Diverse Alliance Issues Joint Statement: The United States is Stronger, More Secure as Part of the Global Community

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, leaders in higher education, foreign policy, peace building, and national security, released a statement urging America's next president to pursue policies and practices that make the country more welcoming and globally engaged. The statement reads as follows:

"The undersigned individuals,* representatives of the foreign policy, national security, peacebuilding and education fields, believe the United States is stronger and safer when we recognize that we are a part of an interconnected, interdependent global community. Collectively, we urge the next president to pursue policies and practices that embrace the diversity within and outside our borders and that build on our ability to communicate with allies and foes alike.  

"We believe that protecting our health and prosperity will depend upon the next president's commitment to fostering mutual understanding and global cooperation. Epidemics don't recognize national borders, our climate is shared by all, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials threatens our security, and a healthy global economy lifts up our own. Isolation diminishes us, and we seek a president who leads with an appreciation that we increase our own power when we find common cause and common ground with others.  

"The next leader of this country must endeavor to always protect and preserve the security of its citizens. We seek a president who recognizes that our safety depends on our diplomacy as well as our military might. We will support a president who understands that when war and extreme poverty far from our shores lead to hopelessness and desperation, we advance our own stability and security when we offer policies to provide a future for the displaced. We expect our next president to respond to acts of terrorism using the entire range of tools—diplomatic, economic and, when necessary, military—at our disposal, and to demonstrate a willingness to amplify the power of those tools by using them in collaboration with partners in the global community.

"Our next president must value diversity in our nation and in our world, honor our tradition as a nation of immigrants, and be willing to deliberate and collaborate. If we wish to create an ever-more secure and prosperous nation, our next president must work with the global community to create a more secure and prosperous world."

Edward Alden
Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow
Council on Foreign Relations

Roslyn Clark Artis, JD, EdD
President
Florida Memorial University

Michael Barnes
Former Member of Congress

Dr. C. Fred Bergsten
Senior Fellow and Director Emeritus
Peterson Institute for International Economics

Dr. Richard H. Brodhead      
President
Duke University

Thomas Carothers      
Vice President for Studies
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

Michael Crow
President
Arizona State University

William Danvers        
Former Staff Director, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Former Deputy Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Michael V. Drake, MD          
President
The Ohio State University

Luigi Einaudi 
U.S. Ambassador (retired)

Richard E. Feinberg   
Former Senior Director
National Security Council

Melanie Greenberg     
President and CEO
Alliance for Peacebuilding

James T. Harris III, D.Ed.
President
University of San Diego

Vicki Huddleston      
U.S. Ambassador (retired)

Dr. Dennis Jett           
U.S. Ambassador (retired)
Professor of International Affairs
Pennsylvania State University

Marlene M. Johnson
Executive Director and CEO
NAFSA: Association of International Educators

Cornelius M. Kerwin
President
American University

Christopher A. Kojm 
Former Chair
National Intelligence Council

Dr. Kristin M. Lord
President and CEO
IREX 

Dr. D. Mark McCoy  
President
DePauw University

Dr. Katharine H.S. Moon      
Professor of Political Science
Wellesley College

Bruce Morrison          
Former Member of Congress

Mee Moua
President and Executive Director      
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC

María Otero    
Former Under Secretary
Department of State

Sally Shelton-Colby   
U.S. Ambassador (retired)
Distinguished Diplomat-in-Residence
American University

Dr. Mireya Solís         
Senior Fellow
Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies
Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies

Edwin M. Truman      
Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs

Michael Van Dusen   
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Former Chief of Staff, House Foreign Affairs Committee

C. Stewart Verdery, Jr.
Former Assistant Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Policy and Planning Department of Homeland Security

Dr. Leslie E. Wong
President
San Francisco State University

*List in formation. Organization listed for designation purposes only.

Sample tweet: 30 #highered #peace #security & #foreignpolicy leaders urge next president to embrace responsible global engagement http://bit.ly/2dqWhGE

About NAFSA: With more than 10,000 members, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the world's largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education. Visit us at www.nafsa.org/press. To learn more about our advocacy efforts on behalf of international education, visit www.ConnectingOurWorld.org and @ConnectOurWorld on Twitter.

SOURCE NAFSA: Association of International Educators

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