Soob

Politics, Foreign Policy, Current Events and Occasional Outbursts Lacking Couth

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The CNAS Sec. State Round Table

Yesterday (Sept. 15) CNAS (Center for a New American Security) hosted a round table discussion made up of 5 former US Secretaries of State:

Colin Powell

Henry Kissinger

Madeline Albright

Warren Christopher

James Baker

The bad news is CNAS' website has no transcript of the discussion. The good news is it will be broadcast on CNN on Sept. 20 at 9:00 pm and Sept. 22 at 2:00 pm. A snippet to illustrate what topics were discussed:

The Secretaries' unique discussion offered valuable insight to the national debate that is underway over the future direction of American global leadership and the role of diplomacy. The Secretaries discussed a broad range of U.S. foreign policy issues and domestic challenges that will confront the next American president including the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, strategic options for dealing with Iran, America's image abroad, global climate change, a resurgent Russia, the rise of India and China, and the U.S. economy. There was consensus among the Secretaries that the United States and the international community must work together to explore new areas of negotiation to confront the complex issues facing us today.

Looking forward to watching this.

3 comments:

Dan tdaxp said...

Fascinating!

It would also be interesting to compare a forum of former Secretaries of State to former Secretaries of the Treasury.

Jay@Soob said...

Indeed. Or Sec Def's. Or, let's fantasize here, the ultimate round table would consist of 1 US President from each century, 18th through 21st. Now that'd be something!

Anonymous said...

Methinks they had better explore new OPTIONS for the US to maneuver in the long run. It's DIME ( Diplomacy, Informational prowess, Military might, & Economic influence). It's not just havin' a hammer (military might) & usin' it in all situations. & at present, things are not lookin' too hopeful for the US.

MHO.