Lee Hamilton, a respected fixture in American politics, gave this year’s Raymond E. Baldwin lecture on Tuesday entitled “How to Use American Power.”
Hamilton argued that America must address foreign policy problems through multilateralism and collective security arrangements and must eschew the use of military power alone to resolve complex issues. He also argued U.S. policy was too fixated on the short-term and on terrorism, calling upon policymakers to get past the “tyranny of the inbox” and mold a comprehensive American strategy in the twenty-first century.
Hamilton is a former Democratic member of Congress and was vice chair of the 9/11 Commission. He is a current member of the President’s Homeland Security Council, and serves as president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
“We may not need the world’s permission to act, but we need their help to succeed,” Hamilton said to a large audience of students, faculty, and staff. “With America alone, the challenges are overwhelming. With America leading the world, the challenges are surmountable.”
Hamilton laid out four “central realities” in the world with which the United States must grapple, including the stretching of American power, the global power shift to India, China, and the European Union, globalization, and increasing turmoil across the world. In his opinion, the United States must pay particular attention to nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the political challenge of extremist Islam, the rise of China, and increased energy demand.
“How do we respond to these central realities?” Hamilton said. “The one overriding principle for me is integration. We cannot solve these problems solely through military power. We have to integrate all the tools of American power: Economic, diplomatic, military, and financial. No army, however strong, can bring stability and political progress alone. Military power, in short, does not a foreign policy make.”
Hamilton called for an energy policy to wean the nation off foreign oil, immediate action on the budget and trade deficits, HIV/AIDS in Africa, and global poverty. He feels that these actions must be coupled with a renewed effort to diplomatically engage developing nations as a means of combating an unprecedented rise in anti-Americanism.
“He was sensibly liberal,” said Nathan Ratner ’09. “I really enjoyed it. That line about America leading the world really stuck with me. If only Kerry had said that in the debates. If there was more of this discourse, the U.S. would embody more of the things he talked about.”
Although Hamilton admitted that America cannot solve the world’s problems, he argued that a foreign policy based on compassion for the problems of other nations would go a long way toward building goodwill and trust.
“We must let people around the world know we want for them what we want for ourselves: Jobs, health care, the freedom to marry whomever they want,” Hamilton said. “We have to let them know, ‘We’re on your side, we want to help.’ We spread hope.”
Hamilton related the need to integrate American foreign policy into a cohesive whole to the interdependency fostered by globalization, which he believes links the security of one nation with the security of all. Ten years ago, he said, the American people never would have cared about a country as remote as Afghanistan or believed that what transpired there could have led to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“I wasn’t too happy about the sweeping generalizations he made about the Islamic world,” said Joel Bhuiyan ’06. “I wish he would use more precise language. He was very knowledgeable, but too general. There were not enough concrete examples of how to use American power responsibly.”
According to Hamilton, in today’s post 9/11 world, the United States cannot afford to ignore endemic poverty, disease, and hopelessness. The failed states of today can become the terrorist havens and rogue countries of tomorrow. His answer to the problems across the world faced by America today is collective security through multilateralism and diplomacy.
“The surest way to lead the twenty-first century is with U.S. leadership in a global system of collective security,” Hamilton said. “And that’s the greatest challenge to American foreign policy.”
To Hamilton, the failure to rely more heavily on diplomacy, especially with Iran and North Korea, is endangering the security of the United States. He is firmly against the setting of preconditions for talks with those countries, which he believes is counterproductive.
“[Hamilton] hearkened back to an earlier time when people were judged based on [the merits of their] policy, not what color their tie was,” said Sarah Gillig ’09. “It was refreshing.”
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