Secretary of state receives honorary Air University degree

  • Published
  • By Christine Harrison
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFPN) --  Air University officials presented an honorary doctor of letters degree upon Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her academic achievements and contributions to international relations and national security April 14 here.

Lt. Gen. Stephen R. Lorenz, the Air University commander, gave Secretary Rice the degree before the university's board of visitors, commanders, faculty and students.

Known as the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force, Air University and its eight colleges and schools provide the full spectrum of Air Force education to include national security and international relations course curricula. The university's International Officer School also supports professional military education of international officers and enhances their understanding of the United States.

As a leader on the "forefront of aeronautical education," Secretary Rice said she values the mission of Air University and is grateful for the school's efforts to adapt its curricula to today's combat environment.

"Much attention is paid to what is happening on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq. But, we can never forget that our gains on the ground are possible because of our superiority in the sky," the Birmingham, Ala., native said while speaking to future airpower leaders from schools such as Air Command and Staff College, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies and Air War College.

"With our Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, many of you -- both active duty and Reserve -- have deployed to the Afghanistan theater often for multiple tours; and we are winning in Afghanistan because of you," she said. 

Movements toward democracy in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq were the focus of her remarks, as she pointed to the regions as strategic opportunities for the United States.

"The path toward democracy is never a straight line," she said. "It is a mission of necessity, not of choice."

The lack of historical democratic rule in these countries leads her to view "our work not as reconstruction, but as construction." She noted events such as the February elections in Afghanistan as progress.

Secretary Rice witnessed German reunification and the final days of the Soviet Union as the senior director of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, and she paralleled today's stability in that region to her expectations of the Middle East in the future.

"I think of those who set up that success, who in 1945, 1946 and 1947 built a firm foundation for democracy," she said. "The people who ... stayed true to their values and principles -- that is what provided a platform for success."

It is this spirit Americans must have in today's conflict, she said. "It is the power of principles that makes the impossible seem inevitable."

The key to combating an insurgency is "not just to fight and defeat it," she said. "We must address the conditions that foster terrorism." One of those conditions is the absence of democracy.

Secretary Rice said combat commanders -- many of whom attended Air University courses -- and their efforts through foreign assistance are some of the United States' strongest tools in international relations.

"The compassion of America is great," she said. "It is with that compassion -- coupled with power, coupled with principles -- that we are changing the face of the world."

Secretary Rice's focus on international relations and national security, along with a strong academic core, is analogous with Air University's character, General Lorenz said.

Air University is a major component of Air Education and Training Command. The university's professional military education programs educate Airmen on the capabilities of air and space power and its role in national security. These programs focus on the knowledge and abilities needed to develop, employ, command, and support air and space power at the highest levels. Air University officials also provide citizenship programs and contributes to the development and testing of Air Force doctrine, concepts and strategy.

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