The morning after the Democratic presidential candidates face off in a debate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Brookings Institution and UNLV will jointly host an Opportunity 08 forum titled "National Security at Home and Abroad" featuring national foreign policy experts and political analysts. The forum will be held on Friday, November 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the UNLV Student Union Theatre, Room 111. ABC News political director David Chalian will moderate the forum.
Co-sponsors of the event include the Las Vegas Sun, KLAS-TV, Vegas One, UNLV's Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies, UNLV Television, Consolidated Students of the University of Nevada (CSUN), and the Association of Students in Communications (ASC).
Opportunity 08 is a project of the Brookings Institution in partnership with ABC News to help presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation. With national security and foreign policy issues weighing heavily on the voting public's mind, the Opportunity 08 forum at UNLV will provide voters in Nevada with an in-depth policy discussion on the challenges - and possible solutions to the challenges - that will confront our next President.
The event is open to the public. Tickets are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis at the CSUN table on the first floor of the UNLV Student Union from November 13 to 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A live Internet stream of the event will also be available to the public through a link on the Opportunity 08 website, www.opportunity08.org.
Brookings latest book, "Opportunity 08: Independent Ideas for America's Next President," will be unveiled at the Las Vegas forum. The new book offers innovative solutions to the issues facing the 2008 Presidential candidates, presented in 5000 word essays that provide a concise, yet thoughtful, overview of how to tackle pressing policy challenges. Part One of the book focuses on "Our World" and its topics include the challenge of dealing with Iran, the rise of China, climate change, oil dependence, Middle East peace and the future of Iraq. Part Two, "Our Society," takes a look at key domestic issues such as housing policy, poverty, inequality, upward economic mobility and voting reform. Part Three, "Our Prosperity," tackles vexing problems such as the budget deficit, health care access and quality, retirement security, and the challenge of strengthening information technology in the United States.
Forum Speakers and Participants to Include:
Strobe Talbott is president of the Brookings Institution and a former U.S. diplomat and deputy secretary of state in the Clinton administration.
Zoe Baird is the president of the Markle Foundation, a private philanthropy that focuses on using information and communications technologies to address critical public needs, particularly in the areas of health care and national security. She was associate counsel to President Jimmy Carter and an attorney in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Kenneth M. Duberstein is co-chair of the Brookings Institution Opportunity 08 project. He has served several presidents and administrations in a variety of capacities. Most notably, he was chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan and managed the transition of the presidency to President George H. W. Bush. He is currently chairman and CEO of the Duberstein Group.
Thomas E. Donilon is co-chair of the Brookings Institution Opportunity 08 project. He has been a senior advisor to Democratic presidents and presidential candidates for 20 years, and served as assistant secretary of state for public affairs and chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher during the Clinton administration. He is currently a partner at the international law firm of O'Melveny and Myers.
Martin Indyk is a Brookings senior fellow in Foreign Policy. A former ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs during the Clinton administration, Indyk directs the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.
Carlos Pascual is a Brookings vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings. A former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and senior director on the National Security Council staff, he focuses on post-conflict stabilization, international security policy, nonproliferation and economic development. Pascual served under Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and George W. Bush.
Peter Rodman is a Brookings senior fellow in Foreign Policy. He is an expert on regional policies relating to Europe, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Persian Gulf. A former assistant secretary of defense and advisor to the National Security Council and State Department, Rodman held posts in the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
For more information about Opportunity 08, visit www.opportunity08.org.
Media Credentials: For information and credential sign-up, contact Gian Galassi in the UNLV Office of Public Affairs at 702-895-3102, gian.galassi@unlv.edu. Credentials will be available for pick-up at the UNLV Student Union Theatre box office on Friday, November 16 starting at 7:30 a.m.
Media Contacts:
Brookings Office of Communications, 202-797-6105, communications@brookings.edu
UNLV Office of Public Affairs, Gian Galassi, 702-895-3102, gian.galassi@unlv.edu
The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. For more than 90 years, Brookings has analyzed current and emerging issues and produced new ideas that matter - for the nation and the world. For more information, visit www.brookings.edu or www.opportunity08.org.
