Please join us for a special, exclusive event featuring Lt. Tom Schram, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer, who specializes in the study and reporting on national security and political-economic events in China, the Western Pacific, the Middle East, and Afghanistan.
Thursday, November 18 at 6:30PM EST (Zoom)
The disaster and chaos in Afghanistan just keep getting worse. With the government unable to pay its bills, the infrastructure crumbling, the ruthless treatment of remaining Afghans who could not escape during the U.S./NATO airlift, the ruling Taliban are finding it complex and difficult to govern and manage as they change from fighting a war to state building, all in a failing economy with no workable financial system in place.
The Taliban’s approach to government has been and continues to be a strict Sharia law under a vicious theocracy. Their merciless approach to those not conforming exactly to these beliefs knows no mercy for those left behind following the U.S. departure. Women’s rights are almost non-existent.
Our evening presentation will touch on the history of the region, previous conquests, topographic challenges, war after 9/11, the evacuation debacle and the poor planning decisions by National Command Authority. Last but not least, our speaker will discuss the strategic implications for the U.S. and the world going forward.
Our Presenting Guest Speaker
Tom Schram holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the United States Naval Academy, Class of 1969. Tom also has an MBA degree in marketing and finance from the Shidler School of Business, University of Hawaii. He was commissioned in the Navy’s Restricted Line and served 7.5 years as a special intelligence officer in the Naval Security Group. He was stationed in both Japan and Okinawa while serving on multiple deployments. In 1973, he was assigned to NSGA Anchorage, AK as Executive Officer. He resigned his commission in late 1976.
His specialty was electronic intelligence collection while serving in the Naval Security Group. He played a role in the Saigon evacuation in 1975. After leaving the Navy, he had an eclectic career starting with Procter & Gamble where he worked in manufacturing, research & development, advertising brand management, and sales. He was a co-owner of an advertising agency that he helped grow from $2M/year in revenue to $12M over five years. He ran a ballistics research firm for eight years, helped start a microbrewery and led an Internet security firm who had developed an unbreakable firewall.
Tom’s innovative approach in each of his endeavors led to patents and unique business opportunities. However, he never lost his interest in discovering and publishing about world events. For the past twenty years, he has been deeply involved in studying and reporting on geopolitical events around the world with special focus on the Middle East, Afghanistan, and China. His resurgence in learning about all things geopolitical began on 9/11/2001 when he lost his very close friend and USNA classmate in the South Tower of the World Trade Center during the attack on America. Most recently, Tom played a direct role in assisting 757 Afghan refugees flee in the recent aftermath of the Taliban takeover and is now currently assisting another group of refugees who desperately need to evacuate Afghanistan.
Wendy Cutler is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. In these roles, she focuses on building ASPI’s presence in the nation’s capital and on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade, investment and innovation, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia.
