 I'm sorry, whoa Thanks, John Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to To interrupt you I mean it's because it's been such a stimulating day that it's it's hard to control this much energy in a room And I and I do apologize for that What we want to do is to want to begin very quickly with senator Hagle He's he has to he has to catch a train at one o'clock We ought to hear by one o'clock so we want to take advantage You know if if if when we get going here, and you can quietly slip up and get some food go ahead and do that But we want to get going with this with this program if we can And first of all let me just say a big thank you to all of you for coming We're we're delighted to have you here This is part of a series that we've started to say how does it how does America start Thinking its way through complex problems rather than just using muscle, you know and a Lot of it stimulated from an early conversation that I had with senator Hagle when he was in the Senate and No one spoke more Thoughtfully or forcefully during his time in the Congress then did then did senator Hagle saying America needs to find its way back to a thoughtful foreign policy and it was That stewardship during his time in the Senate that we drew on and asked if he would be a part of the commission and he agreed to Do that somehow during his schedule his very full schedule He also became an author and produced a fine book that outlined what America's Should be and needs to be doing going forward. I suspect we're going to build on that today I would like to especially say a word of thanks to you senator Hagle for coming I know the demands on your time and it's just terrific to have you here So let's go ahead and begin and let me introduce to you and welcome to the stage senator Chuck Hagle. Thank you John, thank you and good afternoon. Please continue to Gobble eat drink Take a nap whatever Whatever works for you it particularly Is not an irritant or will not be a Bother some Development because I had my eyes dilated this morning and I have no idea who the hell I'm talking to I Don't know if there's even anyone there. I but Not any different from how it used to be in the Senate that Nobody ever listened then either but occasionally they show up so Go right ahead. I know you've got a Tight schedule that you need to adhere to first. Let me thank John of course And CSIS and the two joining organizations that have participated Here today and over the last few weeks and putting this important day Together and for your efforts and your leadership and your substance Thank you. We are all better for Your efforts. I also want to acknowledge My partners on the commission who you heard from this morning some of them not all of them you Of course, I suspect know each of them and know of their good work or certainly, you know their reputation But you had an opportunity This morning to hear from them and to understand more fully Why they are and have been and continue to be such important contributors To this big topic that you are exploring today, and I also want to thank John again for allowing me to participate in the commission because I This morning before they had my eyes dilated Worked my way Briskly through the document which you have all seen I suppose I suppose And I don't know of a document that I've seen recently in the last few years that more comprehensively identifies solutions and approaches and elements of a strategy That can be used to frame the challenges That face mankind and I say mankind because every challenge today in the world is a global challenge And also drive us toward Some high ground of how do you fix the problem? What do you do about it? There's no question that we live today in a world that is more complicated more combustible more Interconnected more dangerous than probably ever before now. I haven't lived through all those years But I occasionally read I know that's foreign for a member of Congress, but I Occasionally do that and I listen to a lot of people who know something about these issues and We are at that time and we are at a time in the history of man that probably represents the most transformational most redefinitional time ever and that redefinition and that Reorientation and that transformation that is occurring in the world today is occurring at a rate Unprecedented we've never seen anything quite like this and you need not go much beyond the global financial crisis to see what's happening And that financial crisis once again reminds us that every challenge is global Every corner of the earth is dealing with this issue Pandemic health threats Last week our news has been consumed with swine flu How far it goes how deep it goes? We don't know Another good example of the interconnectedness of the world and that all six and a half billion people on the face of the Earth now truly live in a global community a Global community underpinned by a global economy. So what you're exploring today Are the realities of all of that? And you are delving deeper down into the societal dynamics that that always That always dictate and always drive outcomes in politics in government in every facet of our lives politics as we know the process we use to Work through differences to elect leaders to make decisions Hopefully with some consensus That then governs and that's What the process of politics is about politics just Reflects society politics never leads society doesn't lead anything It reflects it responds leaders react. They respond occasionally in the history of the world There's a confluence of events and dynamics that