 I'm former Congressman Steve Israel from New York. I'm now the director of the Cornell University, Brooks Institute of Politics and Global Affairs. And I'm here at USIP to convene our annual partnership with USIP, our Congressional Peace Games. This is where we bring in members of Congress and staff on a bipartisan basis. They work through a simulated conflict and try and arrive at a solution that doesn't necessarily mean going to war. Well, I learned in Congress that we're living in a world of vuca, volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. And when you have that uncertain and complex geopolitical environment, it's more important than ever that the United States lead and lead based on bipartisanship that Democrats and Republicans stand together and stand for the promotion of democracy and peace and security and stability. That's why these peace games that Cornell does with USIP are so important, creating new congressional relationships that are bipartisan, that pursue those very worthy and noble goals. One of the fundamental lessons that I learned as a member of Congress was that I was only as good as my staff and only as hardworking as my staff. And I really relied on my foreign policy and military staff to advise me on critical issues. A member of Congress has to cover a multitude of issues. Congressional staff really focuses on a much narrower portfolio. And so bringing staff into these games is vital because it makes them better advisors to their bosses. We are living in a world of contention. We're living in a world of greater competition. We're living in a world where our adversaries are becoming stronger. They're projecting more aggressiveness. And so that's exactly the time when you want to step back, show leadership, and understand the full range of tools that the United States has in managing those conflicts. It is a natural tendency, I think, for human beings to see something they don't like and want to fix it. Some want to fix it with a military response. Others understand that there's soft power, there's deterrence, there's diplomacy. That soft power is the best investment we have because it's much more expensive when you have to resort to hard power than when you have to face your interests.