October 2008

GW Hosts Secretaries of State in Historic Forum Offering Advice to the Next President

Professors Frank Sesno, Karl Inderfurth Instrumental in Creating Roundtable

Five former secretaries of state drew on a wealth of experience in offering foreign policy recommendations to the next president of the United States on everything from climate change to dealing with rogue nations at “The Next President: A World of Challenges,” a forum at Lisner Auditorium on Sept. 15.

The program, presented before 1,500 GW students, faculty, staff, and dignitaries, and broadcast on CNN Sept. 20 and 21, was the culmination of a year of collaborative planning led by Frank Sesno, director of GW’s Public Affairs Project and CNN special correspondent, and Amb. Karl F. Inderfurth, John O. Rankin Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and former assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs in the Clinton administration.

W. Russell Ramsey, B.B.A. ’81, chairman of GW’s Board of Trustees, welcomed and introduced the panel at the start of the program. Madeleine K. Albright, James A. Baker III, Warren Christopher, Henry A. Kissinger, and Colin L. Powell—who have a com¬bined 40 years of experience as the nation’s top diplomat—discussed a wide range of hot-button issues with moderators Sesno and Christiane Amanpour, CNN chief international correspondent.

In a forum characterized by bipartisan consensus, the secretaries agreed that the next president must seek greater international cooperation and multilateralism. “There will be a tremendous number of challenges and opportunities, and it is very important for us to give a sense of community,” said Sec. Albright. “The issues out there can only be solved in cooperation with other countries.”

When Amanpour noted that international regard for the United States is at an all-time low, Sec. Baker pointed to closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp as essential to restoring America’s prestige. “It’s a very serious blot on our reputation,” said Sec. Baker, emphasizing that all five former secretaries of state agreed on the point. Sec. Christopher also urged the next president to outlaw torture “in a meaningful way.”

The secretaries discussed the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia, advising the next president to approach the former Soviet Union with caution. Sec. Kissinger warned against making the United States’ entire relationship with Russia dependent on Georgia, while Sec. Powell called Russia’s use of force “brutal” but also criticized Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili’s provocation as “foolhardy.”

On the issue of Iran, all agreed on the necessity of engagement to defuse a possible nuclear crisis. When it came to neighboring Iraq, Sec. Christopher urged the next president to focus on political reconciliation. Sec. Baker also advocated engaging Syria in an effort to salvage the Middle East peace process. “I think it’s ridiculous for us to say that we don’t talk to Syria,” he said.

Sec. Albright urged a more regional, rather than strictly county-by-country, approach to diplomacy. “We need to look at the problems in a larger context.”
Spearheading an international effort to curb global warming was a unanimous recommendation for the next president. “The United States needs to lead the charge for global climate change,” said Sec. Baker.

Sec. Powell noted a shift in the balance of international power. “Recently other nations in the world are experiencing their economic strengths rising and political influence rising,” he said. “I don’t think we should be afraid or see that as a threat to the United States.”

Sec. Albright added, “I think an important issue to all of us is for the next president to select a secretary of state who has a lot of energy, who wants to go to all these different countries, and is committed to a bipartisan foreign policy.”

Dr. Inderfurth explains the catalyst for the forum was a 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Survey that found America’s reputation in the world had fallen to its lowest point ever. He worked with Sesno; Michael E. Brown, dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs; Lee W. Huebner, director of GW School of Media and Public Affairs; and Derek Chollet of the Center for a New American Security, to bring the secretaries to GW to discuss how to restore the nation’s image.

Program sponsors included GW’s Public Affairs Project at the School of Media and Public Affairs, Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, the Center for a New American Security, the Elliott School of International Affairs, and the City College of New York’s Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies.
“In every way the event exceeded our hopes and expectations for a serious and lively discussion of the world of challenges facing the next president and what he should do about them,” said Dr. Inderfurth. “As Sec. Albright so correctly observed, it illustrated to America and the rest of the world the potential for a true bipartisan foreign policy that seeks engagement and cooperation with other nations.”

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu