Foreign policy expert Michael Kraig spoke to about 30 students and faculty Wednesday and told them why policy makers need to rethink American foreign policy.
His presentation focused on shifting policy away from a Cold War mentality of putting U.S. enemy into "blocks" instead of trying to keep diplomatic channels open with all countries.
Kraig works for The Stanley Foundation, which "seeks a secure peace with freedom and justice, built on world citizenship and effective global governance," according to its Web site.
Kraig said grouping enemies by ideology and beliefs is outdated. Instead, he argued U.S. policy should reflect that the country is against all violence and not just support the theory "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Kraig said the U.S. became the dominant world military and economic power after World War II.
"We were thrown into a global power vacuum, and that was the first time America started looking outward," Kraig said. "Americans were literally handed the keys to the world."
Kraig said more than 10 countries are quickly becoming new world powers. The falling powers and rising countries are creating what he called "pragmatic multipolarity," or varied interests in a world with many powers.
The presentation lasted an hour, but freshman Ryan Evans said the topics that were covered required more time to discuss.
"I understand it was just an hour presentation, but I think they could have went into more detail about it," Evans said. "They didn't address enough."
Kraig said many other people he has interacted with don't like the current mentality.
"I've had military people come in to Stanley Foundation events and discuss how a new stealth bomber cost about $2 billion," he said. "Even they came to the conclusion that the money to that can fund a lot of peacekeepers."
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