Spring 1997
American Purpose

Publication Date: March 1, 1997
Posted: Saturday, March 3, 1997

This issue consists of a conversation with George P. Shultz about many different subjects.  These subjects include 'The Timing of the North American Free Trade Agreement'; 'Human Rights in China and the Soviet Union'; 'Message to Israel'; 'Trade Embargoes and Foreign Aid'; and 'A Victory for Freedom'.


In This Issue :

A Conversation With George P. Shultz
George Pratt Shultz served as Secretary of State from 1982 to the end of the Reagan administration in January 1989. This was the capstone of an extraordinary public career that included four Cabinet posts, the others being Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Shultz, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT, has taught at MIT, Stanford, and the University of Chicago, and is now a Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution. [More]

The Timing of the North American Free Trade Agreement
 Elliott Abrams: Let's begin with the North American Free Trade Agreement—specifically, the timing of it. Spain and Portugal weren't admitted into the European Community until they were fairly stable democracies. That makes me wonder a little about NAFTA. In a book called Pan American Dream, Lawrence Harrison, though he is very pro-Mexico, argues that NAFTA was premature. In essence we endorsed the Mexican system of the day, he said, which was not yet democratic. We should have waited, on the European model, until we had brought Mexicans further along, or, if that's too paternalistic, until they had democratized themselves more. Do you think NAFTA was premature? [More]

Human Rights in China and the Soviet Union
 EA: Let's talk a bit about human rights, which has not diminished as a foreign-policy subject. In fact, President Clinton has just appointed an advisory panel on religious persecution. You spent a lot of time on that with the Soviet Union while you were secretary of state. There's a widely held view out there now that whatever we did with the Soviet Union seemed to work, but whatever we're doing with China doesn't seem to be working. Do you agree with those who are very pessimistic about human-rights improvements in China? [More]

Message to Israel
 EA: Let's move on to the Middle East. Late last year you refused to join in signing a letter from eight former secretaries of state and national security advisors to Prime Minister Netanyahu opposing his policy on settlements on the West Bank as an obstacle to peace. [More]

Trade Embargoes and Foreign Aid
 EA: I'd like to ask your opinion on the use of embargoes to pressure countries to change their ways. The most recent example is Haiti. The argument against the embargo was that there are a lot of starving people in Haiti, and the embargo seems to have done long-lasting damage to the nation's economy. [More]

A Victory for Freedom
 EA: Let's leap across to Europe again. Are you in favor of enlarging NATO now? If so, how far? [More]