Former National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon joined Professor Steven David in Shriver Hall to discuss his career and his views on current foreign policy Wednesday evening. As the third speaker in this year’s Milton S. Eisenhower (MSE) Symposium, Donilon chronicledhis career in politics and policy and then transitioned to discussing his views on current foreign policy issues.
Donilon’s political career began at a young age. He attributes his interests in part to a uniquely political family dynamic, which encouraged him to pursue a career in public service.
“I’ve always had a deep interest in politics,” Donilon said. “My mother was a union organizer, and my father was head of the school board, so politics were always discussed at our dinner table.”
The Monday after Donilon graduated from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., he began working as a special political advisor to the Carter administration. At the age of 23, Donilon was one of the youngest political advisors on the team.
Donilon credits Warren Christopher, the secretary of state in President Bill Clinton’s administration, with inspiring his transition to policy. Donilon aided the Democratic Party by preparing various presidential candidates for their televised debates. Most recently, he helped prepare U.S. President Barack Obama for his 2008 televised debates against Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Due to his experience in foreign policy, Donilon was then selected to serve as Obama’s first-term national security advisor.
After discussing his career, Donilon and David, the event’s moderator, transitioned to discussing current foreign policy issues. The pair focused specifically on the formation of the terrorist group that calls itslef the Islamic State (also called ISIS), Iranian-American relations and Russian-American relations after the annexation of Crimea.
Donilon discussed the Middle Eastern strategy in detail by separating the situations in Iraq and Syria. When asked whether the current situation in Iraq could have been avoided, Donilon reiterated the administration’s position that the established Maliki government in Iraq had failed to form an adequately inclusive government.
“It would not have been possible [for ISIS] to move across western Iraq without local indigenous support,” Donilon said. “ISIS’s allies are a product of alienation, or Maliki’s government’s specific policy of alienation. The degree of alienation... is important to understand, as absent of that, ISIS could not have rushed across western Iraq. Because [Maliki’s government] took out competent leaders who weren’t Shias, he effectively degraded the Iraqi army to the point that it collapsed when faced with a significant challenge.”
Donilon’s specific policy agenda on Syria was more complex. With no centralized government body with whom to ally, the response to ISIS in Syria was too dependent on finding a key group to provide ground support for the coalition’s air forces, according to Donilon.
“It’s a little more complicated... arming moderate groups in Syria,” Donilon said. “To fight the establishment, you have to have a group to arm. You have to have an organization that can change the balance, and it’s exceedingly difficult to find a centralized group capable of opposing [the Assad regime].”
On the topic of a nuclear Iran, Donilon focused on discussing the upcoming negotiations. He touched on possible outcomes of the dialogue, such as the chance of increased sanctions if the negotiations fail.
“Sanctions force a choice by a state,” Donilon said. “If the negotiations fail, if the gulf [between positions] is too big... Congress will then move to put additional economic pressure on Iran.”
When asked how far the United States would go to stop a nuclear Iran, Donilon reiterated the positions of the past three presidents.
“I remember several presidents saying nuclear weapons and Iran are unacceptable,” Donilon said.
On the topic of Russian-American relations, Donilon focused on Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea. Donilon discussed past relations with Russia, noting that relations were mostly positive before the annexation.
To conclude his talk, Donilon urged students interested in policy and politics to continue pursuing their passions.
“The main piece of advice I would give would be to really involve yourself in policy,” Donilon said. “Make the time to stay up to speed. Read history, read politics, read voraciously.”
Many students enjoyed hearing Donilon’s views.
“I really liked listening to what Donilon had to say,” freshman Alex Darwiche said. “His views were really informative, as we got an inside view of the White House which most people never get to have. It was a lot of fun getting to hear someone who isn’t politically driven but instead policy driven. He’s up there trying to give you the facts.”
MSE Marketing Chair Nash Jenkins said that the Symposium thought Donilon would offer a unique perspective on international politics.
“There was an undercurrent of optimism to the Obama presidency,” Jenkins said. “We thought it’d be interesting to bring Tom Donilon because he, in many respects, was one of the architects of that optimism in international politics. We were curious to pick his brain and see how he feels his vision for changing America on the global frontier has been realized.”
The next guest speaker in the MSE Symposium will be journalist Laura Ling, best known for her time spent incarcerated in North Korea. Ling will speak in Shriver Hall on Oct. 25.
