The WashU Defense, Aerospace, and National Security (DANS) Network and the Alumni Association invite you to a virtual discussion on the future of arms control featuring Tom Countryman, AB ’79, chairman of the Board of the Arms Control Association, former undersecretary for Arms Control and assistant secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation. The discussion will be moderated by Andrew Sobel, a political scientist who is a professor and director of International and Area Studies, Washington University.

The network of arms control and confidence-building regimes, the majority of which were created during and shortly after the Cold War, is falling apart at an increasing pace: from the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty in 2015 to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. With the US announcement to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty in 2020 and grave concerns surrounding the prospect of a 2021 extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), many are asking: What can be done to save arms control regimes? How might future arms control regimes look? And most importantly, how can we minimize the risk of stumbling into a civilization-ending nuclear war?

Schedule:
5:00 p.m. | Welcome and Introduction by DANS co-chairs Jim Wrightson, MBA ’78, and John Gannon, MA ’72, PhD ’76
5:10 p.m. | Presentation by Tom Countryman, AB ’79
5:30 p.m. | Moderated Q&A with Andrew Sobel

About Tom Countryman, AB ’79, chairman of the Board of the Arms Control Association:
Thomas Countryman is chairman of the Board of the Arms Control Association. The ACA is a nonpartisan NGO which analyzes key security issues and advises the executive branch, Congress, and the public on choices to promote global security and reduce the risk that weapons of mass destruction will be used.

He retired from the Senior Foreign Service in January 2017 after 35 years of service. At that time, he served simultaneously as acting undersecretary for Arms Control and as assistant secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation, a position he held since September 2011. The ISN Bureau leads the US effort to prevent the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.

After serving in Belgrade, Washington, and Cairo, he advised Ambassador Albright on Middle East affairs at the US Mission to the United Nations and was director for Near East affairs at the National Security Council.

He directed State’s Office of South Central European Affairs and was minister for Political Affairs in Rome, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy in Athens (including five months as Charge d'Affaires), and foreign policy advisor to the US Marine Commandant.

Before ISN, he was principal deputy assistant secretary for Political-Military Affairs and deputy assistant secretary for European Affairs, with responsibility for the Balkans.

Mr. Countryman graduated from Washington University in St. Louis (summa cum laude) in economics. He speaks Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, German, Italian, and Greek.

About the DANS Network:
The DANS Network is a networking initiative for alumni, parents, and friends of Washington University in the Washington, D.C. area and Seattle who have a professional interest in defense, aerospace, and national security education, research, and application.

The network was formed by Judge William H. Webster, JD ’49, former director of the CIA and FBI; John Gannon, MA ’72, PhD ’76, president of intelligence and security sector at BAE Systems, former deputy director for Intelligence (DDI) at CIA, chairman of the National Intelligence Council and assistant director of Central Intelligence for Analysis and Production; Jim Wrightson, MBA ’78, former vice president, strategic planning at Lockheed Martin Corporation; and Wes Bush, WashU Parent, CEO and president of Northrop Grumman.

The webinar will be hosted on Zoom. If you have a Zoom account, please register with the email address linked to your account. 

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