Feature Story Archive 2006 - Aspen Institute

2006 Feature Story Archives

Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt Discusses How America Can Compete with China. At an Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program book luncheon on December 4, 2006, former FCC chairman Reed Hundt explained why he thinks entrepreneurialism can save America in its competition with China in the global market — and how the number of new businesses in the United States can determine this country’s future. Read the full story.
Former Secretary of State and Institute Trustee Madeleine Albright Relates Religion and Morals to US Foreign Policy. At the Aspen Institute headquarters in Washington, DC, on December, 6, 2006, former Secretary of State and Institute trustee Madeleine Albright explained how she came to believe that foreign policy and religion are unavoidably linked, and why understanding the connections can help the US approach its foreign policy decisions from a moral — but not sermonizing — standpoint. Read the full story. Watch the video: Quicktime.
Labor Leader Andy Stern Speaks about Reinventing Unions and Health Care in the US. On Monday, December 11, 2006, Aspen Institute trustee Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), spoke about unions, health care, and pensions in America, as discussed in his new book, A Country that Works: Getting America Back on Track (Free Press). Watch the video: Quicktime, Windows Media Player. Read the full story.
Twenty-third Annual Aspen Institute Awards Dinner (New York). On November 1st, 2006, friends, trustees and supporters of the Aspen Institute gathered at The Rainbow Room in New York to honor the recipients of the Aspen Institute Leadership Awards: Former Czech President Vaclav Havel received the Global Leadership Award, and The Goldman Sachs Group was recognized with the Corporate Leadership Award, accepted by Institute Trustee and former Goldman Sachs Chairman Stephen Friedman. The evening also celebrated the Institute's soon-to-be-launched Global Leadership Network and the establishment of the John McNulty Global Leadership Fund. More information. View photos from the Dinner.
Colin Powell Biographer Karen DeYoung Discusses Powell's Position on the Iraq War. Colin Powell biographer and Washington Post associate editor Karen DeYoung describes the former Secretary of State's career in politics and the complex inner workings that led to his critical speech before the United Nations before the outset of the Iraq War. Watch the video (Quicktime). Read more.
Aspen Strategy Group Member Robert M. Gates Tapped as President Bush's Secretary of Defense Nominee. Dr. Robert M. Gates, member of the Aspen Strategy Group and recipient of its 2005 Leadership Award, has been nominated by President Bush as the next U.S. Secretary of Defense. Gates took part in a public Aspen Institute panel discussion on American foreign policy alongside former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Harvard's Joseph Nye, and former Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA), among others. Read more.
Kurt Campbell and Michael O'Hanlon on America’s National Security Agenda.
At the Aspen Institute's headquarters in Washington, DC, on Monday, October 30, Aspen Strategy Group director Kurt Campbell (pictured, near right) and Brookings Institution senior fellow Michael O'Hanlon (pictured, far right) spoke about the need for a vigorous two-party debate on national security, based on considerations of bold, tough solutions to the global challenges all Americans share, as expanded upon in their new book, Hard Power: The New Politics of National Security (Basic Books, October 2006).
Harvard's Ashton B. Carter Lays Out "Plan B" for Iran. In an Aspen Roundtable Series event, Ashton Carter of Harvard and Stanford's Preventive Defense Project identified three ways the US can address Iran's nuclear capabilities if the current EU-led diplomacy fails: direct US-Iran talks, coercion including military action to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, and strategic adjustment to an Iranian bomb if prevention proves impossible. Read the full story.
Council of Women World Leaders Dialogue with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. On October 17th, the Council of Women World Leaders Presidential Series on Girls Education hosted the Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female head of state elected in Africa. A dialogue about education and development was moderated by Judy Woodruff of PBS. The event benefited the Liberian Education Trust and was attended by guests and education experts from around the globe.
Institute Trustee Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is Named Harvard's Fletcher University Professor. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been appointed the Alphonse Fletcher Jr. University Professor at Harvard University for his distinguished work in the field of African-American studies. Read more.
Washington Post's Chandrasekaran Offers Glimpse into Iraq's Green Zone. At an Aspen Roundtable Series event on Wednesday, October 11, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone and assistant managing editor of continuous news at The Washington Post, spoke about his time covering the Coalition Provisional Authority headquartered in the Green Zone around Saddam Hussein's former palace. Read more.
The Aspen Institute and the Global Markets Institute at Goldman Sachs to Launch Program to Develop Emerging Leaders in India. The Aspen Institute, together with the Aspen Institute India and the Global Markets Institute at Goldman Sachs, today announced the launch of the India Leadership Initiative (ILI) to develop a new generation of values-based action-oriented leaders. ILI is the newest addition to a global network of leadership initiatives of this kind, managed with local partners in 14 countries in Africa, Central America, and the United States. Read more.
