Salon Luncheon with Former Secretary of State George Shultz

The United States faces a tumultuous moment in its history—from foreign policy crises in Afghanistan and Iran to economic and healthcare challenges domestically.

Foreign policies executed in the coming months and years could have a substantial effect on the future global balance of power, as well as potentially achieving major goals such as nuclear nonproliferation.

At a salon luncheon hosted by Carnegie's Robert Kagan, former Secretary of State George Shultz outlined how the administration should approach the vast array of challenges facing the United States, and took questions from an audience that included Tom Friedman, Fred Hiatt, and David Brooks.

American Economic Primacy: The United States has a terrific political system and the most creative and dynamic economy the world has ever seen. Right now, however, the United States is not at its best. It must control its government spending to maintain its global economic position and prevent deficits that will stretch to the far horizon.

Global Engagement: Direct diplomatic engagement is irreplaceable, but the United States must do more than merely engage with others. The United States must engage them on the basis of its strengths. Discussions with Iran, for example, have gone nowhere because the United States has engaged Iran with a weak hand.

Afghan War: Initial military successes by the United States and the coalition forces were compromised by an attempt to create an Afghanistan that had never previously existed—one with a centralized government and a strong national army. Any future approach must recognize the fact that Afghanistan is a bottom-up, rather than top-down, country, and thus change must be instituted on a local rather than national level.

Terrorism: While the United States must be careful in using force for preventative action, especially in other countries, the use of force is a critical component in fighting terrorism and should be considered as a preventative measure. Furthermore, financial considerations should never be a factor in the fight against terrorism, as a government’s first and primary job is to protect its citizens. In Afghanistan, for example, the United States should not compromise its goal because of rising costs.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation: Nuclear disarmament is beyond partisan politics and should be approached as a nonpartisan issue. This will be increasingly important when the Senate is called upon to ratify and re-ratify upcoming nonproliferation treaties.

Government Accountability: The government today is drifting away from responsible “legitimate line governance,” where decision-makers are appointed, confirmed and can be called upon to testify. With an increase in appointees who do not need to be confirmed is meant to lessen the burden on the White House, the lines of responsibility and accountability have become complicated

Healthcare: While the healthcare system badly needs to be addressed, policy-makers must engage with the fundamental problems, not just increasing access to healthcare. For example, raising taxes does not bring the cost of healthcare down, it only spreads the higher costs over a larger group. One problem that must be faced is the fact that the prime determinant of an individual’s health is that individual. Good eating habits, exercise, and preventive care are arguably equally or more important than access to healthcare.