Session 1 of the 2-part live interactive webinar.

The webinar will include a presentation and Q&A with Scott Ritter on May 2 and a discussion led by Thaddeus Russell on May 9 with special guest, James Carden.

As Russians and Ukrainians are fighting and dying over the existence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—the military alliance established at the beginning of the Cold War to “keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”—in this live interactive webinar Scott Ritter and Thaddeus Russell will place the war in context through an analysis of the founding, operations, and rapid expansion of the organization that became "Putin's worst nightmare."

Scott Ritter served as a Marine intelligence officer in the former Soviet Union, implementing arms control agreements, and on the staff of General Norman Schwartzkopf during the Gulf War, where he played a central role in the hunt for Iraqi SCUD missiles. From 1991 until 1998, he served as a Chief Inspector for the United Nations in Iraq, leading the search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and was one of the most prominent critics of the American decision to go to war with Iraq. Ritter rose to fame for correctly insisting that Iraq had no significant weapons of mass destruction when the Bush administration claimed otherwise. He has published eight books, including most recently Scorpion King: America's Suicidal Embrace of Nuclear Weapons from FDR to Trump.

Thaddeus Russell is the founder of Unregistered Academy, host of the Unregistered podcast, and author of a Renegade History of the United States. He received his PhD in United States history from Columbia University and taught history and international relations at Columbia, Barnard College, The New School for Social Research, and Occidental College. He is completing a history of American relations with the world for Grove Atlantic.

Recorded May 2, 2022