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Sen. Gary Hart lecturing at the "Terrorism and War" class, taught by entomology professor James R. Carey.. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
DAVIS-- National security consultant Gary Hart, former U.S. senator from Colorado and a two-time presidential nominee, told the University of California, Davis “Terrorism and War” class that new security measures must be enacted to battle terrorism.
Sixty-five years ago, we feared communism and nuclear war by nation states, he said. “Today’s it’s bombs in suitcases.” These are by “people who don’t wear uniforms, who don’t have “big weapon systems” and who “violate all rules of warfare.”
“U.S. security measures enacted 65 years ago aren’t working and new security measures must be enacted,” Hart told entomology professor James Carey’s 240-student class in a townhall-like forum.
Carey, who created the “terrorism and war” course, the first of its kind offered by the Science and Society Program at UC Davis, said Sen. Hart’s lecture drew widespread response. "Sen. Hart's lecture and presence introduced students to new ways of thinking about national security in this country and beyond,” Carey said. “He gave them a very personal look at the world they are inheriting and how important their voice can be in shaping the future."
“These classes introduce students to critical thinking and important contemporary topics in science,” said Carey, professor and director of the Biodemographic Determinants of Lifespan.
Hart, speaking on "Developing a National Security Strategy for the 12st Century," said the “unprecedented burst of internationalism” from 1947 to 1949, including the formation of the United Nations, “prevented World War III, elevated our standard of living and we got together to talk. “
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| Sen. Gary Hart stands outside the lecture hall with UC Davis faculty. From left are Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology; James R. Carey, professor of entomology who teaches the "Terrorism and War" class; Sen. Hart; and David Rizzo, director of the Science and Society Program and professor of plant pathology. |
“The bad news is that we’re still trying to govern the world using 65-year-old institutions. Times change and we have to adapt.”
“New realities cannot be addressed by military means alone,” Hart said, “and new realities cannot be addressed by one nation alone.”
Hart, scholar in residence at the University of Colorado, was recently appointed vice chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. He also chairs the American Security Project and co-chaired the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century, chartered by Secretary of Defense William Cohen in 1998 to provide a comprehensive review of U.S. national security requirements in the 21st century.
The Commission, Hart said, “performed the most comprehensive review of national security since 1947, predicted the terrorist attacks on America, and proposed a sweeping overhaul of U.S. national security structures and policies for the post-Cold War new century and the age of terrorism.”
Hart said the attack on the Twin Towers could have been prevented if the U.S. had heeded the. Commission’s strategic recommendations, such as “tightening our borders, monitoring the use of flight training and paying attention to foreigners.” He listed several “resistances” as to why the recommendations weren’t followed:
--We had not been attacked on the mainland (between 1812 and 2001)
--We are a large island nation
--Then (1947-1974) we had a large, secure middle class
--Our economic and military superiority
--Our rugged individualism and suspicion of government planning
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| UC Davis student Anna Misra talks to Sen. Gary Hart. |
Hart asked three key questions that he said are crucial to national security: (1) Will we anticipate events rather than react to them? (2) Can we form enduring coalitions to address new realities? And (3) How rapidly will we adapt to transformational change?
Four historic revolutions in the 21st century that have changed our world, he said, are globalization, information, erosion of national sovereignty and the changing nature of conflict.
Hart listed six ” new realities” of the 21st century that we must confront: proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, threat of pandemics, climate change, failed and failing states, mass south-north migration, and radical fundamentalism and ethnic nationalism (terrorism).
“Immigration is a global problem, not an American problem,” Hart said. “People (throughout the world) are moving northward for a better standard of living.”
Mass migrations, he said, can lead to turmoil, diseases, food shortages, economic instability and the overthrow of governments.
“None of these new realities of the 21st century can be solved by the U.S. alone,” Hart declared.
Under his proposed “new security” framework, Hart said we must adapt military structures that shift from consumption to production, guarantee a well-educated and healthy work force, invest in innovation and research, contain climate change, halt proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, manage failing states and network security resources.
“We have to anticipate crises rather than react to them,” he said. “Use of force should be a last resort.”
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| UC Davis student Shaun Miller listens to Sen. Gary Hart. |
He called for “transparency in policy and operations” and reminded the students that the U.S. ”is a republic, not an empire.”
Hart also advocated more sophisticated intelligence, protection of critical infrastructure pioneering in cyber-defense and that we pursue nano-technology.
What’s sorely needed, he said, is a “global commons”—and “increased cooperation between the nation states” and the need to “promote common approaches to common interests.”
Hart lamented that the U.S. has become “a nation of consumers, not producers” and that “we have to find things we can do better than anyone else.”
China, he said, is financing our economy, including our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When asked during the question-and-answer session, if the United States will go to war with China over Taiwan, Hart responded: “China does not want a war with us or anyone. China is our biggest creditor.”
“The only way that China would invade the United States is to get their money back,” he quipped. “They loan us money and we buy all their stuff.”
Turning to terrorism, he said he is often asked: “Are we going to be attacked by terrorists again?
“Yes,” he said. “Will it be sooner or later? Sooner.”
Hart said that New York City, site of the Twin Towers attack and “10,000 people trained in homeland security,” is “10 times more prepared for terrorism than say, Denver, Cleveland or Dallas.”
The “Terrorism and War” class, which meets Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Social Sciences Building, will include a talk on the Central Intelligence Agency, “The Fog of War,” and “Liberation of Auschwitz” in the coming weeks. The course ends June 3.
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
