Encomiums

“Mutual understanding and respect among nations help promote peace, tolerance, and prosperity around the world. Since 1974, your organization has helped advance American foreign policy and resolve conflicts that threaten our national security.… I appreciate members of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy for your commitment to furthering human rights, strengthening our global economy, and extending freedom and democracy to people everywhere.”
President George W. Bush

“The National Committee’s 1994 Conference on Northern Ireland…helped to set the stage for an historic period of U.S. engagement in promoting peace in Northern Ireland. By reaching out to key Irish and British political leaders, you contributed to IRA and loyalist cease-fires. We are grateful for your abiding commitment to the cause of peace and for your extraordinary contributions in advancing that goal.”
President Bill Clinton

“On behalf of…Secretary [of State Condoleezza] Rice thanks for forwarding the report on the [January 2005] visit to Beijing and Taiwan by members of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy…The Perspectives reviewed in your report were very helpful and have been studied carefully by the Department. I appreciate you sharing your observations and welcome other reports from the Committee on foreign policy topics of interest.”
Joseph Donovan
Director, Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs
U.S. Department of State

“I commend you for the thoughtfulness and sophistication of the analysis that you generated at the Committee’s Roundtable. Your report makes a valuable and timely contribution, particularly given the recent visit of Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen. The NCAFP continues to be held in high esteem in the international affairs community. We look forward to your continuing efforts to illuminate these difficult and important issues.”
The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Former U.S. Secretary of State

“I just wanted to thank you for your summary of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy’s trip to Beijing and Taipei this past January [2005]. This is a perfect example of what ‘open source intelligence’ can provide, and I have disseminated your findings through appropriate channels. The cross-strait situation will continue to remain on the forefront of our consciousness for the foreseeable future. Your work on this subject couldn’t be more timely – thank you so much for bringing it to my attention.”
The Honorable John D. Negroponte
Director of National Intelligence

“I received the recent NCAFP reports on various Asian issues. Thank you for sharing them. [The Forum on Asia-Pacific Security] and the Committee continue to be at the cutting edge on key policy issues.”
Lieutenant General Karl W. Eikenberry
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan

“The persistent, well-informed efforts by you and your highly qualified group have built trust in all three capitals [Washington, Beijing, Taipei]. The access and insights that you develop as a result are invaluable as we all pursue peace in the Taiwan Strait.”
James F. Moriarty
Former Special Assistant to the President
Senior Advisor on Asian Affairs, National Security Council

“Let me express once more my admiration for the way the Committee has pursued its chartered task and for the success it has had in that effort.”
The Honorable George F. Kennan
Former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union

“I have been associated with this Committee because Hans Morgenthau was a friend of mine and because of the tremendous work they’re doing.”
Dr. Henry A. Kissinger
Former U.S. Secretary of State

“The rationale and agenda for the NCAFP’s Forum on Asia-Pacific Security are solidly assured for years to come. No organization is better equipped to carry on this assignment. One can point not only to its experience and contacts accumulated over a decade but to its record of proved results. Like some other successful track II operations, the NCAFP projects have spurred candid, unofficial dialogue, floated trial balloons, suggested new avenues, and improved lines of communication. They have also provided an umbrella for informal side conversations and developing personal bonds for participating government officials.

In fact, this is to understate the NCAFP’s achievements substantially. NCAFP dialogues have produced concrete results in national policies. These range from helping to restart negotiations to providing ideas in major speeches to promoting shifts in diplomatic postures.

We might better describe the projects as track 1.5 rather than track II, that is, as semi- governmental rather than strictly academic. The participants have included current, past, and future policy officials from the countries involved. While acting informally and unofficially, they have probed their counterparts and reported to their superiors and factored conclusions into their national approaches. The NCAFP, in turn, has been meticulous in staying independent of the U.S. government while securing its unofficial attendance and keeping it fully posted.

At a time when events in the Middle East and elsewhere absorb so much of our governmental, academic, and public attention, this forum is a particularly valuable asset. America must devote sufficient focus and resources to what will be the world’s most important region in this century. This is what the Northeast Asia Projects should continue to do, with policy relevance and impact.”
The Honorable Winston Lord
Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Former U.S. Ambassador to China

“I am delighted to hear that the outstanding work of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy goes on unabated, analyzing and developing your country’s role in international affairs.”
The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Margaret Thatcher, L.G., O.M., F.R.S.

