The Foreign Service Journal, December 2008

A mbassadorThomasPickering spoke atAmericanUniversityonSept. 3 to a full house ofmore than300 atten- dees, including graduate and undergrad- uate students, numerous faculty, and invi- tees from other universities and founda- tions. The occasion was the second CarolineandAmbassadorCharlesW.Adair Memorial Lecture on American Diplo- macy, sponsoredby formerAFSAPresident Marshall Adair andGinger Adair through the Fund for American Diplomacy. The lecture series’ primary objective is to edu- cate the American public on the critical importance of effective U.S. diplomacy in defending vital national interests. American University’s Washington Semester Program and the School of International Service, celebrating its 50th anniversary, co-hosted the event, with respective Deans David Brown and Louis Goodman on the stage with Amb. Pickering,Amb.MarshallAdair andhiswife Ginger, AFSAPresident JohnNaland and American Academy of Diplomacy Presi- dent Ambassador Ronald Neumann. In “A Foreign Policy Agenda for the Next President,” Ambassador Pickering highlighted severalmajor diplomatic chal- lenges facing the next administration and provided suggestions todeal with themost potentiallydamaging foreignpolicy threats. His first reference was to “the three I’s:” Israel (including the Arab dispute and the related peace process), Iraq and Iran. Terrorism is still of major importance, Pickering noted, but special attention must be paid to terrorismvis-à-vis nuclear proliferation. He pointed out that the United States has both a diplomatic opportunity and an obligation to move ahead in the area of nuclear disarmament. As a prime example, he called on the U.S. toopendirect negotiationswith Iran, with- out preconditions. Pickering contends that we are in an unprecedentedperiodwhere our ability to work with foreign countries, our need to conduct multilateral diplomacy and our commitment to solving global challenges are all crucial to our national success. He hopes that the U.S. will continue to pro- vide leadership by means of a renewed, strengthened diplomacy that respects the opinions of our allies, and that our foreign activities remain strong and abiding. He observed that in recent years we have wit- nessed the serious failure of unilateralism and the subsequent reawakening of a national interest in and, hopefully, a renewednational commitment to, the use of diplomacy as a first response. Amb. Pickering noted that we now have, for the first time, a Secretary of Defense who regularly gives speeches on the importance of strengthening diplomacy. He also encouraged attendees to examine the newly released landmark American Academy of Diplomacy report, “AForeign Affairs Budget For the Future,” which calls for the next adminis- tration and Congress to greatly increase the financial and staffing resourcesof theStateDepartment, USAID and, especially, the For- eignService. (Seep. 59.) This can empower U.S. diplomacy to achievemaximumeffectiveness in meeting the daunting challenges of the coming years. The lecturewas enthusiasti- cally received, with both A.U. deans expressing interest in more AFSA-spon- sored programs. The student attendees weremostly international relations andeco- nomics majors, many of whommay well consider Foreign Service careers. The AdairMemorial Lecture Series on American Diplomacy is a perpetual gift from the Adair family to the Fund for American Diplomacy that supports the Speakers Bureau, a key element inAFSA’s national outreach program. DE C EMB E R 2 0 0 8 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 63 A F S A N E W S AFSA’S ADAIR LECTURE ON AMERICAN DIPLOMACY Amb. Pickering Addresses Challenges Facing Next President Amb. Pickering speaks at American University on Sept. 3. “We need to think about multilateralism, about working with other countries, about the fact that consultation is not telling our friends and allies what to do, but rather sharing their views in helping to pull together a creative effort in which they are a part, not just the servants, of our diplomacy.” — Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Sept. 3, American University JAY MALLIN