Forum hosts former US ambassador to Egypt

UNC students got an insider’s perspective on the turmoil in the Middle East Tuesday night.

Frank Wisner, former U.S. ambassador to Egypt, spoke to a group of about 200 students, faculty, and community members.

Wisner, who has decades of experience in diplomacy and was in direct negotiations with former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, spoke about the United States’ tumultuous relationship with the Middle East.

“Nations have risen and fallen, empires have come and gone, but many — if not most — have sought to influence global events in their defense or favor by being able to exercise influence in the Middle East,” he said.

Wisner offered his take on the U.S. government’s response to allegations that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons in a suburb of Damascus.

He said the United States failed to pursue diplomatic options when it had the opportunity and relies too heavily on its military means.

“In America’s role in the world, the role we as Americans need to play, this is not a good situation,” Wisner said.

“This is a crisis we need to confront, because it is our crisis. It is a crisis brought on by ourselves.”

The lecture was part of UNC’s Ambassadors Forum, which history professor Klaus Larres started last year to give students an opportunity to hear diplomats’ perspectives on current issues.

Larres said the series brings high-profile ambassadors, such as Wisner, to campus for free outside of covering travel and lodging.

“They come here because they’re interested in talking to our community, and it’s not because they need a few hundred dollars,” he said.

Larres said he hoped Wisner’s lecture would teach students and community members that the Middle East was not a lost cause.

The next forum will be held on Oct. 2 with the ambassador to the European Union.

Wisner said the next stages of U.S. diplomatic relations in the Middle East will need to take place in Syria, Egypt and Iran — no easy task.

He said the United States must cooperate with its enemies and seek the help of its allies.

“The Middle East is a lousy environment for playing with deterrent warfare,” he said.

Freshman Tyler Sharp

“I thought he made a good point about the world’s view of the U.S. since the Syria situation began,” Sharp said. “Russia has gained some of the prestige the U.S. used to have in the world.”

Larres said he hopes more students will take advantage of the opportunity that UNC’s Ambassadors Forum provides.

“If we can’t go to Washington, D.C., then Washington has to come to us,” Larres said.

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