Toward Smart Power in International Affairs
Panel Discussion
Los Angeles Times Building
Chandler Auditorium
202 West First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
11:30-1:30pm
Buffet lunch to be served
The new administration has signaled its commitment to the use of smart power in international affairs—a strategy incorporating both diplomacy and foreign aid alongside the use of military force to advance US national security. From Granada to Afghanistan to Iraq, the US has found that the use of force and military action can achieve powerful objectives, but the quest for a lasting peace and stable societies abroad remains elusive. What role do diplomacy and foreign assistance play in securing the national interest? How are we to strengthen America’s diplomatic corps, and what has the “militarization of foreign policy” meant for America’s military?
The American Academy of Diplomacy (AAD), the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the Los Angeles Times are pleased to organize a panel discussion on September 16, 2009 to explore these issues further. Eddy Hartenstein, Publisher of the Times, will give welcoming remarks, and Dr. Jerrold D. Green, President and CEO of the Pacific Council, will introduce the panelists.
Ambassador Ronald Neumann (ret.), president of the American Academy of Diplomacy, will discuss the findings of a recent AAD report titled A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future: Fixing the Crisis in Diplomatic Readiness (FAB). The report suggests that the State Department and USAID need significantly more training and 4,735 more diplomats and development professionals over five years to effectively accomplish their missions in classic diplomacy, training, public diplomacy, development diplomacy, and reconstruction and stabilization.
Gordon Adams, Distinguished Follow at the Stimson Center and professor of US foreign policy at American University, will explain further the importance of the International Affairs Budget to US national security. General John Sheehan, a retired 4-star general of the US Marines, will discuss how the repeated use of the military for stabilization work has affected the military. We are pleased to welcome Marjorie Miller, Editorial Writer and LA Times Op-Ed Special Correspondent, as moderator.
The panel will shed insight on the need for a more integrated approach towards advancing US national security—one that strengthens America’s diplomatic and development capabilities, and gives a greater appreciation for the appropriate roles to be played by the military and civilian agencies in the implementation of US foreign policy.
View the invitation
An audio recording of the panel will be available following the event
