Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, retired from the U.S. Army and chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, will present on policy challenges in intelligence in his talk “Why we don’t have it; How to get it” as part of the Penn State School of International Affairs’ spring colloquium: Current Policy Challenges. He will speak from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28, in room 012 Lewis Katz Building on the University Park campus of Penn State. This event is free and open to the public.
Wilkerson has criticized many aspects of the Iraq War, including his own preparation of Powell's presentation to the United Nations. He appears as a frequent republican commentator on The Ed Show with Ed Schultz on MSNBC commenting about the issues with the Republican Party.
Professor and U.S. Ambassador (Ret.) Dennis Jett, organizes the semester long event to bring thought leaders on topics ranging from food security to terrorism. The program features 14 speakers. Colloquium topics vary depending upon the current issues of the day. The course surveys some major transnational social problems confronting the world, suggested by the Copenhagen Consensus, such as: climate change; communicable diseases; conflict and arms proliferation; access to education; financial instability; governance and corruption; malnutrition and hunger; migration; sanitation and access to clean water; and subsidies and trade barriers. The course involves team teaching and guest lecturers. The course lectures are open to the public and made available via webcast.
In 1989, after 23 years in the U.S. Army, Wilkerson became the assistant to Colin Powell, who was then finishing his stint as National Security Advisor in the Reagan administration and moving to a position in the United States Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson. He continued this supporting role as Powell became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff through the Gulf War, following Powell into civilian life and then back into public service when President George W. Bush appointed Powell Secretary of State.
Wilkerson was responsible for a review of information from the Central Intelligence Agency that was used to prepare Powell for his February 2003 presentation to the United Nations Security Council. His failure to realize that the evidence was faulty has been attributed on the limited time (only one week) that he had to review the data.