NEWPORT, R.I. - Dr. Bernard I. Finel, associate professor of national security strategy at the National War College, and Dr. Mark Jacobson, senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund, will discuss the United States' exit from Afghanistan on Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the DiStefano Lecture Hall.
Free and open to the public, "Exit from Afghanistan: A Conversation," is part of the Great Decisions lecture series sponsored by the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy and the Newport Council for International Visitors.
Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP by July 30 to pellcenter@salve.edu or (401) 341-2927.
Finel returned to the National War College faculty in 2010 after four years as a senior fellow and director of research at the American Security Project, where he conducted research on counterterrorism and defense policy. He has also served as professor of military strategy and operations at the war college and as executive director of the security studies program and the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University. He was on the visiting faculty of the School of Foreign Service and a member of the core faculty of the M.A. program in security studies.
Finel has published widely on international politics and security and is co-author and co-editor of two books: "Power and Conflict in the Age of Transparency" (2000) and "Ultimate Security: Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction" (2003). His research has been published in the journals Security Studies, International Security, Aerospace Power Journal, International Studies Quarterly, National Security Studies Quarterly, Armed Forces Journal and World Affairs.
A frequent media commentator on international developments, Finel holds a B.A. in international relations from Tufts University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University.
At the German Marshall Fund, Jacobson focuses on defense and security policy, specifically emerging threats and challenges. Prior to joining the fund, he served from August 2009 to July 2011 at the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan as both the deputy NATO senior civilian representative and the ISAF director of international affairs.
Jacobson previously served in several positions at the U.S. Department of Defense, as a visiting scholar for international security and public policy for The Ohio State University's Mershon Center, and on the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he was part of the chairman's oversight and investigations team. Jacobson's military service includes eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve, and he currently holds a commission as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He was mobilized to active duty to support military operations in Bosnia (1996) and Afghanistan (2006).
A frequent commentator for international media and a frequent speaker and lecturer on defense and national security issues, Jacobson holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, a master's degree from King's College in London and a Ph.D. in military history and strategic studies from The Ohio State University.