KSG Guests

In the weeks since the Hawaii ISA conference, I've been attending a much larger number of events on campus. Earlier, I was too busy writing two papers to have much of a chance.

Unfortunately, I cannot blog about many of these events because they are off the record. This week, for example, I've seen former Assistant UN Secretary-General John Ruggie talk about the oil for food scandal and pollster John Zogby talk about his fascinating Middle East polling. Oh, and I saw MSNBC President Rick Kaplan talk about blogs...on Dan Rather's final day as the news anchor for CBS.

Of course, a lot of what they said in these meetings is of public record. For example, Ruggie has written op-ed pieces about the oil for food scandal -- and appears on television frequently. Likewise Zogby's Lebanon and Iraq polls are on his website for public perusal.

I've also seen some academics deliver some of their research, such as Charles Kupchan, whose presentation made me want to buy euros ASAP.

RAND's James Dobbins talked about the mess that is Iraq.That too was off the record, but his Foreign Affairs article is revealing:

Keeping U.S. troops in Iraq will only provoke fiercer and more widespread resistance, but withdrawing them too soon could spark a civil war.

It's been a good month for ideas.