This week in DC.

Monday, February 11

The Woodrow Wilson Center's (WWC) Kennan Institute
Discussion on "Systemic Transformations and the Drift Toward Fascism in Russia," with Alexander Motyl of Rutgers University.
Location: WWC, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.. 12 noon

The Woodrow Wilson Center (WWC)
Director's forum on "Finland's Foreign Policy: European Ambitions and Global Challenges," with Ilkka Kanerva, foreign minister of Finland and 2008 chairman in office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Minister Kanerva's will discuss his priorities for the OSCE and confronting global challenges in Kosovo and Afghanistan, and will also provide his views on Russia and its future developments. [Note: RSVP required to Maria-Stell.Gatzoulis@wilsoncenter.org]
Location: WWC, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.. 1 p.m.

The Heritage Foundation
Discussion on the "Anniversary of the Agreement to Denuclearize North Korea: Assessing the Six Party Talks." [Note: RSVP online: http://www.heritage.org]
Participants: Victor Cha, director of Asian studies and D.S. Song chair at Georgetown University; Michael Green, associate professor at Georgetown University and senior adviser and Japan chair of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Gordon Flake, executive director of the Mansfield Foundation; Alan Romberg, senior associate and director of the East Asia Program at the Henry Stimson Center; and Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow of Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation
Location: Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE, Lehrman Auditorium, Washington, D.C.. 2 p.m.

The Woodrow Wilson Center's (WWC) Asia Program and the Asia Society Washington
Book discussion on "Asia's New Regionalism."
Participants: Ellen Frost, visiting fellow of the Peter Peterson Institute for International Economics; and Tion Kwa, senior writer of the Straits Times and Asia Society fellow
Location: WWC, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.. 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, February 12

The National Press Club Morning Newsmaker Program
Discussion on "Russian Policies in Europe and the North Atlantic," with Vytautas Landsbergis, former head of state for the Republic of Lithuania and member of the European Parliament.
Location: National Press Club, 14th and F Sts., NW, Zenger Room, Washington, D.C.. 10 a.m.

Wednesday, February 13

Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Foreign Affairs Budget
Full committee hearing on "The President's Foreign Affairs Budget."
Witnesses: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies
Location: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building. 9:30 a.m.

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission)
Hearing to focus on Finland's plans and priorities as well as challenges confronting the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) in 2008 and beyond, "Finland's Leadership of the OSCE," with Finland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva.
Location: B-318 Rayburn House Office Building. 11 a.m.

The New America Foundation (NAF)
Discussion on the book, "How We Missed the Story of Afghanistan: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan." [Note: RSVP to communications@newamerica.net with your name, affiliation and contact information.]
Participants: Roy Gutman, author and foreign editor of McClatchy Newspapers; and Peter Bergen, Schwartz senior fellow at NAF and terrorism analyst at CNN
Location: NAF, 1630 Connecticut Ave., NW, 7th Floor, Washington, D.C.. 12:15 p.m.

The Center for National Policy
Discussion on "Opinions of the U.S. in the Islamic World." [Note: RSVP online: http://www.cnponline.org]
Participants: James Zogby of the Arab American Institute; and Dalia Mogahed of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies
Location: Center for National Policy, 1 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Third Floor, Suite 333, Washington, D.C.. 12:30 p.m.

House Foreign Affairs Committee
International Relations Budget
Full committee hearing on the "International Relations Budget for FY2009."
Witnesses: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies
Location: TBA. 2:30 p.m.

The Johns Hopkins University Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Discussion on "Gawadar Deep Sea Port: A New Transformation Hub for Central Asia" with Mahmud Ali Durrani, ambassador of Pakistan to the U.S. The Gawadar Deep Sea Port is off the coast of Pakistan. [Note: The public should RSVP to 202-663-7723 or caci2@jhu.edu]
Location: SAIS, Rome Building, 1619 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.. 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 14

Senate Armed Services Committee
Afghanistan Strategy
Full committee hearing on the strategy in Afghanistan and recent reports by the Afghanistan Study Group and The Atlantic Council of the United States.
Witnesses: Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher; a representative from the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy; and a representative from the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Location: 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building. 9:30 a.m. [Note: There will be a second session on February 14, with different witnesses starting at 2:30 p.m.]

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Defeating al Qaeda
National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on "Six Years Later (Part III): Innovative Approaches to Defeating al Qaeda."
Witnesses: TBA
Location: 2247 Rayburn House Office Building. 10 a.m. [Note: Part one of this hearing took place on October 10, and part two of this hearing took place on November 6.]

Senate Armed Services Committee
Afghanistan Strategy (Part II)
Full committee hearing on the strategy in Afghanistan and recent reports by the Afghanistan Study Group and The Atlantic Council of the United States. (Part Two)
Witnesses: Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, president and CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, United States Chamber of Commerce, and chairman of the board of directors of The Atlantic Council of the United States; and Karl Inderfurth, professor of the practice of international affairs at George Washington University
Location: 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building. 2:30 p.m.

Friday, February 15

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI)
Discussion on "The Implications of Kosovo's Independence for U.S. Foreign Policy." [Note: Register online: http://www.aei.org/event1668]
Participants: Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton; Gary Schmitt of AEI; and Bruce Jackson of the Project on Transitional Democracies
Location: AEI, 1150 17th St., NW, Wohlstetter Conference Center, 12th Floor, Washington, D.C.. 2:30 p.m.

The Johns Hopkins University Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Discussion on "The Power of Elections" as a part of the Year of Elections and Foreign Policy series. [Note: The public should RSVP to 202-663-5636 or saisevents@jhu.edu]
Participants: Francis Fukuyama, director of the SAIS International Policy Program; Ruth Wedgwood, director of the SAIS International Law and Organizations Program; Sunil Khilnani, director of the SAIS South Asia Studies Program; and David Lampton, director of the SAIS China Studies Program and dean of faculty
Location: SAIS, Rome Building, 1619 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Rome Building Auditorium, Washington, D.C.. 5 p.m.