The geopolitics of energy
Join our Washington chief JT Taylor and special guest Dr. Scott Smitson for a dialogue on the impact multiple global conflicts have had on global commodities and energy. Smitson will give insight into where he sees new risks and opportunities in the energy and energy supply sector as well as recent maritime shipping and commerce disruptions resulting from the war in Gaza. We'll break the discussion into two segments allowing for Q+A:
Part 1. Effects of Ukraine War on Global Commodities
Part 2. Energy/Commodities Impacts of Gaza War
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2024 AT 11:00AM
CLICK HERE for event details
Dr. Scott Smitson
Dr. Scott A. Smitson is a Strategist, Global Futures Forecaster, Political Scientist, and Educator. Dr. Smitson is the Director of the Grand Strategy Program at Denison University and is a Chamberlain Fellow and Visiting Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. In his capacity as a geopolitical risk consultant, Dr. Smitson advises investors and private sector decision-makers in understanding the impact of geopolitics on the risks and opportunities in foreign markets, particularly at the interface of energy, finance, and international security. He is a retired US Army Officer, serving over twenty-one years on active duty in both combat arms and as an Army Strategist. As a Strategist, he led multi-disciplinary groups and facilitated senior leader decision-making by assessing, developing, and articulating policy, strategy, and plans at the national and international levels, all while integrating U.S. instruments of power, most especially defense, diplomacy, and development. His military career culminated in his assignment as the Strategy Branch Chief at USSOUTHCOM, where he served as the principal strategic advisor to the 4- Star Commander on matters directly impacting current operations and mid-to-long term national policy and strategy for U.S. military activity and operations across Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Dr. Smitson has also advised the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) on issues related to geostrategy and geoeconomics, and was the founding director of SOCOM's Center for Adaptative Innovative Statecraft, representing SOCOM at the 2022 NATO Summit.
In addition to a tour at the Pentagon as part of the Joint Staff, Dr. Smitson was a member of the US CENTCOM Commander’s Action Group (CAG), where he served as a Strategic Advisor for the previous CENTCOM Commander (present Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III). Dr. Smitson developed the military assurance options to Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) partners in support of the State Department-led P5+1 Iran nuclear program negotiations (JCPOA), as well as the development of the counter-ISIS strategy and military campaign plan. His operational experiences include deployments in support of Operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom, service as the UN Commander’s representative for Armistice issues in the Korean DMZ, and Company Command in 2nd Infantry Division. From 2013-2014, he was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow (CFR IAF) where he served as a US-UK Strategic Planner in the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.
ON THE HOUSE: Housing's Current & Future State With Ed Pinto OF AEI
Join us FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2 at 11:00AM EST for a frank and far-ranging discussion of the key topics impacting the current and future state of the U.S. Housing market.
CLICK HERE for event details (including video and materials link)*** Please send us your questions in advance. ***
About Edward Pinto:
Edward J. Pinto is a resident fellow and the director of the Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is currently researching how to increase the supply of economical housing for hourly wage earners, as well as examining the current house price boom that began in 2012. This continues his previous work on the role of federal housing policy in the 2008 mortgage and financial crisis. He is also researching the immediate and longer-term impacts of the pandemic.
Before joining AEI, Mr. Pinto was an executive vice president and chief credit officer for Fannie Mae until the late 1980s. Today, he is frequently interviewed on radio and television and often testifies before Congress. His writings have been published in trade publications and the popular press, including in the American Banker, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, and The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Pinto has a J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