come together and then true leadership matters FDR Eisenhower Lincoln There are times in the history of man where the right leader is critical Most times and they come these Defining times come about twice every 100 years the last time we saw Such a time I think was right after world war two when we essentially built a new world order We built a new world order Right after world war two that 10 year period That was responsible for that and that world order held pretty well For 60 years, but like all institutions all facets of a society whether it's governing Uh, or business or education They become obsolete if they do not remain relevant to the challenges They become irrelevant every institution that was built after world war two what I refer to as coalitions of common interest They were built Based on one simple premise common interests. They were built on the basis We would Define our relationships define the future of the world define a world order not based on the differences That we had with each other But based on the common interest that we had with each other united nations NATO general agreement on tariffs and trade which is now wto Betton woods brought imf world bank Dozens of multilateral Banks development institutions were born were built in that 10 year period and it was All about common interests And if we don't have a platform a structure To work from to deal with differences then there will be conflict and chaos And we are seeing that in certain parts of the world today And when you identify those certain parts of the world today, and we have two leaders in town today meeting with president Obama from In my opinion the most dangerous region in the world Pakistan and afghanistan They represent areas that were left behind Most of the middle east they were left behind did not benefit from the great strides of mankind in the last 60 years Did not benefit from those coalitions of common interest those structures of common interest You can go beyond those areas much of latin america much of africa The troubled areas of the world today were the areas that we didn't pay attention to were left behind the individual freedoms No hope people chained to cycles of despair So it's it's actually pretty predictable What what's going to occur yesterday? I was at american university and Kicked off a day-long seminar On eisenhower and the eisenhower era And what struck me and I confessed in Um The spirit of of self-interest and Narrow parochialism I have Had been a admirer of the white david eisenhower for for many many years And I have always believed that he was one of the greatest presidents we ever had And one of the reasons I believe that is because what did not happen What did not happen in his eight years When a lot of bad things could have happened but because of his leadership he averted it and over the years many have Categorized the eisenhower years as kind of a boring Well, I think most of us would take boring today They were not boring and and when you bear down into those eight years and what actually was accomplished it was astounding Astounding what was accomplished during those those years And the and the reason I bring eisenhower up and what happened in american university is because it it cuts right to what you're talking about today Many of you know this But it was eisenhower in 1957 Who assembled a group of presidents of universities? And as many of you know, he was president of colombia for a short period of time his brother was Also a distinguished educator president of university and he brought these university presidents together All in this region and others and in particular one President at the time the president of american university After listening to eisenhower and the reason that eisenhower brought him together and the reason he brought him together was to challenge american education On what are we doing About educating our young people preparing our young people the next generation of leaders about international affairs About knowledge and education understanding the differences out there religious differences ethnic differences cultural history regional Because if we are all going to live on the face of the earth And share resources and try to accommodate and respect each other As best we can without going to war constantly and a constant turmoil and chaos and conflict Then we need to prepare our people and we need to talk about what separates us Because only then in understanding the depth of that which is very much what the smart power commission's charge was And identifying that and then what do you do? What is a great power like the united states do? With all of its great power To move towards some resolution and bring the world with us in some consensus We can't do it alone. There's no issue out there that we can deal with alone We're certainly finding that out in iraq and afghanistan and pakistan great powers have limits to their power What's going on and has been going on in darfur? Some of these areas of the world that in many ways we're not exactly powerless But but we have very limited ability To control some of these things What does that lead us to one of the issues? And I think one of the first issues the commission report points out is alliances This was what eisenhower talked about as much as any one thing Forming alliances. This is what coalitions of common interests are about. We're going to have differences And alliances are absolutely critical for all the reasons We know and I believe the commission report starts out with with that With that section Well yesterday's meeting that