HSPI Presidential Transition Task Force Roundtable Series

International Strategy Resource Page

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As part of the December 3, 2008 HSPI Presidential Transition Task Force Roundtable Series event, “International Strategy: Re-invigorating Our Role in the World,” featuring speakers Kristin Lord of The Brookings Institution; and Karin von Hippel at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Homeland Security Policy Institute prepared a resource page where you will find some useful links to recent reports, government agencies and other relevant information. David Meltzer of the American Red Cross and Jonah Czerwinksi of the IBM Global Leadership Initiative will also be offering comments at the event.

“Renewing American Leadership,” by Barack Obama, Foreign Affairs (July/August 2007). (registration required)

“After Iraq, we may be tempted to turn inward. That would be a mistake. The American moment is not over, but it must be seized anew. We must bring the war to a responsible end and then renew our leadership -- military, diplomatic, moral -- to confront new threats and capitalize on new opportunities. America cannot meet this century's challenges alone; the world cannot meet them without America.”

Remarks as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Landon Lecture, Kansas State University (November 26, 2007).

"One of the most important lessons of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that military success is not sufficient to win: economic development, institution-building and the rule of law, promoting internal reconciliation, good governance, providing basic services to the people, training and equipping indigenous military and police forces, strategic communications, and more – these, along with security, are essential ingredients for long-term success. Accomplishing all of these tasks will be necessary to meet the diverse challenges I have described."

“Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21 st Century,” by Kristin Lord, The Brookings Institution (November 25, 2008).

“This report presents concrete steps to strengthen America’s efforts to engage, persuade, and attract the support of foreign publics. As part of a comprehensive plan to enhance our government’s public diplomacy, it urges the creation of a nimble and entrepreneurial new non-profit organization, the USA-World Trust, to complement and support U.S. government efforts.”

“The State Department, Not the Pentagon, Should Lead America's Public Diplomacy Efforts,” by Kristin Lord, The Christian Science Monitor (October 29, 2008).

“The Pentagon should play an important role in public diplomacy, but as a partner – not the principal. For its part, the Congress should give public diplomats the tools they need to do their jobs, and then hold them accountable.”

“Confronting Two Key Challenges in Afghanistan,” by Karen von Hippel, CSIS (October 18, 2008).

“In the report, [von Hippel] analyzes two key challenges for Afghans and their coalition partners. Given the large number of excellent studies addressing many of the important governance, security and development challenges for Afghanistan, this report focuses on two key areas that have only recently been in the spotlight. The first is whether and how to talk to the Taliban, and the second concerns the lines of authority for the U.S. and coalition forces. Resolving these two issues would make a fundamental contribution to the overall goal of the mission, which is to build a safe, secure and effective Afghan state.”

“A Counter-radicalization Strategy for a New U.S. Administration ,” by Karin von Hippel, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (July 2008).

“ U.S. interventions fail to hold governments responsible to their people and this hypocrisy contributes to anti-American sentiments in the Arab and Muslim world.  While the rhetoric to support good governance, accountability, and education is present, the allure of extremist ideology remains poorly understood and the most effective “soft power” tools to divide terrorist networks from the communities in which they operate have been overlooked.”

“Innovation in Foreign Assistance Delivery,” by Karin von Hippel, CSIS (October 9, 2007).

“There is widespread recognition that the U.S. government and its major partners have been unable to make significant inroads in their overall goals of reducing poverty and building accountable, democratic states. International campaigns lobby the U.S. government to spend more money fighting poverty (the current rate is less than one-half of one percent of the national budget). Yet funding alone is not the problem: approximately $2.3 trillion1 has been spent over the past five decades by the West, and significant amounts over the last few years by the U.S. government in Afghanistan and Iraq, and yet far too many people remain deeply mired in poverty and live in poorly governed societies.”

“Responding to Catastrophes,” by Karin von Hippel and Frederick Barton, CSIS (March 19, 2008).

“Human decisions frequently exacerbate the effects of disaster agents, as, for example, when earthquakes tear through areas that either should not have been populated in the first place or should have been retrofitted once the area’s vulnerability became clear. In this sense, all disasters are “man-made,” and the dichotomy between acts of war and acts of God is largely false. Unfortunately, catastrophe response organizations—both within the United States and abroad—mostly have not incorporated this thinking into their practices. Responding to Catastrophes seeks to integrate thinking about the nature of—and response to—future catastrophes into the policymaker’s decisionmaking process.”

