Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to Speak at Washington College October 24

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf will speak at Washington College Monday, Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in Decker Theatre, Gibson Center for the Arts. He will talk about Pakistan, regional security and terrorism. Those unable to be on campus for the event can watch it as a livestream from the College website, www.washcoll.edu.

Musharraf, a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and the 10th President of Pakistan, ruled the country as Chief Executive from 1999 to 2001 after a military coup and as President from 2001 to 2008. After 9/11, he became an important ally of the United States in the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda, which made him an enemy of anti-American Islamist fighters in his own country. Later, a bitter dispute with Pakistan’s Chief Justice led to a loss of popular support and accusations that he had violated the constitution with his actions against the judicial branch.

Since leaving office under the threat of impeachment, Musharraf has lived in exile in London and Dubai. But last fall he formed a new political party—the All Pakistan Muslim League—and announced plans to return to Pakistan to run for President in the 2013 elections.

He could face arrest upon his return; in February of this year, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court issued a warrant for his arrest on charges that, while President, he failed to provide adequate security for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. Musharraf has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated.

Musharraf’s Oct. 24 visit to Chestertown stems from his personal acquaintance with Washington College professor of political science and international studies Tahir Shad. The talk is sponsored by the Program in Islamic Turkish and Near Eastern Studies of the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture and is free and open to the public.

The campus community and general public are invited to submit questions for the Q&A session that will follow the talk. Please email questions to aoros2@washcoll.edu by end of day Thursday, October 20. For more information, visit http://www.washcoll.edu.

General Barry McCaffrey On The War On Terrorism, March 31 At Washington College

Chestertown, MD, March 1, 2004 — Washington College's William James Forum and Goldstein Program in Public Affairs present retired General Barry McCaffrey, former White House “Drug Czar” and a recognized authority on national security and terrorism, speaking on “The War on Terrorism,” Wednesday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

General McCaffrey serves as the Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies at the United States Military Academy and is also President of his own consulting firm based in Alexandria, VA. He has been a frequent guest expert in the broadcast media on drug control policy, terrorism and national security, serves as an analyst for NBC News and writes a regularly on national security issues for Armed Forces Journal.

In January 2001, General McCaffrey stepped down as the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position which he held since 1996. By law, he coordinated the $19.2 billion federal drug control budget and developed the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy. Prior to confirmation as the National Drug Policy Director, General McCaffrey served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces Southern Command coordinating national security operations in Latin America. During his military career, he served overseas for 13 years, including four combat tours, and commanded the 24th Infantry Division during Operation Desert Storm. At retirement from active duty, he was the most highly decorated four-star general in the United States Army. He twice received the Distinguished Service Cross the nation's second highest medal for valor. He was also awarded two Silver Stars and received three Purple Heart medals for wounds sustained in combat. General McCaffrey served as the assistant to General Colin Powell and as the Joint Chiefs of Staff advisor to the Secretary of State and the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

The War Or Terror: Myths And Misconceptions, Lecture March 2 At Washington College

Chestertown, MD, February 24, 2004 — Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience presents Townsend Hoopes, Senior Fellow at the Starr Center, in a presentation, “Misconceptions in the War on Terrorism,” Tuesday, March 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the Custom House Library. Hoopes will discuss the effect of September 11 on U.S. foreign policy and the global war on terrorism. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Townsend Hoopes was a staff aide to three Secretaries of Defense—James Forrestal, General George Marshall and Robert Lovett—and also served as principal deputy for International Security Affairs at the Pentagon and Under Secretary of the Air Force. He has been co-chairman of Americans for SALT and director of the American Committee on U.S.-Soviet Relations, and is the author of several prize-winning books on foreign policy.

The talk is sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, an innovative forum for new scholarship about American history. Drawing on the special historical strengths of Washington College and Chestertown, the Center is dedicated to exploring the early republic, the rise of democracy, and the manifold ways in which the founding era continues to shape American culture. News about upcoming events is available online athttp://starrcenter.washcoll.edu/, or by calling Program Manager Kees de Mooy at 410-810-7156.

Scholar To Discuss Maoist Terrorism And Guerrilla Wars In Peru And Nepal, October 23

Chestertown, MD, October 13, 2003 — Washington College's International Studies Program welcomes David Scott Palmer, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Boston University, speaking on “Terror in the Name of Mao: True Believers and People's War in Peru and Nepal,” Thursday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the Casey Academic Forum. Dr. Palmer's talk will present a comparative analysis of Maoist guerrilla organizations in Peru (the Shining Path) and Nepal. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.
Dr. Palmer has worked on issues related to political development, insurgency, border disputes, and civil-military relations in Latin America since studying in Chile and Uruguay and serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in highland Peru in the early 1960s. His major publications focus on Peruvian politics at both the national and local level, the Shining Path, the Latin American military, the Peru-Ecuador border conflict, drug trafficking and United States-Latin American relations. He served as Chair of Latin American and Caribbean Studies for 12 years at the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of State, including four years as associate dean. He has consulted with the United Nations Development Program, the Ford Foundation and USAID, most recently as a Conflict Prevention and Mitigation Specialist in Nepal. He lectures and consults regularly on terrorism and related issues for various government institutions, including the State Department, the National Intelligence Council and the U.S. Armed Services.

