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President Trump sent U.S. troops to the border with Mexico to supplement the work of authorities there. President Biden pledges a new approach as pressures mount along the boundary.
About the Expert
Expert Bio
Max Boot is a historian, best-selling author, and political commentator. He is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a columnist for the Washington Post.
Max Boot is the author of six books. The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam (Norton/Liveright, 2018), was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Biography. The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right (also 2018) was described as a “devastating dissection of conservatism’s degeneracy in America” by Andrew Sullivan in New York magazine. He is now writing a biography of Ronald Reagan: The Pragmatist: Ronald Reagan and the World He Made.
Boot has been a global affairs analyst for CNN, the op-ed editor of the Wall Street Journal, and a regular contributor to USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, and many other publications. He was a foreign policy adviser to John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2006, Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012, and Marco Rubio’s campaign in 2016. He has been described by the International Institute for Strategic Studies as one of the “world’s leading authorities on armed conflict,” and in 2018 he was named one of America’s “Great Immigrants” by the Carnegie Corporation.
Boot holds a bachelor’s degree in history, with high honors, from the University of California, Berkeley (1991), and a master’s degree in history from Yale University (1992). He was born in Moscow, grew up in Los Angeles, and now lives with his family in New York City.
Affiliations:
- Intelligence Squared US, board of directors
- Renew Democracy Initiative, board of directors
- Washington Post, columnist
Current Projects
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Panelists discuss the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September and its implications for the future of the country. The CFR Young Professionals Briefing Series provides an opportunity for those early in their careers to engage with CFR. The briefings feature remarks by experts on critical global issues and lessons learned in their careers. These events are intended for individuals who have completed their undergraduate studies and have not yet reached the age of thirty to be eligible for CFR term membership. Please note only U.S. citizens are eligible for CFR membership.
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Max Boot discusses his new book, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam.
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Joshua Kurlantzick discusses his new book, A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA.
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Experts discuss the Islamic State group and possible U.S. options in responding to the crisis in Iraq and Syria.
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Experts discuss latest developments in Iraq and options for dealing with them.
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Experts discuss managing risk in military planning, the effects of sequestration on defense, and tradeoffs between risk and available resources.
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5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Reception6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Meeting7:00 – 7:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception and Book signing