Brookings Executive Education

Program Series

U.S. National Security Policy Issues

Gain fresh insights into U.S. national security policy that you can’t get at the same level anywhere else in Washington. Enhance your awareness of emerging threats and learn about U.S. government policy responses through frank discussions with Brookings defense analysts and some of the world’s leading military and diplomatic strategists and practitioners. This topical course will explore crucial current issues in areas such as nuclear non-proliferation, U.S. grand strategy, the Obama Administration’s policy approach, Arab-Israeli relations, energy security, and Middle East strategy, introducing you to a range of alternative policy options.

Past presenters have included:

  • Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat, PLO Representative to the United States
  • Michael Chertoff, former Secretary, Department of Homeland Security
  • David Cohen, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing
  • Joseph DeTrani, Director, National Counterproliferation Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
  • Erica Downs, China Energy Fellow, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution
  • Harry Harding, Inaugural Dean, Frank Batten Sr. School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia; author of "Organizing China," "A Fragile Relationship: the United States and China Since 1972," and "China’s Second Revolution: Reform After Mao"
  • Fiona Hill, Director and Senior Scholar, Center on US and Europe, Brookings Institution; former National Intelligence Officer for Russia
  • David Ignatius, Columnist for the Washington Post
  • Martin Indyk, Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State, Near Eastern Affairs
  • Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee
  • James Lewis, Director and Senior Fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, Department of Homeland Security; former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations for Mission Support, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations  
  • Michael Nacht, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, Department of Defense
  • Michael O'Hanlon; Senior Fellow and Director of Research, Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution
  • Kenneth Pollack, Director, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution; author, The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America
  • Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy and Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution; former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs; author of "The Search for Al Qaeda"
  • Major General Robert Scales, former Commandant, Army War College
  • Qubad Jalal Talabany, Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government to the U.S
  • Strobe Talbott, President, Brookings Institution; former Deputy Secretary of State; former Special Ambassador for the Soviet Union and Russia
  • Alex Thier, Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan, US Institute of Peace; author of "The Future of Afghanistan"

Programs In This Series

Program Benefits

  • A behind-the-scenes view of U.S. national security issues
  • Ability to forecast threats and likely policy options
  • Networking opportunities with key decision-makers