WikiLeaks Impact on U.S. Diplomacy to be Discussed Tuesday at Duke

The recent release of more than 250,000 secret diplomatic documents and its impact on U.S. diplomacy will be the topic for a panel discussion Tuesday, Dec. 7, at Duke University.

"Out of the Bag -- WikiLeaks and U.S. Diplomacy" will begin at noon in Room 153 of Rubenstein Hall, in the Sanford School of Public Policy. The hour-long event is free and open to the public.

The discussion will focus on the impact the leaks will have on U.S. foreign policy, the role of media in sharing the diplomatic cables, and how to balance the need for knowledge with the need for transparency.

Panelists are:

-- Philip Bennett, the Eugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy and former managing editor of The Washington Post who has been an editor of international and national security coverage, and a foreign correspondent;

-- Ambassador Patrick Duddy, the U.S. Department of State's Diplomat in Residence at the Duke University Center for International Studies (DUCIS), and one of the most senior Latin American specialists who has broad experience in trade, energy, public affairs and crisis management;

-- Peter Feaver, a political science and public policy professor as well as director of both the Triangle Institute for Security Studies and the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy. He formerly served on the White House's National Security Council;

-- and Gilbert Merkx, director of international and area studies at Duke, DUCIS director and a professor of the practice of sociology, who oversees numerous international and area studies programs.

The event is sponsored by the DUCIS, the DeWitt Wallace Foundation for Media and Democracy, Duke's American Grand Strategy Program and the Triangle Institute for Security Studies.