(APPLAUSE)
WELL GOOD AFTERNOON...GOOD AFTERNOON AND WELCOME
TO THE 149TH LANDON LECTURE ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
THE LANDON LECTURES WERE STARTED IN 1966
BY THE LATE GOVENOR ALF LANDON
AND THE LATE K-STATE
PRESIDENT JAMES MCCAIN.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW THE GOAL OF THE LANDON LECTURES IS
TO BRING THE MOST PROMINENT
PUBLIC FIGURES TO KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
TO DISCUSS THE PRESSING ISSUES OF THE DAY.
WE ARE SO VERY PLEASED THIS AFTERNOON TO WELCOME
ROBERT GATES TO THE LANDON PODIUM
TO JOIN 148 PREDECESSORSIN BRINGING HIS THOUGHTS
AND OPINIONS ON IMPORTANT PUBLIC ISSUES.
BEFORE INTRODUCING MEMBERS OF THE PLATFORM PARTY
I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE
SOME DISTINGUISHED GUESTS IN THE AUDIENCE. SOME KEY LEADERS OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
ARE HERE TODAY. LET ME START WITH BRIGADIER GENERAL O'NEILL, DEPUTY COMMONDON, U.S. ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL
STAFF COLLEGE FORT LEAVENWORTH.
GENERAL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
(APPLAUSE)
NEXT MAJOR GENERAL ROBERT DURAND. COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION AND FORT RILEY.
THERE HE IS RIGHT THERE. (APPLAUSE)
AND THEN NEXT LIEUTENANT GENERAL PETER CORELLE, SENIOR MILITARY ASSISSTANT TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
AND THE FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL TO THE MULTINATIONAL SOURSES IRAQ.
PLEASE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. (APPLAUSE)
AND THEN BRIGADIER GENERAL RETARD, CHRIS KING DEAN OF ACADEMICS, U.S. ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL COLLEGE STAFF OF FORT LEAVENWORTH.
CHRIS THANK YOU VERY MUCH. (APPLAUSE)
AND HOW HONORED WE ARE TO HAVE THIS GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH FORT RILEY AND FORT LEAVENWORTH AND OUR NEW DEGREES
IN STRATEGIC STUDIES, OUR NEW MA PHD DEGREES, THAT I KNOW OUR SERVING THE U.S. ARMY SO WELL.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN NEXT, CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY ROIDA. THERE SHE IS RIGHT THERE. NANCY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING.
(APPLAUSE)
AND NEXT VERY IMPORTANT IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE, NO OTHER THAN THE KANSAS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MELVIN NOVEL.
(APPLAUSE)
THANK YOU MELVIN.
NEXT STATE SENATOR ROGER RIGHTS. ROGER? THERE HE IS BACK THERE.
(APPLAUSE)
NEXT STATE REPRESENTATIVE KENNY WILKE. KENNY THANK YOU FOR COMING. (APPLAUSE)
NEXT STATE REPRESENTATIVE TOM PLOCK. TOM? (APPLAUSE)
NEXT STATE REPRESENTATIVE SYDNEY CARLIN. SYDNEY? THERE SHE IS. (APPLAUSE)
NEXT STATE REPRESENTATIVE LEE TAFINELLE
YOU KNOW MR. SPEAKER I THINK WE COULD PASS SOME LEGISLATION TODAY FOR KSTATE.
WELL LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE ARE EXTREMELY DELIGHTED TO HAVE ROBERT GATES MOTHER ISABELLE.
ISABELLE RIGHT THERE, LETS GIVE HER A HAND, THANK YOU FOR COMING.
(APPLAUSE)
SO NICE TO HAVE YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOD BLESS YOU.
WERE ALSO HONORED TO HAVE BOB GATES BROTHER JIM GATES HIS WIFE ALISE AND HIS DAUGHTER STEPHANIE
AND GUESS WHAT ALL THREE ARE KSTATE GRADUATES. OK ALL THREE.
(APPLAUSE)
SEE DEEP IN HIS HEART BOB WISHES THAT HE HAD GONE TO KSTATE. (LAUGHS)
OK NOW FOR MEMBERS OF THE PLATFORM PARTY. ON MY LEFT, PROFESSOR FRANKLIN SPIKES
PROFESSOR IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND THE PRESIDENT OF OUR VERY ESTEEMED KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
FACILITY SENATE. (APPLAUSE)
NEXT A RISING START IN BUSINESS OR POLITICS OR WHATEVER HE CHOOSES. MATT WAGONER A SENIOR IN MANAGEMENT IMFORMATION SYSTEMS
IN THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT BODY.
(APPLAUSE)
ON MY RIGHT MY DEAR FRIEND, KSTATE'S DEAR FRIEND, ED SEATON CHAIRMAN OF THE LANDON PATRONS EDITOR IN CHIEF AND PUBLISHER OF THE MANHATTAN MERCURY
(APPLAUSE)
NEXT TO HIM A MOST VALUABLE PLAYER HERE AT KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY ON A NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS
ED WE APPRECIATE YOUR VERY NICE COLUMN AND EDITORIAL ON CHUCK.
DR. CHARLES REAGAN ASSOCIATE TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF THE LANDON LECTURE SERIES.
(APPLAUSE)
WELL LADIES AND GENTLEMAN I'M VERY PLEASED THIS AFTERNOON TO INTRODUCE TO YOU THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, ROBERT GATES.
DR. GATES ASSUMED HIS POSITION AS THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ON DECEMBER 18TH OF LAST YEAR
PRIOR TO THAT HE SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY. NOW YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER THIS TO A CERTAIN EXTENT.
BUT HE SERVED FOR 26 YEARS IN THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY AS A DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE ANALYST
AND THROUGH A NUMBER OF EVER INCREASING IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS.
IN 1974, DR. GATES LEFT THE CIA TO SERVE ON THE STAFF OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL.
HE RETURNED TO THE CIA IN 1979 TO A SERIES OF DIRECTOR POSITIONS INCLUDING DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CIA FROM 1986-1989
IN 1991, HE WAS NAMED DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE AND SERVED IN THAT POSITION UNTIL
1993. FROM 1993-1999 DR. GATES WORKED AS AN ACADEMIC INTELLECTURATE AT MANY OF THE NATIONS MOST PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES
INCLUDING HARVARD, YALE, JOHNS HOPKINS, VANDERBILT, AND GEORGETOWN.
IN 1996, HE PUBLISHED HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. FROM THE SHADOWS. THE ULTIMATE INSIDERS STORY OF
FIVE PRESIDENTS AND HOW THEY WON THE COLD WAR. HE HAS ALSO WRITTEN, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT,
MANY, MANY ARTICLES ON GOVERNMENT AND FOREIGN POLICY. HE HAS BEEN A FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR TO THE
OUTBED PAGE TO THE NEW YORK TIMES. FROM 1991-2001 HE WAS DEAN OF THE GEORGE BUSH SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC
SERVICE AT TEXAS A&M. IN AUGUST OF 2002, HE BECAME THE 22ND PRESIDENT OF THAT VERY EXCELLENT UNIVERSITY.
BOB GATES IS A GRADUATE OF WICHITA EAST HIGH SCHOOL AND THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM MARY.
HE RECEIVED A MASTERS DEGREE IN HISTORY FROM INDIANA UNIVERSITY AND A PHD IN RUSSIAN AND SOVIET HISTORY
FROM THE GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY. WELL I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING AND WORKING WITH DR. GATES IN HIS
CAPACITY AS PRESIDENT OF TEXAS A&M. FROM 2002 TO 2006 AND I CAN TELL YOU HE DID A SUPERB JOB AT TEXAS A&M.
WELL LADIES AND GENTLEMAN I'M VERY PLEASED TO WELCOME ROBERT GATES TO KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
AND TO THE LANDON LECTURE PODIUM.
(APPLAUSE)
THANK YOU.... THANK YOU VERY MUCH
THANK YOU JOHN FOR THE KIND INTRODUCTION AND FOR INVITING ME TO SPEAK HERE TODAY.
CONGRESSMAN ROIDA, CONGRESSMAN NEWFELD THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
ITS ALSO GOOD TO SEE GENERAL DERBEN AND THE SOLDIERS WITH US FROM FORT RILEY AND LEAVENWORTH.
I'D LIKE TO SEND A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE ROTSY CADETS IN THE AUDIENCE.
YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE IN THIS TIME OF PERIL IS A TESTAMENT NOT ONLY TO YOURSELVES BUT TO A NEW GENERATION
OF LEADERS WHO WILL FACE GREAT CHALLENGES IN THE COMING YEARS.
(APPLAUSE)
IT IS BOTH AN HONOR AND A PLEASURE TO BE PART OF THE LANDON LECTURE SERIES
FORUM AND FOR MORE THAN FOUR DECADES THAT HAS HOSTED MANY OF OUR MOST LEADING INTELLECTUALS AND STATESMEN
CONSIDERING THAT FACT I FIRST WONDERED IF THE INVITATION WAS IN FACT MEANT FOR BILL GATES
(LAUGHTER)
IT IS A PLEASURE TO GET OUT OF WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR A LITTLE WHILE. I LEFT WASHINGTON IN 1994
AND I WAS CERTAIN AND VERY HAPPY THAT IT WAS THAT LAST TIME THAT I WOULD EVER LIVE THERE.
BUT HISTORY AND CURRENT EVENTS HAVE A WAY OF EXACTING REVENGE ON THOSE WHO SAY NEVER
I HAVE NOW BEEN BACK IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOR CLOSE TO A YEAR
WHICH REMINDS ME OF AN OLD SAYING, FOR THE FIRST SIX YEARS HERE IN WASHINGTON YOU WONDER HOW IN THE HELL YOU
EVER GOT THERE, FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS YOU WONDER HOW IN THE HELL THE REST OF THEM EVER GOT THERE.
