U.S. Foreign Policy & The Role of Young People In A Changing World

18 April 2011

Ambassador Susman at St Andrews University, Scotland, UK

Ambassador Susman with Professor Louise Richardson, Principal and Vice Chancellor of St. Andrews University, Scotland, UK

Remarks
Ambassador Susman
St Andrews University
Scotland, UK

Thank you.  Good afternoon.  Professor Richardson, members of the IPA, members of the academic community, students of the university.  Ladies and gentlemen.

Let me start by saying up front how delighted I am to be back in Scotland.  As the birthplace of whisky and golf, it is a place close to my heart.  And for a golf enthusiast like me, it is especially exciting to come to St Andrews.

As we passed the Old Course today, my wife Marjorie reminded me that - in the Middle Ages - when people furiously beat the ground with sticks it was called witchcraft.

I assured her that golf is still a pursuit where people regularly utter curses.

I am grateful to the IPA – one of the most distinguished student groups in the UK - for hosting our lunch earlier today.

And I want to thank Professor Richardson for inviting me here - and her team for helping organize my visit.  It is truly an honor to address the university as it marks its 600th anniversary.

Earlier, I walked through the cloister where the timeline manages to cram 600 years into 60 yards.  I was struck by some of the incredible achievements of the fine scholars here down the ages.

It’s no wonder that Prince William described St Andrews as by ‘far and away the best university in the world’.

Another thing I noticed was the plaque honoring that great American Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin – as you may well know - is one of three signatories of the Declaration of Independence closely associated with St Andrews.

The others are James Wilson and John Witherspoon.

What they and all America’s Founding Fathers wanted more than two centuries ago was to control their own destiny.

To have a say over the things that mattered to their communities, and the freedom to make the most of their lives.  To choose who their leader would be; to decide what powers they could have; to have a voice in how their society would run.

In my opinion, it is those same basic desires that today lie behind what is happening across the Arab world.  What has come to be called the Arab Spring.

Everyone has been so moved by the courage and determination of the people participating in these historic events - especially the young people.

And it is on young people and their role in this changing world that I wish to focus my remarks today.

Fifty years ago, in his famous inaugural address, a 43-year-old President Kennedy, declared that the ‘torch has been passed to a new generation’.  I believe we are now witnessing a similar shift.

In Egypt, Tunisia, and many of the countries experiencing these incredible mass uprisings you have 60, 70 – and in some cases - 80 per cent of the population under the age of 30.

They lack job opportunities, and access to education and healthcare services.  They feel left out of the political process.  They are disaffected and disenfranchised.

And they decided to do something about it.

With the help of cell phones and social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, they communicated, they organized, and they demonstrated.

These were popular protest movements that deployed modern tools – which the incumbent regimes could not control - to fan the sparks of rebellion and to bring disparate groups together.

The demands were straightforward: the chance to earn a decent living, freedom of speech and assembly, the right of participation and representation.

And, of course, an end to repression, corruption, and dictatorship.

So while the circumstances in each country are unique, in every case the message has been the same: a call for greater opportunities, greater freedoms, and greater openness.

America supports these demands whole-heartedly.

The United States never backs down from championing democracy.  We campaign relentlessly – in public and in private - for all the inalienable rights free nations like the U.S. and the UK have.  And for the human rights of people all over the world.

It is the core principle that has guided our approach throughout this recent period of unrest and upheaval.  And it will continue to guide it.

Now, could we have done more?  It is a fair question.  Maybe in times past we could have pushed harder.

But the bottom line is that we believe it is up to the people of each country to choose their government.  And that every voice must be heard in that choice.

That is why – despite the inevitable anxieties – the United States embraces what is happening across the Arab world.  And why we are excited and inspired that as, President Obama acknowledged, ‘young people are leading the way’.

We admire the fact that youth – people like many of you in this audience – are motivated to find and implement solutions to the challenges facing the world.

One thing we recognize is that young people are not just leaders of tomorrow, they are leaders of today.

I use the word ‘leaders’ deliberately.  Protest has an important role, for sure.  As we see, it can be both inspiring and successful.

The real hard part comes after the demonstrations.  Young Egyptians and Tunisians are discovering this.  One challenge for youth is to transform protest into leadership.

To identify where they can make a positive impact as constructive, innovative leaders.

One of America’s challenges is to convince those others, drawn to radicalism and violent extremism, that the U.S. is not at war with Islam.  And it never has been.

We are at war only with extremists who wish us harm.

President Obama has stated this time and again.  And he has gone beyond words by strengthening alliances with Muslim-majority nations, from Turkey to Indonesia.

Inspired by what has happened in Egypt and Tunisia – and, I should also say, what has happened in Northern Ireland - we have to emphasize the power of non-violence, democracy, and rule of law as the only path for progress.

Consider, how what we have seen in North Africa and the Middle East, is the most dramatic change in the Arab world in decades.  And that al Qaeda has had nothing to do with it.

We have to expose the perverse doctrine – the lie - that al Qaeda is somehow the resolute defender of Islamic traditions.  It is nothing of the sort.  Al Qaeda’s sole aim is Jihad.

For me, it is a tragic irony that fanatics exploit the freedoms of speech and assembly - freedoms they purport to despise - to spread their message of hate.

We need to speak out against their false and murderous ideologies.  To challenge political propaganda.  To change radical attitudes and extremist tendencies.

