Conference to address U.S. international relations, policy
A number of prominent speakers, including Gen. Wesley Clark and Gov. Bill Richardson, will gather to speak about U.S. foreign policy Tuesday.
The conference is hosted by the UCLA Ron Burkle Center for International Relations, and speakers will focus on how the U.S. should act toward “rogue states.”
“I think the question is, “˜What’s the most effective way to engage with diplomacy without compromising your own values, looking weak, or foreclosing other options?'” Clark said. “We’re going to be addressing policy toward North Korea, Iran, maybe we’ll have to look at other states that are not rogue states but with which we have significant concern, just because of the dangers they could represent, like Pakistan,” he added.
Clark said he hopes the extensive foreign policy experience of the speakers will offer possible solutions for the future, particularly as the U.S. prepares for a new administration next year.
“You hope you’ll not only review the past but also service some important perspectives that can guide future actions,” he said. “The intent of this is to actually take some lessons out of past diplomatic and military efforts to help shape policy recommendations for whoever the next president of the United States is.”
Richardson, who is the keynote speaker for the event, said in a press release that he believes U.S. foreign policy should be taken in a new direction.
“The United States needs a new realism in its foreign policy,” Richardson said. “Such a new realism must harbor no illusions about the importance of a strong military in a dangerous world, but it must also understand the importance of diplomacy and multilateral cooperation.”
Other speakers include Kal Raustiala, director of the Burkle Center; Henry T. Wooster, deputy director of the Office of Iranian Affairs at the U.S. State Department; and Kantathi Suphamongkhon, former foreign minister of Thailand.
Students can register and view a schedule of the day’s events at www.international.ucla.edu/burkle/roguestates. Student registration costs $8.
Compiled by Lucy Benz-Rogers.