(LAUGHTER)
AS I LOOK DOWN AT MY REMARKS AND THE MATERIAL, I WANT TO COVER THIS AFTERNOON I'M REMINDED OF THE TIME GEORGE
BERNARD SHAW TOLD THE SPEAKER HE HAD 15 MINUTES TO SPEAK. THE SPEAKER REPLIED, '15 MINUTES? HOW CAN I TELL THEM ALL I
KNOW I IN 15 MINUTES?' AND SHAW REPLIED, 'I'D ADVISE YOU TO SPEAK VERY SLOWLY.'
(LAUGHTER)
I WANT TO WARN YOU IN ADVANCE THAT MY REMARKS ARE MORE THAN 15 MINUTES.
DR. WREATHOLD HAS HIGHLIGHTED MY KSTATE BONAFIDE DAYS
I WOULD JUST COMMENT THAT MY MOTHER, WHO IS 94, ATTENDED MY SWEARING IN CEREMONY IN WASHINGTON
THAT NIGHT CONAN O'BRIEN REMARKED ON THE FACT THAT I HAD ANNOUNCED THAT MY 94 YEAR OLD MOTHER WAS THERE
AND THEN HE SAID, AND THEN SHE CAME UP TO ME AND SAID, NOW GO BEAT THE HELL OUT OF THE KAIZER <
IT IS GOOD TO BE BACK IN KANSAS WHERE MY FAMILY HAS LIVED FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY
I BELIEVE KANSAS IMPARTS TO ITS CHILDREN 3 CHARACTERISTICS THAT HAVE BEEN A SOURCE OF STRENGTH FOR ME OVER THE YEARS
A REJECTION OF CYNICISM AND ENDEARING OPTIMISM AND IDEALISM.
LOOKING AROUND THE WORLD TODAY, OPTIMISM AND IDEALISM WOULD NOT SEEM TO HAVE AS MUCH OF A PLACE AT THE TABLE.
THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF ANXIETY ABOUT WHERE OUR NATION IS HEADING AND WHAT ITS ROLE WILL BE IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
BUT I COULD REMEMBER, CLEARLY, OTHER TIMES IN MY LIFE THAT SUCH DARK SENTIMENTS WERE PREVALENT
IN 1957, WHEN I WAS A WICHITA HIGH SCHOOL EAST, THE SOVIET UNION LAUNCHED SPUTNIK,
AND AMERICANS FEARED BEING LEFT BEHIND IN THE SPACE RACE AND, EVEN MORE WORRISOME, THE MISSILE RACE.
IN 1968, THE FIRST FULL YEAR I LIVED IN WASHINGTON, WAS THE SAME YEAR AS THE TET OFFENSIVE IN VIETNAM,
WHERE AMERICAN TROOP LEVELS AND CASUALTIES WERE AT THEIR HEIGHT. ACROSS THE NATION, PROTESTS AND VIOLENCE OVER
VIETNAM ENGULFED AMERICA'S CITIES AND CAMPUSES. ON MY SECOND DAY OF WORK AS A CIA ANALYST,
THE SOVIET UNION INVADED CZECHOSLOVAKIA. AND THEN CAME THE 1970S,
WHEN IT SEEMED THAT EVERYTHING THAT COULD GO WRONG WITH AMERICA DID.
YET, THROUGH IT ALL, THERE WAS ANOTHER STORYLINE, ONE NOT THEN APPARENT. DURING THOSE SAME YEARS,
THE ELEMENTS WERE IN PLACE AND FORCES WERE AT WORK THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY LEAD TO VICTORY IN THE COLD WAR,
A VICTORY ACHIEVED NOT BY ANY ONE PARTY OR ANY SINGLE PRESIDENT, BUT BY A SERIES OF DECISIONS, CHOICES,
AND INSTITUTIONS THAT BRIDGED DECADES, GERNERATIONS, AND ADMINISTRATIONS.
FROM: THE FIRST BRAVE STAND TAKEN BY HARRY TRUMAN WITH THE DOCTRINE OF CONTAINMENT; TO
THE HELSINKI ACCORDS UNDER GERALD FORD; TO THE ELEVATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER JIMMY CARTER;
TO THE MUSCULAR WORDS AND DEEDS OF RONALD REAGAN; AND TO THE MASTERFUL ENDGAME
DIPLOMACY OF GEORGE H. W. BUSH. ALL CONTRIBUTED TO BRING AN EVIL EMPIRE CRASHING DOWN
NOT WITH A BANG BUT WITH A WHIMPER. AND VIRTUALLY WITHOUT A SHOT BEING FIRED.
IN THIS GREAT EFFORT, INSTITUTIONS, AS MUCH AS PEOPLE AND POLICIES, PLAYED A KEY ROLE.
MANY OF THOSE KEY ORGANIZATIONS WERE CREATED 60 YEARS AGO THIS YEAR WITH THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947,
A SINGLE ACT OF LEGISLATION WHICH ESTABLISHED THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL,
THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE, AND WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
I MENTION ALL THIS BECAUSE THAT LEGISLATION AND THOSE INSTRUMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER WERE DESIGNED AT THE DAWN
OF A NEW ERA IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES, AN ERA DOMINATED BY THE COLD WAR.
THE END OF THE COLD WAR, AND THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, MARKED THE DAWN OF ANOTHER NEW ERA IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,
AN ERA WHOSE CHALLENGES MAY BE UNPRECEDENTED IN COMPLEXITY AND SCOPE.
AN IMPORTANT RESPECTS, THE GREAT STRUGGLES OF THE 20TH CENTURY, WORLD WAR 1 AND WORLD WAR 2 AND THE COLD WAR,
COVERED OVER CONFLICTS THAT HAD BOILED AND SEETHED AND PROVOKED WAR AND INSTABILITY FOR CENTURIES BEFORE 1914;
ETHNIC STRIFE, RELIGIOUS WAR, INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS, AND, ESPECIALLY IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 19TH CENTURY, TERRORISM.
THE FIRST WORLD WAR WAS, ITSELF, SPARKED BY A TERRORIST ASSASSINATION MOTIVATED BY AN ETHNIC GROUP SEEKING INDEPENDENCE.
THESE OLD HATREDS AND CONFLICTS WERE BURIED ALIVE DURING AND AFTER THE GREAT WAR. BUT, LIKE MONSTERS IN SCIENCE FICTION,
THEY HAVE RETURNED FROM THE GRAVE TO THREATEN PEACE AND STABILITY AROUND THE WORLD.
THINK OF THE SLAUGHTER IN THE BALKANS AS YUGOSLAVIA BROKE UP IN THE 1990S
EVEN NOW, WE WORRY ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS FOR EUROPE,
SERBIA, AND RUSSIA. THAT CAST OF CHARACTERS SOUNDS DISTURBINGLY FAMILIAR EVEN AT A CENTURY'S REMOVE.
THE LONG YEARS OF RELIGIOUS WARFARE IN EUROPE BETWEEN PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS FIND EERIE CONTEMPORARY
ECHOES IN THE GROWING SUNNI VERSUS SHIA CONTEST FOR ISLAMIC HEARTS AND MINDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, THE PERSIAN GULF,
THE SOUTHWEST ASIA. WE ALSO HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT BETWEEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND JOHN F. KENNEDY, TWO AMERICAN
PRESIDENTS AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WERE ASSASSINATED OR ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS,
AS WERE VARIOUS TSARS, EMPRESSES, PRINCES, AND, ON A FATEFUL DAY IN JUNE 1914, AN ARCHDUKE.
OTHER ACTS OF TERRORISM WERE COMMONPLACE IN EUROPE AND RUSSIA IN THE LATTER PART OF THE 19TH CENTURY.
SO, HISTORY WAS NOT DEAD AT THE END OF THE COLD WAR. INSTEAD, IT WAS REAWAKENING WITH A VENGEANCE.
AND, THE REVIVED MONSTERS OF THE PAST HAVE RETURNED FAR STRONGER AND MORE DANGEROUS THAN BEFORE
BECAUSE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY, BOTH FOR COMMUNICATION AND FOR DESTRUCTION, AND TO A WORLD THAT IS FAR MORE CLOSELY
CONNECTED AND INTERDEPENDENT THAN THE WORLD OF 1914.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE DANGERS AND CHALLENGES OF OLD HAVE BEEN JOINED BY NEW FORCES OF INSTABILITY AND CONFLICT, AMONG THEM:
A NEW AND MORE MALIGNANT FORM OF GLOBAL TERRORISM ROOTED IN EXTREMIST AND VIOLENT JIHADISM;
NEW MANIFESTATIONS OF ETHNIC, TRIBAL, AND SECTARIAN CONFLICT ALL OVER THE WORLD;
THE PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION; FAILED AND FAILING STATES;
STATES ENRICHED WITH OIL PROFITS AND DISCONTENTED WITH THE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL ORDER; AND
CENTRIFUGAL FORCES IN OTHER COUNTRIES THAT THREATEN NATIONAL UNITY, STABILITY, AND INTERNAL PEACE,
BUT ALSO WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR REGIONAL AND GLOBAL SECURITY.
WORLDWIDE, THERE ARE AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES FACING INCREASINGLY RESTIVE POPULATIONS SEEKING POLITICAL FREEDOM AS WELL AS A BETTER
STANDARD OF LIVING. AND FINALLY, WE SEE BOTH EMERGENT AND RESURGENT GREAT POWERS WHOSE FUTURE PATH IS STILL UNCLEAR.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE LINES IS THAT EXPERIENCE IS THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE A MISTAKE WHEN YOU MAKE IT AGAIN.
FOUR TIMES IN THE LAST CENTURY THE UNITED STATES HAS COME TO THE END OF A WAR, CONCLUDED THAT THE NATURE OF MAN AND
THE WORLD HAD CHANGED FOR THE BETTER, AND TURNED INWARD, UNILATERALLY DISARMING AND DISMANTLING INSTITUTIONS
IMPORTANT TO OUR NATIONAL SECURITY, IN THE PROCESS, GIVING OURSELVES A SO-CALLED "PEACE" DIVIDEND.
