The Council on Foreign Relations launched the Independent Task Force Program in 1995 with a Task Force on nuclear nonproliferation, chaired by Stephen J. Hadley, who most recently served as the national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration. More than fifty reports later, Task Forces have become a trademark of the Council.
The Council sponsors an Independent Task Force when an issue of current and critical importance to U.S. foreign policy arises, and it seems that a group diverse in backgrounds and perspectives may nonetheless be able to reach a meaningful consensus on a policy through private and nonpartisan deliberations. Once formed, Task Forces are independent. Task Force chairs, directors, and members are solely responsible for the content of their reports.
As Task Forces are intended to help shape the public debate on critical foreign policy issues, the Council mobilizes its resources to maximize the impact of Task Force reports, both at the time of the initial release and as developments warrant. In addition to media outreach, the Council supports the efforts of Task Force chairs and members to reach influential practitioners in the executive branch, in Congress, and beyond.
For a complete list of Council-sponsored Independent Task Force reports online, click here.
For more information on Independent Task Forces, please contact Anya Schmemann, director of the Task Force program, at 202-509-8419 or aschmemann@cfr.org, or Kristin Lewis, program coordinator, at 202-509-8455 or klewis@cfr.org.
March 17, 2009—Present
| Chairs: | Charles L. (Jack) Pritchard, President, Korea Economic Institute John H. Tilelli Jr., Chairman and CEO, Cypress International |
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| Director: | Scott A. Snyder, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Korea Studies |
The Council on Foreign Relations has convened a new Independent Task Force on U.S. policy toward the Korean peninsula, chaired by Charles L. (Jack) Pritchard, former special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, and John H. Tilelli, Jr., former commander-in-chief of the United Nations Command, Republic of Korea/U.S. Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea.
The Task Force aims to assess U.S. policy toward both North and South Korea and craft an integrated approach to the peninsula as a whole. In its analysis, the Task Force will consider prospects for bilateral and multilateral diplomacy with North Korea, the stability of the North Korean regime, U.S. military and economic ties to South Korea, and the implications of internal changes in both Koreas for regional security in Asia.
Scott A. Snyder, adjunct senior fellow for Korea Studies at the Council, serves as the project director. The group convened for the first time in March 2009, and aims to produce a report in early 2010.
June 25, 2009—Present
| Chairs: | Richard L. Armitage, President, Armitage International, L.C. Samuel R. Berger, Chairman, Albright Stonebridge Group |
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| Director: | Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia |
The Council has convened a new Independent Task Force on Pakistan and Afghanistan, chaired by former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage and former national security adviser Samuel R. Berger. The Task Force aims to assess current U.S. policy toward South Asia and make recommendations on how to meet the urgent and long-term challenges the United States faces in the region. In its analysis, the Task Force will consider the conduct of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, non-military assistance strategies, the Pakistani nuclear program, prospects for strengthening and reforming political leadership and governance, and the role of regional and global actors and institutions.
Daniel Markey, senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, serves as the project director. The group aims to produce a report in early 2010.
The report of this bipartisan Task Force of distinguished leaders and experts represents a strong consensus on the importance of repairing America's immigration policy. It makes the case that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants, and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
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