Global Tennessee

Join us for our conversation about the Nashville Christmas Day bombing, and domestic and international terrorism.

At 6:28 a.m. a massive explosion ripped through a historic block of North Second Avenue in downtown Nashville. Among the first questions asked were who did it, why did they do it, and was it terrorism. That last question has become a quintessential element of mass violence in America. We may feel some relief when when a heinous act is not called terrorism, sadly, not that its horrific nature is lessened by its label but the implication that it's not part of a wider campaign.

Most bombings have been judged to be terrorism in that they have a political or ideological motivation. The Nashville bombing has yet to be labeled by law enforcement as such, not that the average citizen couldn't be forgiven for concluding the Christmas bombing was "terror" in their minds. [The distinction of an act of "terrorism" is not lost on the home owners and business people who may lose insurance coverage if December 25th was officially designated an act of terror.]

As the FBI continues the investigation into the Christmas bombing and we navigate the aftermath we will try to put it in the context of the threat of such violence from domestic and international sources. To do so TNWAC has invited Malcolm Nance, an expert in analyzing and countering terrorist violence. Nance literally wrote the book on it. A prolific author he produced the "Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities." He has also written extensively on combatting the Islamic State and on Russian hacking attacks on American cyber systems in furtherance of political and national security objectives. Nance's counter-terrorism activities include work in the field to combat terrorist activities.

Nance retired from the Navy after 20 years and promotion to Senior Chief Petty Officer. Among his post-military pursuits was work in preparing Navy special operations forces, SEALs and others, in methods to endure captivity at the hands of a new class of enemies like Al Qaeda militants. He also worked in security and intelligence activities in Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion. Along the way he became an expert on extremist threats in Iraq and literally wrote the book on ISIS producing a handbook that became a counter-terrorism bible. Nance’s research and writing about ISIS’ use of electronic media led to his dive into what was to emerge as a wide-ranging Russian information warfare capability and campaign.

Hosting the conversation with Malcolm Nance will be TNWAC's founding president and retired Navy Intelligence Officer, LCDR Patrick Ryan. Among his experiences working in Middle East affairs was assignment as chief of terrorism analysis at U.S. Central Command during the bombings of USMTM in Riyadh and the USAF barracks in al-Khobar. He completed his 26 years in the Navy in 1998, on a one-year, Intelligence Community research project into the emergence of the Al Qaeda threat.

A distinguished panel discussed the background and future challenges facing the United Nations on the occasion of the UN turning 75.

Welcome: Matthew Hughes, Executive Director, International Relations Council, Kansas City

Introduction: Patrick Ryan, President, Tennessee World Affairs Council

Keynote: Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering

Moderator: Joyce Davis, President, World Affairs Council of Harrisburg

Panel:

Hon Gérard Araud, former Ambassador of France to the United States and former Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations (Confirmed)

Linda Fasulo, NPR Correspondent at the UN, author “An Insider’s Guide to the UN” (Confirmed)

Samuel Rushay, Supervisory Archivist, Harry S. Truman Library and Museum (Confirmed)

Dustin Liu, UNA USA Youth Representative

Chief Operating Officer Kate Burke who oversaw the relocation of AB's New York office to Nashville joined former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 7pm CT on our "Global Nashville with Karl Dean" Webinar to talk about: the choice of Nashville for its corporate expansion, the company's international operations, and its integration into the fabric of the community. You are invited to join the conversation.

You may have seen the AllianceBernstein (AB) sign go up on the tower rising at Fifth+Broadway. The new permanent downtown offices for AB will complete the investment of $11.4 million and creation of 200 new jobs in Nashville, as noted by "BusinessFacilities.com." The expansion of the global financial firm that has approximately $623 million in assets under management and offices in 25 countries is one of Tennessee's most consequential economic development wins in recent years, according to Governor Bill Lee. He said, "The creation of hundreds of quality jobs will provide tremendous benefits to the entire Middle Tennessee region.”

The importance of the AB investment was echoed by TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe who said, "It’s hard to overstate how significant AB’s commitment to Nashville is for our state. Once fully operational, AB will have more than 1,250 employees here in Middle Tennessee, making it one of downtown Nashville’s largest employers. We’re incredibly honored that a company of this caliber has so quickly established deep roots in Tennessee and continues to create extremely well-paying and high-quality jobs in Nashville.”

"AllianceBernstein L.P. (AB) will invest $11.4 million and create 200 additional jobs at its global headquarters in Nashville, TN. The expansion will bring the global asset management firm’s planned investment in Nashville to more than $80 million. In May 2018, the company announced plans to relocate its headquarters from New York City to Nashville and bring 1,050 jobs to Middle Tennessee."

Business Facilities, January 14, 2020

Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.

Here’s our December 9th topics:

--2021 - What's in Store for America in the World

--Iran: Maximum Pressure at the Barrel of a Gun

--Brexit: Disorderly Conduct

Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence, along with a little fun and your questions.

Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.

Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.

Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.

Foreign Policy Challenges: Russia, North Korea, and Afghanistan – Panel Chair: Dr. Breck Walker, PhD

Panel Chair: Dr. Breck Walker, PhD

DAS Annie Pforzheimer [Afghanistan] U.S. Foreign Service (Ret) Rank of Minister Counselor, former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan; former Deputy Chief of Mission, Kabul, Afghanistan

Svetlana Savranskaya, PhD., [Russia] Senior Analyst, National Security Archive

Ambassador Christopher Hill [North Korea] U.S. Foreign Service (Ret); Chief Advisor to the Chancellor for Global Engagement; former Asst Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; former Ambassador to four countries including South Korea

TNWAC is launching our Election 2020 global awareness series as we prepare for the Presidential Debate hosted by our partner Belmont University on October 22nd.

TNWAC will present interviews and panels with distinguished specialists in international affairs to prepare voters with background and context on the critical issues they should know about the world.

TNWAC is a nonpartisan educational organization that seeks to educate the community on global affairs.

Global News Review - December 2, 2020

Special Edition

2021 - What's in Store for America in the World

With Special Guest Ambassador John Kornblum

Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs

And The Usual Gang of Three

Ambassador Charles (Dick) Bowers, U.S. Foreign Service (Retired)

Former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia

Dr. Breck Walker, Ph.D.

Historian of U.S. Foreign Policy

LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN(Ret)

Former Naval Intelligence Officer

Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.

Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.

Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.

Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.

Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.

Today we are going to check into the global response to the U.S. election.

Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.

Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.

Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.

Host:

• Karl Dean

Guests:

• Nawzad Hawrami

• Mohammad Kokoy

• Halmat Qazi

• Mrs. Dilman Yasin

• Abdulsattar Recany

Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.

Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.

Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.

Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.

Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.

Topics for November 18, 2020

1 – White House Transition: Global Reactions and Jiggery-Pokery

2 – Mammoth Asia-Pacific Trade Deal: America Outside, Looking In

3 - Peru’s Presidency Problems: Musical Chairs in Lima

Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.

Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.

Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.