[inaudible conversations] good afternoon everyone. Id like to welcome you to this afternoons session of the washington history seminar, and for those of you who dont know the seminar is a joint project of the Woodrow WilsonCenters History and Public Policy program and the american Historical Associations National history center. My name is Eric Arn Ericsson from George Washington university, and i am the cochair of this seminar. As is our custom, i want to thank two people whose behindthescenes efforts makes this seminar possible on a weekly basis amanda no moniz and pete [inaudible] i would also like to express thanks to the society of historians of Foreign Relations whose generous financial contributions support this seminars activities. Todays speaker is Bartholomew Sparrow who is a professor of government at the university of texasment he is the author of multiple works including from the outside in world war ii and the american state, the insular cases and the emergence of the american empire, and has been a wood roe Wilson Center fellow, and he is the recipient of the leonard d. White award and the franklin l. Burrdettefy sigma alpha award. Today he will be talking on his new book which is called the strategist. Mr. Sparrow . Thank you, and thank you for having me. A frend in washington a friend in washington is someone who stabs you in the chest. [laughter] this is one of sew crofts jokes, and the irony is he is well admired, if not aa doered adored in washington. Its good to be back speaking under the auspices of the National History center. My time here in 2009 as a resident fellow was invaluable for making this project possible, and i benefited greatly from the intellectual environment, from the many speakers and from talking to and learning from the other researchers, administrators and staff. Id like to thank christian rojer and the others who made this possible, amanda and pete in particular. Incidentally, when i first considered what i would title the biography, there were a few books called the strategist. In the meantime three books have been published with the very same title. One is a police procedural, another is a financial thriller and the third is how to be the leader your business needs. So much for planning. [laughter] what is interesting, though is that few in washington and around the country im sorry let me start over. Many in washington dont think of Brent Scowcroft as a strategist but merely as National Security adviser to george h. W. Bush and as a long time, washington insider. So for some the title may ring counterintuitively. And if he is not the strategist in the sense of a von clausewitz, neither is he a a a theorist in the anticommunist manifesto or Henry Kissingers sweeping arguments in world order. In fact, several of my interviewees told me they didnt especially think of Brent Scowcroft as a separatist strategist, with one official saying he thought of scowcroft as operating between the 40 yardlines. Many have spoken admiringly of scowcroftsic sense strategic sense, its just that hes kept his abilities large hi out of view, with a few exceptions. One has been his op eds. Most note my in 2002 when the wall street journal, enjoining the Bush Administration not to rush to war against iraq. And while scowcroft has written about a hundred opeds over the course of decades these provide only a piecemeal and periodic glimpse of him as a separate just. His strategic strategist. Even in his coauthored books scowcroft t has received second billing, perhaps because of the tyranny of the alphabet, repression that many of us have experienced. [laughter] there have also been published interviews with him and of Journal Articles he has written. Despite these writings scowcrofts own Global Vision has not been visible on the order of kissinger or brzezinski. At least not else i might add. This is where the publication of his memoirs might help since i understand hell be focusing on his philosophy and world view. Almost always behind the sans whether in small scenes whether in small groups oneonone or in closed meetings. Of particular significance has been scowcrofts relationship with the former National Security adviser and secretary of state kissinger with whom he worked closely after nixons election and after ford took office between 1973 and 1977, a period in which kissinger calls scowcroft his quote, full partner, unquote. Yet because this pickup took place almost partnership took place almost entirely behind closed doors, it has gone unnoticed on those who have written on the National Security policy of the nixon and ford administration. But as Vice President fords tutor on Foreign Policy in the months before nixons resignation and as someone whose agenda was only that of the president and the United States general scowcroft, in fact became president fords most trusted Foreign Policy adviser. The Reagan Administration then brought in scowcroft to resolve the mx missile controversy and later to serve on the threeperson tower board to investigate the iran contra scandal. He subsequently became george bushs righthand man and helped george w. Bush with intelligence reform. Advice on the latter issue that went mostly unheeded. He later worked quietly with bush 43s Foreign Policy team is and has occasionally given Foreign Policy advice to the obama white house, especially early in the administration. A