Webinar - Mr. X and the Pacific: George F. Kennan and American Policy in East Asia

American diplomat George F. Kennan (1904-2005) is well known for articulating the strategic concept of "containment" of the Soviet Union during the Cold War—including his role in formulating the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.  But Kennan was also consequential in his much lesser known impact on US foreign policy towards East Asia during the same period.  He played a key role in US disengagement from the Chinese civil war, US occupation policy in Japan, and American intervention in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.  Dr. Heer will outline Kennan's strategic approach to East Asia and discuss its relevance to the challenges the United States faces there today—as a "new Cold War" with China appears to be emerging.

Dr. Paul Heer is a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for the National Interest and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.  He served for 30 years as an analyst of East Asian affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency, including eight years (2007-2015) as the National Intelligence Officer for East Asia.  He was a Visiting Intelligence Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 1999 to 2000, and was subsequently elected a Life Member of CFR. He was the Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at MIT's Center for International Studies during 2015-2016, and later served as Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs.  Dr. Heer is a recipient of the CIA's Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal and the DNI's National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Loras College, a Master of Arts in history from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in diplomatic history from The George Washington University. 

6:00pm EDT webinar, gratis. Advance registration required. Registrants will receive the link to view the lecture in the confirmation email.