Beau’s Speech to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition on 9/28

• Beau’s Speech to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition on 9/28

Thank you, Admiral Loy…Thank you to the USGLC for having me…and thank you to all the veterans here today for signing up to serve our country; you put your lives on the line to protect our freedom. As an elected official…a veteran…and a father…thank you.

Serving with the brave men and women in uniform in Iraq was the greatest honor of my life.

I thought I understood duty. I work with police officers every day in Delaware. I thought I “got it”; what it meant to put on a uniform every day and serve your country, like many of you did overseas.

But not until I was over there, putting on those boots every day, did I really get it. The toll it takes not just on you, but on your families. From the bottom of my heart: thank you.

As many of you know, serving in a war zone gives you unique perspective on things. Here in Washington, there is a lot of talk about smart power;

I’ve heard the theoretical debates and read what the writers think.

Those discussions are key, but it’s also important to have seen those theories tested in action –

which is why it’s so critical that the veterans here are making their voices heard. Like some of you, I saw these ideas put to the test in real-time.

In Iraq, or anywhere else our brave men and women deploy, there is never a question of America’s military might. You see it in MRAPs…walking to the mess with your gun on your hip or your shoulder…and in the best-trained fighting force the world has ever seen.

But military might by itself is not enough. Simply having the best technology is not enough to protect our national security and values.

America must recognize the substantial and fundamental need to embrace diplomacy and aid.

The folks I have served with on the ground in Iraq understand this stark reality. I, as one of many captains in a very big army, understand the wisdom of this approach.

When I talk to veterans, this is not controversial; there is no resistance. The bottom line is that using smart power simple works; it buttresses our missions and it makes America more secure.

In my experience, I saw how smart power works mostly with respect to the rule of law. It’s only one aspect of smart power, but it is the one, as a lawyer, Attorney General and a JAG officer, that I am the most familiar with.

In 2001, after the war in Kosovo, I spent several months there as a department of justice civilian liaison. I worked with the OSCE – with lawyers from France, Germany and Italy. Our charge was to set up a school to retrain Kosovar judges and prosecutors.

One of my other jobs was to craft a police manual for the Kosovar civilian police force.

In many ways, we were literally restarting a judicial system a country where the rule of law had been tragically ignored or suppressed by Milosevic for years.

What we did – using smart power to advance the rule of law – worked.

Kosovo is one place where I’ve seen smart power work. I also saw it in action when I was in Iraq.

There, JAG officers worked to make sure the courts meted out justice equally. To make sure the abuse of power is fought at every level. It’s something we take for granted here, but in the aftermath of Saddam’s fall, there were many legitimate questions than can be asked:

• Could Iraqis overcome their ethnic prejudices?
• Was it possible for a Sunni judge to fairly try a Shia?
• Could we count on a Shia prosecutor to treat a Kurd the same way they did a Shia?

The goal is simple, but crucial to any legitimate legal system. We had to make sure that justice was fair for all. That the abuse of power was fought at every level.

As you all know well, I believe we are headed in the right direction in Iraq. The Iraqi people are standing up as we stand down.

The American military is ready to make the changes that emphasize smart power. The JAG school, in Charlottesville, VA, did not put much emphasis on the rule of law for a long time. now, it does.

And I have to give credit where it’s due. All the way up the chain – most importantly, General Petraeus – our leaders have recognized the need for a broader strategy.

The troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places overseas, brought these ideas home to the brass.

Our soldiers saw smart power in action, saw the need for training on non-military tools, and the leaders listened.

People like you – those who will stand up and say there’s more to America’s foreign policy than the awesome power we will always have – are making an incredible difference in the long-term foreign policy moving forward.

I’m here not just to thank you; but to tell you from someone who’s seen it: it works. Keep it up.

Thank you.