bringing together many universities and scholars and practitioners of Foreign policy, which is really the the framework. It's the large arc That represents our interests because within that arc Of foreign policy fits all of our national interests trade security relationships environment energy World health issues. There is nothing That is not in That framework that inventory Of challenges and so that great arc called foreign policy represents at all just as I think the commission report points out Eisenhower understood that Very very well and he understood it earlier than most anybody in this country And he drove this country and alliances to start focusing on that Hence as a result of that meeting at the white house in 1957 the first international school International affairs school was set up and it was american university Who started the first school of international affairs in 1957 Georgetown Where I now have the privilege of teaching one class Per semester and doing some lecturing even though One of my brothers my brother tom who's a legitimate professor Law school professor university of date and he believes that I've set back american education by generations but Uh, he's two years younger always has lived with this envy I've had But he's making progress and we're and I'll give him your regards and um But it was it was that framework that that first Put in place A formalized awareness of the importance of alliances Of foreign policy and then as you work your way down into the depths of that as this morning you did With the panelists that you had and you will continue to do that today Uh, you start exploring in some detail. Well, what are the instruments that a great power has to deal with these These global challenges and these global issues that threaten not only the united states but threaten us all Well, we have many Force is certainly one But again as we found out in iraq and afghanistan and we had an 11 year Uh, difficult period in vietnam, which we found out the same that force alone can't do it Why should that be surprising to anyone? It shouldn't be the history of man is full of examples of occupation armies of invasions Of cultures and in the end The occupiers the invaders the conquerors always lose They always lose. So what's the point the point is we must get down deeper into the fabric of a society And understand that as well as we can hence the entire portfolio of instruments of power force development Aid assistance Diplomacy intelligence Alliances trade all of those are instruments of power how you harness those How how you cogently bring all those instruments together toward a purpose toward A policy that is implemented and framed and shaped To achieve a purpose Not just ricocheting from crisis to crisis but actually try to shape a policy that has a purpose A purpose of some At least medium term, but certainly long term sustainability And we all all human beings around the world Are really not very different Now i haven't been to every every corner of the earth i've not been to every country on earth I've been to many i've been to well over a hundred countries Many of you have been to far more and i'm not an expert on any of these countries or any of these issues But i have observed this I don't think there's a great deal of difference between muslims jews christians hindus buddhists On the fundamental dynamic of how they feel about their families Now there are differences in rights women's rights But there too, let's let's not forget the 19th amendment to the united states constitution Half the people in this room 95 years ago could not vote Half of the Half of this room couldn't vote you were disenfranchised 95 years ago In fact unless you were a white male when this great republic was formed Um, you really were not imbued with all of the rights Stated in the constitution in the bill of rights In the mid 1960s voting rights act civil rights act We need to need to adjust then If we'd not had those adjustments and those self corrections and that's the wonderful thing about our country among many things And a democracy is that we have a process to self correct If we not had those debates and those laws There's probably a very little question of whether the current occupant of the white house Would be there today So my point is We got to frame all this up with some reality that that we just didn't stroll on to the democratic field 250 years ago as this remarkable republic That gave everybody rights We struggled with it. We identified the problems. We worked hard a lot of people sacrificed everything To make a better world and isn't that really the essence of what we're talking about? Isn't that the essence of the differences of people when we go through these differences of religion or region or ethnicity or history? It is all about making a better world because in the end that's all that matters You don't buy someone's loyalty. You can for a while in in Iraq during the so-called surge. We put 125 000 Sunni on our payroll This is the so-called awakening group. These are these were young Sunnis unemployed So we paid him about 300 to 500 a month not to kill us Well That helped But does anybody here think that's a long-term fix? Because now they're going off our payroll most of them are off our payroll So where is that loyalty going to be and we armed them? And I don't think anybody in this room who knows anything about Iraq would say that things are better between the Sunnis and she is Today than they were two years ago. They're probably worse So I use that as an example until you get down into the depth of the humanity Of each of these issues, you'll never solve the problem Now you can put a fix on it for a while and one thing we know for sure Uh, we'll never have enough troops to put everywhere I was with it with a former four-star general Uh, Friday night at a speech I gave down into vmi Uh, for the opening the dedication of the George Marshall Um, leadership and ethics Conference building and this is a general Uh, who among other positions he's held He was also a commander central command And he said to me You could put another hundred thousand troops in Afghanistan along that border And they would be absorbed so quickly Because that isn't First of all, that's not the way you're going to fix that problem, but it's just The dynamic of the mass problem the the terrain the geography the people the issues And so yes force is part of it is part of it But uh, we have got to do a far better job with Identifying developing framing shaping and then implementing These soft power forces within our policies Now it's it's not easy. It's imperfect. You make mistakes Uh, you get ahead a couple of steps and you get knocked down again You go to the side for a while, but in the end that societal dynamic the the fabric of a country And the people is the only thing that ever ever will change anything And so, uh, until we recognize and I think, uh, President obama does recognize this and I've had a long conversations with him and I think his senior people I think secretary of state, uh, clinton understands this. I know joe biden does joe is a very good friend Our secretary defense bob gates bob gates has been giving speeches the last year and a half He sounds like a secretary of state He's talking about why we need more soft power and you can't just keep giving The pentagon more money and building up their programs and taking away the aid programs and the diplomatic programs and the assistance programs and the development programs From the state department or from usa id You can't do that and here's the secretary defense understands that as well as anybody There isn't a general by the way out there that i've ever met who doesn't understand that And if for no other reason than they understand how we have overloaded our circuits Using force We've done great damage, uh, to our pentagon and to our people And when you when you got these young men and women who are on their six tours Many of these young men and women on their six tours in both afghanistan and iraq Those tours Go to four tours They're longer than the entire length of world war two And you can't run your people like that. There'll be a breakdown so consequently like there are always consequences And what you always have to be most fearful of Are the unintended consequences They they come Even with the best policy and the best leadership you still get unintended consequences Some of the consequences that we can identify now for example Suicide rates record high divorce Rates record high And so on and so on So it isn't a matter of a luxury of trying to figure out a better way to do this as Uh, these issues are dealt with in this smart power commission and what you're dealing with today It isn't a luxury or an option. It's a necessity. We don't have any choice Or or we will see the world in in constant chaos constant chaos And it will the problem will get so big There is nothing really we can do about it If for no other reason than the numbers are so Incredibly large. I remember and many of you do that it was reported in the newspaper That um secretary rumsfeld once wrote a memo Which as you know, he was very famous for those uh reference snowflakes And the memo to his generals and to those in charge of policy in iraq and afghanistan was very simple They wrote Are we creating more terrorists than we're killing? That's a pretty good question Well, the answer to that is yes I mean, we know that today we can answer the secretary's question surely today And and why because our purpose was misguided Uh, no, but but but your purpose cannot be framed In a one-dimensional dynamic of divine mission There is there is no such thing in governments as divine mission A divine mission that we're going to bring democracy to the world Whether they like it or not And by god, they're going to like it. We'll send our troops in To show them about democracy Uh divine mission should be left to missionaries And and uh not a government That's again why eisenhower understood this far far sooner than anyone did Alliances first part of the smart power commission report And then as it goes down through all of these different facets. Well, um, I Have informed you of nothing Profound I am incapable of that but um I think every now and then it it is useful to Inventory these things And and state them in a way that They can be seen and used as very Practical functioning parts of policy and I I believe and I I believe this not only because of the current leadership Uh Of this country, but I believe it also is I watch young people and listen to young people And observe young people. I have an 18 year old daughter and a 16 year old son now They're not ready to take over the country If you ask my son He'd say yes, but um my daughter is more thoughtful about it and um I watched these young people and I've stayed close to young people all my life 12 years in the senate I never went back to Nebraska without putting Uh some kind of an event on with the school And I was in Nebraska a lot over 12 years I always went to a grade school high school college technical school To stay connected listen Uh, didn't give a speech. We just go