"The decade after the Cold War was a time of trivial pursuits," Pulitzer prize-winning journalist David Halberstam told a packed crowd in Filene Auditorium last night.
The renowned author of "The Best and the Brightest," which chronicled the debacle of American foreign policy during the Vietnam era, Halberstam spoke on the dramatic changes in U.S. foreign policy since the events of Sept. 11. He said that the devastating attack on the World Trade Center has forced the United States to confront the terrorist threats which it ignored during the '90s.
According to Halberstam, an innate isolationism, a culture of instant gratification and the absence of a clear enemy had led America to indulge itself in a false sense of security.
He compared the United States' pre-Sept. 11 foreign policy toward terrorism to that of Britain toward Germany just prior to World War II.
"John Kennedy wrote a book on World War II entitled 'Why England Slept.' If a similar book were written today, it might be titled 'Why America Napped,'" Halberstam said.
Like Britain, America refused to fully acknowledge the threat that was always there. Americans persisted in dealing with it through Hollywood.
The illusion of security proved to be fleeting.
Indeed, "not since Pearl Harbor has there been such a difference between yesterday and today," Halberstam said.
Now America faces a clear and present danger in the form of terrorism that inflicts mass casualties and knows no boundaries.
Halberstam approved of the Bush Administration's job in handling the initial stages of what he predicts to be a long and hard-fought conflict.
"I think the military part is the easy part. Intelligence and security will be the hard part. We face new realities and new concerns."
In response to such changes in the rules of the game, Halberstam called for the United States to engage in a far greater degree of multilateralism.
"In the long term, you cannot have military multilateralism and political unilateralism as we have had thus far," he said.
Halberstam also advocated an expansion of the role of government in society.
He criticized the Bush administration for its failure to address issues such as long-range energy sufficiency, overpopulation and world poverty.
Without attention, such things might create breeding grounds for future manifestations of terrorist activity.
When asked by an audience member how the United States will fight the new terrorist war, Halberstam said that international alliances will not be important.
"I don't see a big coalition. I think it is going to be a one-on-one fight with individual countries," he said.Throughout, Halberstam stressed the importance of patience in the current war.
"We should remember that we are fighting an idea, no matter how twisted. And it is very hard to bomb an idea into submission," he said.
