Since its inception the IISS has held an annual conference for its members drawn from around the world. The IISS Annual Conferences have become known for their global perspective and diverse participation.
In 2002 the Institute restyled these events Global Strategic Reviews, with the aim of underscoring the Institute’s role in setting the intellectual agenda and helping to establish the terms of the international debate on key strategic issues.
The 2003 GSR took place from Friday 12 - Sunday 14 September at the Lansdowne Resort just outside Washington DC. It aimed to set the intellectual agenda of strategic priorities and concerns for the coming year and addressed three principal issues: the changing shape of the Middle East, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the debate over new strategic doctrines.
The keynote address on Friday evening was given by US Senator Chuck Hagel, R-NE (pictured below). Chuck Hagel is the Senior Senator from Nebraska and sits on three committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and the Select Committee on