Obama’s foreign policy to be discussed at Miami’s fifth JANUS Forum

By Elisabeth Greve, For The Miami Student

Miami University will host its fifth biannual JANUS Forum at 6 p.m. this Wednesday, March 11, in the Wilks Theater at the Armstrong Student Center. Speakers Nicholas Burns and Frances Fragos Townsend will examine the question, "Has the Obama foreign policy made us safer from terrorism?"

"These are both speakers I've always wanted to get on to our campus," said Patrick Haney, Miami political science professor and department chair. "They are both exceptional public servants, they're really good at how they handle questions and they're thoughtful in their nuance."

Burns is a professor of diplomacy and international politics at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He served in the United States government for 27 years in various positions under the Clinton and Bush administrations and is currently a member of Secretary of State John Kerry's Foreign Affairs Policy Board. He serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations and has received 12 honorary degrees and numerous awards for his public service.

Townsend served as assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. She also served as deputy assistant to the President and deputy national security advisor for Combating Terrorism from May 2003 to May 2004. Townsend also contributes to CNN as an expert on counterterrorism and national security, and often appears on network and cable television.

The JANUS Forum began in February 2013 with the intent of bringing members of the community together to openly discuss opposing views on current political and cultural issues. It allows students to explore these views and form their own opinions.

The forum is managed, moderated and run by Miami students. Audience members tweet in questions and a few students managing the Twitter account put these questions into a Google document. The questions at the forum are drawn from this Google doc. This year, the questions will surround the topic of national security.

"On the one hand, I think the government's use of droning has increased violence in some ways and has provoked more attacks," said David Shoemaker, Miami first-year and member of the Diversity Affairs Council. "However, I still believe Obama's foreign policy has made us safer and that, without droning, it could be worse."

However, not every Miami student feels this way.

"I believe that Obama's policies have made it very unsafe to be in America," said Brittany Brown, sophomore and member of College Republicans said. "His administration has been willing to negotiate with Iran to allow them to have nuclear power plants for energy purposes, which is a slippery slope, and could lead to nuclear weapons of mass destruction."

Miami's fall JANUS Forum surrounded the topic of economic inequality in the United States. After focusing on a domestic issue, the students wanted to use this forum to call to attention an issue of national security and bring in two respectable speakers to do so.

"The image of ISIS cutting peoples' heads off and questioning if this is getting any better in Iraq, Syria or anywhere is the kind of thing that led us to wonder if we're on a good track here and a track where things are getting any better," Haney said. "The next presidential election cycle is about to kick in and this may well be part of that discussion."

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Free tickets are available at the Miami University box office in Shriver Center. A reception will be held in the Armstrong Student Center Pavilion immediately following the event.