Pulitzer winner on security
UD's David Hoffman offers global perspective
9:30 a.m., Feb. 25, 2011----University of Delaware graduate, journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Hoffman returned to his alma mater on Feb. 17 to bring his unique global perspective to a packed lecture room at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UD's Wilmington campus.
In a presentation titled “The World in 2011: Thoughts on National Security Issues,” the former Wilmington News Journal reporter and current Washington Post foreign editor examined issues facing the United States and the international community and applied the lessons of the past to some of today's most recent headlines.
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Addressing developments in Egypt, Bahrain and other parts of the Middle East, Hoffman told the capacity crowd in Arsht Hall that “recent events have been breathtaking and historic” but cautioned that it was not yet time to “pop the champagne.”
Acknowledging what he now calls his own naivete regarding similar events he covered in Russia in 1989, Hoffman recounted one of many conversations he had surrounding the end of Communism. “I spoke with a man who told me 'It's like I've been in a windowless cell for 40 years and someone has opened the door, but the light outside is so bright I can't see.'”
Calling the past few weeks' developments in Egypt a very similar situation, Hoffman warned that those people who find themselves free of the regime against which they demonstrated now face another challenge -- inexperience.
He said democracy offers such promises as electoral democracy, civil society, rule of law and a true political culture but said the new beneficiaries of these will find themselves blinded for a time by the brightness of such shadow-piercing concepts. “Who do you choose when you've not had any experience with elections, and how do you react when elections don't have those immediate effects you thought they would?” he asked, adding that, if history repeats itself again, it will take “several waves” of elections and reforms to smooth the consolidation and transition to a democratic state in Egypt.
Turning to domestic issues, Hoffman said the United States no longer faces “the existential threat we had in the Cold War” and is now part of a multi-polar world. Globalization now spans nearly every part of our lives, he added, including information.
Describing challenges to U.S. national security, Hoffman called terrorism “the big one” and also cited the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among those less discussed, he said, are the threat of cyber wars or cyber terrorism and the remnants of the concluded Cold War. “The weapons from the Cold War did not go away,” he cautioned, explaining that the number of nuclear missiles in the world, while down from the estimated 60,000 at the peak of the Cold War, still stands at a disturbing 22,000, 95 percent of which continue to be controlled by the United States and Russia. “We must look candidly at old threats as well,” Hoffman said.
The final issue he discussed is what he calls the “soft power challenges.”
“During the Cold War, we had NORAD keeping an eye on missiles that were never launched,” Hoffman said. “But we felt better because it was there. There is no NORAD for global health surveillance, so you have things like the influenza pandemic.”
The economy, he added, is another concern. Referring to his earlier thoughts on post-Cold War defense planning, Hoffman suggested defense spending also should be made to reflect the times and cautioned that globalization of the world's economy makes strengthening the U.S. financial outlook all the more important. “Economic security is our national security,” he said. “We need to get the economics right.”
At the conclusion of his presentation, Hoffman fielded questions from members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on a diverse range of topics, including global food shortages, the U.S. defense budget and relations with China.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware in Wilmington is an academic membership cooperative for adults 50 and over to exchange ideas, enjoy classes, teach, and travel together. More than 225 courses are offered each fall and spring semester in such subject areas as the arts and humanities, health, computers, languages, and science. More information is available at the website.
Article and photo by Doug Eppler, Tipton Communications
