John D. Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a long-time veteran of foreign service, spoke yesterday to a filled Huntsman Hall Auditorium.
Before Negroponte began his lecture, University President Judith Rodin requested that his remarks be off the record.
The speech, which was the Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics' Rena and Angelius Anspach Lecture, came on the same day that it was widely reported that Negroponte would likely be President George W. Bush's choice for ambassador to Iraq once sovereignty is transferred to an Iraqi government.
Negroponte spoke little on the situation in Iraq, however, prompting College exchange student Jean-Noel Bonnieu to say, "I was disappointed that he didn't talk about Iraq. I thought his speech was too general."
Fellow College exchange student Lucien Figuie added, "Too bad he didn't talk a lot about Iraq. The speech wasn't that good, because it looked really prepared, and he was just reading."
Figuie was much more impressed by the question-and-answer session that followed the speech, saying that "it was really good."
College freshman Mandeep Kalra said that Negroponte's speech "wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything groundbreaking." Kalra agreed with Figuie, however, that Negroponte "was much better in his question-and-answer session when he was more willing to go into the issues."
More enthusiastic about Negroponte's oration was College exchange student Florian Theus, who said, "I think he outlined very well the foreign policy of the United States."
Theus was not impressed with that foreign policy, however, saying that his impression from the lecture was that the United States is only interested in working with the United Nations when it serves its own interests.
Before his appointment as ambassador to the United Nations, which occurred exactly one week after the Sept. 11 attacks, Negroponte served in eight different foreign service posts in Asia, Europe and Latin America, as well as in the State Department and the White House.
Most notable are his stints as ambassador to Honduras, assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environment and scientific affairs, deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs, ambassador to Mexico and ambassador to the Philippines.
In what will likely be his next post as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Negroponte will head up what would be the United States' largest embassy, as it is expected to consist of over 3,000 people.
As security will be a chief concern for Negroponte if he does indeed become ambassador to Iraq, so it seemed to be for the organizers of yesterday's lecture. Backpacks and large bags were not allowed in the auditorium, and audience members had to present their PennCards in order to gain entrance.
