Insight on Foreign Affairs from Stephen Hadley

Earlier this week, we had the pleasure of hosting an event with Stephen Hadley, who served as National Security Advisor for the President from 2005 to 2009, and who has played instrumental roles in U.S. national security and defense under three Republican Presidents. Mr. Hadley received very high marks on his presentation and I am taking this opportunity to share some of his observations.

The recent economic crisis has accelerated the shift in growth from developed to emerging markets. It is Asia, not Europe or the U.S., that will lead the world out of recession. The greatest growth will occur in Asia. While Brazil and Chile provide hopeful examples for Latin America, other regimes such as that led by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, will be a drag on growth.

The U.S. must engage on a larger scale in Asia. Major Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea want the U.S. to play a more active role to balance the power of China. The fact is the U.S. has better relationships with each of these countries than they do with each other. There is a great opportunity here for the U.S. to play a stabilizing role.

China needs major problems such as North Korea and Iran solved every much as does the U.S. One of China's greatest worries is that it must create 25 million new jobs each year just to absorb its growing labor force. This is a major challenge and requires economic and political stability.

In Afghanistan, it is critical to recognize that we must engage Pakistan to have success. And to have success in Pakistan, we must engage Afghanistan.

The U.S. is at a dead end with Iran. Sanctions will not work. Iran will continue its uranium enrichment activities. The U.S. and its allies will need to explore other options to change Iran’s behavior and protect its national security interests. Decisions about next steps will have to be made later in the year or early next.

These are just a few of Mr. Hadley's observations, in a discussion that revealed that the interconnection between politics, security, and economic issues has never been greater. U.S. companies and associations which understand this will enjoy competitive advantage.

Mr. Hadley and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are business partners in a consulting firm, The Rice Hadley Group. Mr. Hadley is also a senior advisor for international affairs at the U.S. Institute of Peace. A thought leader on international affairs and security, Mr. Hadley is an excellent speaker, and I encourage you to consider him for a future meeting.

If you are interested in more information on Mr. Hadley, please drop me a note.