FOUR TIMES WE CHOSE TO FORGET HISTORY. ISAAC BARROW ONCE WROTE, "HOW LIKE A PARADISE THE WORLD WOULD BE,
FLOURISHING IN JOY AND REST, IF MEN WOULD CHEERFULLY CONSPIRE IN AFFECTION AND HELPFULLY CONTRIBUTE TO EACH
OTHER'S CONTENT: AND HOW LIKE A SAVAGE WILDERNESS NOW IT IS, WHEN, LIKE WILD BEASTS, THEY VEX AND PERSECUTE,
WORRY AND DEVOUR EACH OTHER." HE WROTE THAT IN THE LATE 1600S. OR, LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF SIR WILLIAM
STEPHENSON, AUTHOR OF A MAN CALLED INTREPID AND A KEY FIGURE IN THE ALLIED VICTORY IN WORLD WAR 2.
HE WROTE, "PERHAPS A DAY WILL DAWN WHEN TYRANTS
CAN NO LONGER THREATEN THE LIBERTY OF ANY PEOPLE, WHEN THE FUNCTION OF ALL NATIONS, HOWEVER VARIED THEIR IDEOLOGIES,
WILL BE TO ENHANCE LIFE, NOT TO CONTROL IT. IF SUCH A CONDITION IS POSSIBLE IT IS IN A FUTURE TOO FAR
DISTANT TO FORESEE." AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH, THE UNITED STATES RE-ARMED AND AGAIN STRENGTHENED OUR INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITIES.
IT WILL BE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO SUSTAIN THOSE CAPABILITIES IN THE FUTURE, IT WILL BE IMPORTANT NOT TO MAKE
THE SAME MISTAKE A FIFTH TIME. BUT, MY MESSAGE TODAY IS NOT ABOUT THE DEFENSE BUDGET OR MILITARY POWER.
MY MESSAGE IS THAT IF WE ARE TO MEET THE MYRIAD CHALLENGES AROUND THE WORLD IN THE COMING DECADES,
THIS COUNTRY MUST STRENGTHEN OTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER BOTH INSTITUTIONALLY
AND FINANCIALLY, AND CREATE THE CAPABILITY TO INTEGRATE AND APPLY ALL OF THE ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER TO PROBLEMS
AND CHALLENGES ABROAD. IN SHORT, BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE SERVING SEVEN PRESIDENTS, AS A FORMER DIRECTOR OF CIA AND NOW AS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE,
I AM HERE TO MAKE THE CASE FOR STRENGTHENING OUR CAPACITY TO USE "SOFT" POWER AND FOR BETTER INTEGRATING
IT WITH "HARD" POWER. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS OF THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN IS THAT MILITARY
SUCCESS IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO WIN: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, INSTITUTION-BUILDING AND THE RULE OF LAW,
PROMOTING INTERNAL RECONCILIATION, GOOD GOVERNANCE, PROVIDING BASIC SERVICES TO THE PEOPLE,
TRAINING AND EQUIPPING INDIGENOUS MILITARY AND POLICE FORCES, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, AND MORE,
THESE, ALONG WITH SECURITY, ARE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS.
ACCOMPLISHING ALL OF THESE TASKS WILL BE NECESSARY TO MEET THE DIVERSE CHALLENGES I HAVE DESCRIBED.
SO, WE MUST URGENTLY DEVOTE TIME, ENERGY, AND THOUGHT TO HOW WE BETTER ORGANIZE OURSELVES TO MEET THE
INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES OF THE PERSENT AND THE FUTURE, THE WORLD YOU STUDENTS WILL INHERIT AND LEAD.
I SPOKE A FEW MOMENTS AGO ABOUT THE LANDMARK NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947 AND THE INSTITUTIONS
CREATED TO FIGHT THE COLD WAR. IN LIGHT OF THE CHALLENGES I HAVE JUST DISCUSSED,
I WOULD LIKE TO POSE A QUESTION: IF THERE WERE TO BE A "NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 2007,"
LOOKING BEYOND THE CRUSH OF DAY-TO-DAY HEADLINES, WHAT PROBLEMS MUST IT ADDRESS, WHAT CAPABILITIES
OUGHT IT CREATE OR IMPROVE, WHERE SHOULD IT LEAD OUR GOVERNMENT AS WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE?
WHAT NEW INSTITUTIONS DO WE NEED FOR THIS POST COLD WAR WORLD?
AS AN OLD COLD WARRIOR WITH A DOCTORATE IN HISTORY, I HOPE YOU'LL INDULGE ME AS I TAKE A STEP BACK IN
TIME BECAUSE CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT, AS MANY OF THE GOALS, SUCCESSES, AND FAILURES FROM THE COLD WAR
ARE INSTRUCTIVE IN CONSIDERING HOW WE MIGHT BETTER FOCUS ENERGIES AND RESOURCES,
ESSPECIALLY THE WAYS IN WHICH OUR NATION CAN INFLUENCE THE REST OF THE WORLD TO HELP PROTECT
OUR SECURITY AND ADVANCE OUR INTERESTS AND VALUES. WHAT WE CONSIDER TODAY TO BE THE
KEY ELEMENTS AND INSTRUMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER TRACE THEIR BEGINNINGS TO THE MID-1940S,
TO A TIME WHEN THE GOVERNMENT WAS DIGESTING LESSONS LEARNED DURING WORLD WAR 2.
LOOKING BACK, PEOPLE OFTEN FORGET THAT THE WAR EFFORT, THOUGH VICTORIOUS,
WAS HAMPERED AND HAMSTRUNG BY DIVISIONS AND DYSFUNCTION. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT QUIPPED THAT
TRYING TO GET THE NAVY, WHICH WAS ITS OWN CABINET DEPARTMENT AT THE TIME, TO CHANGE WAS AKIN
TO HITTING A FEATHERBED: "YOU PUNCH IT WITH YOUR RIGHT AND YOU PUNCH IT WITH YOUR LEFT
UNTIL YOU ARE FINALLY EXHAUSTED," HE SAID, "AND THEN YOU FIND THE DAMN THING JUST AS IT WAS BEFORE."
AND HARRY TRUMAN NOTED THAT IF THE ARMY AND THE NAVY HAD FOUGHT AS HARD AGAINST THE GERMANS AS THEY HAD FOUGHT AGAINST
EACH OTHER, THE WAR WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER MUCH SOONER. THIS RECORD DROVE THE THINKING BEHIND
THE 1947 NATIONAL SECURITY ACT, WHICH ATTEMTED TO FIX THE SYSTEMIC FAILURES THAT HAD PLAGUED
THE GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY DURING WORLD WAR 2, WHILE REVIVING CAPABILITIES AND SETTING THE STAGE
FOR A STRUGGLE AGAINST THE SOVIET UNION THAT SEEMED MORE INEVITABLE EACH PASSING DAY.
THE 1947 ACT ACKNOWLEDGED THAT WE HAD BEEN OVER-ZEALOUS IN OUR DESIRE TO SHUT DOWN CAPABILITIES
THAT HAD BEEN SO VALUABLE DURING THE WAR, MOST OF AMERICA'S INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION ASSETS
DISSAPPEARED AS SOON AS THE GUNS FELL SILENT. THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES, THE WAR
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, WAS AXED, AS WAS THE OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION.
IN 1947, OSS RETURNED AS CIA, BUT IT WOULD BE YEARS BEFORE WE RESTORED OUR COMMUNICATIONS
CAPABILITIES BY CREATING THE UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY.
THERE IS IN MANY QUARTERS THE TENDENCY TO SEE THAT PERIOD AS THE PINNACLE OF WISE GOVERNANCE
AND SAVVY STATECRAFT. AS I WROTE A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, "LOOKING BACK, IT ALL SEEMED
SO EASY, SO PAINLESS, SO INEVITABLE." IT WAS ANYTHING BUT.
CONSIDER THAT THE CREATION OF THE NATIONAL MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT IN 1947, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE,
WAS MEANT TO IMPROVE UNITY AMONG THE MILITARY SERVICES. IT DIDN'T. A MERE TWO YEARS LATER
THE CONGRESS HAD TO PASS ANOTHER LAW BECAUSE THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF WERE ANYTHING BUT JOINT.
AND THERE WAS NO CHAIRMAN TO REFEREE THE CONSTANT DISPUTES.
AT THE BEGINNING, THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAD LITTLE REAL POWER, DESPITE AN EXALTED TITLE.
THE LAW FORBAD HIM FROM HAVING A MILITARY STAFF AND LIMITED HIM TO THREE CIVILIAN ASSISTANTS.
THESE DAY, IT TAKES THAT MANY TO SORT MY MAIL.
THROUGHOUT THE LONG, TWILIGHT STRUGGLE OF THE COLD WAR, THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT DID NOT
COMMUNICATE OR COORDINATE VERY WELL WITH EACH OTHER. THERE WERE MILITARY, INTELLIGENCE,
AND DIPLOMATIC FAILURES IN KOREA, VIETNAM, IRAN, GRENADA, AND MANY OTHER PLACES.
GETTING THE MILITARY SERVICES TO WORK TOGETHER WAS A RECURRING BATTLE THAT HAD TO BE ADDRESSED
TIME AND AGAIN, AND WAS ONLY REALLY RESOLVED BY LEGISLATION IN 1986.
BUT DESPITE THE PROBLEMS, WE REALIZED, AS WE HAD DURING THE WORLD WAR 2, THAT THE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT
REQUIRED US TO DEVELOP KEY CAPABILITIES AND INSTITUTIONS, MANY OF THEM NON-MILITARY.
THE MARSHALL PLAN AND LATER THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACKNOWLEDGED
THE ROLE OF ECONOMICS IN THE WORLD; THE CIA THE ROLE OF INTELLIGENCE;
AND THE UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY THE FACT THAT THE CONFLICT WOULD PLAY OUT AS MUCH
IN HEARTS AND MINDS AS IT WOULD ON ANY BATTLEFIELD.
THE KEY, OVER TIME, WAS TO DEVOTE NECESSARY RESOURCES, PEOPLE AND MONEY, AND GET ENOUGH THINGS RIGHT
WHILE MAINTAINING THE ABILITY TO RECOVER FROM MISTAKES ALONG THE WAY.