around the room and talk about whatever they want to talk about This next generation is is uh It's going to be a pretty special group of young people and we must Uh prepare them like every generation must prepare the next generation in many ways I think we've not done a very good job of that Um none of us are perfect But um I don't know. There's just something instinctive about this next generation Uh that I see and I feel and I'm and I'm uh As a father and a citizen former Policymaker in this country a veteran I feel pretty good about about the future with all the problems we have and I feel it is good about it Yes, these young people I think the current leadership gets this but um, we have a system That allows us To shift and to change and as I said self-correct and um We also have a nation that Has an an astounding Amount of just good Common sense and I think that's a reflection And probably the most significant strength of this country That that we are this this quilt that has been That has been knitted and crocheted and Whatever you you you like to do in that business Uh together with all these variations of color and background and history and creed and traditions and religions And and somehow that has brought a tolerance Uh and uh an intuitive respect We've had our problems and we've made mistakes and that hasn't always been exactly that way And it won't be exactly perfect, but That's the strength of this country and um, I think reflected in the smart power commission report Is much of that because in the end as I conclude in the end, uh every community in the world Every region in the world is basically the same is basically the same and uh We must strive to Knit all those samenesses and as Eisenhower said those common interests together And build a a world fabric and I'm not talking about a world government So the blue helicopter crowd the blue helmets and all that and then the black helicopters. I'm not talking about that There will be should be needs to be sovereign nations Responding in their own interests But there's also got to be something bigger. It's just like each individual in this room. You wouldn't be here You would not be here. You wouldn't be involved in the things you're involved in this issue in particular If this was all about in your own mind your own self-interest Of course, we all and each have a self-interest and there's nothing wrong with that We better all have a self-interest But it's something bigger than a self-interest And that's what drives a great society and that's what sustained our society And I think that's what you're getting at as much as any one thing Then you work through the specifics of how you do that and all those instruments of power That I talked about that you apply them you you bring them together in a strategic way That then structures a a strategy and it always has to be regional I think that's one of the big mistakes we've made over the years that we've tried to take a rock And some kind of an isolation in a vacuum tube and Iran Over here and we'll do a little of this over here and then maybe some of this Israeli Palestinian issue over here. No, no, it is all knitted together It needs to be approached from a regional dynamic. There'll be no peace in afghanistan or pakistan Without the iranians involved some way in the indians on the other border Not because I said that's just the reality of it. That's the reality I will conclude with this Engagement is important I think we are entering an era of engagement In cooperation Accommodation And accommodation is not necessarily a bad word Certain things you cannot accommodate you can't accommodate killers You can't accommodate terrorists But you must accommodate Countries national interests and their own optics and their ideas Or we will never accommodate any possibility To bring a better world a safer world if we don't do that. I think we we are opening that new era Engagement is not appeasement Engagement is not appeasement And the more of us who believe that And understand that Then I think that Will not only reflect Our future policies in this country But it will anchor Our policies with a purpose Thank you. Be glad to respond to questions. Thank you Thank you. Thank you senator we have about um now you can see Why john hamry insisted that he be part of our smart power commission and why he's so missed in the senate We have time we have about 20 minutes for questions. Once again, please identify your self name and affiliation and we'll start in the back over there My name is nihil gunawadana senator I You're much admired policymaker and I don't want you to be A misinformed the oldest school for foreign relations in the united states was formed in 1933 By harvard university and tusk at the fletcher school of law and diplomacy Well, um, if I have bad information, I apologize to harvard and tusk but I was told and I read That the 1957 school of international Affairs was the first school devoted to that one issue at american university. So If I have bad information I'll uh, I'll stand corrected. Um, and I will go back to american university and Ask him what the hell the deal is sherry muller a graduate of both fletcher and american university I'm glad you're here We'll talk later, but senator, um Many of us in this room are involved in trying to help the us congress understand the value of programs like The international visitor program of the u.s. Department of state the fulbright program and other exchanges of all kinds Um Now that you've left the senate, what advice do you have for us to make Cogent arguments to your former colleagues. Thanks so much. Well, thank you for all what you do in the organizations institutions represented here on In that effort and I am well aware Of those efforts over the years and I've tried to support your efforts in every way I could over the years Your points a very important point Um, and how you do that. I think first keep doing what you're doing But what really makes a big difference is Is having As wide a base In in in this country Of individuals representing districts and states So when they come to washington and it it's the It's the same approach everybody takes on every issue um A congressman or senator sits down and listens to respected members of his or her state and district and That helps first of all it helps you get in It helps you make your case and it helps educate the member of congress on the importance of these programs and um education information As we all know Is essentially the essence Of anything Because you must be informed you must be somewhat conversant educated on issues and if you're not Then most likely you're you're going to drift or Eventually go right over the cliff and make the wrong decision So there's no magic to this you all know that out there you work hard at it. You just keep coming back But but widen your base as much as you can Because that that really affects Members of congress as I said earlier in my remarks Just remember politics reflects society that members of congress react they respond Rarely are we in situations where they can lead congress wasn't set up to lead I mean it really wasn't I mean when you when you really Read the federalist papers and most of the dynamics of what congress was about what was the responsibility Of congress a senator a congressman both houses as you know have totally different responsibilities um, and so 535 members of the congress. I mean we we all think we should we should be president of course, but uh Or at least secretary state or something, but um, you can't do that now I know that some of my former colleagues think they they can and will continue and we're always going to have that but Uh, the best I think you can hope from in the congress on these kinds of things is an educated Congress is an informed congress and then through the committee structures and through decision making uh, they come to the right conclusions, but but Presidents must lead on this and then all the attendant organizations out there That are critical to to a democracy and I and my sense is Your organizations represented here today are going to be more critical more relevant To the future of this country and policy making than ever ever before And and if for no other reason I say that is because the president His team members of congress are inundated every second of every day with a crisis with an immediate problem And you are whipsawed and ricocheted and the time that you had to think There is no time now. I've said often over the years that I would like to see a president rather than uh Go to every county fair and go everywhere and just run around Uh, every second of every day I'd like to see a president actually take three or four hours to sit alone in the in the oval office or wherever he wants to sit And just stare out the window and actually think Uh, now and by the way, I don't mean to be critical of any one president or any Their their jobs are huge huge jobs But unless we slow it down enough for our leaders to think a little bit And that's why these organizations are going to be so important because the smart power commission Does anybody really believe the defense department or state department would have had the capability first of all to draw on The talent. I mean I was the weak link in it But but but you look at the talent that was in that on that commission The experience on that commission and you heard from some of them this morning The state department can't do that Uh defense department not because they don't have smart people over there But because every day is consumed every second with something now You can have internal reviews and so on and so on but to actually produce a document like that It has to come from the outside and you want it to come from the outside You that's one of the reasons it's so important You draw up on the kinds of experiences represented by those commissioners And csis and these organizations here Uh other organizations. I'm chairman of the Atlantic council Uh brookings all these organizations do tremendously good work As as well as other institutions represented here, but you will be more important than you've ever been Thank you senator senator for a great presentation. Dr. Maybury. I'm the director of biter corporations Initiative and corporate and and pardon me the smart power. My question is actually about your comments about Secretary gates in Of course the state department I was I had the pleasure of serving on the defense science board studies on both strategic strategic communication and human dynamics Which actually recommended exactly what you just said By the way, one of the comment I just flew down from boston and it's wonderful to hear the comments about the flexure school Um, it's clear clear that we cleared that up It's clear that the government as you just said can't do it The defense science board recommended the creation of a center for global engagement. It was wonderful to hear you use the word engagement What if you could comment about Um, either that particular proposal and or um, what expectation you have that congress would actually take some action Um, and interestingly just a footnote In