Clarke speaks on Bush's foreign policy

Richard Clarke, a former adviser to President George W. Bush's National Security Council who made headlines with his staunch criticism of the administration's foreign policy, continued to impugn the country's foreign policy course at a lecture on campus Wednesday.

Dodds Auditorium was filled to capacity and the event was simulcast in two locations within Robertson Hall.

Clarke critiqued the current administration's policy in Iraq and called for a renewed focus on reconstruction.

Dean of the Wilson School Anne-Marie Slaughter GS '80 introduced Clarke with an emphasis on his contribution to current political thought.

"If you don't know who Richard Clarke is . . . you obviously haven't read anything for the past six months," Slaughter said.

Clarke said there is a difference between the War on Terror and the War in Iraq. The two conflicts are distinct, he said, and should have different goals.

But, he added, "Bush has made Iraq the central front of terrorism."

"Just because we're fighting in Iraq doesn't mean that the terrorists can't or won't come here," he said.

Clarke emphasized the need for America to resist the temptation of setting up permanent facilities in Iraq.

Claiming that some individuals in the Pentagon are working on plans for 14 bases throughout the country, he said permanent bases would be counterproductive to the United States' public image in the country.

Clarke is working for the Century Foundation, a liberal think tank.

The group is in the process of publishing a new book, "Defeating the Jihadists: A Blueprint for Action," for which Clarke was a major contributor.

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"Unlike a lot of speeches we've seen, this one wasn't just Bush bashing," Shriram Harid '08 said.

"There was some substantive critique of [Bush's] policies," Harid said, but added that "there are certain things the administration has done well on."

During the question-and-answer session that followed, Slaughter asked Clarke whether he would encourage University students to go into public service.

Clarke said he would, and that the best way to work for change is to "get inside the beast."

Clarke served for nearly three decades as a national security advisor, under four different presidents. He was the counter-terrorism advisor for Bush when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred.

He resigned from the administration in January 2003.