ULTIMATELY, OUR ENDURANCE PAID OFF AND THE SOVIET UNION CRUMBLED, AND THE DECADES-LONG COLD WAR ENDED.
HOWEVER, DURING THE 1990S, WITH THE COMPLICITY OF BOTH THE CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE,
KEY INSTRUMENTS OF AMERICA'S NATIONAL POWER ONCE AGAIN WERE ALLOWED TO WITHER OR WERE ABANDONED.
MOST PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH CUTBACKS IN THE MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE, INCLUDING SWEEPING REDUCTIONS
IN MANPOWER, NEARLY 40 PERCENT IN THE ACTIVE ARMY, 30 PERCENT IN CIA'S CLANDESTINE SERVICE AND SPIES.
WHAT IS NOT AS WELL-KNOWN, AND ARGUABLY EVEN MORE SHORTSIGHTED, WAS THE GUTTING OF AMERICA'S ABILITY TO ENGAGE,
ASSIST, AND COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, THE "SOFT POWER," WHICH HAD BEEN SO
IMPORTANT THROUGHTOUT THE COLD WAR. THE STATE DEPARTMENT FROZE THE HIRING OF NEW FOREIGN SERVICE
OFFICERS FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPEMENT AGENCY SAW DEEP STAFF CUTS.
ITS PERMENANT STAFF CUTS DROPPING FROM A HIGH IF 15000 DURING VIETNAM TO ABOUT 3000 IN THE 1990S.
AND THE UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY WAS ABOLISHED AS AN INDEPENDENT ENTITY, SPLIT INTO PIECES,
AND MANY OF ITS CAPABILITIES FOLDED INTO A SMALL CORNER OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT.
EVEN AS WE THROTTLED BACK, THE WORLD BECAME MORE UNSTABLE, TURBULENT, AND UNPREDICTABLE THAN DURING THE COLD WAR YEARS.
AND THEN CAME THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, ONE OF THOSE RARE LIFE-CHANGING DATES,
A SHOCK SO GREAT THAT IT APPEARS TO HAVE SHIFTED THE TECTONIC PLATES OF HISTORY.
THAT DAY ABRUPTLY ENDED THE FALSE PEACE OF THE 1990S AS WELL AS OUR "HOLIDAY FROM HISTORY."
AS IT OFTEN THE CASE AFTER SUCH MOMENTOUS EVENTS, IT HAS TAKEN SOME YEARS FOR THE CONTOUR LINES OF THE
INTERNATIONAL ARENA TO BECOME CLEAR. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE THREATS AND CHALLENGES
WE WILL FACE ABROAD IN THE FIRST DECADES OF THE 21ST CENTURY WILL EXTEND WELL BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL
DOMAIN OF ANY SINGLE GOVERNMENT AGENCY.
THE REAL CHALLENGES WE HAVE SEEN EMERGE SINCE THE END OF THE COLD WAR,
FROM SOMALIA TO THE BALKANS, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND ELSEWHERE, MAKE CLEAR WE IN
DEFENSE NEED TO CHANGE OUR PRIORITIES TO BE BETTER ABLE TO DEAL WITH THE PREVALENCE
OF WHAT IS CALLED "ASSYMETRIC WARFARE." AS I TOLD AN ARMY GATHERING LAST MONTH,
IT IS HARD TO CONCEIVE OF ANY COUNTRY CHALLENGING THE UNITED STATES DIRECTLY
IN CONVENTIONAL MILITARY TERMS, AT LEAST FOR SOME YEARS TO COME.
INDEED, HISTORY SHOWS US THAT SMALLER, IRREGULAR FORCES, INSURGENTS, GUERILLAS, TERRORISTS,
HAVE FOR CENTURIES FOUND WAYS TO HARASS AND FRUSTRATE LARGER, REGULAR ARMIES AND SOW CHAOS.
WE CAN EXPECT THAT ASYMMETRIC WARFARE WILL BE THE MAINSTAY OF THE CONTEMPORARY BATTLEFIELD FOR SOME TIME.
THESE CONFLICTS WILL BE FUNDAMENTALLY POLITICAL IN NATURE, AND REQUIRE THE APPLICATION
OF ALL ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER. SUCCESS WILL BE LESS A MATTER OF IMPOSING ONE'S WILL
AND MORE A FUNCTION OF SHAPING BEHAVIOR, OF FRIENDS, ADVERSARIES, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE PEOPLE IN BETWEEN.
ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT MILITARY COMPONENT IN THE WAR ON TERROR IS NOT THE FIGHTING WE DO OURSELVES,
BUT HOW WELL WE ENABLE AND EMPOWER OUR PARTNERS TO DEFEND AND GOVERN THEMSELVES.
THE STANDING UP AND MENTORING OF INDIGENOUS ARMY AND POLICE, ONCE THE PROVINCE OF SPECIAL FORCES,
IS NOW A KEY MISSION FOR THE MILITARY AS A WHOLE.
BUT THESE NEW THREATS ALSO REQUIRE OUR GOVERNMENT TO OPERATE AS A WHOLE DIFFERENTLY, TO ACT WITH UNITY,
AGILITY, AND CREATIVITY. AND THEY WILL REQUIRE CONSIDERALY MORE RESOURCES DEVOTED TO AMERICA'S
NON-MILITARY INSTRUMENTS OF POWER. SO, WHAT ARE THE CAPABILITIES, INSTITUTIONS, AND PRIORITIES
OUR NATION MUST COLLECTIVELY ADDRESS, THROUGH BOTH THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES,
AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE THEY SERVE? I WOULD LIKE TO START WITH AN OBSERVATION. GOVERNMENTS OF ALL STRIPES
SEEM TO HAVE GREAT DIFFICULTY SUMMONING THE WILL, AND THE RESOURCES, TO DEAL EVEN WITH THREATS
THAT ARE OBVIOUS AND LIKELY INEVITABLE, MUCH LESS THREATS THAT ARE MORE COMPLEX OR OVER THE HORIZON.
THERE IS, HOWEVER, NO INHERENT FLAW IN HUMAN NATURE OR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT THAT KEEPS US FROM PREPARING
FOR POTENTIAL CHALLENGES AND DANGERS BY TAKING FAR-SIGHTED ACTIONS WITH LONG-TERM BENEFITS.
AS INDIVIDUALS, WE DO IT ALL THE TIME. THE CONGRESS DID IT IN 1947.
AS A NATION, TODAY, AS IN 1947, THE KEY IS WISE AND FOCUSED BIPARTISAN LEADERSHIP, AND POLITICAL WILL.
I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO THAT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS FROM OUR EXPERIENCE IN IRAQ,
AFGHANISTAN, AND ELSEWHERE HAS BEEN THE DECISIVE ROLE RECONSTRUCTION, DEVELOPEMENT,
AND GOVERNANCE PLAYS IN ANY MEANINGFUL, LONG-TERM SUCCESS.
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HAS TAKEN ON MANY OF THESE BURDENS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ASSUMED BY
CIVILIAN AGENCIES IN THE PAST, ALTHOUGH NEW RESOURCES HAVE PERMITTED THE STATE DEPARTMENT
TO BEGIN TAKING ON A LARGER ROLE IN RECENT MONTHS. STILL, FORCED BY CIRCUMSTANCES, OR BRAVE
MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM HAVE STEPPED UP TO THE TASK, WITH FIELD ARTILLERYMEN AND TANKERS BUILDING
SCHOOLS AND MENTORING CITY COUNCILS, USUALLY IN A LANGUAGE THEY DON'T SPEAK. THEY HAVE DONE AN ADMIRABLE JOB.
AND AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, THE ARMED FORCES WILL NEED TO INSTITUTIONALIZE AND RETAIN THESE NON-TRADITIONAL CAPABILITIES,
SOMETHING THE ROTC CADETS IN THIS AUDIENCE CAN ANTICIPATE. BUT IT IS NO REPLACEMENT FOR THE REAL THING,
CIVILIAN INVOLVEMENT AND EXPERTISE. A FEW EXAMPLES ARE USEFUL HERE, AS MICROCOSMS OF WHAT OUR OVERALL
GOVERNMENT EFFORT SHOULD LOOK LIKE, ONE HISTORICAL AND A FEW CONTEMPORARY ONES.
HOWEVER, UNCOMFORTABLE IT MAY BE TO RAISE VIETNAM ALL THESE YEARS LATER, THE HISTORY OF THAT
CONFLICT IS INSTRUCTIVE. AFTER FIRST PURSUING A STRATEGY BASED ON CONVENTIONAL MILITARY FIREPOWER,
THE UNITED STATES SHIFTED COURSE AND BEGAN A COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED PROGRAM OF PACIFICATION,
CIVIC ACTION, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPEMENT. THE CORDS PROGRAM, AS IT WAS KNOWN, INVOLVED MORE
THAN A THOUSAND CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES FROM USAID AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, AND BROUGHT THE MULTIPLE
AGENCIES INTO A JOINT EFFORT. IT HAD THE EFFECT OF, IN THE WORDS OF GENERAL CREIGHTON ABRAMS,
PUTTING "ALL OF US ON ONE SIDE AND THE ENEMY ON THE OTHER." BY THE TIME U.S. TROOPS WERE PULLED OUT,
THE CORDS PROGRAM HAD HELPED PACIFY MOST OF THE HAMLETS IN SOUTH VIETNAM.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DEPLOYING CIVILIAN EXPERTISE HAS BEEN RELEARNED, THE HARD WAY,
THROUGH THE EFFORT TO STAFF PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS, FIRST IN AFGHANISTAN AND MORE RECENTLY
IN IRAQ. THE PRTS WERE DESIGNED TO BRING IN CIVILIANS EXPERIENCED IN AGRICULTURE, GOVERNANCE,
AND OTHER ASPECTS OF DEVELOPEMENT, TO WORK WITH AND ALONGSIDE THE MILITARY TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF
THE LOCAL POPULATION, A KEY TENET OF ANY COUNTERINSURGENCY EFFORT. WHERE THEY ARE ON THE GROUND,
EVEN IN SMALL NUMBERS, WE HAVE SEEN TANGIBLE AND OFTEN DRAMATIC CHANGES. AN ARMY BRIGADE
COMMANDER IN BAGHDAD RECENTLY SAID THAT AN EMBEDDED PRT WAS "PIVOTAL" IN GETTING IRAQIS
IN HIS SECTOR TO BETTER MANAGE THEIR AFFAIRS.
