Editor's Note: We are pleased to feature this talk by Sir Lawrence Freedman, which took place this week at the British Embassy in Washington, DC.  Special thanks to the King's College London Alumni Office and the British Embassy.  The event was a part of Principal Rick Trainor's final tour of the United States before he ends his 10 year tenure at King's.    Sir Lawrence Freedman has been Professor of War Studies at King’s College London since 1982. He became head of the School of Social Science and Public Policy at King’s in 2000 and was appointed Vice-Principal in 2003.   Photo Credit: Cecil Stoughton, White House, 29 December 1962. President Kennedy is presented the flag of the 2506 Cuban Invasion Brigade. Miami, Florida, Orange Bowl Stadium.