Shultz '42 ties war on terror to Cold War

Likening the war on terror to the Cold War, George Shultz '42 said in a lecture yesterday that economic and political sustainability, coupled with military preparedness, is the only method to combat terrorism.

"The world has never been in a situation of better promise than now," Shultz, who served as secretary of state for seven years under President Ronald Reagan, said. "The terrorists must not be allowed to abort this opportunity. We win the war against them by positive action and helping people see these improvements."

The lecture, sponsored by the Wilson School, was held in McCosh 50 in front of a half-capacity audience of faculty, community members and a few students.

To win the war on terror, Shultz said the United States should focus on education and communication within the Islamic world, while also cutting off funds to terrorists and controlling nuclear proliferation.

"Strength and diplomacy are complements rather than alternatives," he said.

Addressing the recent controversy over domestic wiretapping, Shultz said he supported the administration's policy despite widespread public criticism.

"I believe the program is important," he said. "It's too bad it's had all this publicity, because it has diminished our ability to use the program."

Stages of war

Shultz, who traced the war on terror back to the 1970s, divided the struggle into three stages.

The first period, which lasted until Sept. 11, 2001, was marked by U.S. passivity and inaction toward terrorist attacks. Even in the 1990s, the U.S. government was aware of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda but failed to check their growth, much like American inaction during Hitler's rise to power, Shultz said.

"The terrorists had completely free rein," he said.

September 11 set off the second, active military phase of the war against radical Islam, Shultz said. Americans were now aware that terrorist groups could target not just sovereign states, but also world finance, tourism and even air travel.

At present, with the war in its third stage, Shultz said that economic and military sustainability are vital for America to prevail. And in Iraq, he said, Americans must remain dedicated to the cause.

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"We took far too long to put an Iraqi face on what we are doing in that country, but Iraqis now have responsibility," he said.

Robert Hutchings, visiting Wilson School professor and former chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, agreed with Shultz that rethinking counterterrorism is the most important challenge facing the Bush administration.

"I think [Shultz] was quite generous to the administration," Hutchings said. "I would be a little more critical, but he was trying to say that we need to take a new approach, something that would be a little more sustainable internationally as well as domestically."

In particular, Shultz said communication with the Islamic world is imperative to reaching greater international understanding.

"The Islamic community itself needs to engage in this battle [against terrorism], and we need to encourage this," Shultz said, noting the importance of increased education and employment in the Middle East.

To jumpstart this trend, Shultz said universities need to encourage foreign language proficiency to support a larger diplomatic service, what he termed "boots on the ground."

After the lecture, some audience members questioned Shultz's views on current policy.

"I really was made uneasy by his stance on wiretapping," Jorge Aguilar '06, a former Daily Princetonian editor, said. "He acted as if looking at the legal stance of wiretapping should come after looking at its benefits. It's strange how little weight he placed on the law."