Religious Freedom: The Ultimate Counterterrorism Weapon?

Google Tech Talk
August 12, 2009

ABSTRACT

Presented by Chris Seiple.

While the U.S. can summon hard power with relative ease, employing soft power is more difficult. Indeed, smart power suggests that hard and soft power are two sides of the same coin, that our interests are protected when our values are promoted. If Americans want to engage the world with efficient and enduring effect, we must better understand the essence of American power and the foundation of the global public square: religious freedom.

The Institute for Global Engagement promotes sustainable environments for religious freedom worldwide. It studies the impact of faith on state and society, it encourages governments to protect religious freedom, and it equips citizens to exercise that freedom responsibly.

Chris Seiple, Ph.D., is the president of the Institute for Global Engagement. A graduate of Stanford, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Fletcher School for Law & Diplomacy, he is the founder of The Review of Faith & International Affairs , a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (Philadelphia), a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (New York), and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (London). His book, The U.S. Military/NGO Relationship in Humanitarian Interventions, is a seminal work in the field, and he is the co-author of International Religious Freedom Advocacy: A Guide to Organizations, Law, and NGOs. Seiple has appeared on BBC, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, and Saudi TV. He has spoken all over the world, including Tashkent, Doha, Peshawar, Bannu, Moscow, Vladikavkaz, Hanoi, Issakul, Urumchi, Oslo, Hama, and Beijing. A former Marine infantry officer, he also speaks regularly at U.S. military schools regarding national security and religious and cultural engagement.

See what people are saying about IGE and The Review of Faith & International Affairs.

Duration : 1:0:5


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23 Comments

semigotbannedSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

if the guy wanna …
if the guy wanna talk about foreign policy credibly, he probably should disassociate himself from CFR lol

generationalistSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

What I did not hear …
What I did not hear was how the non believer’s most minority voice will be respected and attended to. There was some lip service to the non believing minority in the same fashion that President Obama paid lip service to non believers in his election campaign. What I do not see is any real investment in a discussion of how to include the non believer in free and open exchange of ideas. Each of these faiths jewish, christian and muslim; hold irreconcilable views of justice towards non belief.

raininginhellSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

I really disagree …
I really disagree with Google hosting this video as part of the “techtalks” channel. Please take down this video google!

janne808September 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

you’re right. i …
you’re right. i shouldn’t insult the monkeys. sorry.

atenrokSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

please stop …
please stop insulting monkeys!

atenrokSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

you forgot the …
you forgot the investigation of JFK’s death

atenrokSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

title is misleading …
title is misleading. I barely was able to this sickness just waiting until he mentions something about a freedom of being religion-free.

The best slides start at 53.42

someman7September 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

As can any other …
As can any other ideology including yours. Your point?

stazzouSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

The IGE is a …
The IGE is a dangerous organisation. This CFR guy is a criminal. Freedom fighters, as their name says, are here for fighting freedom where there still is some.

Being free starts by understanding that all religions are tools that can be used to keep an already ignorant population even more scared, docile, ashamed and stupid.

Keynan0September 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

As long as there is …
As long as there is religion, whether it is ociated with superstition or not, there will never be peace.

supaflyjohnsonSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Muslims are …
Muslims are worthless scum.

DhonigkSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Elimnate Islam and …
Elimnate Islam and there will be religious freedom…

RuiFranciscoVieiraSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

this is just sick.. …
this is just sick…religion is part of the sickness of this world…

ZerqTMSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

if the women must …
if the women must wear burkas let the men wear them as well then!

let them be robed of there identity!
let them be objects as well!

ZerqTMSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

I dont trust anyone …
I dont trust anyone who belives in an invisible sky daddy.

as for 0:34:06
thats just sick!

burkas rob women of there identity reducing them to annonimous objects!

It comes from a culture which more or less sees a lone ungarded woman as fair game!

and thats what they think!

i am not calling muslims natural born rapists the muslims are!!

Only someone whos mind is warped by faith and the feeling of undeserved entitlement it brings can accept this kind of thing!

brange108September 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

any religious …
any religious belief is pathetic.

vendariancomplexSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Interesting.
Interesting.

Future5305September 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

no no, ultimate …
no no, ultimate counter-terrorism weapon would be POT. yes free weed for all, and i promise, all fighting would stop

supaflyjohnsonSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Christians are so …
Christians are so pathetic, it’s almost hilarious

janne808September 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

If christian …
If christian monkeybrains don’t want to be a target for extremist monkeybrains than they should stop being one. But monkeybrains have a hard time admitting to the reality of the situation.

yamaha893September 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

while the countries …
while the countries that have American bases in them probably dont really want them there, from what i can see they arent countries with terrorist issues. i dont see how removing bases from japan korea, australia or even iraq is going to reduce violence from extremists.
i also doubt that an apology is going to do much either, as nice a gesture as it might be.

PersianPaladinSeptember 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm

The ultimate …
The ultimate counter-terrorism weapon is monetary reform, the public independent investigation of 9/11 and of business-contracts with Saudi Arabia, Israel and Pakistan prior to 2001. This should then be followed by the United States and Britain apologising to both Iraq, Iran, Latin America, and many other countries which it has abused indirectly or directly. The US has 700 military bases around the world. Perhaps if they were gone, then so would the occasional terrorists that have struck.

Outtrigger | Game SkillOctober 26th, 2011 at 6:36 pm

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