“We always look forward to receiving your publications. The NCAFP Forum on Northeast Asian Security’s publications and reports are highly regarded by [the government of] Taiwan.”
His Excellency Ma Ying-jeou
President of Taiwan (ROC)

“I want to thank you again for inviting me to attend the conference earlier this week [August 2004] on North Korea sponsored by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. This conference was the rare exception to my experience with so many Track II conferences—the issues were timely, the participants well-informed and representative of all the parties, and the presentations and discussions first-rate.”
Mitchell B. Reiss
Director, Policy Planning Staff
U.S. Department of State

“The National Committee on American Foreign Policy’s program is the best track II effort that exists in contributing to the stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
President Chen Shui-bian
Taiwan (Republic of China)

“The National Committee on American Foreign Policy is very renowned in Chinese diplomatic circles. It does useful work in promoting U.S.-China relations. The Chinese side attaches great importance to your visits.”
His Excellency Tang Jiaxuan
State Councilor, People’s Republic of China

“Thanks to the NCAFP for providing an institutional home for the ideas and ideals of the realist tradition.”
The Honorable James A. Baker III
Former Secretary of State

“I read your summary of the NCAFP’s most recent North Korean Track II dialogue with great interest. Your insights and the work of the NCAFP are invaluable and will shape my actions at PACOM. I look forward to our future discussions.”
Admiral Robert Willard
Commander, U.S. Pacific Command

“It is not every day I praise another foreign affairs organization. But I want to do just that…After thirty years, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy is going strong. This is a very good thing for all of us. The National Committee stands out as an oasis of non-partisanship and serious thought about this country’s purpose in the world.”
The Honorable Richard N. Haass
President of the Council on Foreign Relations

“The NCAFP’s role in fostering peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland is exemplary. It has provided a forum where representatives of the communities can express their points of view and know that they will be heard by an audience willing to share its experience in foreign policy and to offer constructive advice.”
Noel Fahey
Ambassador of Ireland to the United States

“Thank you for sharing the report on the National Committee’s roundtable on the UN Human Rights Council, and a copy of Ambassador Frank Wisner’s address to the Committee on his experience as the US Special Representative to the Kosovo Final Status Talks. Both documents are testament to the valuable contribution the National Committee makes to the foreign policy debate in this country.”
Sir Nigel Sheinwald KCMG
Ambassador of Britain to the United States

“The United States appreciates the work of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and I am pleased that our ties of friendship and cooperation continue.”
The Honorable Susan Rice
Representative of the United States to the United Nations

“Through its discussions, publications, and direct involvement in crises from Northern Ireland, to China, to North Korea, and the Middle East, the National Committee has made an important contribution to ensuring America’s national interests are advanced from a nonpartisan perspective within the framework of Morgenthau’s political realism.”
The Honorable Nancy Soderberg
Vice President, International Crisis Group
Former Ambassador to the United Nations

“The invitation to me from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy duly arrived. It created a major political storm…. Two days before the conference, President Clinton authorized a 48 hour visa that restricted me to the New York area. The backlash from the British government and system was hysterical. The Daily Telegraph summed it up by describing it as ‘the worst rift since Suez’….

[There] can be no doubt that the granting of the visa was a major shift in U.S. foreign policy and it marked a defining moment in the development of the Irish peace process.”
Gerry Adams
President, Sinn Féin

“American Foreign Policy Interests is an effective journal in the field of foreign affairs—and little is more vital for the enigmatic future than clearheaded discussions of America’s role in the world.”
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Dean of American Historians

“Since 1974, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy has provided a high standard of analysis and perspective regarding many areas where conflict resolution is critical. From experts in diplomacy to members of academia, the Committee represents some of the most perceptive minds and point[s] of view that have added an important component to sensitive global debates.”
Governor George E. Pataki

“I believe that the NCAFP has performed a very valuable service on the work in cross-strait relations which you ably coordinate. I read carefully all of the trip and roundtable reports…. I find that they provide valuable insights on views in the Mainland and on Taiwan and on possibilities for renewing dialogue between the two sides. Participants from both Taiwan and the Mainland have told me that your roundtable meetings provide them with unique opportunities to interact and informally exchange views. In the absence of any official channel between the two sides, this opportunity for Track Two contact is especially important.”
Raymond F. Burghardt
Former Director, American Institute in Taiwan

