Former Sen. Gary Hart (D-CO) and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to Co-Chair New Bi-Partisan Commission on U.S. Policy toward Russia
CONTACT:
Selena Shilad
(202) 550-2547
Washington, DC – This week, the Belfer Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and The Nixon Center announced that American Security Project (ASP) board members Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and former Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) will co-chair a new bi-partisan Commission on U.S. Policy toward Russia. Senator Hart also chairs the Board of ASP.
According to the two centers, the purpose of the commission is to produce a report for the U.S. president-elect, members of Congress, and the interested public offering its best judgments about American national interests and priorities in the U.S.-Russian relationship; explaining why a constructive U.S.-Russia relationship remains critical; and presenting policy recommendations for a new administration to advance America’s national interests in relations with Russia.
Other Commission members will include:
* The Hon. Robert Blackwill, Senior Fellow, RAND; former deputy National Security Advisor
* Gen. Charles G. Boyd (Ret.), President and CEO, Business Executives for National Security; former deputy commander-in-chief, U.S. forces in Europe
* The Hon. Richard Burt, Managing Director, McLarty Associates; former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs
* Sarah Carey, Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey; Chair, Eurasia Foundation
* The Hon. James Collins, Senior Associate and Director of the Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former U.S. Ambassador to Russia
* Susan Eisenhower, President, The Eisenhower Group, Inc.
* The Hon. Robert F. Ellsworth, Chairman and Founding Director, Hamilton BioVentures; former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Ambassador to NATO
* Thomas Graham, Kissinger Associates; former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian Affairs, National Security Council
* Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO, C.V. Starr and Co.
* The Hon. Lee Hamilton, President and Director, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars; former Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
* The Hon. Carla Hills, Chairman and CEO, Hills and Company; former United States Trade Representative
* The Hon. Jack Matlock, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University; former Ambassador to the U.S.S.R.
* Robert C. McFarlane, Chairman, McFarlane Associates Inc.; former National Security Advisor
* Mark Medish, Senior Adviser, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs, National Security Council
* The Hon. Sam Nunn, Co-Chairman and CEO, Nuclear Threat Initiative; former United States Senator
* The Hon. Thomas Pickering, Vice Chairman, Hills and Company; former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador to Russia
* Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft (Ret.), President, The Scowcroft Group; former National Security Advisor
* The Hon. J. Robinson West, Chairman and Founder, PFC Energy; Chairman, United States Institute of Peace
* The Hon. Dov S. Zakheim, Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton; former Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense
The Hon. Graham Allison, Director of The Belfer Center, and Dimitri K. Simes, President of The Nixon Center, will serve as co-directors.
The American Security Project (ASP) is a non-profit, bi-partisan public policy research and education initiative dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security and foreign policy issues. It is organized around the belief that honest public discussion of national security requires an informed citizenry—one that understands the dangers and opportunities of the twenty-first century and the spectrum of available responses. ASP was formed to help Americans—from opinion leaders to the general public—understand how national security issues relate directly to them, and to explain challenges and threats in a way that spurs constructive action.
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