Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the U.S.S.R., told an audience of more than 4,000 AU students Tuesday night that the United States must assist the international community while recognizing the dangers of creating an empire.
"Any repetition of the attempt to impose a political utopia on the world is unacceptable," he said. "And, I am referring here not only to the Communist utopia but also to the utopian idea of creating a perfect world order that would mean the end of history."
Translated from Russian, Gorbachev delivered his one-hour speech, sponsored by the Kennedy Political Union and Student Confederation, in Bender Arena.
The U.S was not prepared for the challenges the 9-11 attacks presented, he said, and its response is evidence of weak lines of communication between superpowers.
"We saw that states were not able to effectively counter the dangers of the non-state entities that threatened the life of our countries," he said. "And recently, we have also seen major difficulties in the dialogue and interaction among great powers and this was particularly obvious during the Iraqi crisis."
Gorbachev previously requested a copy of President John F. Kennedy's speech, given at AU on June 10, 1963, prior to his arrival, and referenced it frequently.
He said all the ideas regarding the arms race and the Cold War expressed by Kennedy are still relevant today.
To ensure peaceful and productive globalization, Gorbachev said the role of the United Nations must be strengthened, just as Kennedy advocated in his speech.
"Those words of President John F. Kennedy represent the agenda for us, the living, to continue what he started and to use all possibilities that we have and all institutions, international institutions and international law to achieve that objective," he said. "We have to use those mechanisms that help us unite efforts rather than divide us."
He criticized the U.S military action against Iraq, and said Russia, as well as other world powers, has been more diplomatic and cautious while the U.S. ignored calls for U.N. approval.
"Russia, together with Germany and France, criticized the military action in Iraq without the appropriate international legitimization of that action," he said. "This legitimacy could be provided only by the U.N. Security Council. But...there was no Security Council decision. And, therefore, the United States acted alone, together with Great Britain, ignoring calls for prudence, for caution and for international law."
Besides strengthening the U.N., Gorbachev said our key tasks are to restore dialogue and interaction among the world powers and strengthen international law.
Gorbachev received a polite standing ovation from the audience.
"I thought he was very openly reticent about Communism and I was surprised at how frank he was about challenging the notions of a system he had been working in for such a while," RHA President George Melissinos said.
Gorbachev actually made the initial contact just last week about speaking at AU, KPU Director Eric Morley said.
Gorbachev's AU speech was his only public appearance while in the D.C. area.
Student Confederation President Nick Terzulli said he was pleased with the turnout.
"I think it was phenomenal," he said. "There was a buzz around campus ... The entire weekend everybody was talking about this event."
The President's office and Student Activities were instrumental in ensuring that Gorbachev's visit went smoothly, Terzulli said.
"They were able to take a lot of the load off of the KPU staff with the minor things," he said.
The KPU, in its 35th year, presents an award-winning series of speakers each academic year by bringing some of the most prominent figures in national and international public life to campus.
