Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. — RUTLAND — Distinguished veteran diplomat George Jaeger will look at America’s role in international affairs in a talk at Rutland Free Library on March 2 at 7 pm. His talk, “America’s Challenges in a New World Order,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public.
With increasing risk of conflict with China, deepening differences with Russia, weakness in Europe, and endless Mideast turmoil, America is no longer the unchallenged superpower of the post-Cold War years. Jaeger will consider our need to rethink our world role and national priorities.
Jaeger’s career spanned the Cold War and beyond. After early assignments in Liberia and Tito’s Yugoslavia he served in the US Mission in Berlin, negotiated the non-proliferation treaty in Bonn, and covered east-west relations in Paris. He was Political Counselor in Ottawa, American Consul General in Quebec during the independence crisis, and taught foreign affairs as Diplomat-in-Residence at Middlebury College.
Among Jaeger’s most challenging assignments were his three years as Staff Director of the President’s Advisory Commission on Arms Control and Disarmament, his stint as a senior negotiator of the Helsinki Final Act in Geneva, and his final tour as Deputy Assistant Secretary General of NATO and Chairman of the Alliance’s Political Committee under Lord Carrington in Brussels.
Since he retired, George has been an international consultant, supervised elections in postwar Bosnia and Kosovo, and has continued to teach and lecture frequently on foreign affairs.
The Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays series is held on the first Wednesday of every month from October through May in nine communities statewide, featuring speakers of national and regional renown. Talks in Rutland are held at Rutland Free Library unless otherwise noted. All First Wednesdays talks are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Rutland Free Library at 802-773-1860, or contact the Vermont Humanities Council at 802-262-2626.
