Retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni, the former head of U.S. Central Command, addressed what he said was a need for change in American policy toward developing countries in the post-Cold War era during a speech in Gaston Hall yesterday evening.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the “world changed and we didn’t get the change,” Zinni said, in reference to U.S. and Western policies which deal with Third World problems only “from crisis to crisis.”

Zinni called for reform in the coordination and organizational aspects of government agencies and procedures. When potential crises are not dealt with prior to reaching critical levels, “the unstable part of the world . brings the problems of instability right to our doorstep,” he said.

Zinni was the recipient of a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and the Navy Commendation Medal, among other awards, during his military service. He served as the lead U.S. lead envoy to the iddle East under President Bill Clinton (SFS ’68) and has since taught at the Virginia Military Institute and the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently president of the Center for Middle Eastern Development at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Zinni likened the end of the Cold War to “picking up the rocks and watching all the snakes come out that they held down.” Vast improvements in communication and transportation technologies gave root to an “explosion in conflicts” in Africa, the Balkans and Asia, he said.

It would be socially and economically prudent for the United States to invest money, time and manpower in regions with potential crises before their problems begin to breed extremism, mass migration and industrial pollution, Zinni said.

Due to a lack of insight and coordination between government agencies, the Bush. administration has failed to identify areas of instability before these areas erupt into voids marked by poverty and civil strife, he added.

“We face catastrophic events in our cities . because of our inability to reach down and help the unstable part of the world,” Zinni said.

Zinni cited the creation of two separate committees to examine the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as an example of the inefficiency and the lack of coordination in the administration. The U.S. government is unable to mobilize effectively against crises preemptively because it still “lives in the old world” of bureaucracy and the spoils system, he said.

The Third World is willing and able to fix its own problems if and when First World countries provide those areas with the capability to do so, Zinni said. There has been a 96 to 98 percent success rate for converting guerillas to civilians in Third World areas where the means to survive economically and educationally have been readily provided by First World countries, he added.

Zinni also questioned why only military forces were well prepared to engage in Iraq, while rebuilding and humanitarian teams still operate with little coordination. Such archaic systems are “not responsive in this day in age,” he said.

Osama Bin Laden is one leader who understands that world affairs today are “a battle for the next generation,” Zinni said. The United States needs to refocus its efforts on helping the next generation of leadership under the same principle, he added.

The event was presented by the Georgetown Lecture Fund and the Semper Fi Society.