our study one of the interesting things we heard was not the government saying which we're hearing now from our leadership We can't necessarily do it. We actually heard from the ngo's Number of other independent international organizations We want to work with you, but we can't necessarily work directly with us government Which is one of the motivations of the proposal. So i'm interested in your thoughts on that Well, that's an important point and uh, it's a very relevant part of uh, the overall scheme here and the scope of what We're all trying to do and what the government's going to be dealing with and continue to deal with on trying to Define ways to to get these documents in this perspective and this information and understanding Down to where it needs to go and then working into the larger scope of of policy um As I said, you know this um This process any process is imperfect. I mean you you you're going to have a certain amount of trial and error What works what doesn't work? You always have personalities and things You've always got the the personality of leadership the personality of a president's team the personality Of a national security advisor a secretary of state a secretary of defense each of those personalities Have their own individual thoughts about where something should go. They don't necessarily always agree president is the president but still uh, he Does not pick I don't think I hope this never occurs weak people He picks strong people and strong people have strong opinions. And so that's a factor that is also part of all this The specific issues that you bring up that the ngo's raised Are also part of the imperfection of the process. You just have to Uh, work it through but but I come down to this is the is the real answer to your question There is there is no substitute for leadership Things just don't happen As I started my comments this morning about eisenhower those eight years a lot of things could have happened The sue as canal crisis in 1956 If eisenhower would have sided with the french and the british should not draw on the line We see a whole different situation today Uh, and some of these other kinds of things that's leadership And um, when we get into these areas you're talking about leadership has to be very clear purposeful And bring a consensus together Uh to to activate All the resources that you need to bring in ngo's and different groups Into the thinking of of narrowing and channeling what you want to produce too often in washington too often I think in any institution. It's nobody's fault. It's just the way it is That we drift, uh, we get off track In my opinion, uh, if there is one Principal dominating factor Uh That was most responsible for this global financial crisis Is it all of us weren't paying attention? We were drifting And you can take wall street greed you can take sloppy regulators You can take the congress not paying attention take a whole bunch of things and all that's part of it But but when when leadership drifts when institutions drift for example fanny man freddie mack Some of us saw that coming years ago. I introduced the bill in 2001 Warning that there was systemic risk with what they were doing And the reason as much as in any other reason that I said that is because fanny and freddy had so drifted From the original charter Fanny and freddy are both congressionally chartered institutions. Their charter is very clear why we set them up Why the congress why the government why the people of this country? Set up fanny and freddy mack. There's a very clear charter in mission They were way over here from that charter Now i'm not an expert on any of this But as I and I was on the banking committee was a senior member Chairman of the securities oversight subcommittee So I paid a little attention to this wasn't I was any smarter than anybody else Um, I I watched that As far as what factors into my own thinking on these things So you could take that fanny freddy example and apply it to everything derivatives subprime Mortgage that were wrapped and rewrapped and rewrapped selling them people didn't even know what they were buying The ratings agencies were saying they were triple-a many of them ratings agencies were on the payroll Of the institutions they were rating Because they were they were getting millions of dollars in consulting fees Now as we looked through the rearview mirror and said my god Well, of course That's my point we we just all got sloppy and we let things just drift Consequently what happens always happens. Uh, there was a major implosion And so I know you may think that's a little Abstract an answer from where you're you were with your more specific question But not really I mean it's leadership and you've got to have leadership has to pay attention It's any organization and many of you run organizations You have to pay attention every day Do your budget to your people to your mission to your contributors to your stakeholders You've got to watch every day Are you moving in the direction that you're supposed to be moving in? And that's that's that's the answer Yes Yes My name is Mindy riser I've worked for the Fulbright program in a number of international education projects I'd like your advice in terms of a very sticky issue We're encouraging international students coming here. We're encouraging exchanges But in an economic downturn people are frightened for holding on to their jobs. They see outsiders as threats How can we turn this around and encourage these exchanges and not see this as a zero sum game? Well, again, you have brought up a very poignant