he holds the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies. He also leads IWP’s Center for Intermarium Studies. At IWP, Dr. Chodakiewicz teaches courses on Contemporary Politics and Diplomacy, Geography and Strategy, Mass Murder Prevention in Failed and Failing States, and Russian Politics and Foreign Policy. He was formerly an assistant professor of history of the Kosciuszko Chair in Polish Studies at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at University of Virginia. He also served as a visiting professor of history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
About the interview: Mr. Tobias Brandt, a Brent Scowcroft Award Fellow at the Aspen Strategy Group and IWP alumnus, spoke with IWP about the importance of countering ideological support for terrorism; the narratives used by militant Islamists in their propaganda efforts; the best arguments we can make against terrorist propaganda; and why this topic is important today. About the speaker: Tobias Brandt is a Brent Scowcroft Award Fellow at the Aspen Strategy Group, a policy program of the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. He recently completed his Master’s Degree in Statecraft and International Affairs at the Institute of World Politics, graduating as Salutatorian of the class of 2019. Throughout his studies, Mr. Brandt specialized in U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East, terrorism, and the transatlantic relationship. In his final semester at IWP, he wrote an Honors Thesis on “Pushing Back Terrorist Propaganda and Countering Ideological Support for Militant Islamism.” Originally from Germany, Mr. Brandt received a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Hamburg, where his studies focused on al-Qaida’s propaganda strategy. Our conversation today deals with the topic of his Honors Thesis – counter-terrorist messaging strategy.
This event is part of The Cyber Intelligence Initiative Series sponsored by The Institute of World Politics. About the lecture: Dr. Hwang will introduce China’s cyber strategy and discuss how China views cyberspace as a battleground. He’ll then discuss Taiwan’s cybersecurity environment against attacks. About the speaker: Dr. Ji-Jen (Joseph) Hwang is a Research Scholar at the Institute for East Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. Prior to that, he was a Professor & Program Director of the International Master Program in Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in R.O.C. Taiwan. Dr. Hwang has been a visiting fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. He also conducted an internship in the Library of Congress while doing his Master course. A native of Taiwan, he holds a Ph.D. in politics from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the U.K., as well as a Masters in Library Science & Information Studies from the University of North Carolina. He has been working as a volunteer for a think tank based non-profit in the Washington D.C. area as a Deputy Managing Director since April 2018. Lately, his research is focused on the relations between the U.S., China, and Taiwan, in which he particularly focuses on social media and how its features in cyberspace have political impacts on the relations between the countries. He is an expert in the area and been invited as a special lecturer by CSIS, ASPI, NATO, GlobalSec, and INSS.
The Ninth Annual Ronald Reagan Intelligence Lecture About the lecture: Reagan’s efforts against the Cold War resulted in tremendous global change and the collapse of the Cold War Super Powers bi-polar power structure; including an intense paradigm shift and challenge for Indications & Warning (I&W) intelligence. Traditional Indications and Warning Intelligence – an exact and highly effective analytic method for the Cold War era and before – suddenly entered ‘identity crisis,’ as both the Intelligence Community and its policy-maker customer sought to identify the way forward for forecasting National Security threats in the changing world. Professor Almont will speak on the history, academic theory(ies), and methodological approach to managing the analysis and forecasting challenge of Non-Nation State, National Security Threat Violence in the changed world AFTER Reagan’s Cold War success. About the speaker: IWP Adjunct Professor, Darlene Almont, is a former U.S. Air Force Major with over 30 years of experience in the intelligence community. She is an Assistant Professor at the Director of National Intelligence (DNI)/Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) National Intelligence University (NIU), the U.S. government’s accredited master’s degree-granting institution; teaching Strategic Intelligence courses at the Top Secret level.
