Benjamin Wittes, Wells Bennett, and Steve Vladeck sit down to talk aboout the D.C. Circuit Court's recent decision in the Al Bahlul case and what it means for the future of US military commissions. 

As the election crisis in Afghanistan comes to a head, all eyes are once again on the future of Afghan democracy. But, America’s history in the region extends back much further than its nation-building efforts since September 2001. On Tuesday,  at a Brookings launch of his newest book entitled, “What We Won: America’s Secret War in Afghanistan, 1979-1989,” Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow and Director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution, discussed lessons the United States can learn from its successful efforts in the 1970s and 1980s in Afghanistan. In his talk, Riedel discusses the why the American intelligence operation in Afghanistan in the 1980s was so successful, and what, if any lessons, the United States can apply to its ongoing operations in the country. Riedel also explored the complex personalities and individuals who shaped the war, and explains how their influence still affects the region today. Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott provided introductory remarks and moderated the conversation. 

Brad Smith, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Microsoft, gave a keynote address last week at Brookings entitled “The Future of Global Technology, Privacy, and Regulation.”

Brookings Senior Fellow Suzanne Maloney talks about Iran: common interests with the United States in Iraq and the fight against ISIS, attitudes toward working with the United States, and the prospects for a nuclear deal in the coming weeks and months.

Brookings scholars Ken Pollack, Mike O’Hanlon, and Suzanne Maloney spoke about Iraq’s security crisis.

On Tuesday, at the 2014 Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference, a panel of experts debated the pros and cons of adding outside lawyers to litigation before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Generally proceedings at that court are held in secret and ex parte, with only the government arguing its position. But, in the wake of the Snowden revelations, many have called for reform, and for greater participation by non-government attorneys. 

The panel---comprised of Marc Zwillinger, Alex Abdo, Amie Stepanovich, and moderator Steve Vladeck---discussed the question of whether, and how, to add more adversarial process to FISC proceedings.  

On June 5, the anniversary of the first Snowden disclosures, Governance Studies at Brookings held a debate on the future of U.S. intelligence collection authorities. The resolution was “U.S. surveillance authorities require fundamental reform.” Arguing in favor were Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU and Julian Sanchez of the CATO Institute. Arguing in opposition were John “Chris” Inglis, former NSA deputy director, and Carrie Cordero, director of national security studies at Georgetown Law. Brookings Senior Fellow Benjamin Wittes moderated the event.

Many within the United States and others abroad continue to question the United States’ role in the world. Understandably, Americans have grown wary of the country’s role in the world, some asking whether the U.S. still has the power and influence to lead the international community, while others question why the United States must still take on this seemingly singular responsibility. On the eve of a major speech by President Obama addressing these questions, Senior Fellow Robert Kagan released a new essay entitled, "Superpowers Don't Get to Retire: What Our Tired Country Still Owes the World," which was published in the latest edition of The New Republic. Kagan argued that the United States has no choice but to be “exceptional.” On May 27, the Foreign Policy program at Brookings and The New Republic hosted an event to mark the release of the Kagan essay and in advance of President Obama’s address to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Kagan, a senior fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy at Brookings, was joined by The New Republic's Leon Wieseltier and The Washington Post's Fred Hiatt. After the program, the panelists took audience questions.

John Carlin, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice, spoke at Brookings this week on “Defending our Nation by Prosecuting State-Sponsored Cyber Theft.”

“At the Nexus of Public Policy and Cybersecurity: Some Basic Concepts and Issues.”

That’s the title of a new report co-edited by Herb Lin, chief scientist at National Research Council’s Computer Science and Telecommunications Board.  This week, Lin sat down with our own Ben Wittes.  Their engaging discussion, together with the report itself, offers an excellent primer on the day's most pressing cyber concerns---and strongly suggests that policymakers haven’t yet begun to address them with sufficient urgency.  Enjoy.