EVALUATION OF U.S. SPEAKER KENNETH STEIN IN

UNCLAS ROME 001735 SIPDIS SECSTATE FOR IIP/G/EUR (CSIEMONH); IIP/T/PS (JROSEPLATT, MSCANLIN); EUR/PPD (TPICKREL, DWHITMAN); EUR/WE (MTECKACH- BALL) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP PRC SUBJECT: EVALUATION OF U.S. SPEAKER KENNETH STEIN IN ITALY, TRACKER NUMBER 17700 THIS CABLE FULFILLS THE SIMPLIFIED IIP REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR IIP-FUNDED U.S. SPEAKERS AS OUTLINED IN SECSTATE 59878. ¶1. U.S. SPEAKER KENNETH STEIN (EMORY UNIVERSITY) ADDRESSED KEY ITALIAN AUDIENCES IN MILAN, FLORENCE, ROME, NAPLES, PALERMO, CATANIA, AND MESSINA ON THE TOPIC "U.S. POLICY TOWARD THE MIDDLE EAST SINCE 9/11," MARCH 4-15, ¶2003. DR. STEIN, PROFESSOR OF MIDDLE EASTERN HISTORY AND ISRAELI STUDIES AT EMORY UNIVERSITY SINCE 1977 AND FIRST DIRECTOR OF THE CARTER CENTER IN ATLANTA, ENGAGED SOMETIMES SKEPTICAL INTERLOCUTORS ON THE REASONS FOR AND PURPOSE OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S IRAQ POLICY, PLACING IT WITHIN THE BROAD CONTEXT OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST SINCE THE END OF THE COLD WAR. THE PROGRAM TOOK PLACE BEFORE THE MILITARY INTERVENTION IN IRAQ. ¶2. AUDIENCES INCLUDED JOURNALISTS, FOREIGN POLICY EXPERTS, ITALIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, AS WELL AS EUROPEAN AND ITALIAN ACADEMICS AND STUDENTS. DR. STEIN PRESENTED A BALANCED, ARTICULATE, AND DETAILED ANALYSIS OF U.S. POLICY TOWARDS IRAQ AND RESPONDED INCISIVELY TO THE HARD QUESTIONS THAT EUROPEANS IN GENERAL ARE ASKING ABOUT AMERICA'S MOTIVES AND INTENTIONS. HIS DIALOGUE WITH ITALIAN AUDIENCES PROVIDED OPINION LEADERS AND POLICY MAKERS WITH A DEEPER AND MORE SOPHISTICATED UNDERSTANDING OF U.S. MIDDLE EAST POLICY. INTERVIEWS WITH DR. STEIN APPEARED IN "CORRIERE DELLA SERA" OF MILAN, "IL MATTINO" OF NAPLES, ""GIORNALE DI SICILIA" OF PALERMO, "LA SICILIA" OF CATANIA, AND "GAZETTA DEL SUD" OF MESSINA. DR. STEIN WAS ALSO INTERVIEWED IN ROME BY NATIONAL ITALIAN RADIO (RAI). THE PROGRAM WAS FUNDED BY IIP AND EMBASSY ROME WITH NO NON-USG OR IN-COUNTRY FINANCIAL SUPPORT. VARIOUS ITALIAN INSTITUTIONS PROVIDED VENUES FOR DR. STEIN'S PRESENTATIONS. ¶3. DR. STEIN'S VISIT, ORGANIZED JOINTLY BY PA ROME, PA NAPLES/PALERMO, PA MILAN, AND CONGEN FLORENCE, FOCUSED ON U.S. POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO IRAQ. THE PROGRAM ENGAGED A WIDE VARIETY OF ITALIAN OPINION LEADERS AND POLICY MAKERS IN DIALOGUE ON THE PRESSING ISSUE OF U.S. POLICY TOWARDS IRAQ. PROFESSOR STEIN'S DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF HIS SUBJECT WAS IMPRESSIVE. HE PROVED TO BE AN EXCELLENT PRESENTER WHO SPOKE FLUENTLY AND AT LENGTH WITHOUT NOTES. HE EASILY AND QUICKLY TAILORED HIS PRESENTATION TO THE TIME AVAILABLE AND SEEMED PARTICULARLY ENERGIZED IN FRONT OF AUDIENCES THAT WERE SKEPTICAL AND EVEN HOSTILE TOWARDS USG MIDDLE EAST POLICY. HE RAPIDLY DEVELOPED AN EXCELLENT RAPPORT WITH THESE AUDIENCES AND PATIENTLY AND CLEARLY EXPLAINED THE RATIONAL FOR U.S. POLICY. HE EFFECTIVELY DEMOLISHED PATENTLY FALSE EXPLANATIONS OF U.S. PURPOSES (SUCH AS THOSE THAT ATTEMPTED TO INTERPRET USG ACTIONS AS EFFORTS TO SEIZE THE OIL RESOURCES OF IRAQ OR TO REDRAW THE MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST IN FAVOR OF ISRAEL) AND ARTICULATELY LAID OUT THE TRUE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF U.S. POLICY (TO ELIMINATE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND PREVENT THEM FROM FALLING INTO THE HANDS OF TERRORISTS). HE WAS NOT ALWAYS UNCRITICAL OF USG POLICY, BUT HE WAS FAIR AND EVEN- HANDED IN HIS PRESENTATIONS. HE THUS WAS ABLE TO WIN THE ATTENTION, RESPECT, AND UNDERSTANDING OF HIS AUDIENCES IN A WAY THAT AN OFFICIAL USG SPOKESPERSON MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO. ¶4. AS A RESULT OF DR. STEIN'S PROGRAM, KEY ITALIAN AUDIENCES GAINED CLEAR, BALANCED, AND ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF USG POLICY OBJECTIVES IN THE MIDDLE EAST, PARTICULARLY IN IRAQ. DR. STEIN ALSO DEMONSTRATED A WILLINGNESS TO REMAIN IN TOUCH WITH KEY CONTACTS AFTER HIS RETURN TO THE U.S. TWO ADDITIONAL KEY RESULTS FROM HIS SOUTHERN LEG WERE HIS INVITATION FOR A PALERMO ACADEMIC TO PARTICIPATE IN AN EMORY UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE (SHE SUBSEQUENTLY DID) AND HIS OFFER TO WRITE MONTHLY ARTICLES ON MIDDLE EAST ISSUES FOR PLACEMENT IN SOUTHERN ITALIAN NEWSPAPERS. WE HAVE ALREADY PLACED THE FIRST COLUMN IN SICILY'S "LA SICILIA" AND EXPECT TO RECEIVE AND PLACE OTHERS. ¶5. THE QUALITY OF IIP SUPPORT FOR THIS VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM WAS EXCELLENT. IIP'S JODY ROSE PLATT DID A SUPERB JOB IN ORGANIZING AND MANAGING THIS LOGISTICALLY COMPLICATED PROGRAM, WHICH BEGAN IN FRANCE AND CONTINUED IN SEVEN ITALIAN CITIES. MS. PLATT'S COLLEAGUES IN ITALY SALUTE HER AND THANK HER FOR AN OUTSTANDING AND HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL EFFORT. SEMBLER NNNN 2003ROME01735 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED