For those of you in the Washington, D.C. area, we will be hosting a gathering of some of the nation's leading diplomatic and military affairs journalists and other policy practitioners to hear former State Department Chief-of-Staff (2002-2005), Col. Lawrence Wilkerson.

Larry spoke at our mega-conference in September and gave some pretty straight talk about what he saw as deficits in America's national security portfolio. His speech then is available at the America's Purpose website.

Today, Wilkerson is going to be addressing the Bush administration's national secutiy decision-making "process." I am going to wait to hear what he says today -- but my hunch is that he is going to blow the roof off the subject and argue that the administration's preference for 'secretive cabals' have led the nation and the President down some very bad paths.

This event today is part of an ongoing series of programs that I have helped organize on American national security strategy and policy. Al Jazeera chief terrorism investigative correspondent Yosri Fouda was the last speaker, and these sessions seem to be stirring up the right kind of dust.

More later.

-- Steve Clemons