BRIEF: Former ambassador speaks at U.

During his half-hour address at the Ben Franklin Room of Houston Hall, Strausz-Hupe drew several parallels between present day politics in that region and the political atmosphere in wars earlier this century. Recalling the policy of appeasement shown towards Hitler when he first started invading Eastern European countries, Strauzs-Hupe criticized the Bush administration for not acting more decisively when Iraq invaded Kuwait last August. "We are the biggest and most powerful country in the world," said Strauzs-Hupe. "The world looks to us to maintain peace." Strauzs-Hupe also compared the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire to the disintegration of Austria-Hungary around the turn of the century, which he said was a precursor to World War I. He added that the countries that once formed the Ottoman Empire lack unifying characteristics and values and "will never live in peace with each other." Students said that the half-hour speech, while short, was interesting and informative. "He gave a rather Kissinger line in terms of us being the policemen of the world, but there's a lot of credibility in that," said College senior Dave Whitten. The speech was sponsored by Connaissance as part of its Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series -- which last month brought NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell and Hooters bandmembers Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman to the University. -- Laura Santini

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