International Security & Defense

22 Items

U.S. Department of State Seal

Wikicommons

Analysis & Opinions - The New York Times

Dismantling the Foreign Service

| Nov. 28, 2017

The Foreign Service, our country’s irreplaceable asset for understanding and interacting with a complex and dangerous world, is facing perhaps its greatest crisis. President Trump’s draconian budget cuts for the State Department and his dismissive attitude toward our diplomats and diplomacy itself threaten to dismantle a great foreign service just when we need it most.

Presidents Trump and Putin at G-20

Associated Press

Analysis & Opinions - WBUR

Previously Undisclosed Trump-Putin Meeting Raises Diplomatic Questions

| July 19, 2017

After their bilateral summit at the G-20 meeting in Germany earlier this month, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had another encounter — one that was previously undisclosed and reportedly went on for an hour. The two leaders were joined only by Putin's own interpreter, which Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, called a "breach of national security protocol."

Here & Now's Lisa Mullins talks with Professor Nicholas Burns (@rnicholasburns) about the meeting.

Nicholas Burns talks to PBS NewsHour about the second Trump/Putin conversation

PBS

Analysis & Opinions - PBS NEWSHOUR

Why Trump and Putin’s undisclosed conversation is noteworthy

| July 19, 2017

After President Trump sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 7 for a highly anticipated meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, he met with Putin a second time for a lengthy meeting, that was unattended by advisors and previously undisclosed. Nick Burns talks with PBS NewsHour on why this is significant. 

Nicholas Burns talks international politics with WGBH

WGBH.com

Analysis & Opinions - WGBH

Nicholas Burns talks international affairs on WGBH's "Greater Boston"

July 11, 2017

Donald Trump came home from Europe feeling pretty good... until his eldest son began raining on his parade. Donald Trump, Jr., tweeted four pages of emails describing how a meeting with a Russian lawyer who promised incriminating information on Hillary Clinton came to be.

The meeting was facilitated by Rob Goldstone - a publicist with ties to the Trump family - and eventually took place at Trump Tower with Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chair Paul Manafort included.

In light of the developments, former U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns joined Jim Braude to survey the president's international standing.

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Analysis & Opinions - WNYC

Experts Warn Trump Administration on Severity of Russian Interference

| July 05, 2017

At the end of this week, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet formally at the G20 Summit in Hamburg. The meeting comes at a time when there is growing consensus in Washington that the severity of Russian influence on the 2016 election should be dealt with more seriously by the current administration. At a hearing last week before the Senate Intelligence Committee, a panel of experts said they believed that not only Russian actors, but President Putin himself was behind the effort to undermine the election and urged the U.S. to work closer with its allies in Europe to stop future threats. Putin has denied any interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Nicholas Burns, a former ambassador to NATO and former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs for former President George W. Bush, and currently a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, testified at the recent hearing and shares his concerns.