Below please find a memorandum from the Center’s bipartisan polling team regarding the results of our just-released poll of post-9/11 military officer attitudes towards global engagement.

The memo is also available at: http://www.usglobalengagement.org/Portals/16/ftp/Military_poll_highlights.pdf

In addition, the presentation slides from the media briefing are available at: http://www.usglobalengagement.org/Portals/16/ftp/Poll_Results_Slides.pdf

The video of the press conference, as well as links to all of the archived videos of today’s events, are available at www.usglobalengagement.org.

Please call with any questions.

Jeff Berkowitz

CommunicationsDirector

Center for U.S.Global Engagement

www.usglobalengagement.org

Summary of Findings:

§ Today’s military officers believe we face very different security challenges than we did during the Cold War and must use different tools and strategies to address those challenges.

§ A significant majority of officers surveyed embrace a new paradigm in which strengthened diplomacy and development assistance are important companions to traditional military tools for achieving America's national security goals.

§ A majority of officers serving in the post-9/11 era have seen the benefit of non-military tools such as development assistance and diplomacy firsthand, particularly those deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

§ These poll results suggest the next Commander in Chief must understand that a strong military alone is not enough to protect America and that military officers believe we must also improve diplomatic relations and do more to promote stability in the world by improving health, education, and economic opportunity in other countries.

Key Results by the Numbers:

§ Eighty percent (80%) of all officers surveyed say that non-military tools such as diplomacy, food aid, and suppor tfor health, education, and economic development programs are very (43%) or fairly important (37%) to helping the United States achieve its national security objectives.

§ Eighty-four percent (84%) of officers say that strengthening non-military tools such as diplomacy and development efforts should be at least equal to strengthening military efforts when it comes to improving America’s ability to address threats to our national security.

§ Similarly, officers are nearly as likely to say the United States is doing too little to strengthen its use of non-military tools (52%) as to say we are doing too little to strengthen our military capabilities (57%).

Ø Active duty officers are as likely to say that we are doing too little to strengthen and improve our use of non-military national security tools (54%) as they are to say we are doing too little strengthen and improve our use of military tools (55%); 59% of the highest-ranking officers say that we are doing too little to strengthen and improve our use of non-military tools.

§ Eighty-two percent (82%) say the tools and strategies needed to deal with our current national security challenges are different from the tools and strategies we used successfully during the Cold War, including 52% who say we need to be using very different tools today.

Ø The national security threats most frequently volunteered as very important were Terrorism (41%) and Islamic extremism/Al Qaeda (14%).

§ In evaluating steps the United States could take to achieve our strategic goals and improve national security, officers in our survey rank “strengthening our diplomatic efforts and cooperation with other countries” (83% very/fairly high priority) on par with “increasing counter-insurgency training for our troops” (87%)and “improving our military’s rapid response capabilities”(81%).

§ Eighty-eight percent (88%) of all officers surveyed agree that “a strong military alone is not enough to protect America; we also need to improve diplomatic relations and do more to promote stability in the world by improving health, education, and economic opportunity in other countries,” including 50% who strongly agree with this statement.

§ Eighty-six percent (86%) of the highest-ranking officers (O-4 and higher) also agree that, “even though we are the world’s only super power, we can’t do everything on our own; expanding our commitment to diplomacy and increasing foreign assistance is a cost-effective way to improve America’s image and win more friends and allies” (46% strongly agree).

§ Sixty-three percent (63%) of all officers surveyed say they have personally experienced the benefit of non-military tools in making their military assignments more effective or more efficient, including 72% of those who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

§ Seventy-seven percent (77%) of officers surveyed believe that the degree to which America is respected by people overseas makes a great deal (44%) or a fair amount (33%) of difference to the effectiveness of our military overseas.

Ø Just 8% say that we are very well respected by people in other countries today, while 52% say we are somewhat well respected and 40% say we are not that well respected.

§ A 62% majority of officers surveyed rate “restoring respect for America around the world by playing a positive leadership role in addressing major global challenges” as a very important goal (a rating of eight to 10 on a one-to-10 scale), only slightly below the proportion (70%) who rate “dealing forcefully with countries that threaten our security interests or that support terrorist organizations” as a very important goal.

The Center will be releasing a poll tomorrow at 9 a.m. looking at the global challenges facing the next Commander in Chief – the headline result is that leading U.S. military voices believe overwhelmingly that the U.S. should increase its investment and attention to the non-military tools such as development assistance and diplomacy during the next administration.

Given Sen. Obama’s planned speech on national security later in the morning, I thought this poll release might be of interest to you. Also interesting to note, at 12:30pm Sen. Lieberman will be addressing the Center’s all-day conference on behalf of Sen. McCain’s campaign and we expect him to discuss the issues of national security and how our tools of development and diplomacy can be used.

Hope to see you at the 9:00am media briefing on the poll or later throughout the day.

