Book Talk | The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century by General (Ret) Kenneth Frank McKenzie

Friday, October 4 // 10:00–11:00 am (ET)

General (Ret) Kenneth Frank McKenzie, the former Commander of US Central Command, oversaw some of the most pivotal moments in recent history, including the strike on Qassem Soleimani, counter-ISIS efforts, and the Afghanistan withdrawal. In his new memoir, The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century, General McKenzie reflects on his experiences, the challenges of high command in one of the world's most volatile regions, civilian-military relations, the unique role of combatant commanders, and the critical importance of leadership in warfare.

Please join the Wilson Center's Middle East Program (MEP) for a discussion with General McKenzie about his new book, moderated by MEP Director Merissa Khurma. The talk will be followed by a book signing.

STILL TO Come THIS WEEK

Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative

Monday, September 30 // 4:00 –5:30 pm (ET)

Author Aaron Bateman's first book, Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative, is an international history of Ronald Reagan’s controversial Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), more popularly known as “Star Wars.” Using recently declassified documents, he situates SDI within intensifying US - Soviet military space competition in the final two decades of the Cold War that emerged as détente collapsed. He also details SDI’s enduring consequences for arms control and its connections with resurgent anxieties about an arms race in space.

The Story Behind Climate Security and What it Means for US Foreign Policy

Tuesday October 1 // 10:30 am –12:00 pm (ET)

Join the Wilson Center, in partnership with the Center for Climate & Security, on October 1 for a dialogue with climate security pioneer Sherri Goodman, environmental journalist Peter Schwartzstein, Middle East expert Merissa Khurma, and Anne Witkowsky, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, US Department of State, to unpack the impact of climate change on security risks around the globe, the evolution of US engagement on climate security, and opportunities to strengthen stability and build cooperation through climate action. The discussion will feature insights from two new books, Sherri Goodman’s Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security and Peter Schwartzstein’s The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence.

UK and US Antarctic Collaboration: The Cutting Edge of Polar Science and Future Directions

Wednesday, October 2 // 10:00 –11:00 am (ET)

The United Kingdom and the United States have collaborated closely on Antarctic science for many decades, and have led research in recent years that is crucial to understanding glacier dynamics and global sea-level rise. This program will feature prominent scientists and policy leaders who will discuss some of the key elements of that cooperation, notably by the British Antarctic Survey and National Science Foundation, as well as future ambitions, including related to plans for the forthcoming International Polar Year.