Concerns surrounding terrorism and weapons of mass destructionare fueling America's current foreign policy, State Departmentresearch scholar Kamal Beyoghlow said Tuesday.
"There is no more important policy problem today, as far as I'mconcerned, than terrorism," Beyoghlow said. "It's not an Americanproblem; it's a global problem."
Beyoghlow, the resident scholar in the State Department's publicliaison office and a professor at George Mason University, spentmuch of his time at a national town meeting at Emens Auditoriumdiscussing terrorism and how the policies regarding it affectcitizens.
"We cannot make foreign policy without domestic considerations,"Beyoghlow said.
Beyoghlow said the war on terror is not over, and waiting forits conclusion "requires patience and a shift in our thinkingparadigm."
He said it is only a matter of time before America's adversaries"switch to the unthinkable" -- biochemical weapons and otherweapons of mass destruction. This belief, he said, is drivingcurrent U.S. foreign policy.
"The U.S. must protect itself and its allies," Beyoghlow said."Our policy must be to deny these agents. The best defense in thispolicy is offense."
Beyoghlow also addressed rebuilding Iraq. America has nolong-term intention of staying in Iraq, he said, and this reflectsthe fact that this nation is interested in other areas of theworld. According to Beyoghlow, America will remain in Iraq until aconstitution is written and accepted and a permanent governmentreplaces the provisional one.
"We don't want to stay forever, and our intention is not tooccupy them," Beyoghlow said. "(But), we don't want to (leave) tooquickly either."
Beyoghlow acknowledged that some policy decisions have beenmistakes, but he assured his audience that "we adhere to our corevalues, those in the Constitution" when making decisions.
"He spoke about other sides of the same issue," senior Dave Foxsaid. "He talked about the mistakes they have made and that wasneat to hear. You don't usually hear about that side."
The meeting was broadcast to universities across the country. AsBeyoghlow made his presentation, audience members in Emens askedquestions via note cards, while audience members at suchuniversities as Dickinson College and University of Wisconsine-mailed their questions to a special Web site.
As part of the Global Access Project, a State-Department-hostedforeign policy program, Ball State hosted the State Departmentyesterday and Monday. The two days' events were held in partnershipwith the American Association of State Colleges andUniversities.
"I was very interested in the topics, but I had no expectationscoming in," freshman Katie Baker said. "All of it was pretty muchwhat I knew, but (Beyoghlow) just clarified."
Beyoghlow included within his presentation a call to students totake charge of their futures and pursue careers and experiencesthat will help others.
"We need new people and fresh blood to think about the future,(to) think about a noble profession," Beyoghlow said. "You willhave to be the leaders soon; you will have to take over fromus."
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