Center Releases Survey of Military Attitudes on Global Engagement on Eve of Conference

Washington,DC — The Center for U.S. Global Engagement will release tomorrow the results of a unique and compelling national survey exploring the attitudes of active duty and recently retired (post-9/11) military officers toward the United States’ use of military and non-military tools to enhance our national security. The survey, conducted by the bipartisan polling team of Peter D. Hart Research Associates (D) and Public Opinion Strategies (R), is being released as part of the Center’s July 15^th national conference, Election ’08: The Global Impact, at 9 a.m. at the Mayflower Hotel, Senate Room, 1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.

Following the 9 a.m. poll briefing for the media, conference participants will hear from senior foreign policy representatives from both presidential candidates –Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) for McCain and Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) for Obama– and other prominent national security and foreign policy leaders. The Center’s conference will also feature a keynote address, “Smart Power: America and Global Poverty,” by former Sen. John Edwards

Pollsters Geoff Garin of Peter D. Hart Research Associates and Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies will provide an overview of the poll results in a presentation and memorandum. “Today’s military officers believe we face very different security challenges than we did during the Cold War and must use different tools and strategies to address those challenges,” Garin and McInturff write in the memorandum, with “a significant majority of officers surveyed embrac[ing] a new paradigm in which strengthened diplomacy and development assistance are important companions to traditional military tools for achieving America's national security goals.”

The Center’s Executive Director Liz Schrayer explained why the Center commissioned the poll. “There has been growing interest from the Defense community to see greater investments in diplomacy and development assistance,” Schrayer said, “Secretary Gates has called for a ‘dramatic increase in spending on the civilian instruments of national security,’ and the more than fifty retired generals and admirals on Center’s National Security Advisory Council have called on the 2008 Presidential candidates to elevate and strengthen our non-military tools of global engagement. This poll demonstrated that the vast majority of their colleagues in uniform see the value – many of them from firsthand experience – in these investments.”

Reacting to the poll results, General Gregory Newbold, USMC (Ret.), a member of the Center’s National Security Advisory Council who served as Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2000 to 2002, said, “These poll results make clear that the next Commander in Chief has the strong support of active and retired military officers to place increased emphasis on then on-military tools of national power.”

Other featured speakers at the Conference include USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore on modernizing foreign assistance and a panel discussion with two former White House Chiefs of Staff. Tuesday evening, the Center’s sister organization, the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, will honor Defense Secretary Robert Gates for his leadership in support of the International Affairs Budget.

Additional information on the conference program can be found at www.usglobalengagement.org . Video highlights from the conference will be posted in the days following the conference at www.cusge.blip.tv and www.youtube.com/cusge .

The Center for U.S. Global Engagement ( www.usglobalengagement.org ), the educational arm of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, unites business, civic, military, faith-based, and political leaders around the country to broaden understanding of America’s interests in building a better, safer world.

Impact ’08: Building a Better, Safer World

is the Center’s national, non-partisan initiative, chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci, calling on all of the Presidential candidates to elevate and strengthen America’s investments in global development and diplomacy.

The Center’s National Security Advisory Council is a unique, non-partisan group of over 50 prominent retired three and four-star generals and admirals representing all five branches of the Armed Forces who have united with the Center in support of strengthening America’s national security strategy with increased use of non-military tools. The Council is co-chaired by General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Ret.) and Admiral Leighton W. Smith, Jr., USN(Ret.).

Volunteers Meeting on Friday, August 22, 7 PM at Dillon Lodge. 

Thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours all year, and many contributions, have gone into this event. It appears hundreds of people are coming.

Tasks are easy and short, you get to wear nice STAFF T-Shirts (being donated by Loud Pipes Saloon 2)

Volunteer Jobs are mostly knowing what's going on & where things are to answer people arriving Saturday morning & Saturday evening.

PLEASE, would you or anyone you know be willing to HELP?  Can you help solicit volunteers to come to the meeting?

Jean Coutu, Live Free Or Die Rally'08

email : Caacp01@aol.com

Who& What: The Center for U.S. Global Engagement will kick off its day-long conference, Election’08: The Global Impact, with the release of a national poll ofpost-9/11 military officers’ attitudes toward major global challenges facing the next commander-in-chief and the importance military officers place on strengthening non-military tools.

Conference highlights will include:

• Media briefing on poll results with pollsters Geoff Garin (Peter D. Hart Research Associates) and Bill McInturff (Public Opinion Strategies) and Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold, USMC (Ret.), who served as Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2000-2002)
• Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) speaking on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain
• Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) speaking on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama
• In his first post-campaign foreign policy speech, former Sen. John Edwards will deliver a keynote address entitled, “Smart Power: America and Global Poverty”
• Several key speakers and high-level panel discussions throughout the day.
• A full conference schedule is detailed below.

When: Press Briefing, 9:00am – 10:00am

Conference, 10:00am – 4:30pm(Lunch will be served)

Where:Mayflower Hotel, Senate Room (for Poll Briefing) & Grand Ballroom (forConference)

1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW,Washington, DC

Note:

About the Center for U.S. Global Engagement

The Center for U.S. Global Engagement (www.usglobalengagement.org),the educational arm of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, unites business,civic, military, faith-based, and political leaders around the country to broaden understanding of America’s interests in building a better, safer world.