War With Iraq? Former UN Inspector Scott Ritter To Speak At Washington College January 30

Chestertown, MD, January 6, 2003 — Scott Ritter, former Chief Weapons Inspector for the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq (UNSCOM), will discuss “WAR WITH IRAQ: HOW DID WE GET HERE?” on Thursday, January 30, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. in Washington College's Tawes Theater. This timely talk is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

As a chief weapons inspector for the UNSCOM, Ritter was labeled a hero by some, a maverick by others, and a spy by the Iraqi government. Ritter has had an extensive and distinguished career in government service. He is a ballistic missile technology expert who worked in military intelligence during a 12-year career in the U.S. armed forces, including assignments in the former Soviet Union and in the Middle East. In 1991, Ritter joined UNSCOM and took part in more than 30 inspection missions, 14 as chief. In 1995, his team discovered in Iraq missile guidance equipment purchased from Russia through a Palestinian agent.

In January 1998, he led the U.N. weapons inspectors back to Iraq only to blocked by Iraqi officials who accused him of being a spy. Following Iraq's decision to block further inspections, Ritter found the U.S. and the U.N. Security Council unwilling to confront Iraq's position and resigned proclaiming that the “illusion of arms control is more dangerous than no arms control at all.” His experience in enemy territory has resulted in a book, Endgame: Solving the Iraq problem Once and for All, and a film exposing the results of America's foreign policy in the Persian Gulf and the devastating effects of the United Nations economic sanctions on the people of Iraq.

The talk is sponsored by Washington College's William James Forum and Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, established in honor of the late Louis L. Goldstein, 1935 alumnus and Maryland's longest serving elected official. The Goldstein Program sponsors lectures, symposia, visiting fellows, travel and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders in public policy and the media.

Washington College Hosts Four-Part Series on the Challenges of the War on Terrorism

Chestertown, MD, February 22, 2002 — During the month of March, the Washington College Department of Sociology and Anthropology is sponsoring a four-part speaker series on the history, context, policies and challenges of America's war on terrorism. The talks are free and the public is invited to attend these timely and important discussions.

On Monday, March 4, 2002, Ralph Begleiter, Distinguished Professor in Journalism at the University of Delaware and former CNN world affairs correspondent, will present the first lecture in the series, "WHOSE MEDIA?: MEDIA ETHICS AND NEWS COVERAGE OF THE TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST AMERICA." Prof. Begleiter will discuss issues of government and media relationships during the war on terrorism.

On Wednesday, March 6, 2002, Dr. Daniel L. Premo, Goldstein Professor in Public Affairs in the Department of Political Science at Washington College, will discuss the historical context of the war on terrorism in a lecture titled "THE U.S. WAR ON TERRORISM: OLD WINE IN A NEW BOTTLE?"

On Monday, March 18, 2002, Joe Miller, Assistant Director of Occupational Safety at the University of Delaware, will present "THE NBCS: AN OVERVIEW OF A FEW AGENTS OF TERRORISM. ARE WE READY?" Mr. Miller will discuss the threat of and response to nuclear, biological and chemical weapons attacks.

The series will conclude on Wednesday, March 20, 2002, with the lecture "U.S. FOREIGN POLICY AND THE WAR ON TERRORISM," presented by Dr. Tahir Shad, Chair of the Department of International Studies at Washington College.

All talks in the series begin at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Litrenta Lecture Hall, Dunning Room 113.

College Hosts Symposium on National Missile Defense and Security in the 21st Century

Chestertown, MD, October 15, 2001 — Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs presents a "Symposium on National Missile Defense: Seeking Security in the 21st Century" on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 7 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The symposium features panelists James Lindsey of the Brookings Institution and Jack Spencer of the Heritage Foundation, moderated by Colonel Andrew Fallon, U.S. Army (Ret.). James Lindsay is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at Brookings, where he is conducting research on national missile defense and the shaping of American foreign policy over the next quarter century. Before joining Brookings, Lindsay was a professor of political science at the University of Iowa and served as Director for Global Issues and Multilateral Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council in 1996-1997. His areas of responsibility included peacekeeping, UN affairs, State Department reorganization, and funding for international affairs. Lindsay is the author of "Dynamics of Democracy" (1997), "Congress and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy" (1994), and "Congress and Nuclear Weapons" (1991).

Jack Spencer is a Policy Analyst for Defense and National Security at the Washington-based public policy research institute, the Heritage Foundation, and works primarily on issues involving military readiness, force structure, roles and missions, information warfare, homeland defense and missile defense. In 1999, Spencer authored "The Ballistic Missile Threat Handbook", a reference that describes the ballistic missile arsenals of nine nations whose strategic and commercial interests in ballistic missiles threaten U.S. security. Spencer has published numerous papers and articles on missile defense, modernization, readiness and other national security related issues, and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and BBC.

The panel's moderator, Colonel Andrew J. Fallon, is Director of System Engineering for the Washington Group of SRS Technologies and has been involved in system design for the National Missile Defense System for the past three years. Prior to joining SRS, Fallon spent 26 years in the military, specializing in air defense command, testing, research and development, as well as acquisition of electronic warfare and missile defense systems.

The symposium is sponsored by Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, established in honor of the late Louis L. Goldstein, a 1935 alumnus and Maryland's longest-serving elected official. The Goldstein Program sponsors lectures, symposia, visiting fellows, travel and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders in public policy.