A Conversation with Ambassador Susan Rice

national security objectives with the National Security Advisor to President Obama and US Ambassador to the United Nations. It is well documented that Americans are ever more divided: along party, ideological, socio-economic and cultural lines; by geographic, demographic, racial and religious differences. This political polarization hampers not only our ability to tackle important national issues, but also our ability to confront the most pressing threats to our security, from Iran and North Korea to the risk of terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction, from pandemic disease to Russian aggression and China’s economic and strategic ambitions. Our ability to counter such outside challenges is increasingly undermined by our collective failure to work together. Indeed, Rice suggests that the most significant, long-term threat to our security may be our domestic political polarization. How can our national security interests be separated from the politics of the day? What are the most important national security policy objectives today and how can they be achieved?
This event is made possible through a generous grant from the Stanley S. Langendorf Foundation in the name of Richard and Judith Guggenhime, and brings world-renowned experts to the Bay Area.
SPEAKER:
Susan Elizabeth RiceFormer National Security Advisor and U.S. Ambassador to the UN
MODERATOR:
Jane WalesCEO, World Affairs and Global Philanthropy Forum; Vice President, The Aspen Institute