The Debrief

Naunihal Singh, a professor at the Naval War College and expert on African politics, and Terry Roig, a scholar focused on the Korean Peninsula, dive into Africa's underappreciated role in global security. They discuss Africa's rich resources vital for the green transition and contrast U.S. and Chinese engagements. The conversation shifts to the implications of North Korea's missile advancements and the complex dynamics in East Asia, which affect U.S.-South Korea relations and broader global security.

The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, visits the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) on board Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island Feb. 22, 2024. During the visit Amb. Emanuel met with NWC President Rear Adm. Pete Garvin before addressing students, staff, and faculty on U.S., Japanese relations. Ambassador Emanuel became the 31st U.S. Ambassador to Japan in December 2021, prior to his current role he served as the 55th Mayor of the City of Chicago.About the Speaker:Rahm Emanuel was confirmed in a bipartisan vote as the 31st United States Ambassador to Japan on December 18, 2021. Previously, Ambassador Emanuel was the 55th Mayor of the City of Chicago, a position he held until May 2019. During that time, he made the critical choices necessary to secure Chicago’s future as a global capital.As Mayor, the Ambassador added four years to a student’s education. He increased the school day by 75 minutes and added more than 200 hours to the school year, marking the largest single increase in educational time by any city and taking Chicago from having the least educational time of any large school district in the country to being on par with its peers. He implemented universal pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten for every Chicago child, and made Chicago the first city in America to provide free community college.The Mayor’s comprehensive public safety strategy focused on expanded prevention programs for at-risk youth, smarter policing strategies, and empowering parents and communities to reduce violence. The Ambassador made it a priority to bring global companies to the city, helping Chicago to lead the U.S. in corporate relocations and foreign direct investment for seven consecutive years. His administration invested in infrastructure, public transportation, open space, and cultural attractions. From the $8.5 billion O’Hare International Airport modernization program that is cementing Chicago’s status as a global leader in travel, tourism, and trade to the development of the iconic 1.25-mile Chicago Riverwalk, the City’s investments are creating thousands of good-paying jobs and making Chicago a better place to live, work, and play.Prior to becoming Mayor, from November 2008 until October 2010, Ambassador Emanuel served as President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff. In addition to being the President’s top advisor, the Ambassador helped the Obama administration secure the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.Ambassador Emanuel was elected four times as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois’s 5th Congressional District (2002-2008). As Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Emanuel helped pass legislation to raise the minimum wage and authored the Great Lakes Restoration Act.From 1993 to 1998, Ambassador Emanuel was a key member of President Bill Clinton’s administration, rising to serve as Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Politics. During this time, Emanuel served as a legislative liaison to Congress and spearheaded efforts to pass several of President Clinton’s signature achievements, most notably the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, and the historic Balanced Budget Act, which created the Children’s Health Insurance Program that expanded health care coverage to 10 million children. The Ambassador also worked closely with President Joseph R. Biden Jr., then a U.S. Senator, to shepherd the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 through Congress.As a former Senior Counselor at Centerview Partners and former Managing Director at Wasserstein Perella & Co., Emanuel brings a depth of financial experience to the post.Ambassador Emanuel graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981 and received a Master’s Degree in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985. He is married to Amy Rule, and they have three children.The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.

More than 20 years since the United States launched its invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the origins of the war remain highly contested, both among scholars and policy practitioners alike. As tensions continue to flare in the region and thousands of U.S. troops continue to deploy to military bases within Iraq, understanding the history of U.S. involvement in this country is critical for understanding the United States’s role in the modern Middle East. Joining This episode of The Debrief analyzes the causes and consequences of the Iraq War with Dr. Joseph Stieb, assistant professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and author of The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990 to 2003.About the Speaker:Joseph Stieb joined the U.S. Naval War College in 2022 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at The Ohio State University’s Mershon Center for International Security Studies. He received a Ph.D. in U.S. history from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019. He studies U.S. foreign policy, politics, and ideas in the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly the Iraq War and the War on Terrorism. He is the author of The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003 (Cambridge, 2021) and has also published in Diplomatic History, Modern American History, The International History Review, The Washington Post, War on the Rocks, Foreign Policy, American Purpose, and Arc Digital.The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.

U.S. national security ultimately rests on its nuclear capabilities to deter existential challenges to its existence, alongside the commitment to use such weapons if other forms of deterrence have failed. Join Professor Dana Struckman and Dr. Terence Roehrig to look at the challenges of nuclear deterrence and how this has evolved from the superpower rivalry of the Cold War to more unsettled conditions of great power competition in the 21st century.About the Speakers:Dana Struckman joined the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) faculty upon his NWC graduation in June of 2006 and served as a military professor for four years. In 2010, he joined the faculty as a full-time Professor of Practice and currently serves as the Deputy Chair of the National Security Affairs Department.Dr. Terence Roehrig, professor of national security affairs, has been a research fellow at the Kennedy School at Harvard University in the International Security Program and the Project on Managing the Atom. He is a non-resident expert at the Center for Korean Legal Studies at Columbia University. He has published numerous books, articles and book chapters on Korean and East Asian security issues, North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance, Korean maritime issues, human rights and transitional justice. He has given presentations to U.S. Forces Korea, the U.S. Embassy Seoul and the ROK JCS J-5. He has been a past president of the Association of Korean Political Studies.The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.

