Program archives

Major General Carl Freeman served as the 21st Chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board, the world's oldest collective security organization, from July 2000 to July 2004, and concurrently as President of the Inter-American Defense College located in Washington, DC. He retired from the US Army in July 2004 following a distinguished 35-year career of service to our nation and to the people of the Western Hemisphere. General Freeman served numerous assignments in Latin America, including in Mexico and Panama, and he gained a reputation as a staunch advocate of civilian control of the armed forces. General Freeman has served as a member of the International Advisory Board to the Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces in Geneva since 2001. He is a graduate of Lafayette College, holds an MA in Latin American Studies, and is a graduate of the Mexican War College as well as the US Army War College.

General Freeman will discuss a number of topics, including: challenges to democratic governments and institutions; poverty--particularly uneven economic development, globalization, and a growing public dissatisfaction with promises unfulfilled; social unrest resulting from a lack of equal treatment before the law; the deadly nexus between illicit drugs, organized crime, trafficking in arms and people, corruption and international terrorism; an examination of how the Cold war era concept of collective security has gradually given way to an emphasis on cooperative security; and the need for a significantly more integrated, holistic approach to counter the new threats to security.