Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright fired up a Dartmouth crowd while campaigning for Sen. John Kerry at the Rockefeller Center Sunday evening.
Wearing a pin touting Kerry's run for president, Albright spoke primarily about her chosen field -- foreign relations -- rather than about the presidential election.
Albright likened the current state of international affairs to the movie "The Perfect Storm" due to the precarious nature of many global interactions. Calling North Korea the most dangerous country in the world, Albright identified other points of conflict, including Afghanistan, Iraq and the lack of a Middle East peace process between Israel and the Palestinians as contributing to the ideal conditions for disaster.
"I have studied or been involved in foreign affairs for my whole life, and I have never seen the world in such a mess," Albright said.
Albright, speaking about her travels to North Korea and her meeting with leader Kim Jong Il, said such serious talks need to be resumed in order to maintain stability. North Korea now has the capability to have six to eight nuclear weapons, an ability it did not have when Bush came into office, Albright said.
Albright said the United States needs to focus its security concerns on countries with nuclear weapons.
"We do invade countries without nuclear weapons, not those with them, and that makes those without them want to build them," Albright said.
Albright later opened up the floor for questions. In response to a query about the effectiveness of current Secretary of State Colin Powell, Albright replied that he has had a difficult time in a job that is "much more difficult than it looks."
She added that is essential for a secretary of state to travel often in order to force agendas in both the United States and the country in question. However, she noted that security concerns have limited Powell's ability to travel in a way that she herself was able to do.
In commenting on Iraq, Albright said that even in retrospect, she would not have changed much about the way the Clinton administration handled the situation.
The United States enacted what she called "smart sanctions" against the country, financially targeting the leadership group members by blocking their bank accounts and monetary transactions, which restricted their ability to travel.
"We had Saddam in a box," Albright said.
Albright said the United States' future interactions with Iraq depend on whether its projected January elections occur. If fair and free elections encompassing a majority of citizens take place, she said, then the United States should be supportive of the newly elected government.
However, if the elections do not happen, U.S. force with multilateral support might be required might be needed to rectify the situation, Albright said. To garner such support Albright suggested it might be necessary to use incentives such as reconstruction contracts to entice other nations to join.
Hinman Forum was packed with students for Albright's speech, and supportive cheers erupted from the audience at key points.
Emily Hess '05 enjoyed the speech and appreciated its concise nature.
"It was exactly what I wanted to hear," she said.
Albright became the first woman secretary of state in 1997 under the Clinton administration, making her the highest-ranking woman ever in the federal government. She is now a professor at Georgetown University and head of the Albright Group LLC, a global strategy group in Washington, D.C.
