Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft Adviser Urges U.S. to Lead Global Coalition Against Terrorism by John Shaw Brent Scowcroft resides near the top of any list of Washington Wise Men. Scowcroft is a member of that small cadre of Washington insiders who have held senior government posts, participated in important blue-ribbon panels to review controversial topics, and are frequently called upon to give their views on the international issue of the moment. However, Scowcroft, unlike many of his establishment brethren, is still very much plugged into Washingtonís power structure. A retired Air Force lieutenant general, Scowcroft is chairman of the Presidentís Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), a prestigious group of private citizens that gives advice to the executive branch on intelligence issues. Scowcroft also heads up a small task force created by President George H. W. Bush to review the American intelligence community and identify necessary reforms. Additionally, several of Scowcroftís closest professional associates are senior members of the current administration, including Vice President Richard Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Scowcroft is also a friend of, and former senior aide to, the first President Bush. He co-authored a book with Bush called ìA World Transformedî that describes their experiences in the White House from 1989 to 1993. In an interview in his office near the White House, Scowcroft said he, like many others in Washington, is trying to make sense of the international scene in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. ìThe events of Sept. 11th were such a horrendous shock. And it was more than just what happened. It was the reality of our vulnerability. We had always thought that war, large-scale violence, took place elsewhere. We had not had conflict inside the United States for a long, long time,î he said. ìWhat happened on Sept. 11 has the potential to change everything. The result of that event was the galvanizing of the country to a degree that is almost unprecedented. We see American flags everywhere and none are on fire. There has been a sea change in American life,î he said. Scowcroft said previous American efforts to combat terrorism have lacked intensity and focus, but this time it is likely to be different. ìMy sense is the president has bet his presidency on the war on terrorism. He has the bully pulpit. If he continues to go all out, as I think he will, we may be able to sustain our energy and focus for some time. But already some are saying we are neglecting domestic considerations. It will be tough,î he said. Scowcroft is a pers istent and passionate advocate of building a strong international coalition for the war on terrorism and other global challenges. This stance puts him at odds with some of his conservative friends who are openly skeptical about the value of international coalitions. ìWe canít win this war on terrorism without a coalition. We just canít do it by ourselves. This is not going to be a war of bombing and troops. Itís going to be largely an intelligence war in which we root out their networks,î he said. Scowcroft said that crafting an international coalition has benefits that go far beyond the immediate challenge of fighting terrorism. ìWe can develop habits of cooperation with other countries in ways that have nothing to do with terrorism. The best example is Russia. We have almost completely transformed our relationship with Russia. We are both concerned about terrorist threats, but our cooperation has extended to areas that have nothing to do with terrorism,î he said. ìThere is the potential to make this a world-transforming event both because of what itís doing to Americans and because of the necessity to reach out and develop modes of cooperation that are useful in solving all kinds of problems,î he said. Scowcroft was born in Ogden, Utah, and received his undergraduate degree and commission into the Army Air Force from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has a masterís degree and doctorate in international relations from Columbia University. During Scowcroftís 29-year military career, he served in key posts in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Air Force, the Defense Department and in the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. He has held faculty positions at the Air Force Academy and West Point. Scowcroft served as a military assistant to President Richard Nixon and was the national security adviser to both President Gerald Ford and President George H. Bush. In addition to holding key government jobs, Scowcroft served on a number of prestigious panels including the Presidentís Advisory Committee on Arms Control, the Commission on Strategic Forces, and the Presidentís Special Review Board, known as the Tower Board. Scowcroftís current chairmanship of the Presidentís Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board provides him with fresh insights and new clout in Washington. The PFIABís 16 members are private citizens with extensive backgrounds in intelligence and national security. The panel was created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to be a non-partisan body offering the president objective, expert advice on the conduct of American foreign intelligence. The PFIAB provides advice to the president concerning the quality and adequacy of intelligence collection, of analysis and estimates, and of counterintelligence and other intelligence activities. The PFIAB, through its Intelligence Oversight Board, also advises the president on the legality of foreign intelligence activities. In a related assignment, Scowcroft is also heading up a special eight-member panel set up by Bush in summer of 2001 to review the nationís intelligence operations. Specifically, Scowcroftís group is assessing the international threats the United States must confront, the quality of American intelligence operations, the nationís use of new intelligence technology, and the organization and structure of the American intelligence community. Although Scowcroft declined to specify what recommendations he will submit to the White House, he said the organization of the intelligence community is outdated and should be revamped. He is concerned that the intelligence community is spread out over a dozen agencies of the federal government and that the Central Intelligence Agency is not sufficiently powerful to coordinate the various activities and programs. ìThe director of the CIA is a director of intelligence in name only. He sets policy, but the budget for most of our intelligence activities comes out of the defense budget. The CIA is a collection of entities,î he said. Scowcroft said he realizes there will be vigorous bureaucratic resistance to any sweeping overhaul of the intelligence community but added he is going to give the president his most candid opinion about what should be changed. ìSept. 11th has given our work more urgency,î he said. Scowcroft is the president and founder of The Scowcroft Group, a consulting firm that provides clients with strategic advice and assistance for international business ventures. He also established The Forum for International Policy, which is a non-partisan foundation that considers policy options. The Forum is composed of foreign policy experts who discuss international issues in articles and informal meetings with policymakers. Scowcroftís business and foundation provide him with a solid platform to comment on current events and future challenges. He has long advocated more active American engagement with China. The United States, he said, is still struggling to develop a clear strategy regarding China. ìWe havenít made up our minds about China. There is an internal debate about whether that country is a growing power that has to be accommodated or a threat that is determined to be the hegemony of Asia. I donít believe China is destined to be an enemy. We can make it any enemy if we treat it as such. But itís not necessary,î he said. Scowcroft said the United Statesís triangular relationship with China and Taiwan is enormously complex and fraught with difficulties. He believes the United States should tell Taiwan it will support it in the event of an unprovoked attack by China but urge Taiwan to renounce any intent to declare its independence. The United States, Scowcroft said, should also urge China to renounce the use of force as long as Taiwan doesnít declare its independence and encourage both sides to endorse a one-China policyóand let them interpret it as they will. Scowcroft has also urged an American opening to Iran, noting that in recent elections, Iranians have voted in large numbers to support candidates favoring more liberal policies. Scowcroft believes the United States should step up efforts to find ways to dispose of and destroy deadly nuclear weapons fuel. He said we need a comprehensive approach that moves beyond locking up materials to the actual reduction of the vast stocks of plutonium and uranium that could be fashioned into weapons. ìWe need both safe storage and ultimate disposition,î he added. Taking a broader view of the events surrounding Sept. 11, Scowcroft said he hopes the attacks and the subsequent war on terrorism will prompt the United States to make a much-needed overhaul of national security policies and organizational structures. ìItís very hard when you are in government to make significant changes. Every issue has a constituency, and change usually occurs only at the margins. Proposals for dramatic change from outside expert groups often get watered down. Rarely are there dramatic changes that come deliberately absent a crisis,î he said. ìThings get done most easily in a crisis environment when all the bureaucratic machinery gets bypassed, and the principals sit down and make decisions and implement them. But you canít run a government like that day to day,î he added. John Shaw is a contributing writer to The Washington Diplomat.