This discussion was held during the Democratic National Convention. It features speakers are William J. Perry (the former Secretary of Defense), Richard J. Danzig (former Secretary of the Navy) and journalist Joe Klein- Truman National Security Project
Bio
Richard J. Danzig
Mr. Danzig was sworn in as the 71st Secretary of the Navy on November 16, 1998. He served as Under Secretary of the Navy between November 1993 and May 1997. In the period between these two jobs, he and his wife lived in Asia and Europe while Mr. Danzig served as a Traveling Fellow of the Center for International Political Economy and as an Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs.
Mr. Danzig was born in New York City in 1944. He received a B.A. degree from Reed College, a J.D. degree from Yale Law School, and Bachelor of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Upon his graduation from law school, Mr. Danzig served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White.
Joe Klein
Joe Klein is a columnist and senior writer at TIME. He joined the magazine in 2003 to write a regular column, In the Arena, on national and international affairs. He is the author of The Natural: Bill Clinton’s Misunderstood Presidency and several other nonfiction books. As “Anonymous,” Klein wrote the critically acclaimed novel Primary Colors, a best-seller inspired by the 1992 political race. Klein is an occasional contributor to The New Yorker, where he formerly served as Washington correspondent. He has written articles and book reviews for The New Republic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, LIFE, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former Guggenheim fellow.
William Perry
William J. Perry was the nineteenth United States secretary of defense, serving from February 1994 to January 1997. His previous government experience was as deputy secretary of defense (1993-94) and undersecretary of defense for research and engineering (1977-81).
Perry, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, is the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor at Stanford University, with a joint appointment in the School of Engineering and the Institute for International Studies, where he is codirector of the Preventive Defense Project, a research collaboration of Stanford and Harvard Universities. His previous academic experience includes professor (halftime) at Stanford from 1988 to 1993, when he was the codirector of the Center for International Security and Arms Control.
Richard Danzig argues that Barack Obama is more fit than John McCain to lead the United States because of his even temper as opposed to McCain's well known fierce temper and his ability to listen and then decide as opposed to McCain’s quick decisions.
Richard Danzig talks about the recent Russian conflicts and how a new administration should deal with Russia.
"We need to try and draw Russia further into the community of nations and recognize that, to deter this kind of conduct, we need both sticks and carrots."
Richard Danzig talks about preventative actions the U.S. can take to resolve conflict in the Middle East and contends that Obama and his understanding of the Muslim world is a "rare opportunity for a clean break from so much that has been so bad in this administration."