Simons Center News

Career Minister Dr. Dirk Dijkerman recently visited Fort Leavenworth as part of a Simons Center special speakers program. Dijkerman is a retired U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Career Minister with a vast amount of experience in the agency, most notably serving as the Executive Coordinator for the U.S. Ebola Task Force in 2014-2015. While at Fort Leavenworth, […]

Ambassador (Ret.) Laura Kennedy returned for a second visit to Fort Leavenworth in April, again serving as the DACOR visiting professor of diplomacy for the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) Class of 2017. Kennedy, who previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs among many other […]

National Security Secretary John Kelly names DHS’ three biggest challenges, Washington Examiner US conducts tests for upgraded nuclear bomb, The Hill Is the STEM shortage a national security issue?, C4ISR Net The Nuclear Posture Review is underway. Here’s what to look for., Defense News How Weapons of Mass Destruction Became ‘Red Lines’ for America, The […]

Featured article: Evaluation of Current Risk Assessment Models for Genocide and Mass Atrocity by Kathryn Gillum Genocide and other atrocity crimes (war crimes and crimes against humanity) are not only a curse to those directly involved, but also a burden on all of humanity. Under the United Nations’ (UN) 2005 Responsibility to Protect (R2P), the international […]

National Security What you need to know about the ‘mother of all bombs’, Defense News United States Drops ‘Mother of All Bombs’ On ISIS in Afghanistan, Foreign Policy CIA director rips Assange, defends foreign surveillance, FCW Senior Pentagon Official Casts Doubt on Tomahawk Missile’s Future, National Defense The President Is Preventing the Foreign-Policy Debate America […]

National Security US drops largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan, CNN 5 things to know about the MOAB, CNN White House national security adviser: US eager for Syrian regime change, Politico US Army Exploring ‘Devastating’ New Weapon For Use In War with Russia, Defense One Top Senate Dem worries Syria attack could be the start of […]

On March 22, Navy Vice Admiral Charles A. Richard, deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command, spoke at a space security conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In his remarks, the admiral spoke of the importance of multidomain integration, noting the Joint Interagency Combined Space Operations Center (JICSpOC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. According to […]

National Security Former National Security Council Coordinator Reflects On Obama’s Syria Policy, NPR How Jeff Sessions wants to bring back the war on drugs, The Washington Post McCain: Trump administration ‘partially to blame’ for Syrian chemical attack, Politico A Trump national security adviser tapped as Singapore envoy, Military Times Russian computer programmer held in Spain […]

Last week, Mr. Patrick J. Wesner, the Command and General Staff College Distinguished Chair for Development Studies, spoke about history and mission of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Three special guests were in the audience during Wesner’s presentation on USAID – Ambassador (Ret.) David Lambertson, Ambassador (Ret.) Laura Kennedy, and Career Minister (Ret.) Dirk Dijkerman, […]

Featured article: Moral Courage and Intelligent Disobedience by Ted Thomas and Ira Chaleff The military needs men and women who have courage–the physical courage to go into battle, to overcome fear in the face of bodily injury or death, mental pain, and lifelong disabilities. Militaries run on physical courage. Without it, they run from a fight and […]