Governance

In this installment of “Conversations in Diplomacy," the Future of Diplomacy Project's Faculty Director, Nicholas Burns, is joined by Angus King Jr, Independent Senator from Maine.

Senator Angus King joins the Future of Diplomacy Project and Nicholas Burns to explain the fact of Russian interference in U.S. elections and the vulnerability of U.S. election systems to further intrusion.

Dr. Ian Bremmer, expert in political risk and founder of the Eurasia Group, gave a seminar sponsored by the the Future of Diplomacy Project on Thursday, November 9 at the Harvard Kennedy School, titled “Managing Risk in an Unstable World."

Putin and his government seek respect, stability from next U.S. administration, panel says.

In the global revulsion at the recent terror attacks in four Muslim countries, the United States and its allies have a new opportunity to build a unified command against the Islamic State and other extremists. FDP Senior Fellow David Ignatius examines the diplomatic relationships needed to create an effective counterterrorism strategy.

Senior Fellow of the Future of Diplomacy Project, David Ignatius examines the Navy’s energy diet that began seven years ago with an edict from newly appointed Secretary Ray Mabus, who issued five goals for radically changing how the Navy bought and consumed fuel.

The tensions unsettling the Saudi royal family became clear in September, when Joseph Westphal, the U.S. ambassador to Riyadh, flew to Jiddah to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, nominally the heir to the throne. But when he arrived, he was told that the deputy crown prince, a brash 30-year-old named Mohammed bin Salman, wanted to see him urgently. Senior Fellow, David Ignatius, discusses Mohammed bin Salman opportunity to transform Saudi Arabia.

Hong Kong television commentator Wu Jun observed recently that despite Donald Trump’s anti-Beijing rhetoric, he “could in fact be the best president for China.” The Chinese analyst is right: A Trump presidency could open the way for China’s strategic dominance in Asia and elsewhere. Senior Fellow for the Future of Diplomacy Project, David Ignatius, digs into how Donald Trump's victory could aid China in becoming a dominant power.

A CIA medical officer who was assigned to monitor the interrogation of an al-Qaeda operative named Abu Zubaida sent a message to his superiors on Aug. 4, 2002, the day the CIA first used the technique known as “waterboarding.” He hauntingly titled his cable: “So it begins.”

“Longest time with the cloth over his face so far has been 17 seconds. This is sure to increase shortly. NO useful information so far. . . . I’m head[ing] back for another water board session.”

And so dawned a nightmare era in which a CIA with little expertise in interrogation worked desperately to gather information that might protect a nation severely traumatized by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Following the December 8 release of the U.S. Senate’s Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program, several members of the Belfer Center community commented on the report and its release. John Deutch, David Ignatius, Rami Khouri, and Michael Morell add their perspectives.