James Schlesinger Lecture

Speaker: Dr. James Schlesinger, Former United States Secretary of Defense and Former United States Secretary of Energy
Title: “Facing Old and New Defense Challenges”
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Time: 7:30-9:00 pm
Location: Hinckley Center Assembly Hall
Sponsor: Wheatley Institution and David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies


James Schlesinger received a bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950. He received his master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1956.

Dr. Schlesinger began his government service in 1969 as assistant director of the U.S. Bureau of the Budget (later the Office of Management and Budget), where he also served as acting deputy director. From July 1973 to November 1975, Dr. Schlesinger was Secretary of Defense. Immediately prior to this appointment, he served as Director of Central Intelligence. In August 1971, he was selected by President Nixon to become chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, a position he held until February 1973. Dr. Schlesinger was the nation's first Secretary of Energy, taking the oath of office one day after President Carter signed the legislation creating the new department. He served in this position from 1977 to 1979.

Dr. Schlesinger has also served on many government commissions and advisory groups. Recently, he served as chairman of the Secretary's Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management. He is vice chairman of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. From 1999 to 2003, he was a member of the Panel to Assess the Reliability, Safety, and Security of the U.S. Nuclear Stockpile, and from 1998 to 2001, he was a member of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century (Hart-Rudman Commission). He recently served as co-chair of the Defense Science Board Task Force on the Future of the Global Positioning System (GPS). He also chairs the advisory group on GPS for the PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) Executive Committee. He was vice chairman of the President's Blue Ribbon Task Group on Nuclear Weapons Program Management (1984 –1985), and served on the President's Commission on Strategic Forces (1982–1983).

Dr. Schlesinger serves as chairman of the board of The MITRE Corporation. He is a consultant to the Departments of Defense and State, and a member of the Defense Policy Board and the International Security Advisory Board. Dr. Schlesinger is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy. He is a director for Evergreen Energy and Sandia National Corporation. He is a counselor and trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a trustee of the Atlantic Council, the Nixon Center, the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation, the Center for Global Energy Studies, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation.

Dr. Schlesinger has been awarded eleven honorary doctorates. He is the recipient of the National Security Medal, as well as five departmental and agency medals. He is the recipient of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Distinguished Service Medal, the George Catlett Marshall Medal, the H. H. Arnold Award, the Navy League's National Meritorious Citation, the Distinguished Service Award of the Military Order of the Carabao, the Jimmy Doolittle Award, the Military Order of the World Wars Distinguished Service Award, the Henry M. Jackson Award for Distinguished Public Service, and the William Oliver Baker Award. In 2009, he received the Air Force Association's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Schlesinger is the author of The Political Economy of National Security, 1960, America at Century's End, 1989, and numerous articles.

The Challenge of Afghanistan and Pakistan

Symposium: The Challenge of Afghanistan and Pakistan
Date: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Location: Hinckley Center Assembly Hall
Time: Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Afternoon Session: 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sponsors: The Wheatley Institution and the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies


The Honorable John J. Hamre, President and CEO, Center for Strategic and International Studies, will be the keynote speaker at 1:00 p.m.

The panel participants include:
Stephen P. Cohen, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution
Gerald F. Hyman, President, Hills Program on Governance, Center for Strategic and International Studies
John Hughes, Professor of Communications, Brigham Young University
Colonel Michael J. Meese, Head of Social Sciences, U.S. Military Academy at West Point
Lieutenant Colonel Isaiah Wilson, Professor of Social Sciences, U.S. Military Academy at West Point

Panels chaired by:
General Amos A. Jordan, Former CSIS President, Wheatley Institution Senior Fellow

Brent Scowcroft Lecture on Sep. 29th

Brent Scowcroft, the National Security Advisor for Presidents Ford and George H. W. Bush will be speaking at 7:00 p.m. on September 29th in the Assembly Hall at the Hinckley Alumni Center. His lecture is sponsored by BYU's Wheatley Institute.

This series of lectures in international affairs will feature several well-know foreign policy experts at various times during the academic year, so stay tuned for more announcements.

South African Ambassador's Visit - Change of Location

from Erlend D. Peterson, Associate International Vice President:

May I invite you and your students to attend the lectures that will be given by the Ambassador of South Africa to the United States. Will you also forward this email to those whom you feel would be interested in attending Ambassador Nhlapo’s lecture.

South Africa – His Excellency Welile Nhlapo
Topic: ASouth Africa Today: Challenges and Opportunities@
Lecture: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 - 12:00 noon in the HBLL Library Auditorium.
Web bio: http://www.saembassy.org/

Ambassador Welile Nhlapo’s CV

During the difficult period of struggle against apartheid, Ambassador Nhlapo made a significant contribution to the liberation movement. He began his activities as a student in the Black Consciousness Movement and together with the late Steve Biko and Tebogo Mafole, he co-authored the publication, “Black review,” in 1972 that reviewed the activities of black organizations at the time.In 1973 a banning order was issued against him and he went into exile in Botswana in 1974. During his years in exile, he became the Deputy Editor of the ANC publication, Sechaba, Head of the ANC Youth Section, and other structures of the ANC.

He later became the ANC Chief Representative in Botswana and finally before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs, became the Head of the Political Section in the ANC Secretary-General’s office and later the organization’s International Affairs department.
He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and was part of the South African Government delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1994 when South Africa was re-admitted to the world body.

In 1995, he was appointed South African Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. In 1997, he was appointed Special Envoy to Burundi. He also served as non-resident Ambassador to Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan.

