Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Interested in defense and intelligence? Here's the club for you.

They have a commander-in-chief, secretary of defense and attorney-general. And they serve cookies at every meeting.

The Defense and Intelligence Club is a longstanding fixture among student organizations at SAIS Europe, no surprise given the level of interest here in global security, strategy and intelligence gathering.

"Through educational programs, social events and career panels, the D+I Club strives to be an inclusive meeting place for the open exchange of ideas among members of the SAIS community," said Meaghan Doherty, this year's D&I "commander-in-chief".

The club's first event was a screening of the film classic "La Bataille d'Alger", by Italian filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo, followed by a discussion led by Prof. William Belding.

Later this month club members will hold a career "sit-down" session with Prof. Gary Sick, a senior research scholar at Columbia University who is teaching a mini-course at the Bologna Center this autumn. They will be sure to quiz him on his service under U.S. Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan and his experience as the principal White House aide for Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the 1979-81 hostage crisis.

The D&I état-major:
Kandaswamy, Chase, Davie, Doherty, Vanella
The club currently has nearly 60 student members from various concentrations -- "Not just Strategic Studies," Doherty said. It is planning a panel featuring SAIS Europe students with experience in defense and intelligence, regular film nights, aperitivi with faculty and Skype conference calls with industry practitioners.

Joining Doherty in the club's general staff are Deputy Director Alix Davie, Secretary of Defense Jackie Chase, Attorney-General Anand Kandaswamy and General Counsel Mario Vanella.

Nelson Graves

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