Events Detail

The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) and the Hudson Institute Center for Political-Military Analysis is pleased to invite you to a Roundtable on Interagency Reform discussing a case study on "Failures at the Nexus of Health and Homeland Security: The 2007 Andrew Speaker Case" by Dr. Elin Gursky, Fellow and Principal Deputy for Biodefense at ANSER.

Friday, February 6, 2009; 3:00 - 4:30 PM

Please RSVP (affirmative replies only) by sending your name and current institutional affiliation to Richard Weitz at Weitz@hudson.org .

Location: Hudson Institute, Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center, 1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005

Natural disease outbreaks, emerging infections, and deliberate acts of bioterrorism represent significant and looming U.S. national security issues given their ability to overwhelm the health care system, disrupt economic flows as a result of decreased workforce productivity, and incite fear among affected populations. Detecting, controlling, and mitigating these events requires integrated capabilities and timely decision-making across many sectors and levels, including local, state, and federal government agencies. In 2007, a case of Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in one individual, Andrew Speaker, demonstrated faultiness in authority and communication among these bodies through their failure to deal effectively with a problem of public health importance on an international scale. This case study reviews the gaps in U.S. government strategies and processes that, if not addressed comprehensively within a national security context, will leave the country vulnerable as the world faces pandemics and a spectrum of biosecurity threats.

The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) is a non-partisan initiative that seeks to improve the U.S. Government's ability to integrate all elements of national power and more effectively respond to the strategic challenges of the 21st century.  The PNSR case studies inform the other analytic work of PNSR by highlighting recurring trends in how the U.S. national security system addresses complex national security problems.

Attendees at PNSR workshops may use the information as background, but may not identify the speaker, the other attendees, or PNSR itself or quote anything said at the event.

We hope that you can attend.

Richard Weitz, Ph.D., Head

Case Studies Working Group

Project on National Security Reform