WE ALSO HAVE INCREASED OUR EFFECTIVENESS BY JOINING WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE
GOVERNMENT, UNTAPPED RESOURCES WITH TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL. FOR EXAMPLE, IN AFGHANISTAN THE MILITARY HAS
RECENTLY BROUGHT IN PROFESSIONAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS AS ADVISORS. THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTED ON THE WORK
OF ONE OF THEM, WHO SAID, "I'M FREQUENTLY ACCUSED OF MILITARIZING ANTHROPOLOGY. BUT WE'RE REALLY
ANTHROPOLOGIZING THE MILITARY." AND IT IS HAVING A VERY REAL IMPACT.
THE SAME STORY TOLD OF A VILLAGE THAT HAD JUST BEEN CLEARED OF THE TALIBAN.
THE ANTHROPOLOGIST POINTED OUT TO THE MILITARY OFFICERS THAT THERE WERE MORE WIDOWS THAN USUAL,
AND THAT THE SONS WOULD FEEL COMPELLED TO TAKE CARE OF THEM--POSSIBLY BY JOINING THE INSURGENCY,
WHERE MANY OF THE FIGHTERS ARE PAID. SO AMERICAN OFFICERS BEGAN A JOB TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THE WIDOWS.
SIMILARLY, OUR LAND-GRANT UNIVERSITIES HAVE PROVIDED VALUABLE EXPERTISE ON AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER ISSUES.
TEXAS A&M HAS HAD FACULTY ON THE GROUND IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ SINCE 2003.
AND KANSAS STATE IS LENDING ITS EXPERTISE TO HELP REVITALIZE UNIVERSITIES IN KABUL AND MAZAR-E-SHARIF,
AND WORKING TO IMPROVE THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND VETERINARY CARE ACROSS AFGHANISTAN.
THESE EFFORTS DO NOT GO UNNOTICED BY EITHER AFGHAN CITIZENS OR OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM.
I HAVE BEEN HEARTENED BY THE WORKS OF INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS LIKE THESE. BUT I AM CONCERNED THAT WE NEED
EVEN MORE CIVILIANS INVOLVED IN THE EFFORT AND THAT OUR EFFORTS MUST BE BETTER INTEGRATED.
AND I REMAIN CONCERNED THAT WE HAVE YET TO CREATE ANY PERMANENT CAPABILITY OR INSTITUTIONS TO RAPIDLY
CREATE AND DEPLOY THESE KINDS OF SKILLS IN THE FUTURE. THE EXAMPLES I MENTIONED HAVE, BY AND LARGE,
BEEN CREATED AD HOC--ON THE FLY IN A CLIMATE OF CRISIS. AS A NATION, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO
INSTITUTIONALIZE PROGRAMS AND RELATIONSHIPS SUCH AS THESE. AND WE NEED TO FIND MORE UNTAPPED RESOURCES--
PLACES WHERE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY HOW MUCH YOU SPEND, BUT HOW YOU SPEND IT.
THE WAY TO INSTITUTIONALIZE THESE CAPABILITIES IS PROBABLY NOT TO RECREATE OR REPOPULATE INSTITUTIONS
OF THE PAST SUCH AS AID OR USIA. ON THE OTHER HAND, JUST ADDING MORE PEOPLE TO EXISTING GOVERNMENT
DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS AGRICULTURE, TREASURY, COMMERCE, JUSTICE AND SO ON IS NOT A SUFFICIENT ANSWER EITHER--
EVEN IF THEY WERE TO BE MORE DEPLOYABLE OVERSEAS. NEW INSTITUTIONS ARE NEEDED FOR THE 21ST CENTURY,
NEW ORGANIZATIONS WITH A 21ST CENTURY MIND-SET.
FOR EXAMPLE, PUBLIC RELATIONS WAS INVENTED IN THE UNITED STATES, YET WE ARE MISERABLE AT COMMUNICATING TO THE REST
OF THE WORLD WHAT WE ARE ABOUT AS A SOCIETY AND A CULTURE, ABOUT FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY, ABOUT OUR POLICIES AND OUR GOALS.
IT IS JUST PLAIN EMBARRASSING THAT AL-QAEDA IS BETTER AT COMMUNICATING ITS MESSAGE ON THE INTERNET THAN AMERICA.
AS ONE FOREIGN DIPLOMAT ASKED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, "HOW HAS ONE MAN IN A CAVE MANAGED TO OUT-COMMUNICATE
THE WORLD'S GREATEST COMMUNICATION SOCIETY?" SPEED, AGILITY, AND CULTURAL RELEVANCE ARE NOT TERMS THAT COME
READILY TO MIND WHEN DISCUSSING U.S. STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS.
SIMILARILY, WE NEED TO DEVELOP A PERMANENT, SIZEABLE CADRE OF IMMEDIATELY DEPLOYABLE EXPERTS WITH DISPARATE SKILLS,
A NEED WHICH PRESIDENT BUSH CALLED FOR IN HIS 2007 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, AND WHICH THE STATE
DEPARTMENT IS NOW WORKING ON WITH ITS INITIATIVE TO BUILD A CIVILIAN RESPONSE CORE.
BOTH THE PRESIDENT AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE HAVE ASKED FOR FULL FUNDING FOR THIS INITIATIVE, BUT WE ALSO NEED NEW THINKING.
ABOUT HOW TO INTEGRATE OUR GOVERNMENTS CAPABILITIES IN THESE ARES, AND THEN HOW TO INTEGRATE
GOVERNMENT CAPABILITIES WITH THOSE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, IN UNIVERSITIES, IN OTHER NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS, WITH THE CAPABILITIES OF OUR ALLIES AND FRIENDS--AND WITH THE NASCENT CAPABILITIES
OF THOSE WE ARE TRYING TO HELP. WHICH BRINGS ME TO A FUNDAMENTAL POINT.
DESPITE THE IMPROVEMENTS OF RECENT YEARS, DESPITE THE POTENTIAL INNOVATIVE IDEAS HOLD FOR THE FUTURE,
SOMETIMES THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR RESOURCES - FOR MONEY.
FUNDING FOR NON-MILITARY FOREIGN-AFFAIRS PROGRAMS HAS INCREASED SINCE 2001, BUT IT REMAINS
DISPROPORTIONATELY SMALL RELATIVE TO WHAT WE SPEND ON THE MILITARY AND TO THE IMPORTANCE OF SUCH
CAPABILITIES. CONSIDER THAT THIS YEAR'S BUDGET FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE--NOT COUNTING
OPERATIONS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN--IS NEARLY HALF A TRILLION DOLLARS.
THE TOTAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE STATE DEPARTMENT IS $36 BILLION DOLLARS
LESS THAN WHAT THE PENTAGON SPENDS ON HEALTH CARE ALONE. SECRETARY RICE HAS ASKED FOR A BUDGET INCREASE
FOR THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND AN EXPANSION OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE. THE NEED IS REAL.
DESPITE NEW HIRES, THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT 6,600 PROFESSIONAL FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS LESS THAN THE MANNING
FOR ONE AIRCRAFT CARRIER STRIKE GROUP. AND PERSONNEL CHALLENGES LOOM ON THE HORIZON.
BY ONE ESTIMATE, 30 PERCENT OF USAID'S FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT THIS YEAR,
VALUABLE EXPERIENCE THAT CANNOT BE CONTACTED OUT. OVERALL, OUR CURRENT MILITARY SPENDING AMOUNTS TO ABOUT
4 PERCENT OF GDP, BELOW THE HISTORIC NORM AND WELL BELOW PREVIOUS WARTIME PERIODS.
NONTHELESS, WE USE THIS BENCHMARK AS A ROUGH FLOOR OF HOW MUCH WE SHOULD SPEND ON DEFENSE.
WE LACK A SIMILAR BENCHMARK FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS.
WHAT IS CLEAR TO ME IS THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN SPENDING ON THE CIVILIAN INSTRUMENTS
OF NATIONAL SECURITY--DIPLOMACY, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, FOREIGN ASSISTANCE, CIVIC ACTION, AND ECONOMIC
RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT. SECRETARY RICE ADDRESSED THIS NEED IN A SPEECH AS GEORGETOWN
UNIVERSITY NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO. WE MUST FOCUS OUR ENERGIES BEYOND THE GUNS AND STEEL OF THE MILITARY,
BEYOND JUST OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS, SAILORS, MARINES, AND AIRMEN. WE MUST ALSO FOCUS OUR ENERGIES ON THE OTHER
ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER THAT WILL BE SO CRUCIAL IN THE YEARS TO COME.
NOW, I AM WELL AWARE THAT HAVING A SITTING SECRETARY DEFENSE TRAVEL HALWAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MAKE A PITCH
TO INCREASE THE BUDGET OF OTHER AGENCIES MIGHT FIT INTO THE CATEGORY OF "MAN BITES DOG"
OR FOR SOME BACK IN THE PENTAGON, "BLASPHEMY." IT IS CERTAINLY NOT AN EASY SELL POLITICALLY.
AND DON'T GET ME WRONG, I'LL BE ASKING FOR YET MORE MONEY FOR DEFENSE NEXT YEAR.
STILL, I HEAR ALL THE TIME FROM THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP OF OUR ARMED FORCES ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT
THESE CIVILIAN CAPABILITIES ARE. IN FACT, WHEN CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF ADMIRAL MIKE
MULLEN WAS CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, HE ONCE SAID HE'D HAND A PART OF HIS BUDGET TO THE STATE
DEPARTMENT "IN A HEARTBEAT," ASSUMING IS WAS SPENT IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
AFTER ALL, CIVILIAN PARTICIPATION IS BOTH NECESSARY TO MAKING MILITARY OPERATIONS
SUCCESSFUL AND TO RELIEVING STRESS ON THE MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR ARMED SERVICES WHO HAVE ENDURED SO MUCH
THESE LAST FEW YEARS, AND DONE SO WITH SUCH UNFLAGGING BRAVERY AND DEVOTION. INDEED, HAVING ROBUST
CIVILIAN CAPABILITIES AVAILABLE COULD MAKE IT LESS LIKELY THAT MILITARY FORCE WILL HAVE TO BE USED IN THE FIRST
PLACE, AS LOCAL PROBLEMS MIGHT BE DEALT WITH BEFORE THEY BECOME CRISES.