“ Foreign Assistance Reform: Views From the Ground ,” InterAction2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book (November 21, 2008).

“The current effort to reform US foreign assistance grew out of an understandable desire to better align US assistance with US interests and to improve the coordination, efficiency and transparency of that aid. The process has been the subject of a great deal of writing and discussion in Washington, but views from the ground – from the in-country USAID officials and in-country implementing partners – have received less systematic attention. This report, based on some 270 in-country interviews with field-based individuals in nine countries, is an effort to bring their important observations to Washington decision-makers considering what should be the next steps.”

“Arrested Development: Making Foreign Aid a More Effective Tool,” by J. Brian Atwood, M. Peter MacPherson, and Andrew Natsios, Foreign Affairs (November/December 2008). (registration required)

“ USAID has become ineffective because it is underfunded, understaffed, and losing influence. The next president should revive it by either making it autonomous or elevating it to a cabinet-level department .”

“U.S. Aid Could Go Further With Reform: Aid Groups,” The Washington Post (November 24, 2008).

“The U.S. government could stretch its foreign aid budget to help more of the world's hungry if it overhauled its fragmented system for delivering the assistance, a food aid coalition said on Monday.”

“Report: U.S. Uses Aid to Promote Non-Humanitarian Goals,” The Washington Post (November 19, 2008).

“The United States, the world's largest international aid donor, is among the worst at promoting the independence, impartiality and neutrality of humanitarian aid deliveries to needy populations, according to a survey by a Madrid-based nonprofit group that monitors donors' performance [called The Development Assistance Research Associates].”

“State Dept. Faces Staffing Crisis, a Report Says,” The New York Times (June 6, 2007).

“Saddled by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the State Department faces a staff shortage crisis amid “worsening morale,” according to an independent study [by the Foreign Affairs Council] that blames Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for the problem.”

“Transformational Diplomacy,” Congressional Research Service (August 23, 2007).

“On January 18, 2006, in a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Secretary Rice outlined her vision for diplomacy changes that she referred to as “transformational diplomacy” to meet this 21 st Century world. The new diplomacy elevates democracy-promotion activities inside countries. According to Secretary Rice in her February 14, 2006 testimony before Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the objective of transformational diplomacy is: “to work with our many partners around the world to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.”...This report provides an overview of Secretary of State Rice’s transformational diplomacy plan. It examines the calls for reform of America’s current diplomatic institutions, and the Administration’s response — transformational diplomacy. The report also presents the concerns many experts have expressed regarding specific elements of this proposal, and a sample of reactions in other countries. Finally, the report discusses various issues that may be considered by Congress .”

“Preserving Our Welcome to the World in an Age of Terrorism,” Secure Borders and Open Doors, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (January 2008).

“The public diplomacy benefits of travel to the united States are manifold and critical to the economic and political future of the nation. people-to-people diplomacy resulting from various forms of international travel to and from the united States ensures that our country remains vitally connected to the world. while it may seem counterintuitive in an era of international terrorism, “open doors” to the united States can be a means to make our country more admired and thus more secure, not less. The benefits of increased international travel to the U.S. are not merely more visitor spending and the American jobs such spending supports. what has escaped the notice of most reporters and political experts is the potential that exists within the travel experience to win hearts and minds around the world one visitor at a time.”

News and Resource Links

Homeland Security Watch

Authored by expert Jonah Czerwinski, “Homeland Security Watch is a blog that features breaking news, rigorous analysis, and informed commentary on the critical issues in homeland security today. It takes a cross-disciplinary approach to the subject of homeland security, spanning issues such as transportation security, preparedness and response, infrastructure protection, and border security. Its content is intended both for an expert-level policy audience as well as the broader general audience of people interested in homeland security. The blog is non-partisan and non-commercial.”

U.S. Department of State: Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance

Non-Governmental Organizations: InterAction (American Council for Voluntary International Action), American Red Cross, International Red Cross/Red Crescent

HSPI’s Presidential Transition Roundtable Series seeks to foster thoughtful dialogue on the top security priorities for the next Administration in order to generate actionable recommendations designed to effectively meet the most vexing challenges the United States faces today.