Five Former Secretaries of State Cite Key Issues for Next President

Five Former Secretaries of State Cite Key Issues for Next President
Posted Tuesday, September 16 2008 12:53:29 am


Amanpour and Sesno moderated the round table discussion, scheduled to air on CNN.

Photos by Shameek Patel
By Marissa Moran
Co-Editor-in-Chief

Five former U.S. secretaries of state agreed that the next president should work to better engage America in the global community at a televised panel in Lisner Auditorium on Monday afternoon.

CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour and GW Professor Frank Sesno, a CNN special correspondent and former Washington bureau chief moderated the round table discussion of Madeleine K. Albright, James A. Baker III, Warren Christopher, Henry A. Kissinger, and Colin L. Powell for a CNN broadcast entitled “The Next President: A World of Challenges.”

In an extremely competitive presidential election season, and one highly scrutinized by the press, Amanpour and Sesno looked for substantial, issue-based conversation among the secretaries instead of partisan debate. Amanpour opened by telling the secretaries that they should give “candid, robust, meat and potatoes advice for the next president, whoever that may be.”

Colin Powell responded first by saying that in his first duty as commander in chief, the president must “restore a sense of confidence in the U.S.”

“We must let friends and allies around the world know we are supporting their work in unison,” said Powell, who served as secretary of state from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush. He said that, as Americans, we “should have confidence in ourselves and in the rest of the world” and that we must convey this strong image to the global community, a large part of which currently views America less than favorably because of interventionist policies abroad.

Madeleine Albright drew laughs from the audience at the beginning of the discussion, saying that if she greeted the newly elected president at his Inaugural Ball, she would say, “Remember that you wanted this job.”

Albright, secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, stressed that the international problems facing the world can only be solved by cooperation between the U.S. and other countries.

“To work with other countries is a sign of strength,” she said.

Though the secretaries agreed that restoration of America's image abroad is essential, some differed on what the next president's top priority will be. Christopher, who served immediately before Albright under President Clinton, said that the primary issue that the new president must work on is the economy, while Baker, President George H.W. Bush's secretary of state, argued that the president must "structure the national security apparatus," making clear the lines of its responsibility. Baker also encouraged "strengthening the elements of American soft power" for the new president's foreign policy.

However, for the U.S. to effectively interact with the rest of the world, Kissinger stressed that the next president should reach a consensus among his principle advisers so as to avoid the "jockeying of position among various advisers." According to Kissinger, who was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and also assistant to the president for national security affairs from 1969 to 1975, once there is unity in the next administration then the U.S. could invite the rest of the world to partake in foreign policy.

The five former secretaries walked on stage to a standing ovation from a sold-out audience of 1,400, which included GW students, members of the press, and more than 80 foreign dignitaries. Tickets for the event sold out within an hour of their release nearly two weeks ago, according to GW Media Relations.

When Amanpour asked for three key points that the president must do to regain the American image abroad, Baker said that he must use American diplomatic, political, and economic elements to the country’s advantage. Albright said that there is “generally a sense that the U.S. is on the wrong side” in world politics, and that many think that the “growing gap between the rich and the poor” is in part due to the U.S.

“We have to have confidence and also humility,” said Albright, who is presently the principle of The Albright Group, LLC, a global strategy firm. “It’s not easy in that office, admitting to the American people that he needs help….He needs to realize that when he’s talking to the American people, he’s (also) talking to a foreign audience.”

Christopher said that his suggestions for the president to regain respect would be to outlaw torture and become a global leader in the climate change crisis. His colleagues agreed with him about outlawing torture and further suggested the shut down of Guantanamo Bay.

When Sesno asked if the current U.S. economic problems would lead to a global recession, Baker said that the situation “will affect the global economy negatively.” Albright said that on an international level, “it doesn’t matter if we’re popular but it does matter if we’re respected and whether other countries want to work with us.”

Powell, who contributed a great deal to the discussion, said in response to Sesno’s inquiry about American policy toward “this” Russia that the new administration must “deal with the Russians in a straightforward, candid way, not emotionally. We have to treat Russia as a proud country with popular political leadership.”

As for relations with Iran, Kissinger also said that the U.S. must be upfront and honest.

“I always believe the best way to begin a negotiation is to tell the other side exactly what you have in mind and the outcome you’re trying to achieve.”

The conversation covered issues of foreign aid, the war in Afghanistan, relations with Pakistan, and a Middle East peace agreement. On the question of U.S. engagement or isolation with the rest of the world, all the secretaries agreed that engagement is the best route. As for the war in Iraq, both Christopher and Powell agreed that the number one priority of the new president will be to encourage the Iraqi government to reach a political reconciliation.

At the end of the event, several GW students from the audience asked questions of the former secretaries of state. The first student, from Greenwich, Conn., asked what message they thought the potential election of the first African-American president would send to the rest of the world. Albright said that she thought it would send a great message abroad, and she was thus supporting Sen. Barack Obama as the presidential nominee.

Sesno then asked Colin Powell, the first African-American secretary of state, what he thought.

“I am an American first and foremost,” said Powell, eliciting a wild cheer from the audience. But he declared that he is “neutral” right now, knowing both the democratic candidate, Sen. Barack Obama and the republican candidate, Sen. John McCain very well.

“We have to get off this ‘lipstick on a pig’ stuff and get to the serious issues,” he said, criticizing the media’s “celebrity” hype surrounding the campaigns. Powell said he is waiting to watch the upcoming debates to make his final decision of whom to support.

“I’m not going to vote for McCain because he’s a friend. I’m not going to vote for Obama because he’s black,” he continued. “Who’s going to keep us safer? Who brings the best judgment and experience to the task?”

The broadcast of the roundtable discussion will air on CNN on Saturday, September 20 at 9 p.m. and on Sunday, September 21 at 2 p.m. EST.