Through our words and actions, we can either play into the extremist narrative – or we can undermine it.

And because al Qaeda and others prey on discontented youth for their violent operations, defeating extremism relies on removing the recruiting tools of radicalism.

Poverty, unemployment, racism, and lack of proper education. 

That means we must try to give young people a brighter future.  A future full of opportunity.  The opportunity to be well educated, to have a good job and – with it – the hope of a decent quality of life.

It is a crucial part of our strategy in Afghanistan.

This year eight million Afghan children will go to school – one third of them, girls.  Back in 2001, only a million went.  And they were all boys.

Today, eight in 10 Afghans have access to basic healthcare and as a result infant mortality is falling and life expectancy rising.

For these and other reasons, young Afghans have grounds to be optimistic about the future.

Nowhere is the fight against extremism more acute than in Afghanistan.  And, unfortunately, the burden rests most heavily on the shoulders of thousands of brave young service men and women.

I cannot say often enough what I want to say now.  We truly admire the bravery, dedication and commitment of the UK’s armed forces.

Their service is helping to ensure that the coalition prevails against the Taliban, al Qaeda, and all the affiliated extremists in the region.

And let me be clear: the U.S. - in close partnership with the UK and our other allies – is committed to seeing the job through.

 
To using not only our military, but our political, economic and humanitarian resources to achieve our ultimate ambition:  to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda – and hand control of a safe and secure Afghanistan to the Afghan people.

Yet as we fight the wars of today, we must also look toward tomorrow.

Essential to achieving our foreign policy goals is a strategy that recognizes the critical nexus of economic prosperity and national security.

Only by being economically strong at home can we pursue priorities abroad.

A strong economy is the wellspring of American power.  It pays for our military and intelligence; it underwrites our diplomacy and development; and it serves as a leading source of our influence.

Rebuilding the U.S. economy depends on two factors.

First, putting ourselves on a fiscally sustainable path.

President Obama last week set out his plan for reducing the budget deficit with $4 trillion in spending cuts over the next 12 years.

This involves hard political choices, such as reforms to entitlements, raising some taxes, and cutting defense spending.

The second element to economic recovery is securing growth and creating jobs.  Job creation is not easy.  I understand that both here and in America, these are potentially tough times for young people.

Faith in many of the old certainties of the past - getting a university education, a job, a mortgage – is being questioned.

I’m sure they’re questions on the minds of some of you in this audience.

We cannot afford a lost generation.  That is why – while recognizing the need to make substantial savings in parts of the federal budget - President Obama is committed to investing for the future.  In education; infrastructure; and industries, such as biomedical research, IT, and clean energy technology.

And if the financial crisis taught us anything, it taught us that what happens in the economy of one country affects the economies of every country.  America’s economy depends on the strength of the world’s.

So we are not concerned to see emerging economies like China, India and Brazil growing.  We welcome it.  We know that there is a lot to gain from each other’s successes.

Growth abroad will reinforce growth in the U.S. and the UK.  It will provide new opportunities for trade, businesses and jobs.

Economic progress in even the poorest countries can advance the prosperity of people far beyond their borders and contribute to the stability of countries and regions.
 
President Obama recognizes that broad-based economic growth is ‘the most powerful force the world has ever known for eradicating poverty and creating opportunity’.

And what we know, is that countries prosper most when they unlock the potential of all their citizens - especially young people.

The phenomenal economic growth we have seen in India and China is due in part to their large young working-age populations.  It’s an asset shared by other rising economic powerhouses such as Indonesia and Brazil.

With today’s technology and global connections, young people are empowered with access to knowledge and resources unlike any generation before.

They must be encouraged to use their talent, enthusiasm, and hunger to succeed.  To drive progress.  To find new solutions to old problems.

The dividend from investing in energized youth and capturing the power of youthful ideals is something the United States has understood throughout our history.

President Kennedy understood it.

Shortly after taking office, he set up the Peace Corps.  It has grown into one of the most successful programs in American history.

Over the past 50 years, more than 200,000 Americans have answered his call.  They serve in some 139 countries.  They come from all walks of life.  But they share common attributes.

They are inspirational.  They are dedicated to improving the lives of people in other countries.  Above all, they are leaders abroad.

The world has undergone extraordinary changes in the half century since President Kennedy’s inauguration.

International terrorism rather than a Communist superpower threatens our security; globalization has transformed the rules of finance and trade; technology has revolutionized the way we communicate.

What hasn’t altered is his vision of young people as leaders.  Leadership is about rising up to meet and overcome challenges, however daunting they seem.

Imagine how intimidating it must have felt for the students in Cairo and Tunis going on to the streets for the first time.  They knew nothing but repression and tyranny.  Look at what they achieved.

One of those protesting in Tunisia summed it up perfectly.

A 23-year-old call center worker was asked if she was scared of government forces during the protest.  ‘If I allowed myself to be afraid,’ she said.  ‘Then no one would be here - and in that case we cannot succeed.  We have to be courageous.’

Her individual act of courage – and the hundreds and thousands like it – was an example of heroic leadership that toppled a dictatorship.  And it inspires America.

We will never falter in our support of all those in the world who seek a brighter future and the freedom to carve the best lives for themselves and their families.

Because our long-term security will not come from our ability to instill fear in others.  It will come from our capacity to embrace and encourage their hopes and aspirations.

Thank you.