February 2, 2010

It is with great sadness that the Summit Council notes the passing of H.E. Steingrímur Hermannsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland, and a member of the Summit Council’s Board of Presidents, on February 1, 2010.

Steingrímur (his surname) studied engineering at Reykajavik College, Illinois Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology. He then began a long and distinguished career in the engineering and industrial development fields, both in Iceland and the United States.

He was first elected to the Icelandic parliament in 1971. He served as Prime Minister from 1983 to 1987 and again from 1988 to 1991. He also served as Minister of Justice, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Agriculture (1978–79), Minister of Fisheries and Communications (1980–83) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1987–88). He was chairman of the Progressive Party from 1979 to 1994. From 1992, he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Iceland until his retirement in 1998.

Internationally, his greatest moment as Prime Minister came in October 1986, when he hosted the Reykjavik Summit of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The Summit paved the way for the ending of the Cold War, and the Icelandic government’s management of the event was widely commended. In 1991, Steingrímur expressed strong support for Vytautas Landsbergis, Chairman of Lithuanian Parliament. Shortly after, Iceland was the first country to recognize the independence of Lithuania from Soviet Union.

While Prime Minister, Steingrímur fought to keep Iceland within tight constraints on carbon emissions. In later years, Steingrímur’s environmental commitment became more pronounced as he became increasingly aware of the environmental and resource challenges facing future generations. Among other actions, he helped reforest Iceland, planting 1,000 trees per year for several years.

In Iceland, Steingrímur was a beloved and respected elder statesman, and was considered a potential candidate for the 1996 presidential elections. But he declined that honor, stating his intention to retire at the age of 70. His memoirs, published in three volumes in 1998–2000, became bestsellers.

Steingrímur Hermannsson was a great friend of the Founders of the Summit Council, Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon. He is survived by his widow, Gudlaug Edda Gudmundsdóttir, and six children.

February 25, 2010

In a commentary, London’s The Guardian examined the Unity Summit of Latin American and Caribbean nations that took place February 22-23 in Cancun, Mexico. The author, Mark Weisbrot, writes, “Latin America took another historic step forward this week with the creation of a new regional organization of 32 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The United States and Canada were excluded.” He added, “The increasing independence of Latin America has been one of the most important geopolitical changes over the last decade, affecting not only the region but the rest of the world as well….Latin America, once under the control of the United States, is increasingly emerging as a power bloc with its own interests and agenda.”

Weisbrot writes, “The differences underlying the need for a new organization were clear in the statements and declarations that took place in the Unity Summit, which issued a strong statement backing Argentina in its dispute with the UK over the Malvinas (as they are called in Argentina) or Falklands Islands. The summit also condemned the continuing US embargo against Cuba. These and other measures would be almost impossible to pass in the Organization of American States, he adds. Furthermore, he claims, “the OAS has long been manipulated by the United States.” He argues that perhaps the leadership exercised by Mexico in establishing this new organization will stimulate some rethinking. He maintains that the US has become increasingly less important as a trading partner for the region, which also has found alternative sources of investment capital.

In his estimation, Weisbrot says the new organization is sorely needed because a regional organization “without the US and Canada will be more capable of defending democracy, as well as economic and social progress in the region when it is under attack. It will also have a positive influence in helping to create a more multipolar world internationally.”

Read the full article here

Read the Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit Declaration in English

Read the Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit Declaration in Spanish

February 26, 2010

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs released its task force report, Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for U.S. Foreign Policy, on February 23 in Washington D.C. at Georgetown University. The Chicago Council convened a task force of 32 experts and stakeholders – former government officials, religious leaders, heads of international organizations, and scholars – to bring a diverse perspective to the debate over how to successfully engage religion on an international level.

Religious communities are central players in the counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan, development assistance, the promotion of human rights, stewardship of the environment, and the pursuit of peace in troubled parts of the world. The success of American diplomacy in the next decade, the Council says, will be measured in no small part by its ability to connect with the hundreds of millions of people throughout the world whose identity is defined by religion. “The challenge before us is to marginalize religious extremists, not religion,” the report concludes.

The report finds the key challenge for America internationally is to “understand the role of religion in world affairs and to constructively engage with religious communities around the world.” “Religion has played a negative role in U.S. foreign policy in the past, especially in relations with the Muslim world,” notes Thomas Wright, executive director of studies for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the report’s project director. But since President Obama’s historic speech in Cairo on June 4, 2009, with its promise to engage with Muslim communities, the “United States has greatly improved its capacity to understand religious dynamics in world affairs,” Wright said. The report notes the Cairo speech “set the stage for a new departure in U.S. foreign policy toward Muslim communities” but “the scope must be much broader.”

The task force report, presented to the White House this week, says it takes the next step in developing a strategy to engage religious communities of all faiths in addressing foreign policy challenges.

Read the Executive Summary

Read the full report

February 26, 2010

As reported by the New York Times and other news agencies, India and Pakistan took a first step toward rebuilding confidence on February 25 after a wide-ranging New Delhi meeting between foreign secretaries of both countries that included discussions on terrorism, the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the disputed border region of Kashmir, and competing water claims.

