Waterloo, Ontario – April 21, 2010 – Bruce Riedel, a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), terrorism expert and special advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama, will speak at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) on April 29, as part of CIGI’s ongoing Signature Lecture Series.
Entitled Obama's War: Prospects for the Conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mr. Riedel’s talk will focus on the current political situation in these two countries, particularly putting the squeeze on the Taliban and destroying al-Qaida's sanctuaries.
Mr. Riedel is a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institution in Washington. He has spent a lifetime studying the terrorist group al-Qaida and its roots through three decades of work at the CIA. His long and distinguished career includes top positions at the Pentagon and the National Security Council, including senior advisor to three former U.S. presidents on Middle East and South Asian issues. In 2009, at the request of President Obama, he chaired the White House review to overhaul U.S. policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Author of The Search for Al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future, as well as Al Qaeda Strikes Back, Mr. Riedel has won several medals for meritorious service for his work in the intelligence and defense communities, including the Department of State Meritorious Honor Award in 2006.
A panel discussion and question-and-answer session follows Mr. Riedel’s talk. Responding to Mr. Riedel’s presentation are CIGI Senior Fellow Mark Sedra, an Afghanistan expert, and Balsillie School Director and CIGI Distinguished Fellow Ramesh Thakur. Janet Lang, a scholar with the Balsillie School of International Affairs, will moderate the discussion.
EVENT:
Obama's War: Prospects for the Conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan
DATE:
Thursday, April 29
TIME:
7:00 – 7:50 pm, lecture
7:50 – 8:10 pm, panel discussion
8:10 – 8:45 pm, Q&A session
LOCATION:
The Centre for International Governance Innovation
Atrium
57 Erb Street West, Waterloo, Ontario
MEDIA CONTACT:
Mary-Lou Schagena
Communications Specialist
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Telephone: 519-885-2444, ext. 238
Email: mschagena@cigionline.org
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that addresses international governance challenges. Led by a group of experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate, builds capacity, and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events and publications, CIGI's interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world. CIGI was founded in 2002 by Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of RIM (Research In Motion), and collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit: www.cigionline.org
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