Monday, March 30, 2009, 3:00 pm — 4:30 pm

The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC

As President Barack Obama and NATO leaders join on April 3 and 4 to celebrate the Alliance’s 60th anniversary, they also must confront the daunting challenges facing NATO today. How should the Alliance proceed in Afghanistan, its largest ever military operation? How can NATO broaden its restored relationship with Russia while continuing to deepen its links with Ukraine and Georgia? As the Alliance begins to devise a new strategic concept, how should it balance its focus between preparing for expeditionary operations and meeting its collective defense obligations? How will France’s full return to NATO’s integrated military structure add to Alliance capabilities?

On March 30, the Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) at Brookings will hold a public event to preview President Obama’s first NATO summit. Daniel Hamilton, professor at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and Brookings experts Steven Pifer , Jeremy Shapiro and Justin Vaisse will describe the challenges facing the president and NATO. Brookings Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy Carlos Pascual will provide introductory remarks and moderate the discussion.

After the program, panelists will take questions from the audience.