NEWSLETTER / August 20, 2020
The Pacific Council’s biweekly Newsletter shares international affairs commentary and analysis by our members and experts plus news from the Council and recaps of our recent events.
SUPPORT THE COUNCIL
MW participants
Now, more than ever, the Pacific Council’s work to promote global engagement is vital. Learn about all the ways you can support our mission in Los Angeles, California, and beyond!
ANALYSIS
Peter Katona, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Public Health at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and Seth Freeman, a writer, producer, director, journalist, and playwright

The United States is still battered by the coronavirus while other countries have gotten the epidemic under control.
Marissa Moran, Chief Communications Officer at the Pacific Council

By recognizing the work undertaken to serve a specific, marginalized population primarily in East LA with a global humanitarian prize, the Hilton Foundation is pointing to the example that Homeboy sets for the rest of the world.
C. Steven McGann, former U.S. Ambassador to the Republics of Fiji, Nauru, Kiribati, and the Kingdom of Tonga and Tuvalu, and Richard K. Pruett, former Deputy Chief of Mission to six Pacific Islands Countries

Washington should build upon new congressional initiatives to strengthen its alliances and partnerships with Pacific Islands Countries.
Kemal Kirişci, Nonresident Senior Fellow of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe and the Turkey Project, and Sam Denney, Senior Research Assistant at the Brooking Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe

To build a better, more democratic, more equitable world after the pandemic, the United States could start by helping refugees, rather than what it can do by merely seeking its own benefit.
George Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State, Thomas McLarty, former White House Chief of Staff and Special Envoy for the Americas, Carla Hills, former U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Zoellick, former World Bank president, Abraham Lowenthal, president emeritus of the Pacific Council, and Nelson Cunningham, former special advisor to the president

Sixty years of tradition—of Latin American leadership of the Inter-American Development Bank—should not be overturned in its presidential election, which is currently scheduled for mid-September but should be deferred until March.
Jongsoo Lee, Center Associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd discusses the challenges facing the Indo-Pacific, including the many facets of China’s rise.
Abraham Lowenthal, president emeritus of the Pacific Council

Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Advisor who recently passed away at age 95, became a founding member of the Pacific Council on International Policy from the very start in 1995.
Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State from 1997-2001, and Marc Nathanson, co-chair of the Pacific Council's Board of Directors and former chair of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (now the U.S. Agency for Global Media) from 1998-2002

Voice of America has been effective because it broadcasts truth rather than propaganda, but its independence is now in jeopardy. In a world where Russia and China are actively spreading disinformation and propaganda, the United States must tell the truth—not as it is narrowly defined by ideologues of the left, right, or center, but as boldly, broadly, and free from bias as possible. America’s public diplomacy, as well as the future of democracy in the world, demands that we maintain this proud tradition.
EVENT RECAP
"The healthcare infrastructure [in Syria] was badly damaged if not destroyed in some areas, and 70 percent of Syria’s doctors have left the country," said Mona Yacoubian in a recent webcast about restrictions placed on humanitarian aid delivery in Syria because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "How do you deal with a pandemic in the midst of a conflict?"
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday, August 20 / 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. PT

The fifth installment of the Edgerton Series on Responding to a Rising China, on what a joint U.S.-E.U. strategy on China might look like. Open to the public.
Thursday, August 27 / 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. PT

A webcast on the national debate around law enforcement. Open to the public.
BECOME A MEMBER
Members of the Pacific Council become part of a community of thoughtful, concerned global citizens whose experience informs smart policy and discourse. We connect you to a network of leaders, bring you in on both live and virtual discussions with global thinkers, and invite your ideas to contribute to public discourse and improved policy.
SUBSCRIBE
Sign up for our biweekly email Newsletter to receive the latest news and commentary from the Pacific Council on International Policy.
STAY CONNECTED