In early July, IWP’s founder and president Dr. John Lenczowski visited the Polish capital of Warsaw and attended a variety of events surrounding the NATO Warsaw Summit and the associated Warsaw Summit Experts’ Forum. In attendance with him were a variety of distinguished political, military, and private sector figures, including Polish President Andrzej Duda; former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) General Philip Breedlove (USAF, Ret.); former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.
Dr. Lenczowski gave a three-part presentation at the Forum. The first segment covered Russia’s so-called “hybrid warfare” strategy. Hybrid warfare is Moscow’s signature approach to sowing discord within NATO and Russia’s near abroad that involves a variety of components such as disinformation, propaganda, information warfare, and the covert use of military forces – both conventional and non-conventional.
The second part of the presentation covered the Islamic State (IS) and its use of propaganda and attempts to draw Western citizens to the jihad. The third component of the presentation covered what the U.S. and NATO could do to address these situations. Dr. Lenczowski also gave a special presentation on these issues to senior Polish defense officials.
Before starting and leading IWP, Dr. Lenczowski worked in the State Department’s Bureau of European Affairs. It was during this time that he served as a special Soviet affairs adviser to President Ronald Reagan.