Vice Admiral Burkhalter opened the Roundtable with an informative look at the "big picture" -- the strategic environment in the post-Cold Warera and its implications for U.S. security interests.
Although no effort was made to reach a consensus or to adopt specific recommendations, the general sentiment appeared to be that the post-Cold Warera is increasingly characterized by portentous challenges and ominous instability.
The Center believes that the illusions of the fleeting "Post-Cold War" era must now be replaced with a more realistic view of Western security requirements in the Post-Kuwait world.