Focus: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, radical Islamism, and a global pandemic. Never has the United States faced so many external threats, each of which requires a full-range strategy – both hard and soft power- in order to preserve our freedom and prosperity while avoiding unnecessary armed conflict. At the same time, it is critical to build internal consensus based on our values and history. How can we ensure our military, State Department, Intelligence professionals, executive branch, and congressional leaders are prepared to deal with these complex challenges in the most prudent and effective manner? About the Panelists: Dr. John Lenczowski served in the State Department in the Bureau of European Affairs and as Special Advisor to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs Lawrence Eagleburger from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1987, he was the Director of European and Soviet Affairs at the National Security Council. In that capacity, he was principal Soviet affairs adviser to President Reagan and one of the architects of the national strategy to bring down the Soviet empire. After teaching at Georgetown University, Dr. Lenczowski founded The Institute of World Politics, a non-profit graduate school of national security, intelligence, and international affairs in 1990 and currently serves as its President. He is the author of Full Spectrum Diplomacy and Grand Strategy. He has been consulting with the National Security Council, the State Department and the Defense Department on the China threat, U.S. strategy towards China, human rights, public diplomacy, and a general national security strategy of “winning without war.” Dr. Frank Marlo is Dean of Academics at The Institute of World Politics. He formerly served as a Professor of Strategic Studies at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He received his Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in May 2006. From January 2002 until January 2005, he served as Assistant for Counterproliferation Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy. He is the author of Planning Reagan’s War: Conservative Strategists and America’s Cold War Victory Dr. David Glancy, currently a Professor of Strategy and Statecraft at IWP, formerly served as an Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked on education technology issues with National Intelligence University. Prior to joining NIU, Dr. Glancy served as an Assistant Professor (contractor) with the College of International Security Affairs (CISA) at National Defense University. Before being assigned to CISA, Dr. Glancy provided advice on strategic communications issues to a variety of government clients for Booz Allen Hamilton. Dr. David Glancy has also held positions at both the State Department and Defense Department. At the State Department, he served as a Senior Advisor for Political-Military Affairs and was responsible for handling a number of high-profile issues (coalition political-military efforts in Iraq, issues related to our global military posture, piracy off the coast of Somalia). At the Defense Department, Dr. Glancy was a policy analyst and advisor with the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During his time at the Pentagon, Dr. Glancy served as the Director of the Global War on Terrorism Communications Group and worked as a special assistant with the Eurasia policy office. About the Moderator: Mr. Michael C. Maibach is a seasoned professional in global business diplomacy, advisor to non-profits, supporter of civic causes. From 2003-2012 he was President & CEO of the European-American Business Council, a group of 75 multinational companies. From 1983 to 2001 Mr. Maibach was Vice President of Global Government Affairs for the Intel Corporation. Today he is a Distinguished Fellow at Save Our States, focused on defending the Founders’ Electoral College.
About the lecture: Thirty years ago last fall we celebrated the fall of the Berlin wall. Many thought this represented the end of history–capitalism had won and socialism had been swept into the dustbin. Today, we see that a growing segment of the American population favors “democratic socialism” and we see American members of Congress who proudly claim this ideology. We will discuss how we have gotten here and why Democratic Socialism can’t work both on economic grounds and moral grounds. About the speaker: Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley is the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and the academic director at The Fund for American Studies. Through this position, Dr. Bradley works to enhance the impact and reach of TFAS and FTE economic education programs through courses, seminars, videos and social media. She also delivers lectures around the country and oversees curriculum development and evaluation for economics courses. Previously, Dr. Bradley served as the vice president of economic initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, where she continues research toward a systematic biblical theology of economic freedom. In addition to her work with TFAS, she is a professor of economics at The Institute for World Politics and Grove City College. She is a visiting professor at George Mason University and has previously taught at Georgetown University and Charles University in Prague. She is currently an Acton Affiliate scholar and a visiting scholar at the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy. She is a lecturer for the Institute for Humane Studies and the Foundation for Economic Education. Dr. Bradley serves on the James Madison University Executive Advisory Board and is the President-Elect for the Society of the Development of Austrian Economics. She served as the associate director for the Program in Economics, Politics and the Law at the James M. Buchanan Center at George Mason University. Dr. Bradley’s academic work ranges on the question of income inequality and economic freedom as well as the political economy of terrorism, with specific emphasis on the industrial organization of al-Qaeda. Her academic research has been published in scholarly journals and edited volumes. She is currently working on a book that analyzes the Political Economy of Terrorism. Based on her academic research, she also worked as an economic analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Terrorism Analysis.
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