Otherwise known as a National Security adviser. I want to welcome all of you here who are able to join us and the audience watching on livestream from the hudson web site but also a special welcome to our cspan audience who will be following this event on cspan2 today and we are to have you here if only virtually and delighted to have everyone who could participatete in this discussio. As i think is going to be one of the most interesting and significant events that we have done here at hudson particularly given the fact that we are less thanan a week away from the election. So many of these issues we are going to be talking about today the question of what americas going to do and where americas going to go from here those issues are going to be decided very soon and so what happens in our discussion here i think will help us to understand the guide to what takes place regardless of who it is who will be sitting oval office come january january 21. I want to say a few words about our distinguished guests. Robert obrien was born in los angeles graduated from university of californiaberkeley with a law degree. Fromom there he founded the law firm of Larson Obrien lmp. Between 1996 and 1998 obrien was a legal officer with the u. N. Security Council Compensation division in geneva switzerland. He served in a number of whatmm akel positions for bush the obama and the Trump Administration and was civilian observer or the Pacific Council onas International Policy and te pretrial hearings for Khalid Sheikh mohammed. President george w. Bush named him as the u. S. Alternate representative to the 60th session of the united and cochair of the u. S. Department of states Publicprivate Partnership for Justice Reform in afghanistan which is where he also served in the same position during the president obamas first term. Then on may 10, 2019 President Trump appointed ambassador obrien is special president ial envoy for hostage affairs, 2018 im sorry not 2019 and one year later he was given the title. Ambassador obrien to the office of 28 United StatesNational Advisers on september 18, 2019 so has been in that position for a little bit more than a year. Today he serves as senior advisers to the president of international affairs, chairs the National Security council and overseas the National Security staff. Ambassador obrien has done his share of writing. I do want to recommend to you his look published in 2016. The book while america slept is in many ways a prescient collection of essays about many of the challenges in 2016 and during that time which have very much come home to roost and its a really good but. A particular like section 3 which has the title to rule the waves and im not sure how you got the title for that look but anyway its well worth reading and a good reminder that our guest today is someone with a real vision about National Security and about where americas place in the world is and where it should be and thats why we are delighted and its a privilege to have him here today. Ambassador obrien. [applause] c its a pleasure to be with you and i think we are socially distance so i will take this mascot. Sometimes i think the cough i cough because the mask is on. I was one of the early adopters of wearing the mask and i came down with covid this summer and was fortunate enough to get through. An honor to be here with Arthur Herman i have his book to rule the waves. That chapter was named by the editor. I dont want to get a letter from your counsel. He is a great writer and a great historian and a Great American so thank you. Thank you to john walters for hosting today. Its a privilege. Four years ago President Trumpes was elected and he had a very different idea of how peace and prosperity in the world could be achieved and how the American People could be served by foreign policy. President trump had no higher priority than putting the needs the rights for safety and the values of the American People first and thats where the term America First comes from. The president believes National Security is best obtained on a piece or strength philosophy and the president deals with the world awaited is. We deal with dictators not in a way that we hoped and to be we dont turn a blind eye to their conduct. Expecting them to change if we ignore their conduct. Hes done the hard work of straightening out alliances and is put substance over and hes been criticized for that. We think his actions have demonstrated that he will no longer be a party to arrangements and Organizations International conventions and treaties where our sovereignty is not respected but we also think its better for other countries in the world as well. The president puts America First but he also believes other countries put their own interests first and thats how it should be. In such a world our roads has led to demonstrable results that have made American People safera so for example early on administration we took over the white house there was a caliphate the size of great written stretching, spanning acrossss iraq and syria the ices caliphate in that caliphate has destroyed the leader vices of talk are all baghdadi the man who kept Kayla Mueller as a. He was removed from the battlefield and justice is brought to him almost a year ago today, i think a year ago this week are the leaders of. Al qaea in north africa and yemen have been moved to the battlefield. Over 50 american hostages and detainees around the world up and brought home. Nafta has been replaced by the much improved usmcj better for the American Worker and farmers and it has created and strengthened the most profitable nott only for the United States but also our partners around the world. Since march of this year notwithstanding the pandemic the coast guard and navy and the antidrug operation in the crib in an eastern pacific of the california Mexican Border they seized over 4 billion in cocaine and marijuana and denied those drugs to traffickers. 4. 7 million. Working together with leaders of el salvador on a mullah hunter is mexico prison camp has reduced undocumented immigration byed 85 . We strengthened our relationships in the hemisphere working closely with the largest democracy of brazil. I was just there last week and we signed three deals to investment deals in one trade deal in those deals will be great for brazil and great for the United States and manufacturing here. We have given thousands of loans in the western hemisphere. That initiative we call growth america increases our neighbors and prosperity here at home and in her neighborhood. The Presence Campaign is brought irans economy to its knees and he has cut off well over 150 billion in sanctions that the iranians were using not just help from people but to spread war across the middle east weather was hezbollah or hamas or the assad regime are hutus or hezbollah in iraq. On the burden sharing. The president kerger nato allies to spend over 40 billion in additional defense spending through 2024. That makes not only her european allies better but safer but it wakes the world safer. That increase defense spending was accompanied by burden sharing and other places. There are 6100 Coalition Troops most of them from nato in afghanistan so the first time the afghan conflict we have more of our partners sharing the burden of the work in afghanistan in the United States and the same thing as have been in iraq. After years of sequestration that was decimating our armed forces under the obama by demonstration we got to the point where the Smallest Army since 1940 and key munition shortages low readiness ratings in our combat teams and an urge to rebuild their nuclear deterrent. After 2. 