Election ’08: The Global Impact

Washington Conference Agenda

July 15, 2008

All meetings will take place at the Mayflower Hotel

1127 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington,DC

9:00a.m. Media Briefing &Press Conference – Post-9/11 Military Attitudes Poll Release

Washington, DC - The Democratic National Committee today released a new web ad called "When?" that calls into question John McCain's judgment on Iraq. While McCain's allies have been working overtime trying to distort Senator Obama's record on Iraq, today's video shows a disturbing pattern of inconsistent positions and wildly off the mark assessments on the war.  While the war has stretched our armed forces to a breaking point, emboldened our enemies and drained resources from Afghanistan--allowing the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan to grow stronger than at any time since September 11th--McCain has refused to offer a clear plan for bringing it to a responsible end.  Instead, McCain has been all over the map on when he thinks our troops will be able to come home.  

In the last six months alone, McCain has taken at least three different positions.  After saying in January that he would be fine with our troops staying in Iraq for 100 years, McCain said most of them would be home by 2013 before flipping again less than a month later when he said the question itself is "not too important."  Now, even though the Iraqi leadership is calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, McCain still refuses to give a clear answer on what it will take to bring our troops home.

"As voters try to decide who has the judgment to handle Iraq, Afghanistan, the other challenges America faces, they should look at John McCain's record of poor judgment and inconsistencies on Iraq," said DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney.  "From Day One, Senator McCain was wrong on Iraq.  First he was part of the Bush propaganda machine that misled us into a war that has made us less safe and emboldened our enemies. Now he still cannot say when he would bring our brave troops home.   In just the last six months, McCain has said he'd be fine keeping our troops there for 100 years, said he'd bring them home by 2013, and claimed the question itself 'not too important.' With all due respect to Senator McCain and his service to our country, his poor judgment on Iraq shows why he is the wrong choice for America's future."

To view the DNC's new web ad "When?" click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eejYoz3Nl0

DNC Web Video:
"When?"

When Will John McCain Bring Our Troops Home?  Depends on When You Ask.

QUESTIONS: "Over a course of how many years?"

MCCAIN: "Four or five years." [ABC, "Nightline," 10/1/03]

[2007]

MCCAIN: "Listen, my friend, we're going to be there for five or six years." [MSNBC, "Hardball," 2/25/04]

[2010]

MCCAIN: "If I had to guess, I would think that it's going to be at least another year to a year and a half..." [CBS, "The Early Show," 2/3/05]

[2006]

MCCAIN: "I'd rather say two or three years, and be surprised a year from now." [NBC, "Meet the Press," 6/19/05]

[2008]

QUESTION: President Bush is talking about our staying in Iraq for 50 year…"

MCCAIN: "Maybe a hundred." [Town Hall Meeting in Concord, NH, 1/3/08]

[2108]

MCCAIN: "By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly"" [Reuters, 5/15/08]

[2013]

QUESTION: "Do you know have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?"

MCCAIN: "No, but that's not too important."  [NBC, "Today Show," 6/11/08]

[?]
 
Not Important?

Senator McCain, It's Important to the American People.
 
John McCain: More of the Same on Iraq

DNC Video Back Up:
"When?"

October 2003: McCain Said Iraq War Would Take "Four Or Five Years."  During an appearance on ABC's Nightline, McCain was asked how much more money the war would cost.  He replied, "Estimates I hear as much as 50 to $55 billion more."  When asked, "Over a course of how many years?" McCain answered, "Four or five years." [ABC, "Nightline," 10/1/03]

February 2004: McCain Said War Would Take Five or Six Years. MCCAIN: "Listen, my friend, we're going to be there for five or six years. A little straight talk." [MSNBC, "Hardball," 2/25/04]

February 2005: McCain Said War Would Take A Year to a Year and a Half. [2006] MCCAIN: "If I had to guess, I would think that it's going to be at least another year to a year and a half, but, hopefully before then we could have our troops out of a lot of the areas where they're vulnerable to casualties." [CBS, "The Early Show," 2/3/05]

June 2005: McCain Would Be Surprised if it Took Two or Three More Years: "And, again, I think we should tell people it's not going to be a short--I'd rather say two or three years, and be surprised a year from now, than say, 'Everything's fine,' and then be disappointed a year or two from now." [NBC, "Meet the Press," 6/19/05]

January 2008: McCain Would Be "Fine" With Our Troops Staying in Iraq 100 Years. MCCAIN: "QUESTION: President Bush is talking about our staying in Iraq for 50 year…" MCCAIN: "Make it a hundred.  We've been in South Korea, we've been in Japan for 60 years, we've been in South Korea for 50 years or so." [Town Hall Meeting in Concord, NH, 1/3/08]

May 2008: Most of Our Troops Will Be Home by 2013: "By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom.  The Iraq war has been won." [Reuters, 5/15/08]

June 2008: When Troops Can Come Home is "Not Too Important." QUESTION: "Do you know have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?" MCCAIN: "No, but that's not too important."  [NBC, "Today Show," 6/11/08]