The Debrief

The Honorable Christopher R. Hill had a distinguished career at the U.S. Department of State, serving as a five-time ambassador and diplomat at the center of some of the most consequential challenges in American foreign policy. Over three decades in the Foreign Service, which he joined in 1977, Ambassador Hill's career propelled him into high-stakes negotiations with some of America’s most intractable adversaries, from helping lead negotiations in the 1990s that ended the war in Bosnia to serving as the senior U.S. negotiator to the Six Party Talks, which sought to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons program in the mid-2000s. In 2009 and 2010, Ambassador Hill led the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as the United States wound down its combat mission in Iraq, and in March 2022, the Senate confirmed Ambassador Hill for a fifth time to a U.S. posting abroad, this time to serve as ambassador to Serbia mere weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This followed a period when he served as Dean of the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, where he wrote The Outpost: A Diplomat at Work. He joins The Debrief to reflect on his distinguished diplomatic career after delivering the 2025 convocation address at the U.S. Naval War College.

The Arctic encompasses not only the territory of eight countries, but also vital geological features and strategic waterways that have made the region an area of ecological concern and geopolitical contestation.To help navigate these waters, The Debrief talks with Dr. Mary Thompson-Jones, a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer and professor and chair of Women in Diplomacy and National Security, who is the author of America in the Arctic: Foreign Policy and Competition in the Melting North (Columbia University Press, 2025).

Admiral Verma offers an overview of the growing importance of the Indian Ocean basin—stretching from South Africa across the Middle East and South Asia to Southeast Asia—for global security. In particular, how will developments in this region of the world become more important for U.S. national security?------------------------Guest:Admiral (Ret) Nirmal Verma served as Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy from 2009-2012 and concurrently held charge as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee from June 2011. His afloat appointments include commands of a frigate, a destroyer and aircraft carrier INS Viraat. His assignments as Flag Officer include an operational theater command, and policy formulation on budget management, acquisitions and human resources. Post retirement he served as India's High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Canada. The Admiral is currently a U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Distinguished International Fellow at the U.S. Naval War College.

Synopsis:How have new technologies, such as autonomous drones and applying artificial intelligence, changed how strategists and policymakers view conflict in the 21st century? While they have had clear impacts in the tactical and operational levels of war, how game-changing are they when it comes to strategic objectives? Are we in thrall to "strategic myths" arising from technological determinism? Join us for this important conversation.About the Speaker:LTC Paul Lushenko is an Assistant Professor and Director of Special Operations at the U.S. Army War College. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in International Relations from Cornell University. He also holds an M.A. in Defense and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, an M.A. in International Relations and a Master of Diplomacy from The Australian National University, and a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy. Paul has deployed continuously, directing intelligence operations at the Battalion, Combined Task Force, and Joint Task Force levels. In his most recent operational assignment, Paul served as the Senior Intelligence Officer for the Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan and was also responsible for shaping the coalition’s strategy to defeat the Islamic State and helping to regionalize U.S. counterterrorism policy and strategy. Paul is a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member, Adjunct Research Lecturer at Charles Sturt University, and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute. He is the co-editor of Drones and Global Order: Implications of Remote Warfare for International Society (2022), which is the first book to systematically study the implications of drone warfare on global politics. He also has a book forthcoming on the public’s perceptions of legitimate drone strikes, entitled The Legitimacy of Drone Warfare: Evaluating Public Perceptions (2024).The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.

Synopsis:The interagency process coordinates the development and implementation of national security policies across executive departments at all levels of the federal government. How does the Defense Department translate policy guidance into operational-level planning, and how do national security professionals in regional theaters coordinate with their interagency counterparts to implement these policies? Capt. Jeff W. Benson, USN, joins The Debrief to address these questions, drawing on his experience in contributing to the interagency process on U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific region. Capt. Benson will be the first Commanding Officer of the new Flight III guided missile destroyer, USS LOUIS H. WILSON, JR (DDG 126), being built in Bath, ME. He is a graduate of the Naval War College and previously served as the Division Chief for China and Taiwan on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (J5).About the Speaker:Capt. Benson will be the first Commanding Officer of the new Flight III guided missile destroyer, USS LOUIS H. WILSON, JR (DDG 126), being built in Bath, ME. He is a graduate of the Naval War College and previously served as the Division Chief for China and Taiwan on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (J5).The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.

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...

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.

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.

In a series of essays for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, two scholars at the National Security Affairs Department at the U.S. Naval War College call for a reconceptualization of the global map in the way strategists think about geography, bureaucracy, and national security. The Debrief sits down with Dr. Derek Reveron, chair of the National Security Affairs Department, and Dr. Nikolas Gvosdev, professor of national security affairs and editor of the journal Orbis, to help us redraw the boundaries that guide our thinking in contemporary strategy.About the Speakers:Derek S. Reveron is professor and Chair of the National Security Affairs Department and brings decades of experience in strategy development with work in dozens of countries. He served on the Rhode Island Cybersecurity Commission and has published widely on national security, defense policy, and foreign policy. He is a faculty affiliate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School where he teaches strategic problem-solving. He served 33 years in the Navy Reserves leading units in support of operations in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America and was a special advisor in Afghanistan.Nikolas K. Gvosdev is a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. He holds non-residential fellowships with Foreign Policy Research Institute (editor of “Orbis”) and Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs (co-host of the “Doorstep” podcast). He is a member of Loisach Group, a collaboration between the Munich Security Conference and the Marshall Center to enhance U.S. and Germany’s security partnership. He is a contributing editor for The National Interest. He has taught at Baylor, Georgetown, George Washington, Harvard Extension and Brown universities. From 2016-20, he held the Captain Jerome E. Levy Chair in economic geography and national security.The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.