Ambassador Eric S. Edelman retired as a career minister from the US Foreign Service on May 1, 2009. He has served in senior positions at the Departments of State and Defense as well as the White House, where he led organizations providing analysis, strategy, policy development, security services, trade advocacy, public outreach, citizen services, and congressional relations. As undersecretary of defense for policy (August 2005-January 2009), he was DoD's senior policy official, overseeing strategy development with global responsibility for bilateral defense relations, war plans, special operations forces, homeland defense, missile defense, nuclear weapons and arms control policies, counterpr
Read Jason C. Moyer's article about Italy in The Hill.
The Conflict Management program and the Middle East Institute hosted a discussion with political experts on Iraq’s future prospects amid the decline of ISIS. Joseph Pennington of the US Department of State opened the floor by offering remarks on the current and expected challenges facing Iraq. After a brief account of Iraq since ISIS claimed its caliphate, Pennington shared thoughts on Iraq’s progress in fighting the militant group, such as the successful Iraqi-led battle of Mosul, and highlighted ways the US military remains committed to the war effort. To ensure a stable and secure Iraq, the US government is funding more than 350 stabilization and reconstruction projects in war-torn area
Foreign policy experts visited the Johns Hopkins SAIS community for a panel discussion about foreign interventions hosted by the Middle East Studies program and the Institute of Current World Affairs (ICWA). The discussion analyzed conflicts and interventions in Syria, Afghanistan, and other regions of the world experiencing unrest. During the discussion, emphasis was placed on the role and timing of the United States interventions in these areas at a time of mounting global instability and shifting geopolitics. Shamila Chaudhary of the Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) raised concerns about the United States' wavering commitment to leading global security and its role in ongoing intervention