5 trillion being of the past three years all of this is being addressed. Thee progress is impressive. Munitions are being restocked and troops increase. We elevated u. S. Cyberrecommending created the joint Artificial Intelligence and to establish the u. S. Space command in the space force. The space forces the first branch. Of the u. S. Armed forces sincear 1947 and the service captured the imagination of our young men and women who serve and they are signing up and lining up in droves to join the space force. Weov accelerated the 2019 missie defense review and are insuring small Missile Defense to protect our homeland against adversary state to threaten us. Were moderating modernizing the Missile Defense. We converted the summer in launch life Extension Programs over existing Nuclear Stock oils. We have been sure to test readiness capability remains viable and we funded the an nsa appropriately to meet the necessary infrastructure of billions and billions of dollars in additional funding through the department of energy to make sure we actually have saved secure and ultimately Deadly Nuclear weapons and thats what ensures the fact that well never have to use them. We have also funded longrange missiles to submarine at the 21 built in florida those places groundbased Strategic Deterrence or the gbs d. Every aspect of her Nuclear Enterprises under modernization to meet a credible deterrent for years to come for theet next generation of americans or kids or grandkids grandkids. Or developing new capabilities in space on land and in the sea and the air with Hypersonic Weapons direct energy Artificial Intelligence enhanced weapons and platforms that will ensure American Military superiority. Under President Trump leadership we have more defense or research than we have in 70 years and that is what is required to stay ahead of competitors and her of her series in these critical emerging technologies and to lead the way when it comes to new developments in Quantum Manufacturing a new applications for ai Machine Learning. As adobes capabilities is essential to protect their Critical Technology from adversary theft. We cannot spend billions on new Weapons Systems only to have them compromise by the time they are in the field. The worst that future are likely to be different than the short commercial wars Counterterrorism Operations that we fought in the soviet union. Also in space and cyberspace dramatically increased the complexity as well as the speed and philosophy of warfare. Amber President Trump leadership we are building amid low to a capable competition one that will deter disturb her series but being prepared to fight and win today and in the future. President trump respects america in order to achieve peace. We believe in President Trump believes that weakness is provocative. Ve in the end of Pacific Region the cooperation of american treaty allies were working with Australia New Zealand japan the philippines and thailand. The relations with the worlds most populous democracy india has never been better. We are working on issues took counter maritime counterterrorism tomb maritime to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea the East China Sea in the taiwan straits. In afghanistan we sent a Peace Agreement in february with the taliban after 19 support with the afghan negotiations last month we expect the Afghan People are on a path towards lasting peace. It will not easy for the afghans be necessary when well be there to support them in negotiations and afterwards. President trumps commit american troops but he would like them to come home as soon as permissions permit. Like many other past president s theyd like them home by christmas. Americanho troops are coming out of the good news ica have the ns i have to since the Peace Agreement with the taliban was signed in february we have not lost an in american to combat death in afghanistan during this year since february. Last month President Trump achieved a truly historic peace treaty between the unitedd arab interacts United Arab Emirates by rain and i was fortunate toes be on that first flight from the airport in y tel aviv to the Abu Dhabi International airport in it was a moving and Emotional Experience especially for israeli colleagues. The captain of the plane announced it was the first time an israeli plane had been invited over saudi arabia and it was on its way and in habla davi the emirates literally laid out the red carpet for us. It was some ways almost like being at a Family Reunion with cousins who havent spoken or seen each other in many years coming together. Most recently sudan in israel agreed to make peace and ended a war. They were still a state of war so just over a month or month and a half we had three countries normalize the countries to make peace. This is something that we in the foreignpolicy world cup would never happen. Nations in the middle east embrace a Better Future based on shared interests and shared values and this development was spurred by President Trump leadership. He did something that was unusual for politicians. The president created political capitol in israel by moving our embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem the capitol of the state of israel had that something president ial candidates prep promised to do in the past and never have. He recognized the Golan Heights and gave us a lot of credibility and rather than sitting and looking at his political capitol maintaining and protecting it he used it in negotiations and it was through that process that he was able to bring these partners together to achieve historic peace. Not just those con complex the middle east. Hes also approached the balkans with similar determination. Serbia and kosovo took a huge step forward in mobilizing their economic relations. Again this is something europe had been working on for 20 years but through President Trump syndication and tough negotiations with both sides were able to have a major breakthrough. Americas days of bleeding from behind are the days of strategic patients are over. President trumps leadership style has been key against china. The present was the first major leaders recognize the old conventional Wisdom Holding was only a matter of time before china would liberalize verse economically than politically was wrong and instead we watched china become more merckk bullets mercantilist more authoritarianism and they have not become more like us. Under the semesters newest standing up to chinese aggression in all of its forms. President trump refused to accept the status quo on status quo on the trade. Other mercantilist tactics to the Playing Field in beijings favor when they trade than it is for the president brought they to the table and signed the trade of that prohibits china from forcing u. S. Companies to transfer technology opened Chinese Markets to tens of billions of dollars of u. S. Cyberculture sales and Financial Services firms and addressed the currency manipulation. So far china seems to be abiding by the deal. The covid19 pandemic has limited the impact in their enthusiasm for the trade deal but it shows it was only by standing up to the prc thatit te United States could achieve a real improvement in trade. Trade. The Trump Industries and is working toadst prevent companiee Chinese Party their intelligence and security and huawei from stealing personal and private data interNational Security secrets bigamist ration has imposed restrictions on Semiconductor Companies from exploiting their technology to huaweiei and others. The doj is actively investigating and prosecuting chinese, economic espionage aggressively. The fbi directorga wray stated every 10 hours they open up an invest