Balancing the 3Ds and "Putting Smart Power to Work."

On Wednesday, March 4th, the Center for Global Engagement sponsored an event called "Putting Smart Power to Work" featuring former Secretary of State Colin Powell, current Deputy Secretary of State for Resources and Management Jack Lew, Senator Robert Menendez (Chairman of the Senate subcommittee with oversight over foreign assistance), Wendy Sherman (co-chair of the Obama-Biden State Department transition team), and former Congressman Jim Leach.

For those Korbel School alumni who are closely watching the Obama administration to see whether and how it will undertake a comprehensive reform of the U.S. foreign assistance architecture, as well as what steps it will take to re-build the capacity of our civilian agencies so they can effectively engage in reconstruction and stabilization activities, some of the participants' remarks will be quite interesting. Check out the full transcript for more details; here's a good quote from Secretary Powell:

"I’m not entirely comfortable with [the term] smart power because the term “power” suggests that there’s some kind of conflict going on and instruments of power being applied. I think what we ought to talk about is smart influence. How can the United States do a better job of helping the rest of the world, of presenting to the rest of the world the image of a nation that is compassionate, that is outgoing, that is trying to help the lesser citizens of the world achieve a better life and, at the same time, through those efforts, improve our standing in the world and improve our position in the world.”
-Former Secretary of State Colin Powell