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issues related to Afghanistan. Marc Lynch met
with the Obama administration’s Detention Policy
Task Force to discuss the implications of closing
the Guantanamo Bay detention center. He also
advised senior administration officials on public
diplomacy and counterterrorism issues, and he was
the featured speaker at a summit on countering
violent extremism convened by the U.S. Department
of State in November 2009. Sean Roberts briefed
the participants of a joint State Department and
USAID task force on Kazakhstan. Jerrold Post testified
before the Webster Commission investigating the
Fort Hood massacre.
Under the direction of Professor Henry R. Nau, the
U.S.-Japan Legislative Exchange Program (LEP) and
the U.S.-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Legislative
Exchange Program (TLEP) brought together
lawmakers from Japan, South Korea, and the United
States for briefings on a broad range of political,
economic, and security issues. The LEP, which began
in 1989, completed its 43rd session in Washington
in May 2010, with discussions focusing mainly on
regional security issues related to North Korea and
China. The 11th TLEP session also took place in May
2010; the principal topics discussed were the U.S.-
Korean free trade agreement and North Korea. A
special feature of these meetings was a reception
honoring Iwao Matsuda, the Japanese Diet member
who helped to start the program. More than 171
members of Congress and 80 members of the
Japanese Diet have participated in the U.S.-Japan
exchange since its founding.
(L-R) Iwao Matsuda, member, House of Councillors,
Japanese Diet; Mike Honda, member, U.S. House
of Representatives; and Henry R. Nau, professor of
political science and international affairs, GW, at a
May 2010 meeting of the U.S.-Japan-South Korea
Trilateral Legislative Exchange Program.
Sean Roberts, director of the Elliott School’s
International Development Studies program
iLLUMiNATiNG CoMPLeX iSSUeS
During 2009-10, Elliott School faculty members
commented on international affairs developments
more than 900 times in national and international
media outlets, including: the New York Times,
BBC News, Al-Jazeera, CNN International, NPR,
the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the
Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters,
and the Christian Science Monitor. Elliott School
faculty members also published more than 85 opeds
in leading outlets such as the New York Times,
the Washington Post, ForeignPolicy.com, the South
China Morning Post, Asia Times online, and Science
magazine.
A CoMMiTMeNT To SeRViCe
Members of the Elliott School community are
committed to making the world a better place.
Seventy-five percent of our 2009 master’s program
graduates are pursuing careers in the nonprofit or
public sectors. In 2010, GW had more Presidential
Management Fellowship finalists than any other
university, with the Elliott School contributing 18
finalists to the GW total.
Many of our alumni have distinguished careers
in government. These include Elliott School
commencement celebration speaker Rose
Gottemoeller (M.A. ’81), the U.S. assistant
secretary of state for verification, compliance, and
implementation. Ms. Gottemoeller spent much of
2009 and the early part of 2010 as the lead U.S.
negotiator on the new strategic arms reduction
iN SeRViCe To THe CoUNTRY
Gen. John Shalikashvili (ret.), Former Chairman,
Joint Chiefs of Staff
After graduating high school in Peoria, Illinois, John
Shalikashvili (M.A. ’70) attended Bradley University
and was trained as a mechanical engineer.
“My first position as an engineer was with Hyster Lift
Truck Company. For my first task, I was asked to take
the smallest Caterpillar lift truck and put it on wheels.
When I finished, the truck was able to stop, but when
you pressed the brake, it would tip and fall onto its
radiator. After that, I decided it was time to change
career paths.”
As if on cue, the U.S. Army intervened. Gen.
Shalikashvili was drafted shortly after he started
working at Hyster and soon thereafter was selected to
attend Officer Candidate School. His first assignment
was on ski patrol in Alaska, keeping American air
bases secure from the Soviet Union at the beginning
of the Cold War. From there, he was posted to
Europe, then Vietnam. During 1969-1970 while in a
stateside assignment, he worked on his GW degree.
“When many years ago, [GW] awarded me a
Master of Arts degree in international affairs, little
did I suspect how that would shape my military
career and indeed my life,” Gen. Shalikashvili said
upon accepting an honorary degree at GW’s 2004
commencement.
“And how I would draw on what I had learned from
this great faculty, throughout my subsequent years
wearing our nation’s uniform, but particularly in my
later years—as deputy commander of our army in
Europe at the time when the [Berlin] Wall was coming
down; later still as the commander of NATO forces in
Europe, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, when
the Balkan wars were raging; and then finally…when
I came here to Washington as Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.”
Gen. Shalikashvili was named NATO Supreme Allied
Commander for Europe (SACEUR) in 1992. He
returned to Washington the next year to become
the thirteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He said his experiences as a child in Warsaw during
World War II and later as a military officer in Vietnam,
Korea, and Iraq taught him the harsh realities of war.
“In all my experience, I have learned that war is
terrible. We should fight only when we must.”
In fact, the general has said that one of the highlights
of his career was overseeing Operation Provide
Comfort, the relief operation that returned hundreds
of thousands of Kurdish refugees to Northern Iraq.
“So few have the opportunity to work directly on a
project that will save lives and restore communities,”
said Gen. Shalikashvili. “Operation Provide Comfort
gave relief to an entire population. I was able to
personally see the effect that our efforts had, as the
Kurds were able to return to their homes and reunite
with their families. It was a priceless feeling to be
involved in such a powerful movement.”
Although he suffered a stroke in 2004, the general
is still active on a number of boards. He is also a cochair
of Friends of American Lake VA Golf Course,
a project that rehabilitates wounded veterans
through golf.
36 2009/2010 annual report the elliott school of international affairs 37