“Taiwan is a key and difficult issue in U.S. diplomacy with the PRC, an issue to which I have been devoting considerable attention. I have therefore found especially helpful the opportunities to meet with various NCAFP delegations over the past year…. The NCAFP has produced a series of helpful reports on its cross-strait program, including a recent interim report, ‘Cross-Strait Relations: Breaking the Impasse,’ which has many useful insights. Your inputs and insights are about the most balanced and useful that we see.”
The Honorable Joseph W. Prueher
Former U.S. Ambassador to China

“Since its establishment in 1974, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy has demonstrated a commitment to promoting human rights, supporting our allies, and advancing the interests of the United States.”
Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor of New York City

“I cannot sufficiently emphasize the importance of this and similar sessions hosted [on North Korea] by the NCAFP in the past.”
Keith Luse
Senior Professional Staff Member
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee

“The NCAFP program is the best Track II effort that exists in contributing to stability in the Taiwan Strait and I hope it will continue in the future. I specifically recall the April 2000 visit of an NCAFP group when I was president-elect, and one month after that visit when I gave my inaugural address, I put forward views on the Cross-Strait situation that were influenced by your visit. I also recall the wonderful discussion I had with the NCAFP and other groups during a transit stop to the United States in May 2001. Finally let me say that the timing of the latest visit (April 2002) is very important, especially since it has come after the December 2001 elections in Taiwan in which the DPP emerged as the largest party in the legislature and it coincides with the visit to the United States of PRC Vice-President Hu Jintao.”
President Chen Shui-bian
Taiwan (Republic of China)

“During four decades of service in and out of government, including as President of the Council on Foreign Relations, I have shaped, steered, and taken part in countless conferences, roundtables, and study groups. The NCAFP roundtable is one of a handful of the very best.”
The Honorable Winston Lord
Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Former U.S. Ambassador to China

“Your insightful book [Breaking the China-Taiwan Impasse] provides an in-depth analysis of the multi-aspects of cross-strait relations and opens up many avenues for further thought and reflection. . . . We are particularly grateful to your esteemed institution for its invaluable contribution to the stability and security of the Asia Pacific region through study and research of issues related to cross-strait relations.”
Chiou I-Jen
Secretary General, Republic of China

“Many thanks for sharing the excellent report on your [January 2005] trip [to Beijing and Taipei]. You and the NCAFP have done a valuable service in giving the reader a sense of where the two sides seem to be in an ever changing context, as well as your Analysis of their positions and what might happen. Yesterday’s [February 23, 2005] joint Chen Soong declaration out of Taipei did not come as a complete surprise for those who read the report.”
Peter F. Geithner
Adviser, Asia Center, Harvard University

“I want to thank you very much for giving me a copy of Breaking the China-Taiwan Impasse. . . . it is easily the best book of its kind that I have encountered lately. You have collected all of the people whose views are interesting and relevant and have added a valuable set of appendices for students and scholars. Please let me congratulate you not only on the book but for pulling together the useful conferences that preceded its publication.”
Dr. George R. Packard
President, U.S.-Japan Foundation

“Thank you for sending along Donald Zagoria’s good work on Cross-Strait Relations. Thank you even more for sponsoring it. In its effort to identify consensus within the United States and its stress on the need for nonmilitary methods of stabilizing and improving the situation, it is a very helpful contribution. I benefited from reading it.”
The Honorable Richard Danzig
Former Secretary of the Navy

“The NCAFP Roundtable continues to serve a very important function in the complicated Cross-Strait issue. Thursday’s meeting was a good example. First of all, this program has a significant stature that you were able to get Ma Ying-jeou to come 11,000 miles for lunch. Also, I was impressed by the quality of the discussion among the Americans throughout the day…. More generally, I think the Roundtable will continue to be a useful resource as we move into a new situation, with a new Administration in Washington, new politics in Taipei, and succession looming in Beijing… I know that the Chen government and other forces on Taiwan respect your efforts… The NCAFP can help encourage a more nuanced PRC understanding of Taiwan’s intentions which, I believe, remains an essential ingredient of any future forward movement… Thank you again for including me in recent meetings. I have benefited greatly and preparing my own contributions has helped sharpen my thinking on these complex issues.”
Richard C. Bush
Former Managing Director, American Institute in Taiwan

“[Breaking the China-Taiwan Impasse], the contributions of American, Taiwanese, and Chinese foreign-policy experts to a series of roundtables sponsored by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, provides broad perspectives and substantive Details on the difficult triangular relationship. . . . [T]he contributors demonstrate that civility is possible even in debates that arouse intense nationalistic passions.”
Lucian W. Pye
Foreign Affairs Review, March/April 2004