US Ambassador Visits Charles University ****************************************************************************************** * US Ambassador Visits Charles University ****************************************************************************************** Room number J1034, the biggest lecture room in Jinonice, is one I have never entered befor with the US ambassador Mr. Andrew H. Schapiro but it was full by the time he and his bodyg followed by a little train of politics club members who had set up the event. Upon seeing the US ambassador I thought ‘he could pass for Czech’ until he started talking Chicago accent. He explained he had a very special connection to the Czech people and thei his mother’s family lived here and he had brought his grandmother’s report card from Charl to show us all. It was easy to see how much this country means to him, and how much of a b considered it to take on the role of ambassador. Mr. Scharpiro began with a speech covering his activity in the relatively short time he ha position (6 ? months) including travelling around the country to meet military groups, bus non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In terms of security he met the Czech general who i charge of the NATO operation ‘Allied Spirit II’ (which, he said in response to a later que military drill for multiple NATO states aimed to test the use of specialist equipment). He both Czech and US brigades whom he praised for their co-operative attitudes and bravery. He also spoke, cautiously at first, about what the Czech position means for the recent pro and actions of ‘Putin and the Kremlin’ (he refused to refer to this as ‘Russia’ avoiding s statement) considering the ‘illegal annexation of Crimea [as] a test’ of European and Nort and in spite of his optimism and gentile form he was clearly capable of also being bold in I suspect in difficult diplomatic relations he would not only be likeable  – he has a stee Both of these qualities were not much needed with the crowd of students however and what s intelligence as he stated ‘war arises from not understanding each other.’ He then moved on to talk about the economic side of his job, highlighting the success of c alongside universities in both Europe and America. To my ears this was a fresh innovation interested by it but given this is Charles University half the audience were probably sigh ‘finally someone gets it.’ Finally Mr. Scharpiro spoke of the shared values of the Czechs and Americans. He was witty here he got the big laughs and perhaps revealed why he had been chosen; he not only unders what it is to be the voice of the USA but he also understands and loves what it is to be a the similarities lie in 2 seemingly different societies and nations. Whilst I was surprise refer to the Czechs as ‘one of the most tolerant open and inclusive societies not just in world’ I felt that he meant it and wished to see this tolerance reach his own country more to raise the danger of islamophobia – which he rightly identified as a fallacy and one tha Europe in these difficult times, but conversely he showed through speaking of meeting Czec even strong tensions and age old divisions can be overcome through tolerance and affirmati It is common practice for a speaker to, at some point in their talk, claim that the next t is the most important, that ‘if you hear nothing else hear this’ and for the ambassador it Czech Republic has ‘graduated’ from being solely a receiver of protection within NATO to b protectors (and within this it has graduated the term ‘post-communist country’). After the talk, time came for questions and even though the students liked him they were n off the hook!  Questions from my colleagues clearly challenged the ambassador but he did n surprised or stumped by any of them and answered each one carefully: first was a question in the Ukraine, are they preparing an offensive? The ambassador was truthful – he didn’t k that Putin and the Kremlin were testing (as he had said earlier). The second question was regarding energy trade: would the USA help Europe become energy in and what role would liquefied natural gas play? The answer here was a practical one, the i required to make European ports ready to receive and reconstitute liquefied gas would not investment but generally energy independence was a foreseeable possibility. Of course to E American position on renewable energies seems backwards and the ambassador was sceptical o of solar power. After this I attempted my own question, hoping to reveal the ambassador’s ideological view International Relations (IR). He had earlier praised the rise in defence spending in the C said it would be necessary to combat ISIL and similar threats head on but is more always b spending? Coming from a state where the spending is far more he felt that more than 2% of (as is the minimum target for NATO allied states) is fair but he explained that his view a had to be that of his country and priorities likewise. I suppose I got my answer in that w ambassador’s view on how to be a good delegate is to wholeheartedly take on board the view as one’s own. Later he elaborated on his experience as an ambassador as making him more pa and optimistic than before and he saw the world of IR was not the gilded halls of aristocr and peace like games but rather groups of people all attempting to keep their countries sa mutual benefit and prosperity. His views on what IR should be are bound by having to uphol of his country, regardless of how that aligns to his personal preferences but his views on extremely positive and give those of us who study it (or at least me) hope and optimism to The next question led to an enlightening point about ‘hybrid warfare’ (external support of conflict as is happening in the Baltic States and the Ukraine) which the ambassador claime considered as a violation of NATO Article 5. Simply put: hybrid warfare is an attack on a attack on one is an attack on all. The final question was regarding drone strikes, an example of the audience’s priorities wa feel the way everyone started making mental connections to the internet posts and memes re the questioner asked about the ‘many thousands killed in collateral.’ This is, of course, brought on by the exaggeration the internet can give to a news piece and the ambassador co questioner on this but then also went on to explain that the US condones drone usage as we knowing the enemy cannot be safe. That was the end of the talk; the politics society gave Mr. Scharpiro a tee-shirt, badge a other gifts and he went among the crowd that chose to stay behind, talking to the other pe more questions until his guard told us he had other appointments and had to go. ‘I should hands with these people,’ the ambassador said and as he passed me he shook my hand. ‘Thank you for your question, are you a journalist?’ ‘Yes, for the student newspaper – actually, you’re my first article.’ ‘Oh wonderful, and you’re British?’ he said as he continued to be escorted towards the exi ‘Yes - don’t worry, I’ll give you a good write up,’ I called after him as he left. And I hope I did, he is warm and kind which may not at first seem to be important or neces for a diplomat but certainly are for a man representing a country; his optimism is encoura one am confident that he can play his role in the world well.