In 1998, he was appointed Deputy Director-General responsible for Africa in the Department of Foreign Affairs. During this period, he participated in South Africa’s conflict resolution efforts in Lesotho, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Comoros, Zimbabwe and Great Lakes region.
In 2001, he was appointed Head of the Presidential Support Unit which advised the Presidency on conflict situations in Africa and the Middle East.

Contributing to the peace process in Burundi, as South Africa’s Special Envoy, Ambassador Nhlapo formed part of the South African negotiating team assisting to find a solution to the conflict in Burundi. He was appointed deputy Head of Mission responsible for political affairs in the African Union Mission in Burundi. He later became the Head of the Political Section of the United Nations Mission in Burundi.

Shortly before assuming the post as South African Ambassador to the United States on 14 August 2007, Ambassador Nhlapo was Director in the Department of Political Affairs (Africa Division 1) at the United Nation’s Headquarters in New York.
Ambassador Nhlapo currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Nelson Mandela’s Children Fund in the United States of America.

Ambassador Nhlapo was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is married to Mrs Sissy Nhlapo; they have three children.

How Government Looks at Pundits

An Op-ed piece by Eliot A. Cohen in today's Wall Street Journal. An insightful description of how foreign policy is made within the US government.

"Government resembles nothing so much as the party game of telephone, in which stories relayed at second, third or fourth hand become increasingly garbled as they crisscross other stories of a similar kind ('That may be what the Russian national security adviser said to the undersecretary for political affairs on Wednesday, but it's not how the Turkish foreign minister described the Syrian view to our ambassador to NATO on Thursday.') Add to this the effects of secrecy induced by security concerns, as well as by the natural desire to play one's cards close to one's vest, and the result is a well-nigh impenetrable murk of policy making."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123267054604308313.html

Book Review

Napoleon in Egypt, by Paul Strathern

I finished this book today and enjoyed it greatly. Obviously, the book focuses on Napoleon's invasion and occupation of Egypt in 1798. This is not a period of history about which I knew much and I found this well-researched book quite interesting.

Strathern discusses all aspects of the venture, including the scientific accomplishments. But the focus of the book is clearly on Napoleon and the what, how and why of the invasion. He makes a very good case that Napoleon was intent on following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great and establishing an empire based in Egpyt founded on French culture and science. The large number of "savants" he recruited for the mission is just one piece of evidence supporting this idea.

Strathern discusses the major military engagements as well as the political maneuvering between and among France, England, Austria, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and other states.

My favorite chapters were 18 & 19 which document the pursuit of Murad Bey, one of the previous Mameluke rulers, south along the Nile into Upper Egypt by Napoleon's general, Desaix . This was country through which few, if any, Europeans had traveled and the ancient temples and other ruins they passed were unknown to European historians. The artist, Donon, accompanied the soldiers on this campaign, and the hundreds of sketches he brought back were instrumental in sparking European interest in ancient Egypt and establishing modern Egyptology.

Ultimately, the French were expelled from Egypt by the combined forces of Britain and the Ottomans. Napoleon abandoned his army and returned to Franch before this, however, in 1799, after a failed invasion of Palestine.

The parallels between Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the US war in Iraq are many, though by no means perfect. This gives the book a lot of contemporary interest beyond the history.

Strathern notes that, "between 1o,000 and 15,000 Frenchmen were probably killed or died of disease during the occupation of Egypt, as well as many times that number of Muslim warriors and Mamelukes -- all in the vain attempt to impose European civilization upon a backward people whose religion encouraged them to regard all change and all foreigners with the deepest suspicion." Regardless of how accurate that assessment is, the book still documents a very good historic example of the limits of military power.

Internship Opportunity

From the Governor's Office of Economic Development: International Trade and Diplomacy, forwarded from Noleani Porter in the advisement center:

About the Position
The internship gives students hands-on experience in international business and market trends to help identify opportunities for Utah companies to expand abroad.

Activities may include:
· Company consultation
· Inbound/outbound trade missions
· Diplomatic visits

Interns work an average of 20-25 hours per week at $10 per hour. We are currently looking for someone who can commit until the end of June 2009.

Applicants should possess strong skills in the following areas:
· Communication
· Research
· Writing
· Computer
· Foreign language (Chinese or Japanese proficiency a plus, but not required)

To apply, send a cover letter and resume to Adam Walden at awalden@utah.gov.

For more information about the International Trade and Diplomacy Office visit www.international.utah.gov.

Book Review

Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis, by Mike Chinoy

Some of you may have attended Mike Chinoy's lecture at the Kennedy Center on December 4th. It was very good, and if you missed it you can find the podcast by following this link.

I started this book last Thursday and finished it this morning. It is a fascinating look at US policy toward North Korea during the Bush administration (up through early 2008). There is also some good background on US-North Korean diplomatic relations. The most interesting part of the book, to me, was the documentation of the internal warfare in the US foreign policy bureacracy over what the correct US policy ought to be. The book is meticulously researched and would be a good read for anyone interested in North Korea, or in the mechanics of US foreign policy.

Chinoy is obviously a supporter of negotiations with North Korea, but he makes a good case. For the most part the book is historical documentation of what actually happened with little or no editorializing. The fact of the matter is that, despite a hard-line attitude toward North Korea, the Bush administration eventually ended up with pretty much the same deal that the Clinton administration had, but North Korea acquired several addition nuclear bombs in the meantime.

North Korea is run by a reprehensible ruling elite with an awful human rights record, but Chinoy makes a very good case for the US talking with them anyway.