October 14, 2007
“Why Israel Cannot Afford to Lose Even Once”

Hal Lindsey, Host, “International Intelligence Briefing” Trinity Broadcasting Network. Author, “The Late Great Planet Earth”.

Hal Lindsey  has a TV show every Sunday night, Channel 3, KESQ, dealing with Mideast geo-political events, and their historical derivation. He has led more than 80 tours to Israel and has close friends in the highest echelon of the Israel Government Defense establishment and the Mossad Intelligence Agency. He has spoken often before secular audiences regarding the root causes of the Mideast problems.

November 18, 2007

“A Collision Course Over Taiwan”
Dr. Ted Galen Carpenter, Vice President-Defense and Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute.

Ted Galen Carpenter is Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. He is the author of seven books and the editor of 10, all on international affairs. Dr. Carpenter is a contributing editor to the National Interest and serves on the editorial boards of Mediterranean Quarterly and the Journal of Strategic Studies as well as the author of more than 350 articles and policy studies. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, the Financial Times and many other publications. Dr. Carpenter is a frequent guest on radio and television programs in the United States, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, and other regions. Dr. Carpenter received his Ph.D. in U. S. Diplomatic History from the University of Texas.

December 9, 2007

“Europe and Its Future”
Robert Warne, Chair – U. S., Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute

January 20, 2008

“Crossroads to North Korean”
Ambassador Charles L. (Jack) Pritchard, President, Korean Economic Institute

Ambassador Charles L. (Jack) Pritchard is President of the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) in Washington, D. C. Prior to KEI he was a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D. C. where he focused on U. S. policy toward North Korea as well as the evolving nature of the United States-Japan foreign and security relationship. From 2001 to 2003, Ambassador Pritchard served as ambassador and the special envoy for negotiations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and was the United States representative to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization in the administration of President George W. Bush. Previously, he served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Asian Affairs in the administration of President William Clinton.

February 17, 2008

“Latin American Politics and U. S. Policy”
Dr. Abraham Lowenthal, Fellow in Latin America and International Affairs, University of Southern California (USC)

Dr. Lowenthal is the first Robert F. Erburu Professor of Ethics, Globalization. and Development as well as Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California. Dr. Lowenthal is an internationally recognized authority on Latin America, the Pacific Rim and broader international affairs, who has worked for 30 years at the boundary between the worlds of ideas and action. Dr. Lowenthal received his Ph.D. from Harvard and has served on the Boards of the Fulbright Association, the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, the Trade Advisory Council of the City of Los Angeles, the Latin American Studies Association and the American Political Science Association, among others. His publications include twelve books, more than 100 journal articles and more than 140 newspaper pieces published throughout the United States and abroad.

MARCH 16, 2008

“Counterterrorism, Intelligence and the Middle East”
Dr. Paul R. Pillar, Professor Security Studies, Georgetown University

Dr. Pillar is a Visiting Professor (Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University), and member of the core faculty in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. With twenty-eight years of experience in the U. S. intelligence community, his most recent position was as National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia. During his intelligence career Dr. Pillar served in a variety of analytical and managerial positions, including Chief of analytic units covering portions of the Near East, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. Dr. Pillar also served as Executive Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence, William Webster, and was one of the original members of the National Intelligence Council’s Analytic Group. He was Chief of the Assessments and Information Group at the DCI Counterterrorist Center and also served as Deputy Chief of the Center. Dr. Pillar is a retired officer in the U. S. Army Reserve, having served on active duty from 1971 to 1973, including a tour of duty in Vietnam. He is the author of Negotiating Peace and Terrorism and U S. Foreign Policy.

APRIL 13, 2008

“The Present and Future Impact of Russia on the World”
Dr. Olga Oliker, Senior International Policy Analyst, The RAND Corporation

Olga Oliker’s research at RAND Corporation focuses primarily on international relations and national security policy, particularly as it regards to countries in transition. Ms. Olikers areas of expertise include security sector reform in the conflict, post-conflict and development contexts; foreign policy, security and economic developments in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Ukraine; and U.S. and international efforts to assist political and security reform in countries transition. Prior to RAND Corporation, Ms. Oliker worked as an independent consultant and held positions in the U. S. Departments of Defense and Energy. Some of her recent RAND Corporation publications include U.S. Policy Options of Iraq: A Reassessment; Securing Tyrants or Fostering Reform?; U.S. Internal Security Assistance to Repressive and Transitioning Regimes; and many more.

MAY 11, 2008

“Islam”
Nonie Darwish, Arab-American Writer and Speaker. Author

Nonnie Darwish was born in Cairo and raised in the Gaza Strip during the 1950’s where she remembers learning as a young girl that self-criticism or questioning of Arab teachings and leadership was forbidden and could only bring shame, dishonor and violence to one. “This severe indoctrination is devastating on children”, Ms. Darwish says. Shortly after her father was assassinated her family moved back to Egypt where she eventually earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology/Anthropology from the American University in Cairo. She worked as an editor and translator for the Middle East News Agency and attended several international conferences. This exposure motivated her to leave Egypt and move to the United States in 1978. Her current book, Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel and the War on Terror, is her personal story of tragedy and redemption, as well as a scholarly analysis of Middle-Eastern culture.