AT LAST POINT. REPEATEDLY OVER THE LAST CENTURY AMERICANS AVERTED THEIR EYES IN THE BELIEF THAT REMOTE
EVENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD NEED NOT ENGAGE THIS COUNTRY. HOW COULD AN ASSASSINATION OF AN AUSTRIAN
ARCHDUKE IN UNKNOWN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA EFFECT US? OR THE ANNEXATION OF A LITTLE PATCH OF GROUND CALLED
SUDETENLAND? OR A FRENCH DEFEAT AT A PLACE CALLED DIEN BIEN PHU? OR THE RETURN OF AN OBSCURE CLERIC TO TEHRAN?
OR THE RADICALIZATION OF AN ARAB CONSTRUCTION TYCOON'S SON?
WHAT SEEMS TO WORK BEST IN WORLD AFFAIRS, HISTORIAN DONALD KAGAN WROTE IN HIS BOOK ON THE ORIGINS OF WAR,
"IS THE POSSESSION BY THOSE STATES WHO WISH TO PRESERVE THE PEACE OF THE PREPONDERANT POWER AND OF THE WILL
TO ACCEPT THE BURDENS AND RESPONSIBILITIES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THAT PURPOSE."
IN AN ADDRESS AT HARVARD IN 1943, WINSTON CHURCHILL SAID, "THE PRICE OF GREATNESS IS RESPONSIBILITY...
THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES CANNOT ESCAPE WORLD RESPONSIBILITY." AND, IN A SPEECH AT
PRINCETON IN 1947, SECRETARY OF STATE AND RETIRED ARMY GENERAL GEORGE MARSHALL TOLD THE STUDENTS:
"THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR WORLD ORDER AND SECURITY, THE DEVELOPMENT
OF A SENSE OF OVERWHELMING IMPORTANCE OF THIS COUNTRY'S ACTS, AND FAILURES TO ACT, IN RELATION
TO WORLD ORDER AND SECURITY -- THESE, IN MY OPINION, ARE GREAT MUSTS FOR YOUR GENERATION."
OUR COUNTRY HAS NOW FOR MANY DECADES TAKEN UPON ITSELF GREAT BURDENS AND GREAT RESPONSIBILITIES--
ALL IN AN EFFORT TO DEFEAT DESPOTISM IN ITS MANY FORMS OR TO PRESERVE THE PEACE SO THAT OTHER NATIONS,
AND OTHER PEOPLES, COULD PURSUE THEIR DREAMS. FOR MANY DECADES, THE TENDER SHOOTS OF FREEDOM ALL AROUND THE WORLD
HAVE BEEN NOURISHED WITH AMERICAN BLOOD. TODAY, ACROSS THE GLOBE, THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER SEEKING
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL FREEDOM -- SEEKING HOPE EVEN AS OPPRESSIVE REGIMES AND MASS MURDERERS SOW CHAOS
IN THEIR MIDST -- SEEKING ALWAYS TO SHAKE FREE FROM THE BONDS OF TYRANNY.
FOR ALL THOSE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN STRUGGLING FOR A BETTER LIFE, THERE IS, AND MUST BE, NO STRONGER
ALLY OR ADVOCATE THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
LET US NEVER FORGET THAT OUR NATION REMAINS A BEACON OF LIGHT FOR THOSE IN DARK PLACES.
AND THAT OUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE WORLD -- TO FREEDOM, TO LIBERTY, TO THE OPPRESSED EVERYWHERE --
ARE NOT A BURDEN ON THE PEOPLE OR THE SOUL OF THIS NATION.
THEY ARE, RATHER, A BLESSING.
I WILL CLOSE WITH A MESSAGE FOR STUDENTS IN THE AUDIENCE. THE MESSAGE IS FROM THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
WHOSE WORDS RING AS TRUE TODAY AS WHEN HE DELIVERED THEM IN 1901. HE SAID,
"... AS, KEENEYED, WE GAZE INTO THE COMING YEARS, DUTIES, NEW AND OLD, RISE THICK AND FAST
TO CONFRONT US FROM WITHIN AND FROM WITHOUT... THE UNITED STATES SHOULD FACE THESE DUTIES WITH A SOBER
APPRECIATION ALIKE OF THEIR IMPORTANCE AND OF THEIR DIFFICULTY. BUT THERE IS ALSO EVERY REASON FOR FACING
THEM WITH HIGH-HEARTED RESOLUTION AND EAGER AND CONFIDENT FAITH IN OUR CAPACITY TO DO THEM ALRIGHT."
HE CONTINUED, "A GREAT WORK LIES READY TO THE HAND OF THIS GENERATION; IT SHOULD COUNT ITSELF HAPPY
INDEED THAT TO IT IS GIVEN THE PRIVILEGE OF DOING SUCH A WORK."
TO THE YOUNG FUTURE LEADERS OF AMERICA HERE AT KANSAS STATE TODAY, I SAY, "COME DO THE GREAT WORK THAT LIES
READY TO THE HAND OF YOUR GENERATION." THANK YOU.
(APPLAUSE)
WELL LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I THINK YOU CAN SEE WITH HIS LANDON PRESENTATION HERE TODAY, WHAT A KEEN SENSE OF HISTORY HE HAS
WHY HE IS REGARDED AS SUCH AN IMPORTANT CABINET MEMBER FOR THIS ADMINISTRATION AND WHY HE IS SO POPULAR
WITH PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE, BOTH THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE U.S. SENATE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WITH HIS PRESENTATION HERE THIS AFTERNOON.
SO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'RE GONNA PROCEED WITH SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS,
AND I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW WE HAVE MICROPHONES TO YOUR RIGHT AND TO YOUR LEFT.
AND SO WE'LL TRY AND GO FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER HERE. SO MR. SECRETARY ARE YOU READY HERE?
OKAY, SO LET'S START OVER HERE.
SPEAKER: THANK YOU MR. SECRETARY, MY NAME IS BRIAN COX I'M A JUNIOR IN POLITICAL SCIENCE HERE AT KSTATE.
UMM, IN YOUR LECTURE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DIPLOMACY IN DIPLOMATIC MEASURES IN OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND HOW INSTITUTIONS
NEED TO BE CREATED, AND WE'LL ASSISST WITH THAT, I'M SURE THE GENTLEMAN WHO WAS ESCORTED OUT BECAUSE OF HIS SHIRT
WOULD AGREE WITH YOU, BUT ONE OF MY QUESTIONS THAT I HAD IS HOW CAN SUCH SUPPORT FOR DIPLOMACY AND SUPPORT FOR THOSE
DIPLOMATIC INSTITUTIONS REALLY SUCCEED WHEN WE DON'T HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO IS WILLING TO SPEAK WITH THE NATIONAL LEADERS
OF COUNTRIES THAT WE ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH, SUCH AS IRAN AND NORTH KOREA.
SECRETARY: WELL A LITTLE BIT OF MY VIEW IS SHAPED, YOU KNOW, THE OLD LINE WHERE YOU STAND DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU SIT.
I DID UMM, BUT I THINK I CAN DESCRIBE FOR YOU AN EXAMPLE OF MY VIEW OF THOUGHTS ON CONTACT WITH IRAN
IN 2004, I CO-CHAIRED WITH DR. BRUSHINSKI VIA COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS REPORT
ON THE U.S. RELATIONSHIP WITH IRAN AND WHAT WE SHOULD DO
AND ONE OF OUR CONCLUSIONS WAS THAT THE UNITED STATES SHOULD REACHOUT TO THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT AND
AND BEGAN A DIALOG. TWO THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE THAT TIME
FIRST OF ALL, THE PRESIDENCY OF IRAN HAS CHANGED. AND WE HAVE GONE FROM A REFORMER PRESIDENT KHATAMI
TO PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD WHO HAS STATED QUITE EXPLICITLY THAT HE WANTS TO DESTROY ISRAEL.
HE HAS BEEN QUITE EXPLICIT THAT IRAN IS GOING TO DEFY THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS
CALLING ON THEM TO SUBMIT THEIR NUCLEAR PROGRAM, FOR INSPECTIONS AND TO NOT ENRICH URANIUM
SO IRANIAN POLICIES HAVE REALLY CHANGED, I THINK IN SOME SIGNIFICANT WAYS SINCE 2004.
I WOULD TELL YOU I HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN THE SEARCH FOR THE ELUSIVE IRANIAN MODERATE SINCE 1979.
THE SAME DR. BRUSHINSKI AND I WERE ATTENDING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ALGERIAN REVOLUTION
IN ALGERS, AND THE IRANIAN PRESIDENT, THE NEW IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY PRESIDENT--PRIME MINSTER RATHER--
FOREIGN MINISTER AND DEFENSE MINISTER WANTED TO MEET WITH BRUSHINSKI, SO WE MET.
AND BRUSHINSKI SAID, "WE'RE READY TO ACCEPT YOUR REVOLUTION, WE'RE READY TO SELL YOU THE ARMS WE HAD CONTRACTED TO SELL THE SHAH.
WE ARE PREPARED TO MOVE FORWARD IN THIS RELATIONSHIP." THEIR ONLY TALKING POINT WAS, "GIVE US THE SHAH."
FINALLY AT THE END OF THE TWO HOURS, BRASHINSKI SAID, 'TO GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ASK WOULD BE INCOMPATIBLE WITH OUR NATIONAL HONOR'
TWO DAYS LATER THE IRANIANS SEIZED OUR EMBASSY AND WITHIN TWO WEEKS ALL THREE OF THOSE MEN WERE OUT OF POWER
AND ONE OF THEM WAS IN JAIL. ALL I CAN SAY IS WE DO HAVE A DIALOG GOING WITH THE IRANIANS.
