Olin lecturer Sandy Berger urges U.S. to stay engaged in world affairs

By Linda Grace-Kobas

With the end of the Cold War and the United States' unchallenged status as the world's strongest economic, political and cultural power, it would be "a profound mistake" for Americans to withdraw from active engagement in the world, Samuel R. (Sandy) Berger '67 told alumni gathered in an almost-full Bailey Hall, as he presented the annual Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecture at Reunion June 8.

Sandy Berger lectures in Bailey Hall. Robert Barker/University Photography

The man who served as national security adviser during the Clinton administration warned, "We must carry our weight and exercise our leadership or the world will start resisting us. To preserve the legitimacy of our power, we must demonstrate that we will use it for more than self-protection."

Berger indicated several times in his speech, titled "America's Role in the Global Age," that he felt some of the current administration's recent foreign policy actions or proposals were misguided. George W. Bush took over the presidency of the United States at "the zenith of its power and with the wind at our back," he said, but that does not guarantee the situation will continue. "Perhaps the greatest challenge of our time is to harness globalization to advance democracy, shared prosperity and peace," he said. "It's not enough for American foreign policy to consist solely of strong national defense. We must act in concert with others to make the forces shaping in the world work for us, not against us."

Citing the recent election of President Fox in Mexico and the resolution of the downed U.S. plane crisis with China as "hopeful developments," Berger recommended several principles to guide future U.S. policy.

First, "Our alliances with Europe and Asia are still the cornerstones of our national security, but they must change as the world changes," he said, adding he was "pleased" the Bush administration recently decided to resume negotiations with North Korea, and, he said, the U.S. should "stay the course" in Bosnia and Kosovo. "This is no time to pull back and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."

Second, "the course [Russia and China] travel over the next 10 years will have the most profound effect on our future." We must be "firm" with China, he advised, but "if we assume the postures we seem to be doing now -- that China is the enemy -- we will make it so" and "unravel" a 30-year bipartisan consensus to engage China. He also warned against a perceived return of an "us-versus-them" mindset in the administration's relations with Russia.

Americans must remember that "local conflicts can have global consequences," Berger noted as his third principle. "America must continue to be a peacemaker." He decried the violence in the Middle East and said, "This is not the time for disengagement. We are the only nation in the world that can mobilize efforts to break the slide to war."

Also, "new dangers require expanded national security measures," Berger said, noting that the U.S. must protect itself against threats of biological or chemical attacks by terrorists. "We need to get our priorities straight. It's a mistake to rush ahead on a missile defense system as though all the questions [about it] have been answered. They have not."

National security is more than just protecting against political enemies, he added. "How can we say we are defending America's shores if climate change is submerging them? If we stick our heads in the sand [about global warming], what happens when the sand is washed away?"

Lastly, Berger advised that economic disparities between rich and poor nations can lead to continued world tension, and he urged that wealthy nations relieve the debts of poor nations and try to expand universal education.

"In the last eight years, I believe we helped steer America to globalization," he said. "If America stays on course, the next decade will be a good one."