Yesterday at the Aspen Ideas Festival, cosponsored by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic, I spoke on a panel focused on “Smart Power” with a heavy emphasis on the Afghanistan War.
My panel mates were Harvard scholar, former National Intelligence Council Chairman and JFK School of Goverment Dean Joseph Nye, former US Agency for International Development Administrator Henriette Fore, and Three Cups of Tea author and Afghan-embedded humanitarian Greg Mortenson. Congresswoman Jane Harman sat in the front row and participated significantly.
Booz Allen EVP Jack Mayer moderated the session — which I think was excellent.
Main points I emphasized were the huge opportunity and real costs of America’s Afghanistan engagement — and that Smart Power couldn’t exist in a strategic vacuum, which I think is the case today.
— Steve Clemons
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