The United States has interests all around the globe, and must be able to respond to crises and challenges in different regions without compromising the national interest. Lt. Col. Rebecca Russo joins us to unpack what "global integration" means for a U.S. military and its ability to defend peace and freedom throughout the world.About the Speaker:Col. Russo is a command pilot with over 3,000 hours in the C-17A and T-1A. She most recently served as a strategist on the Joint Staff J7 and as a liaison to DARPA's Adaptive Capabilities Office. Previous to that position, she commanded the 691st Cyber Operations Squadron and served in staff positions at USTRANSCOM and Air Mobility Command. Col. Russo graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval War College in June 2021.The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.

For those serving in the military or civil service, Congress may appear to be a distant, mysterious other branch of government, yet Congress—through its powers to legislate, appropriate, confirm, and oversee—is part and parcel of the national security enterprise. In this episode, Professor Kathleen Walsh guides us through the roles of Congress and how it connects to you, the practitioner.About the Speaker:Kathleen (Kate) Walsh is associate professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College where she has taught policy analysis since 2006. Walsh is a member of the Faculty Advisory Council, the NWC’s Asia Pacific Studies Group (APSG) director and the founder/director of the Oceanography & Maritime Security Group (OMSG). She was a senior consultant to Washington, D.C.-area think tanks including senior associate at the Stimson Center and senior associate at a D.C.-area defense consulting firm, among other past positions there. Her research focuses on China and the Asia-Pacific region, particularly issues of security, technology, innovation and ocean or "blue" economy issues.The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.

The State Department is the oldest Cabinet-level agency in the United States, with over 250 U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide and 70 to 80 thousand employees, almost half of whom are U.S. citizens. The structure of the State Department and career tracks for our nation’s diplomats both at home and abroad can sometimes be opaque for understanding the full range of activities and missions it serves. Unpacking these matters are Dr. Mary Thompson-Jones, professor and chair of Women, Peace and Security at the U.S. Naval War College and retired career diplomat in the Senior Foreign Service, and Walter Braunohler, Minister Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service and professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College.About the Speakers:Dr. Mary Thompson-Jones is a career diplomat, professor, and published author on U.S. foreign policy and the practice of diplomacy. Her book, To the Secretary: Leaked Embassy Cables and America’s Foreign Policy Disconnect (Norton 2016), was praised by Joseph Nye as “a fascinating account of how diplomacy really works from the bottom up.” Her diplomatic experience spans a 23-year career as a foreign service officer in leadership roles in the Czech Republic, Canada, Guatemala, Spain, and Washington, D.C. She retired with the rank of Minister-Counselor and is the recipient of several Superior and Meritorious Honor awards. Before coming to the USNWC, she directed a master’s program at Northeastern University.Walter Braunohler is the State Department's senior faculty advisor at the U.S. Naval War College. A U.S. foreign service officer for over 20 years, Mr. Braunohler was most recently the counselor for public diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine from 2020-2022. Prior to that, Mr. Braunohler was the U.S. consul general in Krakow, Poland from 2015-2018 and the spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to Thailand, Bangkok. He has also served in Sudan, Australia, Iraq and Washington, D.C. A graduate of the University of Michigan and the U.S. Naval War College, Mr. Braunohler speaks Thai, Polish and Ukrainian, and is originally from western Michigan.The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.

Two experts discuss how traditional views of geography can limit our understanding of national security. They advocate for a trans-oceanic perspective, emphasizing maritime connections over land borders. The conversation touches on the complexities of bureaucracy within the Department of Defense and the need for collaborative strategies to address global threats like drug trafficking. The interplay between domestic politics and foreign policy is also explored, highlighting its vital role in shaping a cohesive security strategy.

How do foreign policy decisions get made in Washington? How do individual leaders, organizations, and domestic political processes influence the choices officials make in shaping national security policy? To help professionals make sense of this landscape, The Debrief surveys a range of analytic perspectives that inform these processes with Dr. Jessica Blankshain, associate professor of national security affairs and Foreign Policy Analysis subcourse director at the U.S. Naval War College, as well as coauthor of Decision-Making in American Foreign Policy: Translating Theory into Practice.About the Speaker:Dr. Jessica Blankshain joined the National Security Affairs department in 2014 with a doctorate in political economy & government. She teaches the Leadership Concepts and Policy Analysis sub-courses, as well as electives on Central Challenges of American National Security and Civil-Military Relations. Dr. Blankshain is a former graduate fellow with the Rumsfeld Foundation and a former research fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Her research interests include civil-military relations, bureaucratic politics, and organizational economics. She also worked for two years as an associate consultant in the Chicago office of the Boston Consulting Group.The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.