“Nuclear Security” topic of discussion at Knox County Great Decisions Foreign Policy Community Discussion

Fresh from the panic caused by an incoming missile false alarm in Hawaii, the Knox County Great Decisions community discussion group will focus on “Nuclear Security” on Monday, January 22, 6:30 p.m. at the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County, 201 N. Mulberry Street, Mount Vernon.

Nuclear nonproliferation is now front and center in the news with politicians, diplomats and world leaders trying to plan a course of action to ensure who will, who won’t and who shouldn’t have access to nuclear weapons capabilities. Debates continue on whether the Iran Deal was a diplomatic victory, while major threats persist from both state and non-state actors. Countries like North Korea, Russia, India, and Pakistan continue to challenge these efforts.

This month’s Great Decisions discussion group will look at the possibility that terrorists will carry out an attack using a “dirty bomb,” made from captured nuclear materials, what foreign policy actions and decisions can prevent or slow down terrorist activities and is a diplomatic solution possible. And in a fractious world, what might the future hold for the U.S. nuclear security policy.

This program will end the 2017 Great Decisions workbook and foreign policy discussion series. The Knox County Great Decisions group was formed last year and hosts monthly community discussions on foreign policy topics. The project is led by a volunteer community advisory group. Developed by the Foreign Policy Association (a national, independent, nonpartisan, non-governmental and nonprofit educational organization), the Great Decisions Discussion Program, formed in 1954, is the oldest and largest grass-roots world affairs educational program of its kind in the United States.

The program brings millions of Americans together in study groups to discuss, debate, and learn about foreign policy issues. Each year FPA publishes “Great Decisions,” a Briefing Book and a related DVD with PBS programs on eight foreign policy issues as the basis for these discussions.

The monthly discussion program is free to attend and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Copies of the 2017 Great Decisions workbook for the program are available at the Mount Vernon main library circulation desk. Limited copies of the 2017 workbook will also be available for purchase if participants would like to review topics from the past year.

Refreshments will be served. For more information, call the main library at 740-392-BOOK (2665), visit www.knox.net or email communityrelations@knox.net.