American Foreign Policy Scholar Walter Russell Mead

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003949 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/PPD; NEA/ELA; IIP/SDIS (Platt) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KPAO SCUL JO SUBJECT: American Foreign Policy Scholar Walter Russell Mead Discusses U.S. Foreign Policy for Influential Jordanian Audiences ¶1. SUMMARY: During a two-day speaker's program September 3-4, Council on Foreign Relations scholar Walter Russell Mead adroitly discussed many U.S. foreign policy issues, and disabused his influential audiences of several misperceptions they held concerning the motives and processes behind the formulation of those policies. His interlocutors came away with a new appreciation for the complexity of American society and foreign policy decision-making, and hailed his breadth of knowledge and understanding of their concerns. His themes reached a much broader audience through a long newspaper interview and an hour-long televised debate. End summary. MEAD SHEDS LIGHT ON U.S. ROLE IN A CHANGING WORLD AND FORMULATION OF POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ¶2. Mead, the Henry Kissinger Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, began his program September 3 with a talk on U.S. foreign policy priorities in a changing world to 20 top-level intellectuals and journalists at the Center for Strategic Studies. Mead skillfully laid out the main foreign policy challenges facing the U.S. as he saw it, emphasizing that while Iraq was the top issue at the moment, there were many other important challenges confronting the U.S., including the rise of India and China, North Korea, Russia, Darfur, and others. He elaborated on the long-term interests of the U.S. in each area, and helped the audience understand why they should not expect sharp differences in foreign policies during the next administration given those constant interests. He also discussed why the U.S. went to war in Iraq, and disabused some in his audiences of the idea that the motives had more to do with oil or the U.S.-Israel relationship than with the threat of WMD or the imperative to bring democracy to the heart of the Arab world. ¶3. Mead next addressed a larger audience of young diplomats and professors at the Jordanian Institute of Diplomacy. He spoke in depth about the role of evangelical Christians in American foreign policy formulation, and how the concept of secularism differs in Europe and the U.S. He broke down widely-held local stereotypes of evangelical Christians, and described why Muslims often find it easier to integrate into American society than they do in many European societies. Over an official dinner the same evening with leading Editors-in-Chief, Mead expounded on may different topics, most notably explaining the pluralistic system of lobbying in the U.S., and debunking the notion that there is any one all-powerful lobby that controls U.S. policies toward the Middle East. ¶4. The following day, Professor Mead engaged in two long media events and a lengthy discussion with a cross-section of Jordanian civil society activists at a local think tank. This last event drew an animated, standing room only crowd of writers, activists, journalists and politicians from all ideological tendencies. Mead's topic was Iraq, and the anger in the room at the U.S.-led military presence was palpable. Despite this, Mead smoothly parried the audience's charges and denunciations, while still expressing understanding for their points of view. He laid out in systematic fashion the options now available to the U.S. and the international community, stressing that whatever disagreements we may have had about the origins of the war, we needed to work together to find the best outcome for Iraqis and everybody else in the region. A precipitous withdrawal of most American forces would likely lead to a large bloodbath, he said, and could impact neighboring countries such as Jordan. In response to many accusations that the war was all about Israel or oil, Mead articulated skillfully the rationale for American actions, and implored the guests to be wary of simplifications, explaining that American society and policy formulation are far more complicated than they seem from afar. ¶5. Mead's appearance on the popular, hour-long Jordanian TV talk show "Without Restrictions" allowed him to amplify his main themes to an audience of tens of thousands of viewers. He debated a well-known journalist and columnist about US policies in the Middle East, and countered each of the columnist's exaggerated charges with a reasoned, clear response. His expression of understanding of the suffering of the Palestinians caught the attention of viewers, and gave his opposing arguments more resonance. The newspaper interview Mead did with leading daily newspaper Al-Ghad was published a few days after the program. Appearing with a photo, the interview accurately quoted Mead discussing many of the main themes he touched upon in his other appearances, thereby reaching another audience of thousands of educated elites in the capitol. IMPACT ¶6. Mead's program in Jordan directly reached approximately 200 key players in the media, think tank, NGO and university communities, as well as tens of thousands of others through his media interviews. His scholarly reputation preceded him, and his deep knowledge of foreign policy, combined with his patience and sympathy for the positions taken by many of his interlocutors, afforded him much credibility and permitted his points to gain traction with the AMMAN 00003949 002 OF 002 audiences. While Mead did not always agree with U.S. policies, he did manage to explain the rationale for them, and at the same time managed to take apart some of the wilder conspiracy theories directed his way. Overall, Mead proved to be a superb speaker with the kind of comprehensive, profound analysis of policies that is often lacking in this region. Reaction from audience members was universally positive, with many asking PA to bring more such speakers in the future. ¶7. Cost: Mr. Mead's travel, lodging, per diems and honorarium were covered by IIP funds. Post covered charges related to representational dinner and interpretation of the TV interview. ¶8. Post thanks Jody Rose Platt in IIP for her assistance in organizing this program. HALE