few specific examples of a sense of strategy. With the british pound collapsing in 1976 and with secretary of state kissinger and the secretary of the treasure, scowcroft quietly worked out an arrangement for concessions by britains Prime Minister callahans Labour Government for a 4 billion imf rescue package backed by the United States and supported by germany and france. A great deal of money at the time. And the trick here was the pound was sinking and they had to keep these negotiations secret away from the press so it didnt provoke a further run on the pound. Another was scowcrofts advice to president bush early in 1989 that the United States and the soviet union both withdraw their Ground Forces from central europe. His logic was that nato minus the u. S. Would be to the United StatesNet Advantage and would take the initiative away from mikhail gorbachev. Although the idea provoked a tourstorm especially from defense firestorm especially from defense secretary cheney bush eventually agreed to a scaledback version of the plan. Rather than belligerently demand that the wall be torn down scowcroft wanted to create the underlying conditions that would make the berlin wall no longer necessary so it would fall of its own accord. More significantly Scowcroft Bush and baker wanted to take the initiative away from gorbachev to think what they wanted to achieve militarily, economically, stoogeically and then to provide a set of carrots and sticks which meant getting the u. K. France and germany to agree. A third example was his decision on the Scowcroft Commission later under bush 41 to push through radical reductions in Nuclear Missiles and and to reduce the number of war ads and to reconvert or to download to single warhead icbms. Scowcrofts argument and one that gradually prevailed was that rockets with up to ten warheads were both more attractive as targets and as weapons that could be used in contrast to singlewarhead icbms. In fact, this is some of the logic that infused s. T. A. R. T. And s. T. A. R. T. Ii. Another bold moves as a strategist were his insistence that iraq had to leave kuwait the first in the at managers to con administration to convince bush in short order. His call for prudence with attacking iraq after 9 11 and his willingness to support the troop surge after 2007. So what has allowed Brent Scowcroft to exert such an enduring influence on National Security policy, so much so that hes one of the most be admired elder statesmen this many washington . One is his ability to keep the eyes on the ball, on the United States longer term interests military political, economic whether in his capacity as an air force lieutenant colonel, as military assistant to the president , as deputy National Security adviser or as National Security adviser proper. Yet this ability to look down the road would be of little use without the ability to see the moving parts, to anticipate upcoming curves, the on to instructions ahead. As a student of World History and International Relations as a graduate of the National War College with a doctorate in International Relations from columbia and as a professor at west point and the air force academy, he has been able to analyze the forces in play to get a feel for their tendencies trajectories and to gauge their possible effects. Like a skilled chess player scowcrofts been very good in figuring out how the opposing player or players might respond. These were characteristics p honed under the tutelage of air force general major richard genkin, also one of the developers of cyop and while in the preponderate gone, helped scowcroft learned how the different bureaucracies interacted with industry and scientific communities and ore actors other actors. Later, working under kissinger, scowcroft became more comfortable working with the press. All the same a strategist has to be relevant. One can be a military Planner Campaign consultant, but if he or she is on the sidelines and his or her ideas are ignored that person cant be considered a strategist. Ken nonis renowned for his long telegram, the sources of soviet conduct, yet after in this white hot burst of innuance, policymakers essentially ignored him while he was of at princeton and on his pennsylvania farm. Neither do we think of him as a strategist over the later period. Another aspect of strategy is operational then where it is hard to this think of any other policymaker in recent times who has been as consistently influential and well respected for his judgment and expertise. I was one slide behind, excuse me. Distrust has distinct roots. One is sew covet scowcrofts ability to speak to different audiences due to his experience in International Relations, in Nuclear Weapons in military affairs, in intelligence and in economics. Furthermore, not only can scowcroft speak authoritatively on these separate issues, hes also able to consider how they intersect and interact. Another is his drive coupled with his ability. One comment made repeatedly was his ability to the keep growing with no discernible upper ceiling. Would have clearly received a fourth star had he not retired from the air force when he became National Security adviser in november 1975. A third is his cordial and respectful personality. Another frequent comment his superior officers made was how easy he was to work with. He impressed his air forces bos bosses not only with his ability to go the extra mile but as a team player. Hes willing to be persuaded by new evidence and strong argument, he listens. As one Bush Administration colleague put it, scowcroft doesnt want anything. Member be very he can be very serious, reserved and compartmental rised, east also affable, had a good sense of humor and was not bo making offcolor jokes. He got along well with others and had a good sense of how to pitch his remarks whether to associates reporters academic, military officers, foreign leaders, students or young people. Some implications of the subtitle, Brent Scowcroft and the call of National Security. I should say that it feels odd to be writing about the high of someone who still participates in politics and till runs his own and still runs his own business. He was just in saudi arabia for king abdul thats funeral. There are abdullahs funeral. The question becomes do their lives merit this attention however provisional at this stage . Here i can unequivocally say, yes. To the first part of my subtitle as a biography i wanted to examining and present scowcroft roots. This research led me to his background as a member of a very well established family. Joe pinkery was one of the captains of the mormon Companies Making the overland trek to what is now part of omaha to the Great Salt Lake basin, another was a missionary in india and the founder of the mormon sunday schools. Both were polygamists. A third great grandfather john scowcroft, arrived later by train and founded a very Successful Company of food and dry goods wholesale merchants. Helped by the fact that [inaudible] was an entrepreneur for rail traffic throughout the west where freight trains had to change passengers when traveling east to west. You cant go anywhere without coming to ogden, town leaders posted. During prohibition, al capone was reported to have said that ogden was too rough for him. Scowcrofts father managed the Family Business and by all accounts he had a happy and active childhood the youngest of three children and the only son. And with his fors being 4 and 7 years older, he was, in some ways an only child. Acknowledging that he never heard his parents fighting he rightly commented that experience growing up gave him a distorted sense of his fellow humans. What do these pleasant stories and nice family photos have to do with scowcroft as an air force member and senior statesmen . What they convey is just how secure he was growing up, secure materially secure socially and secure psychologically. He had no status anxiety, and he wasnt awe grade to join afraid to join the army air corps. Hes here. This sense of security would then make the travails of the u. S. Military academy and his two years in military hospitals following the nearfatal crash of his north american aviation miss tapping at the age of 24 mustang at the age of 24 that much more sering. He received word that his father died of a heart attack at the age of 57. Lying in hospital beds and thinking about the future, he decided he didnt want to be in the Family Business. He wanted to be in a position to influence National Security policy. The fact that the strategists biography has a further implication. Biography, as one political scientist writes provides no framework for the selection organization and presentation of data. This makes it tough to study someone who didnt write things down oftentimes, does not worst of his own boast of his own achievements. So i consulted what archival and history sources i could read the many histories and inside accounts of u. S. National Security Policy and president ial administrations and research and journalism on particular people, issues, regions and countries. But in order to bring perspective to the documents news reporting, scholarly analyses and scowcrofts own behavior, i also conducted 40 interviews with the generals and more than 100 interviews with his colleagues, associates and relatives. To an extent, a biography is an exercise in imagination. Fully capturing that vision is a fools errand, to be sure. But just as surely it is possible to be as accurate and thorough as possible and to be fair. Being fair means not just selecting the positive, as some biographers do or the negative as other biographers do, but describing and interpreting the subjects thoughts and actions as well as one can and rendering them in light of his or her personal and political circumstances. The final portion of the subtitle the call of National Security, refers to scowcrofts vocation, his call to military service when ever since the age of 12 he read a brand new book west point today, and he decided he wanted to go to west point. He would serve as commandant of toking den high school the Ogden High School rotc. He would then come back to teach, serve as associate Department Chair and Department Chair at the air force academy. The sense of vocation carried scowcroft through the harrowing experience of west point, the horrible plane crash and the painful death of his father, and so he would dedicate himself to the air force the white house and several president s and administrations as well as to other purposes such as studying and writing reports for president ial and orr commissions and working with the [inaudible] strategy group, the Atlantic Council and the council on foreign registrations and relations and other bodies. He also had