| NATO secretary general engages “successor generation” during AU visit BY ADRIENNE FRANK In between meetings with President Bush and other senior policy makers last Tuesday, Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer of NATO sat down with 24 students at AU—the “successor generation of alliance leaders”—to discuss a range of security issues. 
Photo by Jeff Watts
NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, center, with the 24 students who participated in last Tuesday’s forum. Gathered in Hurst Hall, the students came from 18 colleges across the country for the event. Four AU students, two Washington Semester students, and one WINS student were in the audience for the hour-long session, hosted by the Atlantic Council of the United States. Students from Texas A&M, the University of Michigan, and the Claremont Consortium of Colleges also joined in the discussion through a video conference. “My plea to you is to spread the message about what NATO is,” said de Hoop Scheffer, who took more than a dozen questions about NATO’s relations with the United Nations and the European Union, as well as its role in Darfur and Afghanistan. “I felt honored to have the opportunity to ask questions of such an intelligent, personable man,” said Elizabeth Parker, a Washington Semester student from Tufts University. “It was thrilling to know he took the time to interact with students between meetings with President Bush and an interview on CNN.”
Photo by Jeff Watts
Interim President Neil Kerwin, left, with NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. |
Surrounded by security agents, de Hoop Scheffer said it’s imperative that NATO build new partnerships in order to fight terrorism and other global threats. “I think NATO should have its door open, but nations have to perform, and reform,” he explained. “Criteria are strict.” Students were selected to participate in the forum based on their résumés and cover letters, which detailed what they hoped to take from the program. Rob Guido, a master’s student in SIS, was interested in the event because the consolidation and strengthening of the European defense industry are among his research interests. “The secretary general did an excellent job of outlining the mission and role of NATO in the post-9/11 world—which is fundamentally the same as the pre-9/11 world but with a different geographic focus,” said Guido. “He made clear that NATO is a values-based alliance whose core mission is to protect freedom and democracy in order to provide greater security for the Atlantic Alliance and the world. The only change has been that during the Cold War the proving ground was the German border and today it is places like Afghanistan and Iraq.” Ryan Barnes, another master’s student in SIS, said he enjoyed learning about the evolution of the alliance. “While NATO is still a security apparatus based on the postwar values of security and democracy, the alliance is no longer reactive as it was in the Cold War, but proactive—whether it be intervening to stop ethnic strife in Darfur or aiding the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan,” he explained. The Atlantic Council, a Washington-based organization that promotes constructive U.S. leadership and engagement in international affairs, plans to distribute the broadcast to other colleges and universities throughout the country. |
