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Global Security Leaders Gather in Halifax for 4th Annual Security Forum

Leaders and experts will discuss the US presidential election, Syria, China, and more—full conference streamed live HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, November 15, 2012—Leaders from more than 50 countries will gather November 16-18 at the Halifax International Security Forum to discuss pressing security issues, including the impact of the American presidential election on the rest of the world, the turmoil in Syria, the continued rise of China, energy security, cybersecurity and modern warfare. Beginning Friday, November 16, Halifax will welcome Canadian Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay, a congressional delegation led by U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Mark Udall (D-CO); Alison

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2011 Agenda

FRIDAY     SATURDAY     SUNDAY

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18


15:00-15:45 INTRODUCTION
Mr. Peter Van Praagh, President, Halifax International Security Forum
OPENING SPEECH
The Hon. Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, Canada
KEYNOTE SPEECH
The Hon. Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, United States
16:15-17:30 PLENARY 1: WHAT’S CHANGED SINCE 9/11?: OUR ENEMIES? OURSELVES? THE WORLD?
Mr. Zaffar Abbas, Editor-in-Chief, Dawn
Mr. Francis Delon, Secretary General for National Defense, France
Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter, Bert G. Kerstetter ‘66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
The Hon. Mark Udall, Senator, United States
MODERATOR: Mr. Gideon Rose, Editor, Foreign Affairs
18:00-19:00 RECEPTION
19:00-21:00 GALA DINNER
21:30-23:00 NIGHT OWLS
1. The Chinese Century: Do We Prepare? Or Can We Prevent?  
The Hon. Peter Jennings, Deputy Secretary for Strategy, Australian Department of Defence
The Hon. Song Min-soon, Member, National Assembly, South Korea
MODERATOR: Mr. Tom Clark, Chief Political Correspondent, Global News
2. Iran: Pivot of the Middle East?
Dr. Shlomo Avineri, Professor of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo, Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto
Mr. Alireza Nader, International Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation
MODERATOR: Ms. Nazanin Afshin-Jam, President and Co-Founder, Stop Child Executions
3. Beyond Borders: Transnational Trafficking and Crime
Major General Antony Bertram Anderson, Chief of Defence Staff, Jamaica
The Hon. Dragan Šutanovac, Minister of Defense, Serbia
The Hon. Victor Toews, Minister of Public Safety, Canada
MODERATOR: Ms. Helga Flores Trejo, Nonresident Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe, The Brookings Institution

