"International Council Members Share Insights, Ideas on Critical Issues"

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Summer 2006

In April, the Belfer Center International Council met to address a number of the central issues of international affairs and science affecting the world today. Former Secretary of Energy James Schlesinger, chairman of the International Council, kicked off the meeting by leading a conversation on energy instability and U.S. energy independence.

Robert Blackwill, U.S. envoy to Iraq in 2003-04, joined former Director of Central Intelligence John Deutch and other Council members in a rigorous debate of U.S. involvement in Iraq. Blackwill, a former ambassador to India, then took center stage to lay out the strategic importance of the recent U.S. agreement with India. Debate continues at the Belfer Center among nonproliferation leaders and India experts regarding the role the U.S.- India relationship should play among broader security concerns.

Debate on India, and the then-anticipated visit of Chinese President Hu, provided a timely backdrop for the presentation by Ben Heineman, senior fellow and former GE senior counsel, on possible U.S. approaches to China.

Martin Feldstein, former chairman of the Council of Economic advisers under President Reagan and president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, discussed work on economics and the U.S. dollar, reflecting the Center's continued focus on economics and national security.

The influence of process on substance was also addressed. Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and current Chairman of the Trilateral Commission Thomas Foley spoke on the problem of partisanship and policymaking, and in conjunction with a number of other Council members from both sides of the aisle, discussed the Belfer Center's role in bridging this gap.

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