Gorbachev to U.S.: End global policing

By Elizabeth Hendler, Daily Record

The United States and Russia must work together to further democracy while respecting the cultures and religions of the world, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev said at a lecture at Seton Hall University on Tuesday.
Gorbachev spoke against pre-emptive policies, military occupation and policing of the world, but instead supported a humanitarian approach to spreading democracy.
"Whenever there is a problem, what we need is not missiles, cannons, guns," said Gorbachev, who spoke through a translator.
The former president encouraged an end to the United States' occupation of Iraq, saying that while a coalition victory was inevitable, the world must begin to support and accept Islam.
"Fundamentalism exists in all religions," he said. "The solution should not be the denigration of Islam."
Gorbachev said the root of terrorism is in humiliation, poverty and unsuccessful government, but political, not military, solutions must be employed to begin to combat terrorism.
"America faces the choice of choosing its model of leadership. Will it be a leadership through partnership?" he asked.
He spoke about a "New World Order" of humaneness, addressing the growing gap between rich and poor. He also advocated for international governance to help countries work together for global solutions.
When asked about the future of communism in China, Gorbachev said nations should help the country come to its own solution in working toward democracy without using military force.
"They want to do it the Chinese way, not the American or the Russian way," he said.
While he said democracy may be in jeopardy, Gorbachev said he is optimistic about the political climate of the world.
"(Winston) Churchill was right. Democracy is a bad system, but all the others are a lot worse," he said. "The best is not in the past. The best is yet to come."
Seton Hall President Monsignor Robert Sheeran remarked on Gorbachev's ability as a world leader to sense a pivotal point in history and react.
"One person can make a crucial difference," Sheeran said. "Perhaps one of our students here today is such a leader in training."
Sheeran and John Whitehead, former deputy secretary of state, presented a souvenir globe to Gorbachev.
"This is a very important souvenir," Gorbachev said. "It's so easy to hold the world in one's hand."
Freshman diplomacy major Jeff Cunningham thought the former president's message should be taken to heart by political leaders.
"We should take heed to what he was saying," Cunningham said. "It was lucky we got to see him. He had such a key role in world affairs for two decades, including the fall of communism."
Gorbachev spoke to a packed audience at the university as part of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy's World Leaders Forum and the Philip and Mary Shannon Speaker Series.
He was president of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. In 1990, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Cold War. He is known for his policies of perestroika, which decentralized the country's economic and social structures, and glasnost, a policy of openness.

The Daily Record, April 20, 2005