The discussions between the senior diplomats were the first since India froze relations with Pakistan after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks in which Islamist terrorists targeted the India’s financial capital, killing 166 people.

India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao characterized the meeting with her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, as useful, but noted it would be premature to restart broader bilateral discussions. However, the two sides agreed to keep talking informally.

“We have set out to take a first step toward rebuilding trust, and I believe my meeting with the Pakistan foreign secretary has constituted that first step,” Ms. Rao said.

Few expected any breakthroughs from the meeting, which were seen as a small step in restarting diplomacy between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

India broke off the formal “composite dialogue” after the Mumbai attacks. For months, India refused to resume dialogue arguing that Pakistan was not aggressively pursuing those responsible for the attacks and that it was doing too little to confront domestic terrorist groups that focus on India. Mr. Bashir expressed frustration with India’s depictions of Pakistan as an “epicenter” for breeding terrorism, describing his country instead as a victim of terrorist groups.

To read more on the resumption of India-Pakistan dialogue, click here

February 22, 2010 — The Summit Council mourns the passing of General Alexander M. Haig, Jr. (USA), the 59th Secretary of State of the United States, and a great friend of the Summit Council for World Peace, the Federation for World Peace, and of our founder, Rev. Sun Myung Moon. He died on February 20 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Alexander Haig was a four-star United States Army general who served as the first Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan, as White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and as Deputy National Security Advisor under Henry Kissinger. He also served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe commanding all NATO forces. He also was President of United Technologies Corporation and a founding Board member of America Online. Haig graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1947 and served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars; he was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.

General Haig first spoke at one of our conferences when he gave a Special Address at the inaugural ceremony of the Federation for World Peace in August 1991. Before his prepared remarks, he offered the following comment:

This occasion gives me an opportunity to pay a belated debt of gratitude to the Reverend Moon, who at a time of great difficulty in my country, when confusion and animosity dominated the scene in the early 70’s, was a tremendous force for rule of law, for due process, and for brotherhood in my own country, and I am very, very grateful to you, Reverend Moon, for those contributions and for the continuing struggle that you have personally conducted in the interest of world peace and international brotherhood.

General Haig attended a number of other conferences of organizations founded by Rev. Moon, including the inauguration of the Youth Federation for World Peace, programs sponsored by the Washington Times Foundation, and the 1999 World Cultural and Sports Festival special convocation in Seoul on “Family Ethics and World Peace.” There, in an introduction to Rev. Moon, Haig described how their lives first intersected during the Korean War (in 1950, Haig was the aide to General Ned Almond, who commanded UN forces liberating northeastern Korea, which freed Rev. Moon from nearly three years in a North Korean prison camp in Hungnam; two months later, in Hungnam, Haig helped oversee the evacuation of UN forces and Korean civilian refugees fleeing Communist Chinese troops). Haig again praised Rev. Moon for his conciliatory approach during the Watergate crisis, and applauded his role in the downfall of communism.

People around the world deeply appreciated General Haig for the strength of his convictions and principles, and millions benefitted from his work and commitments which were not only for America but the world at large. Haig was a devout Catholic and his devotion to country, democracy, the rule of law, and family derived from his religious upbringing and life-long practice. His life and legacy were a gift of God to America and this troubled world.

February 16, 2010

According to the Wall Street Journal last week, Pakistan and India are likely to soon hold their first talks since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. The likely venue and date would be New Delhi on February 25, attended by the foreign secretaries of each nation.

“We will go to Delhi with an open mind and steer the discussions towards a positive direction,” the Journal quoted Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, who will lead his delegation in the talks.

Bashir said the discussions would cover all issues concerning the two countries. India reportedly initiated the invitation to resume talks, but has only said that it is interested in discussing terror and other “relevant” issues.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs would not confirm that Feb. 25 had been agreed upon for the talks. The talks have been encouraged by the U.S. government, and hold out the potential of ending the prolonged diplomatic standoff between Pakistan and India.

Read the full Wall Street Journal article here

January 31, 2010

At the January 31 conclusion of the 40th World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, participants pledged to rethink, rebuild and redesign the global economy based on sustainable principles. The sense of the meeting, echoed by Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the US National Economic Council (NEC), was that the world was experiencing “a statistical recovery and a human recession.” “We are not out of the woods yet,” said Michael Oreskes, Senior Managing Editor of the Associated Press. “The recovery is still very fragile in many developed economies.” Principled leadership is key to stabilization.

“At the end, it’s an interdependent system,” said Josef Ackermann, Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee of Deutsche Bank; Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010. “If you lose the support of society, you are not going to achieve your corporate objectives.” “If you have lost the trust of societies, you cannot just respond technically, you have to respond morally,” said Ackermann.

Rowan D. Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, United Kingdom, urged participants to take collective responsibility for the future by being individually responsible now. Living responsibly in the present means living within ecological limits to ensure the security of work and food. “Responsibility for the future means being responsible for a vision of humanity which excites and enlarges us,” he added.

Read a summary of this closing session as well as watch a webcast of it here