The Power and Peril of High-Speed Warfare

Transcript

MR. JAMES B. STEINBERG: It was not a matter of having inside information that we scheduled our briefing this morning to talk about some of the military as well as the diplomatic dimensions of the current crisis, but I think it was fairly obvious as the timetable has gone along that we would be close if not in the middle of military operations as we start the day today. Obviously the nature of the start is itself a matter of great interest and we'll have a chance to talk about that this morning and the kind of operation that has already taken place, what we're likely to be seeing in the days ahead, what the choices are and what the likely implications are going to be.

With us this morning we have two distinguished members of the leadership of our Saban Center, Martin Indyk, the Director of the Saban Center and a Senior Fellow here at Brookings, and Ken Pollack, the Director of Research at the Saban Center, also a Senior Fellow at Brookings. And we're also delighted to welcome Rear Admiral John Sigler here this morning.

Admiral Sigler had an extraordinary career in the Navy. He is a graduate of the Naval Academy and also Stanford University and the Naval War College. But he served during his career in every U.S. theater of operation. And perhaps most significant of all during his final tour, Admiral Sigler was the J5, the plans and policy officer for Central Command, which gives him a unique perspective on the issues that we're going to talk about today.

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