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About 40 GW students and professors attended the Elliott School-sponsored conference titled, "Deterring 'Rogue States': Do the Old Rules Apply?" Robert Litwak, director of International Security Studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, discussed what a rogue state is and how it affects the international community.
"Used by the president of the United States, (the term) constitutes a category of states, after the Cold War, that were considered hostile to the U.S.," Litwak said. He added that the Clinton administration was the first to use the term, replacing the previously used buzz word "state of concern."
The rogue state lecture series, a four-part discussion, included keynote speaker Robert Jervis, an Adlai E. Stevenson professor at Columbia University, several prominent GW professors and employees of distinguished think-tanks.
The day culminated with a panel discussion of what policies the Bush administration should undertake in response to countries gaining nuclear capability. Elliott School Dean Michael E. Brown moderated the discussion.
Litwak said he was fearful of North Korea and Iran because they can give radioactive material to terrorist groups. He recommended the United States take a hard-line stance to deter nuclear proliferation.
"The transfer of (weapons of mass destruction) capability from a state to a non-state entity should be strictly watched," he said. "The bumper sticker with respect to Iran should read, 'Don't Even Think About It.'"
Joseph Cirincione, vice president for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress, focused on counter-proliferation. He said the government's success in dismantling Libya's nuclear program should be used as an example of good foreign policy. Libya agreed to halt its nuclear program in late 2003.
