Experts

Fellow

Courtney Spivey Urschel

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Human Rights Middle East

Fellow

Priya Pillai

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Africa Conflict

Fellow

Joshua Hotvet

Veterans Advanced Energy Fellow

Global Energy Center

Energy & Environment United States and Canada

Fellow

Rolando Mattar

Veterans Advanced Energy Fellow

Global Energy Center

Energy & Environment United States and Canada

Fellow

Tom Wotka

Veterans Advanced Energy Fellow

Global Energy Center

Energy & Environment United States and Canada

Fellow

Kalle Meehan

Women Leader in Energy and Climate Fellow

Global Energy Center

Energy & Environment
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Content

Thinking Global

May 30, 2011

Why Christine Lagarde is Best Choice for IMF

By Frederick Kempe

Sometimes even the most squalid of matters have silvery linings. In the disgusting criminal case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the best possible result would be that he may soon be replaced as International Monetary Fund chieftain by Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister. Her unassailable character, proven crisis-management skills — and yes, it does matter in […]

Thinking Global

May 28, 2011

Wall Street Journal Review of Berlin 1961

By Frederick Kempe

A wonderful review of my new book, Berlin 1961, in today’s Wall Street Journal by the acclaimed spy novelist Charles McCarry, whose storied career includes stints as a journalist, speechwriter for President Eisenhower, deep cover CIA officer, magazine editor, and collaborator on Alexander Haig’s autobiography. The lede is masterful: Readers skeptical of the Camelot myth […]

Thinking Global

May 28, 2011

President Kennedy’s Foreign Policy Legacy: A Debate

By Frederick Kempe

Earlier this week, I debated Richard Reeves, a senior lecturer at the Annenberg School and author of President Kennedy: Profile of Power, on "The Foreign Policy Legacy of President Kennedy." Alan Brinkley, Allan Nevins Professor of American History at Columbia University presided and the Council of Foreign Relations hosted. The one hour video is embedded […]

Thinking Global

May 26, 2011

Berlin 1961: Kennedy’s “Dr. Feelgood”

By Frederick Kempe

Historians haven’t done well over the years in answering an awkward question: when do the personal quirks and unusual habits of American presidents have historic consequences? Tabloid reporters salivate over salacious stories such as Monica Lewinsky’s affair with President Bill Clinton, but when do these become matters of state? My book Berlin 1961 steered away […]

Thinking Global

May 25, 2011

What Obama Can Learn From JFK

By Frederick Kempe

 A half-century ago this week, a relatively inexperienced young president, John F. Kennedy, set off for Europe at a crucial moment in the Cold War. He had just botched the Bay of Pigs invasion launched by CIA-backed Cuban exiles, and his critics worried that he lacked the backbone to deal with the Soviet threat and […]

Thinking Global

May 24, 2011

Berlin 1961: Kennedy’s Secret Use of a Soviet Spy

By Frederick Kempe

 Wearing a white shirt, a loosened tie, and a jacket held casually over one shoulder, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy bounded down the steps of the side entrance to the Department of Justice on Pennsylvania Avenue and extended his hand to Soviet spy Georgi Bolshakov.  “Hi, Georgi, long time no see,” the attorney general said, […]

Thinking Global

May 23, 2011

Berlin 1961: President Kennedy’s Amateur Hour

By Frederick Kempe

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev could hardly believe his good fortune.  He had known from his intelligence that Kennedy was planning some sort of Cuban operation aimed at unseating Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Yet never in his fondest dreams had he anticipated the incompetence of the botched Bay of Pigs invasion.   When it was all […]

Thinking Global

May 20, 2011

Berlin 1961 on C-SPAN’s “After Words”

By Frederick Kempe

I’ll be on "After Words", C-SPAN "Book TV’s signature program . . . in which authors of the latest nonfiction books are interviewed by journalists, public policy makers, legislators, and others familiar with their material" talking about Berlin 1961 with Angela Stent, a friend and brilliant scholar.  The show airs on C-SPAN Radio tonight at […]

Thinking Global

May 19, 2011

Berlin 1961: Acheson Fills a Kennedy Power Vacuum

By Frederick Kempe

Dean Acheson knew a White House policy vacuum when he saw it, the absence of any Kennedy administration Berlin policy, and he was determined to fill it with the rapier brilliance that had already made him an historic figure.   His paper, the first major Kennedy administration reflection on Berlin, landed on Secretary of State […]

Thinking Global

May 19, 2011

Berlin 1961 Amplified Edition Trailer

By Frederick Kempe

This video, put together by the superb team at Penguin for the amplified e-book version of Berlin 1961, is really cool

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