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19


8:30-9:45 PLENARY 2: WHAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT: WHEN? WHERE? WHOM?
Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, Combined Joint Task Force Commander, Operation Unified Protector, NATO
Dr. Camille Grand, Executive Director, The Foundation for Strategic Research, France
The Hon. Suat Kınıklıoğlu, AK Party Central Executive Board Member, Turkey
The Hon. Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, Canada
MODERATOR: Ms. Raghida Dergham, Columnist and Senior Diplomatic Correspondent, Al Hayat
10:15-11:30 PLENARY 3: SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK: REVOLUTIONS AND THEIR REMAINS
Sheik Mohammed Abu Luhoum, Head, Justice and Building Party, Yemen
Mr. David Kramer, President, Freedom House
Mr. Paul Salem, Director, Carnegie Middle East Center, Lebanon
Dr. Radwan Ziadeh, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies
MODERATOR: Ms. Kathleen Koch, Author and Journalist
12:00-13:15 PLENARY 4: 问题是经济,笨蛋。 (It’s the Economy, Dumb Eggs)
Mr. James Hoge, Chairman, Human Rights Watch
Mr. Alan Mendoza, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Henry Jackson Society
The Hon. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Distinguished Statesman, Center for Strategic and International Studies
MODERATOR: The Hon. Pamela Wallin, Chair, Senate National Security and Defence Committee, Canada
14:30-15:00 HALIFAX CHAT
The Hon. Ehud Barak, Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, Israel
MODERATOR: Mr. Robin Shepherd, Director, International Affairs, Henry Jackson Society
15:00-16:00 PLENARY 5: THE UNITED STATES IN 2012: SUPER POWER, SUPER ENABLER OR STAY AT HOME PARENT?
The Hon. John McCain, Senator, United States
The Hon. Mark Udall, Senator, United States
MODERATOR: Mr. Jonathan Tepperman, Managing Editor, Foreign Affairs 
16:30-17:45 PLENARY 6: BUT, CAN WE AFFORD IT? SMART SECURITY IN THE AGE OF LESS
Gen. Stéphane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, NATO
The Rt. Hon. Dr. Liam Fox, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
The Hon. Swanee Hunt, Chair, Institute for Inclusive Security
The Hon. Ljubica Jelušič, Minister of Defense, Slovenia
The Hon. Jeanne Shaheen, Senator, United States
MODERATOR: Ms. Jeanne Meserve, Member, George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute and Aspen Institute’s Homeland Security Advisory Group
19:30-21:30 SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER SESSIONS
1. China: As Told By Its Neighbors
The Hon. Luvsanvandan Bold, Minister of Defense, Mongolia
Vice Adm. P.S. Das, Executive Council, Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, India
HOSTED BY: Mr. Richard McGregor, Financial Times
2. Federal Europe or Failed Europe
The Hon. Ján Kubiš, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The Hon. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Distinguished Statesman, Center for Strategic and International Studies
HOSTED BY: Mr. Bruce Jackson, Founder andPresident, Project on Transitional Democracies
3. Friendship First: North America in the World
The Hon. David Jacobson, Ambassador of the United States to Canada
The Hon. Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, Canada
The Hon. Julian Ventura, Undersecretary for North American Affairs, Mexico
HOSTED BY: Mr. Ron Covais, Senior Partner, Détente Group
4. Fukushima Follow-up: The Future of Nuclear Power
Mr. Martin Klingst, Washington Bureau Chief, Die Zeit
The Hon. Kazuo Sunaga, Director General for International Affairs, Ministry of Defense
HOSTED BY: Mr. W. Bruce Weinrod, Distinguished Research Fellow, National Defense University
5. Insights From Israel
The Hon. Ehud Barak, Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, Israel
HOSTED BY: Mr. Jonathan Weisstub, Chairman of the Board, Halifax International Security Forum
6. Iraq: Mission Accomplished (?)
Mr. Michael Hastings, Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone
Ms. Nancy Youssef, Chief Pentagon Correspondent, McClatchy’s Newspapers
HOSTED BY: Mr. Joseph Wood, Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States
7. Northern Exposure: What’s at Stake in the Arctic
Gen. Walter Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff, Department of National Defence, Canada
HOSTED BY: Dr. David Bercuson, Senior Research Fellow, Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute, University of Calgary
8. People’s Choice: Security Policy and Public Opinion Polls
Mr. Darrell Bricker, Chief Executive Officer, Ipsos Public Affairs
Mr. Peter Brodnitz, Principal, Benenson Strategy Group
HOSTED BY: Mr. John Glenn, Policy Director,U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
9. Perfume Not Poppies: Investing in Post-Conflict Societies
Mr. Scott Gilmore, Founder and Executive Director, Peace Dividend Trust
Ms. Barb Stegemann, Chief Executive Officer, The 7 Virtues Beauty, Inc.
HOSTED BY: Ms. Shari Bryan, Vice President, The National Democratic Institute
10. Protecting Information: Too much (Cyber)Security or Too Much (Cyber)Space
Mr. Rafal Rohozinski, Principal, The SecDev Group
Mr. Marc Goodman, Senior Fellow, Canada Centre for Global Security Studies and the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
HOSTED BY: Dr. Paul Cornish, Professor ofInternational Security, University of Bath
11. Putin Part 2: The Empire Strikes Back
Mr. IIgar Mammadov, Chairman, Republicanist Alternative (REAL) Movement, Azerbaijan
The Hon. Vasil Sikharulidze, Chairman, Atlantic Council of Georgia
HOSTED BY: Mr. David Kramer, President, Freedom House
12. Texting for Change: Rise of Non-Governmental Actors
Mr. Scott Carpenter, Principal, Google Ideas
Mr. Eric Nonacs, Vice President for Alliances and Partnerships, Skoll Global Threats Fund
HOSTED BY: Ms. Heather Hurlburt, Executive Director, National Security Network
13. Today’s Technologies, Tomorrow’s Battles, and the Laws that (Try To) Govern Them
Gen. Stéphane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, NATO
Brigadier General Blaise Cathcart, Judge Advocate General, Canadian Armed Forces
HOSTED BY: Mr. Dixon Osburn, Director of the Lawand Security Program, Human Rights First
14. Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Etc.
Dr. Payam Akhavan, Associate Professor,McGill University
The Hon. Paul von Maltzahn, Executive Vice-President, German Council on Foreign Relations
Mr. Nadim Houry, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Section, Human Rights Watch
HOSTED BY: Mr. Leslie Campbell, Senior Associate and Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa Programs, The National Democratic Institute
15. Turkey Dinner
Ms. Smadar Perry, Journalist, Israel
Mr. Michael Werz, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
HOSTED BY: Ms. Diba Nigar Göksel, Editor-in-Chief, Turkish Quarterly

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20


9:00-10:15 BREAKFAST SESSIONS
1. Pakistan: Serial Proliferator or Serious Partner?
Mr. Francois Géré, Director, French Institute for Strategic Analysis
The Hon. Said Tayeb Jawad, Chief Executive Officer, Capitalize LLC
The Hon. Kurt Volker, Managing Director, International, BGR Group
MODERATOR: Mr. Ishaan Tharoor, Writer/Editor, TIME 
2. Fixing the Fixable: Middle East Peace
The Hon. Said Abu-Ali, Minister of the Interior, Palestinian National Authority
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Amos Gilad, Director of Policy and Political Military Affairs, Israel
MODERATOR: Mr. Randy Scheunemann, Owner and President, Orion Strategies
3. Hemispherics: The Americas in the World
Mr. Ian Brodie, Strategic Advisor, Inter- American Development Bank
Ms. Helga Flores Trejo, Nonresident Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe, The Brookings Institution
The Hon. Julian Ventura, Undersecretary for North American Affairs, Mexico
MODERATOR: Mr. Michael Werz, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
10:30-11:45 PLENARY 7: MY KIND OF NATO?: CHICAGO 2012
Mr. James Appathurai, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, NATO
The Hon. Gerald Howarth, Minister for International Security Strategy, Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom
Mr. Bruce Jackson, Founder and President, Project on Transitional Democracies
MODERATOR: Ms. Mercedes Stephenson, Reporter, CTV News Channel
12:15-13:30 PLENARY 8: IT’S THAT TIME: SHARING GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
Mr. Mobasshar Javed Akbar, Editorial Director, India Today 
Mr. Hakan Altinay, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
The Hon. Masafumi Ishii, Ambassador for Policy Planning and International Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
Dr. Joanisval Brito Gonçalves, Senior Counselor for Foreign Affairs and Defense, Senate of Brazil
MODERATOR: Mr. Steve Clemons, Washington Editor-at-Large for The Atlantic and Editor-in-Chief of AtlanticLIVE