Friday Media Conference Call: NATO, Russia and Missile Defense

RAND NATO experts Stephen Larrabee and Christopher Chivvis are conducting a media conference call on Friday, May 18, 2012, to discuss the future of a European-based missile defense system and other key issues to be addressed at the NATO summit in Chicago.

They can discuss a variety of issues related to the summit, including:

• Is a NATO-supported missile defense system good for the United States?
• Is it possible Russia can support the deployment of such a system?
• After its success in Libya, why is the alliance hesitating with Syria?
• What did NATO learn from its mission in Libya?
• What does new French President Hollande's election mean for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, and NATO in general?
• If discussions about Georgia and Ukraine are not at the forefront, what could this mean for NATO's relationship with the two nations?

WHAT:	Media conference call
WHEN:	2 p.m. ET, Friday, May 18, 2012
WHO:	Stephen Larrabee holds the RAND Distinguished Chair in European Security and formerly served on the U.S. National Security Council staff as a specialist on Soviet-East European affairs and East-West political-military relations. He is author of "Putin's NATO dis: Cold winds from Moscow," which appears in Thursday's Chicago Tribune. Christopher Chivvis is a RAND political scientist who was responsible for the NATO-Russia portfolio in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2010-2011. He is the author of "Recasting NATO's Strategic Concept: Possible Directions for the United States" and a forthcoming book that examines NATO's 2011 intervention in Libya.