issue and a very very legitimate Question which we're dealing with everybody is every day I think the answer to that is and first I don't believe there's any simple easy quick answer But here it would be my answer everything you are doing everything everyone in this room has been doing associations That you have why you're here today is addressing this issue What does that mean that means the entire arc of internationalism globalism now? It's imperfect It's like trade, you know trade is not a guarantee Trade is an opportunity There are winners and losers in trade There's a great law that I don't know. I've ever been written down I don't think it's in any constitution, but it's been around since man has been around I I assume I wasn't there, but I assume It's called the law of comparative advantage And you never beat that law that law governs everything in life So Textiles automobiles Well, my grandfather worked in textile mills my dad did well shouldn't I I mean the birthright I'll go back and read little Arnold Toynbee Or just a little bit of history. There's no birthright Of jobs the world moves along they do moves ahead and you want the world to move ahead because as the world moves ahead as standards of living rise Comes with that more stability more security More investment more opportunities better futures Now they're they're raggedy parts to that. I know but So we've got to make the link to answer your question With this the internationalism of what's good for our country overall We can't just pick and choose if we're going to be the leader of the world If we are going to do the things that I think most Americans want our country to do And and be who we are You can't then just decide to pick and choose which standards and laws and regulations you're you're going to live by I mean the torture mammals Geneva Convention was a good example of that Well, we signed all these and we kind of led the world in this and we put ourselves up on a higher plateau of standard of conduct But you know, he's terrorist, you know, they're animals and you you sell what if you're water bordering the torturer? Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. America You're proclaiming one standard here, but then Based on your own interpretation and your own rationalization logic, then you're adhering to a whole different standard You can't have that and so what we've got to do is get underneath All of this so that we can project to the people of this country and understanding that this is good for all of us What's going on here? Uh the interchange the engagement we want people investing in this country. I mean I can give you I can give you hundreds of pages of documents and information which you already have About how much investment comes into this country if we start locking that out by shutting out students from china I mean, I mean, you know, how much of our national debt the chinese own Now if the chinese decide that they're not going to buy our securities anymore And they're about two-thirds of their two trillion dollars in foreign reserves Uh, uh our holdings are us securities now if the chinese decide that isn't a very good investment If you remember the president of china made things go wobbly a couple of months ago by saying i'm not sure we're getting our return What would happen Is that the the ability for us the united states to make payments monthly on the interest Not on the principal, but the interest of our national debt. I don't worry get the money And you take then not only china, but many countries of asia Who also hold a lot of our securities? Uh, that's just but one example to use to people say you you can't you can't close the doors like that Because investments in plants. I some of my colleagues in the south who Have tinges of protectionism and wrapped around them and uh It may be not as enlightened as some might want both democrats and republicans by the way I remind them occasionally how many foreign automobile plants are in alabama Now if if the japanese had not put those plants in there Uh Tens of thousands of alabamas who who have good jobs And those cars are being sold pension plans futures They wouldn't be there They wouldn't be there. So I think we we have to make those kinds of Arguments. I know it's difficult and and because unfortunately, um In politics there and this is never going to change But we often Find ourselves playing to the lowest political common denominator For the moment And we've got all these bright people like uh rush limbaugh and lou dobs and others who who truly educate and inform In elucidate But You know there was a there was a political party Many of you know in this country in the 1840s And they called themselves the know-nothings And they were very proud of that. Uh, of course it didn't last very long, but They had a hell of a lot of fun. I suppose when with it, but uh, they were actually proud of that And they were anti-immigrant. They were and I and I'm not sure How many of them thought that they were real americans by the way in 1840 I used to kid my friend former senator from colorado ben knighthorse cambell That that ben probably was the only real american in the senate But I said even you ben I mean your people had to come down through the elution island. So i'm not I'm not sure we can say you're real american either but But it's those kinds of things and you're you're always going to be dealing with those those facets And we just have to rise above it make a better argument be more cogent And and win the day and certainly the facts are on our side. Thank you very much You