India Leadership Initiative Launched in New Delhi. The India Leadership Initiative (ILI) launched on September 19, 2006 with the introduction of the inaugural class of ILI Fellows. The class comprises twenty-four highly-accomplished Indian leaders between the ages of 30-45 and drawn from the country's business, government and NGO sectors -- plus eight specially-selected Aspen India Goldman Sachs Fellows. Pictured at right: Brooks Entwistle, CEO, Goldman Sachs India; Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission; Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, Aspen India. More information.
Harvard’s Ashton B. Carter Lays Out “Plan B” for Iran. In an Aspen Roundtable Series event, Ashton Carter of Harvard and Stanford’s Preventive Defense Project identified three ways the US can address Iran’s nuclear capabilities if the current EU-led diplomacy fails: direct US-Iran talks, coercion including military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, and strategic adjustment to an Iranian bomb if prevention proves impossible. Read the full story.
Atlantic Correspondent and Author James Fallows Looks Behind the Scenes of the Iraq War. James Fallows (pictured far right), national correspondent for The Atlantic, was the guest at a recent Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn book event to discuss his book Blind Into Baghdad: America’s War in Iraq (Vintage Books), an expansion of his analysis of the lead-up to the war through the present-day situation. Watch the video (windows media player). Read more. Photos by Vicky Pombo.
The Aspen Institute mourns the passing of former Texas Governor Ann Richards, an active and invaluable member of the Aspen Institute Board of Trustees since 1995, as well as an inspiring national figure. Governor Richards died on September 13 at her home in Austin, Texas, losing her battle with esophageal cancer. On the Institute’s board, she served on the Executive Committee and chaired the Marketing Committee, among other notable contributions. She was a tireless champion of increasing diversity at the Institute, for its programs as well as for the Board itself. She will be remembered for her outspoken advocacy for civil rights and education, as well as for her trademark sense of humor. Read an obituary of Governor Richards in The Washington Post.
The Clearinghouse for Dam Removal Information has been established as recommended by The Aspen Institute's Dialogue on Dams and Rivers. The Clearinghouse is an unbiased source of information about technical, fiscal and social aspects of dam removal. The purpose is to allow parties involved in dam removal decisions to share experiences, learn successful techniques and avoid repeating mistakes. The Clearinghouse can be found at: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/WRCA/damremoval/. Photo source: River Alliance of Wisconsin.
Aspen Institute Report Proposes Reforming Safety Communications. Clearing the Air: Convergence and the Safety Enterprise, the report from the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Spectrum Policy held this past May, by Phil Weiser, describes the communications problems facing the safety enterprise community and their potential solutions. The report offers several steps toward a solution, focusing on integrating communications across the safety sector on an Internet-Protocol-based backbone network. This could include existing radio systems and thus make systems more dependable during emergencies and reduce costs by taking advantage of economies of scale. Read more.
Journalist Juan Williams Talks Race and Opportunity in America at Aspen Institute Book Talk. "There has got to be an emphasis less so on celebrity culture and more so on achievement," said NPR senior correspondent and Fox News Channel political analyst Juan Williams in a talk about African American culture and his new book, Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure that Are Undermining Black America — and What We Can Do about It, at the Aspen Institute recently. Read more. Watch the video. See also: Juan Williams Picks Up Where Cosby Left Off, by Margaret Carlson, Sept. 29, 2006.
At a recent New York City Aspen Book Series event, Andrew W. Savitz, a senior consultant at Sustainable Business Strategies and former PricewaterhouseCoopers partner, explored the intersection of social and financial opportunities in business, the topic of his brand-new book, The Triple of Bottom Line: How the Best Run Companies are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success - and How You Can Too (Wiley, Aug 2006).
Expert Negotiator Dennis Ross Urges Diplomacy in Middle East at Aspen Institute Roundtable. In the season’s first Aspen Roundtable Series, Ambassador Dennis Ross, counselor and Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, urged that talking and negotiating––diplomacy––with states in the Middle East is a sign of strength rather than weakness. Read more.
Institute Joins the National Preparedness Month Coalition. September is National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security. The Aspen Institute is proud to be a member of the National Preparedness Month Coalition and recommends these readings, First Informers in the Disaster Zone: The Lessons of Katrina and Weathering the Storm: The Role of Local Nonprofits in the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort, as part of the national emergency preparation. Read more.
Ethanol as a Replacement for Gasoline. A group of business, government, environmental and academic leaders has proposed a series of actions to promote the widespread commercialization of both corn and cellulosic ethanol to improve energy security, the environment, and the economy. Co-chaired by Booz Allen Hamilton Vice President and former CIA Director R. James Woolsey and former Congressman Tom Ewing (R. IL), they developed a series of recommendations involving improved crop yields, processing of biomass into ethanol, manufacture of more cars that can burn either ethanol or gasoline, and the provision of ethanol pumps at more filling stations. Their report, "A High Growth Strategy for Ethanol," includes a discussion of the potential of ethanol, the group's recommendations, and a series of discussion papers commissioned for the dialogue.
The 2006 Aspen Ideas Festival was reported on daily by the Atlantic writers: read the blog and descriptive news reports of the events. At the Aspen Ideas Festival, PBS NOW host David Brancaccio spoke with playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith on the role of art and artists in processing the issues of the day, and also with renowned journalist Orville Schell on the dilemma journalists face when reporting the news in wartime. Full list of speakers, transcripts, program, and news from the Festival. Audio and video now available.
Philanthropist/Financier George Soros Critiques US Strategy in War on Terror at Institute Book Talk. Philanthropist and financier George Soros spoke to a full house at a recent book talk held on the Institute’s Aspen Meadows campus. Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott led the conversation with Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC and founder of the Open Society Institute, about his new book, The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror (PublicAffairs, June 2006). Soros shared his perspectives––often critical of the Iraq War and the Bush administration’s strategy in the war on terror. Read more.
Historian David McCullough Receives Institute’s 2006 Public Service Award. On Saturday, August 5, the Aspen Institute awarded Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough with its 2006 Aspen Institute Public Service Award in Aspen, Colorado. As a part of the special award event, McCullough, who has brought American history to the masses with his best-selling and award-winning books, spoke in conversation with Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, in the Benedict Music Tent. Read more. Listen to the conversation (Windows Media Player).
Public Summer Events in Aspen, Colorado
Speaker series, Book talks, Seminars, and Special events: Download a calendar (PDF, 755 KB) of the events open to the public in Aspen this summer.
The Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship Program today announced its 2006 Class of Henry Crown Fellows. The Henry Crown Fellowship is designed to engage the next generation of leaders in the challenge of community-spirited leadership. It brings together young executives and professionals under age 45 who have already achieved conspicuous success in their chosen fields of endeavor. The new Henry Crown Fellows will meet four times over a two-year period and will undertake individual community service commitments. Read more.
Weathering the Storm: The Role of Local Nonprofits in the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort discusses the role of local nonprofit agencies and religious congregations in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. It includes key findings of the roles, relationship, and coordination structure between local nonprofits and federal agencies such as the American Red Cross and FEMA, during the hurricane relief phase. The report gives recommended actions for policymakers and foundations and corporate donors in responding to catastrophic events. The recommended actions include suggestions about funding allocation and the formation of a coordinating body to facilitate involvement between several local and federal actors during disasters. Download the free PDF
The McCloskey Speaker Series featured speakers Mark Warner, Harold Hongju Koh, Lynne V. Cheney, Anna Deavere Smith, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Arthur Sulzberger, Alphonso Jackson, Michael Milken, Mark Cuban, and Fareed Zakaria. See the schedule of speakers.
Howell Raines Discusses New Memoir. Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran journalist and former executive editor of The New York Times Howell Raines was interviewed by Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson about his latest book, The One that Got Away: A Memoir (Scribner, May ‘06). Read "Raines Reflects on Journalism, Loss and Lawyers" (Aspen Times, July 21, 2006).
This program was sponsored by Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn. Details about the event.
Institute Joins Aspen Music Festival for Evening of Words and Music; Sen. John McCain and David Gergen Address World Affairs. US Senator John McCain conversed with Harvard Professor and former Presidential advisor and Aspen Institute trustee David Gergen at a special “Evening of Words and Music” event co-sponsored by the Aspen Music Festival and the Aspen Institute, held at the Music Festival’s Benedict Music Tent on July 1st. Mr. Gergen and Senator McCain spoke about a variety of timely issues, including immigration policy reform, the war on terror, and the religious right’s presence in the Republican party. Another feature of the program included performances by renowned pianist Orli Shaham and the international students of the Aspen Music Festival School, performing works by George Gershwin, Jascha Heifetz, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein. (For coverage of the event read “McCain talks war, religion, immigration,” The Aspen Times, July 2, 2006).
FORTUNE / Aspen Institute Brainstorm. Fortune's conference blog describes the attendees, the discussions, and behind the scenes events. News stories about the conference.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was the recent guest at a book talk in Aspen, where she discussed her latest book, The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God and World Affairs. Speaking about US policies in dealing with Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, Albright said, "I believe in democratization...but imposing democracy is an oxymoron." (Read more in "Albright on war, nukes...jewelry," The Aspen Times, July 1, 2006, and in "Albright speaks out on religion, democracy and her pins," Aspen Daily News, June 30, 2006).
The Aspen Institute mourns the loss of our longtime friend and trustee Philip Merrill. The publisher, former diplomat, and philanthropist had been a trustee of the Institute since 1993 and will be sorely missed.

Read an appreciation and an obituary of Mr. Merrill in the Washington Post (June 15). Senior Institute officials remember a valued colleague in the Aspen Daily News, "Aspen Institute grieves loss of trustee," June 13.
US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Bob Kimmitt Addresses Department’s Direction. Robert M. Kimmitt, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of the Treasury, was the featured speaker at a recent Aspen Roundtable Series lunch at the Institute’s Washington, DC offices. This latest installment of the series convened Secretary Kimmitt and other government, policy, media, and business leaders for a roundtable discussion on Treasury’s expanding role in the global economy. Read more.
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Newsweek Managing Editor Jon Meacham Lectures on God, Man, and Liberty. As a part of the Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn Book Series at the Aspen Institute, Newsweek managing editor Jon Meacham joined Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson in a conversation about religion’s influence on the formation of American democracy. Meacham’s new book on the subject, American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, was also a focus of this discussion at Institute headquarters in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, May 23. Read more.
In Aftermath of Ports Controversy, UAE Economy Minister Speaks at Institute Forum. United Arab Emirates Minister of Economy Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi spoke about US-UAE relations at a special lunchtime roundtable at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC. Hosted by the Aspen Institute Middle East Strategy Group, Sheikha Lubna commented on the UAE-based DP World’s decision to sell its contract on the operations of a half-dozen US ports. She was in Washington to meet with US officials about proposed US-UAE free trade talks and to communicate the nature of the UAE-US relationship. At the Institute forum, Sheikha Lubna warned that the collapse of the ports deal could deter UAE businesspeople from investing in the US economy due more because of US trade barriers than for political reasons. Read more.
Muriel Hoffman dies, Longtime Institute Friend. The Institute will miss longtime supporter and friend Muriel Hoffman, who died recently in her native Los Angeles. As the trustee of the Henry and Gladys Crown Charitable Trust Fund, she helped memorialize the life and legacy of Henry Crown — her friend for more than three decades — through the Henry Crown Fellowship Program, which she worked to help develop with former Institute president, the late David McLaughlin, in 1997. As an active member of the board of overseers of the program, Muriel took great pride in its growth and success. She was also the founder of the Henry Crown Leadership Award, which is given annually at the Institute’s New York gala in November. She was president of The Construction Advisory Group and served, for over three decades, as the chief administrator of the architectural firm of Francis R. Hoffman and Associates.
Leadership through Soccer. As part of his commitment to the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI), Terry Behan is using soccer to promote social change in South Africa. Behan launched the African Eagles soccer league with a three-year pilot program in a town near Johannesburg in 2003 to use the popular sport of soccer to provide underprivileged South African youth with new opportunities. Read more about Behan's project.
Is Ethanol in America’s Future? Experts Discuss at Aspen Institute. Three leading energy industry experts led a conversation on the potential of ethanol at the Aspen Institute headquarters in Washington, DC, March 30. Red Cavaney, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute; Nathanael Greene, senior energy policy specialist at the National Resources Defense Council’s Air and Energy Program; and Jim Woolsey, former director of the CIA and VP in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Global Resilience practice, pictured at right, talked about the future of biofuels as a replacement for gasoline in the US. Hosted by The Aspen Institute Program on Energy, the Environment, and the Economy (EEE) and Fortune magazine, the lunchtime discussion was sponsored by Cinergy and moderated by EEE director Jack Riggs and Fortune senior writer Adam Lashinsky. Read more.
Former Director of Central Intelligence Jim Woolsey discusses security and energy challenges facing the United States. Jim Woolsey, vice president of global resilience at Booz Allen Hamilton, addressed close to 100 friends and neighbors of the Institute at a recent Aspen Wye River evening event. In his remarks, Woolsey contrasted the security and intelligence environment of the Cold War with the much more complex one of today, and highlighted the pitfalls of America’s dependence on oil. See more photos.
Historian Sean Wilentz Retells Early American History. Sean Wilentz, the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History at Princeton University, described America’s early roots of democracy at a recent Aspen Institute book program in Washington, DC. Drawing from his new book, The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln, Wilentz illuminated US presidencies, politics, and culture from Thomas Jefferson’s day to Abraham Lincoln’s at this Aspen Book Series event. Read more.
Industry and Government Energy and Security Leaders Convene over Protection of US Electricity System. David Owens (pictured, left) of the Edison Electric Institute and Jim Caverly (pictured, right) of the Department of Homeland Security discussed the vulnerability and protection of the nation's electricity system at the Washington, DC, headquarters of the Aspen Institute. According to Caverly, electricity is a linchpin of the economy, and refineries, pipelines, communications systems, and other critical infrastructures depend on it. He described the need to move from a "guns, guards, and gates" mentality to a cooperative approach relying on the industry to protect facilities within its perimeters while the government tries to identify and head off threats from without. Read more.
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Foreign Policy Scholar Michael Mandelbaum Asserts US is Much-Needed World Leader. “The United States helps keep order in the world, and the first duty of any government and the basic reason for government is to keep order,” said Michael Mandelbaum, Christian A. Herter Professor of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, at a recent Aspen Book Series event at the Institute's DC headquarters. Still, despite the list of critical services that the US provides the international community as outlined by Mandelbaum, he commented that the US is resented because it is so powerful. Read more.
FBI’s John Miller Makes Case that Counterterrorism Efforts are Working. In a recent installment of the Aspen Roundtable Series, John Miller, assistant director of the FBI for public affairs, explained the Bureau’s role in counterterrorism in the US and its continuing challenges. “Since 9/11, Al Qaeda and its followers have tried to attack, and have intended to attack, and have been thwarted every time,” said Miller. “But the difficulty in what we do is that the law enforcement community and intelligence community have to perform perfectly every day.” Read more.
Christopher Makins, 1942-2006. The Aspen Institute mourns the loss of Christopher Makins, a former executive vice president. Makins, 63, served the Institute from 1989 to 1997, and will be remembered for his leadership and expansion of the Institute’s policy programs and its international partners. Read his full obituary in The Washington Post. Read an appreciation of Mr. Makins by his friend and Aspen Institute colleague Charles Firestone.
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E.L. Doctorow Discusses His Latest Work and His Craft at Aspen Book Talk. Author E.L. Doctorow drew a crowd at a recent Aspen Book Series event on January 26 at the Institute’s Washington, DC headquarters, where he spoke about his new novel, The March, which chronicles life within General William Tecumseh Sherman’s infamous 1864 march through Georgia. In conversation with Institute president Walter Isaacson, Doctorow offered insights into General Sherman’s character and beliefs, drawn from both intensive research and imagination. “He was an army man and he believed that the confederacy was an act of treason that had to be dealt with in no uncertain terms.” said Doctorow. Read more.
First Class of Aspen-Rodel Fellows Named. The Aspen Institute has selected 24 of the nation's top young elected officials for a fellowship program honoring public leaders identified as "the true rising stars" of American politics. Nominations for the 2006 class are now open.
Clark Testifies in Support of Congressional Travel Reform. Dick Clark, director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program, and a former member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, testified on January 25 before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee of the United States Senate in support of congressional travel reform. Read Clark's testimony.
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Civic Development Experts Address Methods for Building Community Wealth. The Aspen Institute Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program (NSPP) held a roundtable Wednesday, January 18, 2006, on "Building Community Wealth." NSPP director Alan Abramson led four experts in American civic development, including William Galston, senior fellow in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program (pictured at right), in a discussion on asset-based approaches to solving social and economic problems; the roundtable also centered around the newly released NSPP book on the same topic, Building Wealth. Read more.
Wynton Marsalis Calls on New Generation to Rebuild at New Orleans Gathering. On January 16, renowned jazz musician and arts advocate Wynton Marsalis kicked off The Renewal Series, a speaker and discussion series in New Orleans hosted by Dillard, Loyola, Tulane, and Xavier universities in conjunction with the Aspen Institute. The series is designed to celebrate the post-Katrina return of students and faculty and help rejuvenate the intellectual and cultural life of the city. Read more.
US State Department, Aspen Institute and Six US Journalism Schools to Launch New International Journalism Program. Washington, DC., US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced on December 13, 2005 the launch of a new international journalism program, in partnership with the Aspen Institute and six leading US schools of journalism. Joining Secretary Rice for remarks were Geoffrey Cowan, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson. Read Condoleezza Rice's announcement. Read the press release. (State Department photo by Michael Gross. Click photo at right to view all principals.)