(Community Matters) Today marks the 9-month anniversary of President Obama’s administration.
I was at St. Edward’s University’s Kozmetsky Center of Excellence in Global Finance yesterday for their Update on Obama Administration’s Foreign Policy. Panelists: Theodore Piccone (Sr. Fellow, Brookings Institue), US Ambassador Anthony Quainton (retired), Spanish Ambassador Javier Sandomingo Nunez, Costa Rican Ambassador Elaine White, former Mexican Ambassador Miguel Marin-Bosch and Douglas Nelson (CropLife America). Enlightened group of men and women, and I found (with the exception of Costa Rican ambassador Elaine White), them to be a surprising group of whiners. Each had a particular topic that they were disappointed about our not having made more progress. Ambassador White acknowledged the sea change diplomatically and the importance of Pres. Obama’s outreach to other countries.
I hope, diplomatically & in an affirming way, I reminded the group that we were 1 day away from the 9 month mark and that the President had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for turning around the tone of world diplomacy, was at the table negotiating with countries we’d refused to even acknowledge previously (Iran & N. Korea) and which threatened their regions if not world peace.
I found it appalling that Mexican Ambassador Miguel Marin-Bosch tried to equate Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons with the threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, though after my comment he clarified he meant to question why Pres Obama wasn’t calling for nuclear elimination from Israel and all countries. He even cited (with a tone suggesting success) a world-wide biological weapons ban – though, do we believe these aren’t in possession? Further surprised he’d mention Middle East peace without acknowledging the more even-handed efforts at diplomacy.
Brookings Institute‘s Piccone (must have been an off day for him, he was sorta tortured) noted concerns about the economy, regretfully completely out of the context of the threat of another Great Depression just 9 months prior. Totally agree there are very serious threats still ahead.
Community Matters 