Cohen-Nunn Dialogues

The Cohen-Nunn Dialogues were a series of public roundtable discussions designed to focus Americans on the seminal issues that the United States must face.

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen, who is a member of the Board of Trustees at CSIS, and former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn, who is the chairman of the Board of Trustees at CSIS, joined together for a series of public roundtable discussions designed to focus Americans on the seminal issues that the United States must face. The Dialogues features top thought leaders, public policy experts, prominent journalists, and leading scholars. The purpose of this series was not to replace the 2008 presidential campaign debate, but to supplement it.

The two men discussed the project in greater detail in an op-ed they wrote for the Boston Globe and in an appearance on Charlie Rose.

• "Changing Our Direction," Boston Globe, Dec. 30, 2007
• "A Conversation with Sam Nunn and William Cohen,” Charlie Rose Show, Feb. 13, 2008

The first event, held on March 12, at George Washington University, explored, "America’s Role in the World." The panelists were:

• Christiane Amanpour, Chief International Correspondent, CNN
• Andrew Kohut, President, Pew Research Center
• Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC, Ret., and former Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Comman

The Cohen-Nunn Dialogues are co-sponsored by CSIS and the Howard Gilman Foundation.