Stavridis emphasizes balanced diplomacy

With terror attacks and radical extremists becoming more and more common, many question just how secure our nation really is. As the longest serving global combatant commander in recent American military history, Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.) is well known for his exceptional knowledge of strategy, tactics, diplomacy, national security, and strategic communications. Stavridis now serves as the Dean of the Fletcher school of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

In addition to authoring many books, ADM. Stavridis has also provided insight in many of his articles he has written for various news sources. Over his 37 year military career, ADM. Stavridis has served in a variety of fields and positions in the U.S. Navy. From his time in the field to his time spent in the Pentagon, there are few scenarios ADM. Stavridis has not experienced firsthand.

Justin Houts shares his thoughts on ADM. Stavridis’ speech.

I found Admiral James Stavridis to be a very well spoken and knowledgeable man. His insights into how we can better protect our country by, “Building bridges not walls,” was a very intelligent idea. ADM. Stavridis shared how by aiding other countries with medical and necessary services, we can not only help avoid the spread of negative feelings towards America, but also promote western culture to those all around the world.

I was also inspired by ADM. Stavridis’ recounting of the attacks on September 11. ADM. Stavridis’ office was located extremely close to where the plane crashed into the Pentagon. He recalled watching as the plane flew straight towards the building, and the horrors that followed the tragedy. In response to the attacks, President George W. Bush and Congress declared war. This lead into a conversation about soft power vs. hard power.

Soft power and hard power are described as two different ‘sides’ of the argument for how to deal with our nations enemies. Soft power is the use of aid and assistance to help other nation’s humanitarian crises. An example of this would be sending large ships full of supplies to help those with limited food and water be benefactors of fresh and healthy products. Another common way this is done is by sending over doctors and medical professionals to help those in need, who don’t have the resources to pay for them.

Hard power is the use of strict military force to obtain a countries goals. An example of this would be installing a large occupational force in a foreign land, which regulates village activity and trade. Another example would be the buildup of one’s army and national defense to have an increased international ‘presence’ or ‘voice’.

ADM. Stavridis described how a nation needs both soft power and hard power to maintain a positive and lasting control. If a nation solely uses soft power and doesn’t have an adequate military force to back it up, their generosity will be abused, and the nation will most likely be pushed around by other, more powerful nations.

If a nation solely uses hard power, they will be viewed as a ‘bully’ and countries will most likely stand up and revolt against the suppressive power. It is finding the balance between these two, where a nation is both kind towards others that are less fortunate to build international relations, and also strong and powerful enough to stand up to others, this is the key to national defensive success.

Phillip Christopher believes ADM. Stavridis’ insights into national security are practical and applicable.

Before I saw ADM. Stavridis in person, I was already impressed. He holds what seems to be an endless amount of awards and honors regarding domestic and international affairs. As I prepared to meet this highly decorated man I imagined him to be two things: tall and very serious. To my surprise, he was the complete opposite. In fact, within the first minute of his talk he joked that people usually tell him that when they hear of all of his success in the Navy, they expect someone much taller. With this simple joke, making fun of himself, ADM. Stravridis showed the crowd that he was a very respectable man with an appealing sense of humor.

After making this joke, the admiral got straight into his talk. He initially brought up the threats that America and the world has in front of us. Among the issues were terrorist groups, cyber wars, and diseases. He had mentioned earlier that he was going to bring up these issues and that it would seem that there would be no solution for them, making us feel hopeless. Well at this point in his speech, I was definitely feeling that hopelessness he talked about. I thought to myself, What solutions are there? Is our world truly is destined for chaos?

Thankfully ADM. Stavridis presented some solutions to us that could help our country moving forward. One thing he made sure to emphasize was the usefulness of soft power in solving problems. He shared about his personal experience on 9/11 and the close call that he had in the Pentagon on that day.

His main point of sharing the story was to say that building wall will do nothing but cause problems for America. Instead we should be building bridges and helping others. Although he proposed that we continue to help other countries out, he also brought up the point that America is not and should not be the world’s police man. ADM. Stavridis also brought up America’s biggest weakness: the power grid. He said that if Thomas Edison came back to life today, he would be able to understand our power system. Our power grid is the most vulnerable thing in our nation, and we need to improve it’s security.

Next ADM. Stavridis brought up India as our most promising ally. They have a thriving economy and demographically they are a relatively young nation. He said that it would be a very intelligent move for our country to engage in a friendly relationship with them.

Another point that Stavridis brought up is the value of education. He claimed that many of the world’s problems come from a lack of education. One way that America is currently trying to solve a lack of education is by teaching Afghan soldiers not only to fight but also to read. He also mentioned the importance education because it is keeping the young people informed about historical and global events.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed ADM. Stavridis’ speech. He brought up many good points about the usefulness of soft power. I was a bit concerned about what would happen if America decided to enforce soft power solutions to all problems that it faced. In his conclusion, he brought up the point that we will eventually have to use hard power solutions such as warfare. This reassured me that not everything can be solved peacefully and sometime we do have to use violent force.

I thought that ADM. Stavridis was an excellent speaker getting his point across very clearly while sounding extremely intelligent. I often times find myself listening to people talk about the nation’s problems but not having any solutions. I commend ADM. Stavridis for being able to use his vast knowledge of historical and current events to properly propose his solutions for America and the world’s greatest issues.

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