I THINK TO MEET WITH THE IRANIANS ON A PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL IS NOT APPROPRIATE
THE ADMINISTRATION HAS MADE CLEAR THEY ARE PREPARED TO HAVE A BROADER DIALOG
WITH THE IRANIANS IF THEY MAKE COMMITMENTS TO STOP ENRICHING.
MOST OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD AND UNANIMOUS SECURITY COUNCIL HAS CALLED UPON IRAN TO STOP.
I THINK THAT IF THE IRANIAN, WHAT OUR POLICIES OUR ABOUT ARE NOT CHANGING THE IRANIAN REGIME
BUT GETTING THE IRANIAN REGIME TO CHANGE ITS' POLICIES AND BEHAVIOR
I THINK THAT IF WE HAD SOME ATTRACTIVE PROSPECT OF DOING THAT WITH A MEETING AT A HIGH LEVEL
IT WOULD BE WORTH CONSIDERING. BUT UNDER PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES I DON'T THINK THOSE CONDITIONS PREVAIL.
(APPLAUSE)
SPEAKER: THANK YOU DR. GATES, MY NAME IS OWEN KENNEDY, I'M A SENIOR IN MANAGEMENT HERE AT KSTATE
MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THE SO-CALLED 'ENHANCED INTERROGATION METHODS' THAT GET IN A LOT OF THE HEADLINES NOWADAYS
WHEN A PERSON IS PICKED UP BY OUR GOVERNMENT AND INTERROGATED, THEY'VE NEVER BEEN TRIED,
THEY'VE NEVER BEEN CONVICTED, AND THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN SENTENCED BECAUSE OF ANY CRIME
IF SUCH A PERSON WERE TO BE PICKED UP AND INTERROGATED AND BECAUSE OF SUCH OF THE METHODS WERE TO GO WRONG
THE NATURE OF THE METHODS, IF THAT PERSON WERE TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF OUR GOVERNMENT WOULD YOU CONSIDER THAT MURDER?
SECRETARY: WELL I THINK THAT REQUIRES A KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW AND A HYPOTHETICAL KNOWLEDGE
OF A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION, THAT I'M NOT PREPARED TO RESPOND TO.
WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS SOMETHING THAT I FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT, AND THAT IS THAT
THE ARMY FIELD MANUAL CONTROLS WHAT THE MILITARY DOES IN TERMS OF INTERROGATION.
THE RULES ARE QUITE EXPLICIT AND IF THOSE RULE IN TERMS OF WHAT TECHNIQUES CAN BE USED
AND IF THOSE RULES ARE BROKEN BY AN INTERROGATOR, THEN IT'S MY IMPRESSION THAT THAT INTERROGATOR
WOULD BE SUBJECT TO INVESTIGATION AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND THAT COVERS ALL OF THE MILITARY.
OK NOW OVER HERE PLEASE.
SPEAKER: I'M THOMAS SUMMERS, I'M A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL. FIRST OFF I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR COMING
TO KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY I FOUND YOUR SPEAKER PARTICULARLY INSIGHTFUL.
MY QUESTION IS, HOW CAN THE UNITED STATES INCREASE SOFT POWER WHEN WE ARE SO DEEPLY IN THE HOLE
IN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. MY QUESTION IN SHORT IS HOW DO YOU BUILD
SOFT POWER WHEN WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A BASE TO REALLY BUILD OFF OF LIKE IN AREAS LIKE THE MIDDLE EAST.
AND SECONDLY, LET'S SAY THE U.S. IS ABLE TO INCREASE SOFT POWER, HOW THEN DO WE AVOID BEING OVERLY RELIANT ON SOFT POWER,
AND IN TURN, BEING PERCEIVED AS WEAK IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
WELL, IT OBVIOUSLY REQUIRES BALANCE. I WOULD SAY TO YOU, I HAVE BASICALLY LOST TRACK AT THIS POINT,
BUT IN THE 11 MONTHS I HAVE BEEN AT THIS JOB, I THINK I'VE PROBABLY VISITED 40 OR 45 COUNTRIES.
I DIDN'T RUN INTO A SINGLE ONE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO WORK WITH THE UNITED STATES, AND DOES NOT WANT A BETTER
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES. THAT INCLUDES RECENT VISITS BOTH RUSSIA AND TO CHINA.
I THINK THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES THERE FOR US, AND YOU NEVER CAN TELL WHAT'S HAPPENING.
FOR ONE, WE NOW HAVE A FRENCH PRESIDENT--I'M HAVING TO, FRANKLY, REVIEW 40 YEARS OF BIASES,
WHEN DEALING WITH THE FRENCH AND THE NEW ADMINISTRATION IN PARIS.
THE NEW PRESIDENT IS AMAZINGLY PRO-AMERICAN, AND IS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO COOPERATE WITH US.
THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT--ANGELA MERKEL--IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF HER PREDECESSORS.
SO, I THINK THERE IS A SENSE OUT THERE THAT THERE IS A LOT OF ANTI-AMERICANISM.
I THINK THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH A PERIOD OF THAT, PROBABLY, BUT RIGHT NOW IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MOST GOVERNMENTS
ARE EAGER TO WORK WITH US.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF ARAB COUNTRIES THAT HAVE COME TO THE ANNAPOLIS CONFERENCE, INCLUDING SYRIA,
I THINK IT INDICATES THE CONTINUING AND ENDURING STRENGTH OF OUR DIPLOMACY. SO I THINK THAT,
AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, IT'S MAINLY, I THINK, PEOPLE ARE WORRIED THAT WE WILL BE BOTH TOO WEAK AND THAT WE WILL BE TOO STRONG.
IT'S SORT OF LIKE EUROPEANS DURING PERIODS OF THE COLD WAR DIDN'T WANT OUR TROOPS THERE BUT DIDN'T WANT OUR
TROOPS TO GO HOME, EITHER. SO THERE IS SOME AMBIVALENCE. BUT, I THINK THERE'S PLENTY FOR US TO WORK WITH.
LET'S TRY OVER HERE.
SPEAKER: GOODAFTERNOON, SECRETARY GATES. WELCOME BACK TO THE KONZA PRAIRIE. MY NAME'S GREG COVINGTON,
I'M PROUD TO SAY I'M A GRADUATE OF THE K-STATE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, AND I WORK IN CONSTRUCTION IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.
SOME OF MY FRIENDS AND I OBSERVED PORTIONS OF YOUR CONFIRMATION HEARINGS, AND WE THOUGHT THAT A QUESTION
THAT SENATOR BYRD FROM WEST VIRGINIA ASKER YOU WAS RATHER THOUGHT-PROVOKING.
WHEN HE ASKED YOU IF YOU WOULD SUPPORT AN ATTACK ON IRAN, I BELIEVE YOU REPLIED THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER
THAT A LAST RESORT, AND THAT YOU WOULD PREFER DIPLOMACY AS THE FIRST CHOICE IN DEALING WITH IRAN.
SO, MY FRIENDS AND I WERE WONDERING, WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE IN YOUR FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE,
DIPLOMATICALLY, TO TRY TO AVOID AN ATTACK ON IRAN?
AND PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHEN WE CONSIDER THE OATH OF OFFICE THAT YOU WERE ADMINISTERED DURING
YOUR SWEARING IN CEREMONY, IF IRAN DOES NOT ATTACK THE UNITED STATES OR ONE OF ITS ALLIES,
AND IF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS DOES NOT DECLARE WAR ON IRAN, YET PRESIDENT BUSH WERE TO SAY:
"GO AHEAD AND ORDER A PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE ON IRAN", WOULD YOUR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE
BE TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHEIF OR THE CONSTITUTION? I THINK THAT WE,
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, MY ALLEGIANCE WELL ALWAYS BE TO THE CONSTITUTION. AND THAT HAS BEEN TRUE UNDER SEVEN PRESIDENTS.
AS I INDICATED AN ANSWER TO AN EARLIER QUESTION, WE ARE ENGAGED IN DIPLOMACY WITH IRAN.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE ARE ENGAGED IN DIPLOMACY WITH A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD AND TRYING TO SECURE
THEIR SUPPORT FOR ECONOMIC SANCTIONS TO BRING PRESSURE ON THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT TO RESOLVE THIS NUCLEAR
PROBLEM IN IRAN IN A PEACEFUL WAY. AND MY ANSWER TO YOU WOULD BE THE SAME ANSWER I GAVE IN MY CONFIRMATION HEARING.
ALL OPTIONS HAVE TO BE ON THE TABLE, BUT I BELIEVE A MILITARY ACTION IS THE LAST RESORT.
SPEAKER: THANK YOU SECRETARY GATES. MY NAME IS MARY-BETH REESE, I'M A RETIRED SOCIAL WORKER HERE IN MANHATTAN.
OVER 60,000 AMERICAN SOLDIERS HAVE BEEN WOUNDED IN IRAQ, AND 30% OF THOSE HAVE MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS,
AND A LOT OF THOSE ARE IRREPARABLE BRAIN DAMAGE.
SO THE TOTAL COST OF TAKING CARE OF OUR SOLDIERS WHEN THEY COME HOME IS ESTIMATED AT $660 BILLION.
SO MY QUESTION IS, HOW CAN WE CONTINUE THIS HUMAN TRAGEDY AND THE ECONOMIC COST TO OUR NATION,
AND WHEN WILL WE BRING OUR TROOPS HOME?
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THE NUMBERS OF WOUNDED ARE TRAGIC. IF THE NUMBER WAS ONE, IT WOULD BE TRAGIC.
BUT THE NUMBER OF WOUNDED IN IRAQ AT THIS POINT IS ABOUT 30,000; NOT 60,000.
THE FACT IS, WE ARE BEGINNING TO BRING TROOPS HOME. THE FIRST UNITS NOT TO BE REPLACED CAME OUT IN SEPTEMBER,
WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH.
