The following was first published by CNP Online on April 23, 2009

On April 23, CNP Vice President Scott Bates participated in a State Department briefing for foreign journalists on the role of think tanks in Washington, DC. Bates discussed the Center's dedication to fostering bipartisan dialogue and bringing together voices across the political spectrum, and how this is achieved through roundtable discussions, public forums, outreach to Capitol Hill and policy experts from other branches of the government as well as think tanks, academia and industry.

He highlighted CNP's Nuclear Security Studies Group as an example of how bringing together a bipartisan group of Members of Congress to discuss arguably one of the most pressing national security threats to the United States – nuclear security – resulted in the formation of the Nuclear Security Caucus in the House of Representatives. Bates also went through the range of voices included in CNP's defense report Agility Across the Spectrum: A Future Force Blueprint in order to produce a comprehensive look at the major topics of the defense reform debate.

Bates also spoke about CNP's mission to not only serve as a resource for policy makers, but also a forum where they can come discuss and debate ideas on a range of national security issues.