Director's Welcome
I cannot imagine a time when there was a more pressing need for effective diplomacy. With war in Iraq and Afghanistan, continuing concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, turmoil in Africa, and dozens of frozen – and not so frozen – conflicts across the world, the time for diplomacy is now. Recent visits to the Middle East and South Asia reaffirmed to me that the only viable solutions to today’s myriad international challenges are political and economic, not military. more »
CJCS Admiral Mike Mullen
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen underscored the need for the entire U.S. government to adopt an “expeditionary strategy” to meet national security needs. Giving the Patterson School of Diplomacy’s 2008 Vince Davis Lecture, Admiral Mullen stressed that “the U.S. military is the best in the world, but it still can’t do it alone.” In the fight against terrorism, he stressed, specialists from civilian departments – Commerce, Justice, Treasury – as well as from allied nations, are needed to capitalize on the security and stability that military forces can bring to a country. more »