I'M GOING TO FORT HOOD LATER THIS AFTERNOON, AND ONE OF THE BRIGADE COMBAT TEAMS FROM FORT HOOD
IS COMING HOME NEXT MONTH IN DECEMBER. GENERAL PETRAEUS HAS LAID OUT A PROPOSED TIMETABLE
OF HAVE A BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM COME OUT ABOUT ONCE EVERY 45 DAY THROUGH JULY,
WHICH WOULD BRING US DOWN BY FIVE COMBAT BRIGADES. MY HOPE IS THAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES WILL PERMIT CONTINUING
THOSE DRAWDOWNS AFTER JULY. AND I THINK WHAT IS IMPORTANT, IF YOU TALK TO THE SOLDIERS--
THEY WANT TO COME HOME, BUT THEY ALSO DON'T WANT THEIR SACRIFICES AND THEIR EFFORTS TO HAVE BEEN IN VAIN.
AND THEY ALSO DON'T WANT THEIR SONS TO HAVE TO GO BACK IN TEN YEARS.
WE'VE HAD SOME REMARKABLE PROGRESS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. THAT PROGRESS IS WHAT IS ENABLING
US TO BEGIN BRINGING DOWN OUR TROOPS AND I THINK WE JUST ALL NEED TO PRAY THAT WE ARE ABLE TO CONTINUE THAT.
SPEAKER: WELCOME TO KANSAS, MR. GATES. MY NAME IS MEL POOLER, I'M A PROUD ALUMNI OF KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
AND A MEMBER OF THE MANHATTAN COMMUNITY. MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE TROOPS. I, MYSELF, AM A BIG SUPPORTER
OF THE AMERICAN TROOPS. CBS NEWS JUST RELEASED THE RESULTS OF A STUDY ON THE NUMBER OF AMERICAN VETERANS
THAT TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES. THESE VETERAN SUICIDE STATISTICS ARE FROM 45 STATES AND COVER THE YEARS 1995 TO 2005,
IN 2005 ALONE, IN THOSE 45 STATES, THERE WAS A TOTAL OF 6,256 VETERAN SUICIDES IN JUST THAT ONE YEAR.
MOREOVER, THEY FOUND THE HIGHEST RATES OF SUICIDE WERE AMONG SOLDIERS 20 TO 24 YEARS OF AGE.
OBVIOUSLY, THOSE WOULD BE THE VETERANS FIGHTING IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.
MY QUESTION IS, AS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, WHAT WILL YOU DO TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SUICIDES AMONG AMERICAN SOLDIERS
FIGHTING IN IRAQ OR SOLDIERS WHO HAVE FOUGHT IN PAST WARS?
AND, ALSO, WOULD YOU CONSIDER THIS SUICIDE EPIDEMIC AMONG VETERANS ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO GET ALL U.S. TROOPS
OUT OF IRAQ BY THE END OF THE NEXT YEAR?
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE CBS ANALYSIS HASN'T BEEN VALIDATED
BY ANYBODY AND IT'S APPARENTLY ANALYSIS THEY DID ON THEIR OWN, AND NOT BY AN INDEPENDENT GROUP.
THAT SAID, SUICIDES BY OUR SOLDIERS IS A REAL CONCERN TO US, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT EVERY COMMANDER,
EVERY UNIT LEADER, IS LOOKING AT WAYS TO SEE IF THEY CAN IDENTIFY SOLDIERS WHO ARE EXHIBITING SYMPTOMS
OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS. THERE IS A VERY INTENSIVE EFFORT UNDERWAY; TRAINING HAS TAKEN PLACE
THROUGHOUT THE ARMY IN TERMS OF RECOGNIZING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS SYNDROME,
TO BE ABLE TO TRY AND IDENTIFY SOLDIERS WHO HAVE THOSE PROBLEMS.
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, THOUGH, THESE KINDS OF THINGS, SADLY, WHEN YOU'RE FIGHTING WARS AND WHEN YOU'RE
PUTTING THE SOLDIERS THAT WE HAVE, AS BRAVE AND DEDICATED AS THEY ARE, UNDER THE STRESS THEY'RE UNDER,
THIS IS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM. AND IT IS ONE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT CLOSELY. IT IS ONE OF THE MEASURES THAT
WE LOOK AT IN TERMS OF THE HEALTH OF THE ARMY, AS WELL AS DIVORCE RATES, DISCIPLINARY PROBLEMS,
RETENTION, RECRUITMENT NUMBERS, AND SO ON.
SO WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS, THAT ALONG WITH THESE OTHER MEASURES, ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE
MONITORING VERY, VERY CLOSELY.
SPEAKER: HI, MY NAME IS ANDY BROWNBACK, I'M A SOPHOMORE IN ECONOMICS. I'VE GOT A QUESTION
ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBILITY, BOTH DIPLOMATICALLY AND MILITARILY IN CONFLICTS IN OTHER AREAS OF THE WORLD.
WE SEEM TO BE FOCUSING A LOT ON THE MIDDLE EAST, BUT THERE ARE OTHER CONFLICTS THAT ARE EQUALLY TRAGIC IN
PLACES LIKE AFRICA THAT SEEM TO GET OVERLOOKED. IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY BASED MORE ON THE THREAT LEVEL OF THAT
COUNTRY OR IS IT BASED SORT OF ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS?
BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF EMPHASIS ON BOTH IN IRAQ.
WELL, THIS HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING... DEBATE, FRANKLY, THAT HAS GONE ON, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE END OF THE COLD WAR.
AND THAT IS, DO WE EMPLOY ALL THE FORMS OF OUR NATIONAL POWER ONLY WHEN OUR NATIONAL INTERESTS ARE AT THE RISK
OR DO WE DO IT IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN THERE ARE HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDIES OR GENOCIDES?
AND THIS DEBATE WAS ACTUALLY SPARKED, PRINCIPALLY, DURING THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION
BECAUSE OF THE GENOCIDE IN RWANDO AND THE FAILURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO ACT.
AND IT ALSO INVOLVES THIS DEBATE IN THIS COUNTRY, AND A LEGITIMATE DEBATE IT SEEMS TO ME,
OVER WHETHER WE ACT TO DEFEND OUR INTERESTS OR WHETHER WE BECOME THE WORLD POLICEMAN.
AND IT SEEMS TO ME, ONE OF THE REASONS, FRANKLY, WHY I THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE BEEN AGAINST, AND IN THE FIRST
BUSH ADMINISTRATION, ACTUALLY WAS AGAINST, DEPLOYING U.S. FORCES TO THE BALKANS,
WAS THAT IT SEEMED TO ME THAT WAS IN THE EUROPEANS' BACKYARD.
AND IF IT WERE A REAL SECURITY CONCERN, THEN THE EUROPEANS OUGHTA TAKE CARE OF THAT PROBLEM.
THE EUROPEANS ARE VERY EAGER TO TRY AND GET IN. THEY ARE TRYING TO SEND THEIR SOLDIERS
INTO SUDAN TO HELP WITH THE DARFUR SITUATION, BUT THE SUDANESE GOVERNMENT WON'T LET THEM IN.
AND NOBODY'S PREPARED TO GO TO WAR WITH THE SUDANESE GOVERNMENT TO GAIN ACCESS.
THE REBELS THEMSELVES ARE DIVIDED, SO, SOME OF THESE ARE VERY COMPLEX SITUATIONS.
RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE TWO NAVY SHIPS THAT ARE IN BANGLADESH OFFERING ASSISTANCE.
WE HAVE OFFERED A GREAT DEAL OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE OVER THE YEARS. PART OF THE PROBLEM
IN TERMS OF HOW WE PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS IS THAT, AS WE LEARNED DURING THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION,
IF YOU APPLY SANCTIONS TO THOSE WHO VIOLATE HUMAN RIGHTS,
THEN THE PEOPLE YOU END UP HURTING ARE, PRINCIPALLY, SMALL COUNTRIES WHO ARE OFTEN YOUR ALLIES.
BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE ONES YOU HAVE LEVERAGE OVER.
AND WE FOUND OURSELVES IN THE VERY AWKWARD POSITION THAT, AT THAT TIME, TWO OF THE BIGGEST HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATORS IN THE WORLD, THE SOVIET UNION AND CHINA, WERE BEYOND THE REACH OF ANY OF OUR SANCTIONS.
SO HOW DO YOU BALANCE HOW YOU USE THE TOOLS OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY, AMERICAN NATIONAL POWER,
IN TERMS OF PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS, AT THE SAME TIME AS YOU PROTECT OUR NATIONAL INTERESTS?
I GAVE A SPEECH AT DEMOCRACY FORUM IN WILLIAMSBURG A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO IN WHICH I TALKED ABOUT
THESE COMPETING INTERESTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING WHEN THE UNITED STATES
TURNED ASIDE ASSISTANCE TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARIES BECAUSE GEORGE WASHINGTON DIDN'T WANT THE
UNITED STATES TO GET INVOLVED. AND WE JOINED AN ALLIANCE, OR BASICALLY SIGNED A PEACE TREATY
WITH THE BRITISH, WHOM THE FRENCH HAD HELPED US FIGHT TO GET OUR INDEPENDENCE,
WE JOINED WITH THE BRITS AGAINST THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARIES.
SO, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING IT'S BEEN A COMPLICATED DECISION ON THE PART OF OUR GOVERNMENTS
AND I WOULD TELL YOU THAT EVERY PRESIDENT THAT I HAVE WORKED FOR HAS WEIGHED THEM DIFFERENTLY,
AND COME DOWN IN DIFFERENT PLACES ON WHEN AND HOW TO ACT AND PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.
(APPLAUSE)
WELL, MR. SECRETARY, WE HAVE A LITTLE PAPERWEIGHT HERE FOR YOU. SAYS 'LANDON LECTURE'
AND THE DATE, AND ALL THAT, SO I KNOW YOU'LL HAVE THAT RIGHT ON YOUR DESK.
BUT, THAT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO THIS.
(APPLAUSE)
HE'S BEEN WAITING FOR YEARS TO GET THIS RIGHT NOW, I'LL TELL YOU THAT.
(APPLAUSE)
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING.