College Relations

October 19, 2004

Margo Steiner at 978-542-7505, Assistant Director, College Relations

SALEM, Mass. - In a speech to a packed gymnasium on October 19, New York Times' columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman warned attendees that the United States faces a more threatening situation now than it ever did during the Cold War. The reason, he said, is because - despite the fact that we were enemies - both the people of the United States and the people of the former Soviet Union loved life more than they hated each other.

The enemy we face today is of a kind we have never encountered before, he continued, and the reason is because this new enemy hates us more than they love life. The danger is a potent one, and only likely to become more so.

During his hour-long speech, Friedman promised to address the issues that he would like to have heard the presidential candidates address in their debates, but didn't. He blamed the 'progress' of the war and the volatile situation we are in today on a series of foolish and irresponsible decisions by Bush's secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld. Instead of following Colin Powell's eponymous "Powell Doctrine," which dictated using overwhelming force at the outset to take over the country, Rumsfeld went his own way, leading us to the mess we find ourselves in today.

Friedman also explained to the audience how the radical Muslim movement developed, what its spread is likely to mean in the future and what steps must be taken to eradicate it. Claiming he remains an optimist, Friedman concluded by saying "I do believe there is still a window for strategic optimism - and as long as that window is open, I am going to push through it."

The second lecture in the College's annual Series is scheduled for April 5 in the O'Keefe Sports Center on Canal Street in Salem, when Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam speaks on "Legends and Lore of the Red Sox."