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A New York Times reporter gives his take on foreign policy. See page 2.
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Director says global threats necessitate CIA existence
Former security advisers discuss world status of US
Speaker discusses dangers Americans face including terrorism, war, proliferation, cyber threats JAY KUMAR Contributing Writer GREG MAUS Daily Staff Writer
Considering the enormity of threats to American lives from around the world, the CIA must exist in a constant state of adaptation in order to effectively prevent or thwart attacks, said Leon Panetta, CIA director. Speaking to a large crowd Monday during his visit to OU, Panetta described the CIA’s primary mission of “keeping America safe.” Panetta outlined five broad threats: counter-terrorism, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, counter proliferation, cyber threats and climate change. On counter-terrorism, the director detailed the danger stemming from al-Qaida. Panetta said the terrorist organization remains the “most urgent threat of our time.” He discussed current U.S. efforts in the foreign theater, citing the CIA’s successful elimination of more than half of al-Qaida’s top 20 leaders. At home, however, the director warned of the threat imposed by trained individuals deployed by al-Qaida to attack our infrastructure. In this as well, the CIA has made progress – arresting four such operatives last year – but Panetta said he remains apprehensive about the future, which could bring new individuals with “clean credentials” and no history of terrorist activity. Mov i n g t o t h e t o p i c o f Afghanistan and Pakistan, Panetta emphasized the goal of the U.S. and its NATO partners was to “degrade the Taliban” in order to allow the Afghan people to govern themselves freely. The question that most concerned him was whether the U.S. would be able to ultimately transfer power to the Afghan people. The answer, Panetta said, lies in whether the Karzai administration will succeed in building effective government, which he defined as the capacity to protect the people “at the provincial level.” In Iraq, Panetta said, the threat level is a mere shadow of its former self. The director praised the Iraqi people who turned out to vote and support their nation-state in the midst of obvious turmoil. “As our military presence in Iraq diminishes, our intelligence presence will remain to aid the Iraqi people,” Panetta said. Proceeding, the director addressed the CIA’s counter-proliferation efforts. Fighting the spread of deadly weapons is a core issue of the CIA’s duties, especially in light of Osama Bin Laden describing the acquisition of nuclear weapons a “religious duty.” Panetta discussed his concerns regarding North Korea’s trafficking of nuclear weapons, as well as Iran’s floating of the U.N.’s nuclear policy. “The greatest difficulty [is] knowing the intent of these countries,” Panetta said. The director also mentioned the new brand of cyber threats facing the nation. CIA CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
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This generation of American students is facing as great a challenge, if not greater, than that of other generations, OU President David Boren said Monday night at a dinner featuring two former national security advisers. Gen. Brent Snowcroft served as a national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush in addition to a 29-year military career. Zbigniew Brzezinski served as national security adviser for President Jimmy Carter and is the author of several books on foreign policy, as well as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 for his role in the normalization of U.S.-China relations and for his contributions to the human rights and national security of the United States. The former advisers’ dialogue began with an opening question from Boren about the general state of the U.S. in relationship to other nations. They also discussed whether the U.S. remains the world’s sole superpower, given the rise of China and other nations. Snowcroft offered a historical perspective. “At the end of World War II we were economically standing alone,” Snowcroft said. “World War II actually built the American economy into a giant and it destroyed everyone else’s.” Snowcroft said we thus stagnated and our industries were overcome in innovation and raw output, and with the end of the Cold War, the U.S. felt little need to focus upon foreign policy assuming that democracy had won, as suggested by the book “The End of History.” “Do I think we’re in decline? No, but we have got to get our act together,” Snowcroft said. “We can no longer lead the world the way we tried. ‘You’re either with us or against us,’ or ‘Join us or get out of the way.’ We are still the only country in the world that can galvanize mankind on behalf of the great
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adventure.” Brzezinski added a moral component, saying America committed some fundamental errors at the end of the Cold War. “I think at home we became increasingly focused on self-gratification and consumption, defining the good life purely by material goods,” Brzezinski said. Brzezinski also said America became intoxicated with its own sense of power to some degree. “We embarked on a foreign policy around our needs and indifferent to the needs of other countries, which has had the effect of isolating us from the world and illegitimizing America’s world role,” Brzezinski said. “As a consequence, I think we’re in deep trouble and it’s no surprise that there’s so much talk now about America’s decline.”
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Former Marine explains faults with War on Terror A former combat Marine addresses the current state of the War on Terror and the U.S response to al-Qaida RICKY MARANON Assignment Editor
The U.S. is going the wrong direction and making vital mistakes when examining its attitude toward fighting al-Qaida overseas, said a former Marine. Matthew Hoh, a former combat Marine in the Middle East and Foreign Service officer in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2009, said he chose to resign from the Foreign Service because he thought the U.S. government was making fatal errors in carrying out the War on Terror at a foreign policy conference Monday on campus. Hoh worked in the Pentagon in 2003. “I’m not mad about our decision to invade Iraq,” Hoh said. “I’m upset that someone didn’t get fired.” Hoh addressed the current situation of the War on Terror from the following four points: U.S. forces’ effect on al-Qaida, U.S. forces’ upholding of a new regime lead by Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai, the proposition of an immediate cease-fire in Afghanistan and the U.S. defense strategy’s approach toward cultural tensions that existed in the region before the U.S. arrived in the region after 9/11. “I’m in no way saying we should not have gone to Afghanistan in 2001, we were rightly justified
in doing so,” Hoh said. He said the U.S. is on track to repeat history with other countries that have previously occupied the same region. “People aren’t firing at us because they hate freedom, they’re upset because we are occupying their land,” Hoh said. “Let me put it to you this way: If Texans were now Oklahoma State Troopers, you’d be just as angry as these people.” He said al-Qaida is currently re-establishing itself in other places. OU President David Boren compared al-Qaida’s current state to the mafia. “They’re like the mafia use to be,” Boren said. “When things got bad in Chicago, they would move to Miami.” Boren said al-Qaida should not be treated as if they were a military force. “We aren’t dealing with the Third Reich here,” Boren said. “I’m worried we are using the term ‘war’ to justify this nation spending resources that we don’t have in the middle of an economic recession in which our resources are already stretched so far.” Mike Boettcher, visiting journalism professor, who offered his perspective on CNN about the conflicts in the Middle East and reported overseas in the Middle East, said the debate within the U.S. is flawed to give the American public a false idea of the enemy. “We as the media have done a horrible job of explaining this situation,” Boettcher said. “We as a nation do not have the information to properly
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inform us about what is going on.” Hoh said the misinformation hinders real progress made at home when deciding on a strategy for the right approach in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We need to make decisions based on the right thing, not what is going to look popular in the next election,” Hoh said. Hoh speculated what the future of the U.S. forces in the Middle East would look like. “I would think that President (Barack) Obama would want to show some action on international issues because his domestic policies look like they are falling through,” Hoh said. Hoh said the U.S. would have to keep troops in Iraq to keep stability between the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds, but in the end, Obama will have to take some action on Iran. “Either way, it is going to be good for the regime,” Hoh said. “They are not going nuclear to blow up Tel Aviv, [Israel]. They are building a bomb because they want to be treated as a respected country in world affairs. But if we occupy them to stop them from going nuclear, then those who are for and against the regime will all unite because they won’t like being occupied by foreign forces.” Hoh predicted that what is taking place in Afghanistan will take place in Iran. “We know how to occupy people and take down regimes in three weeks, what we do afterward is where we face the most trouble,” Hoh said.
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