national security adviser, general scowcroft, was somewhere in the middle and his deputy gates was a little closer to cheney in the discussion, leaving the president as the balance of power. there is no way this system could have worked if president bush was a cipher. it's very important to understand as you read these oral histories that this system had to have a strong executive for it to function. it is essential to understand this administration. without a central executive this administration would have been at sixes and sevens. the system worked because once president bush made the decision, it was loyally followed. until he made the decision, george bush enjoyed a bubble of secrecy, two things that are again quite rare in contemporary washington. three, you can see bush statecraft in the management of key turning points over a period of 1989 to 1991. i think bob will talk about panama, but i would like to talk about german reunification and lithuania. president bush had a better feel for the balancing act required to manage gorbachev, a collapsing soviet empire and internation

general scowcroft in his oral history is absolutely terribly honest, wonderfully candid about how he had to be convinced that reunifying germany and putting it in nato was a good thing as an objective and a good thing for the united states to seek. america's german ally helmet cole wanted this and was moving to his own drummer. margaret thatcher counseled caution. of course, gorbachev didn't want it. so what the president decided was to run the table. we'll get back to that in a moment. that's what philly means about a revolutionary set of objectives. to seek a reunified germany in nato was to run the international table. with regard to lithuania, president bush was ready to take the hit for what was called a second munich, to give gorbachev the breathing room to manage his lithuanian crisis, so the big prize of getting a united germany remained viable and in play. during the march 1990 crisis which has been forgotten, because we forget about things that don't blow up, bush decided he would manage revolution in the baltics differently from revolution in eastern europe. washington mut

general brent scowcroft, who has been such a strong leader of this atlantic council said himself thats is the way of future. and i could not agree more. for events in modern memory have been more inspiring -- fewer events in modern memory have been more inspiring or more challenging than the arab spring. from the outset of this transition, transformations, i called, the united nations have called all leaders to listen to their people, carefully, sincerely, what they are challenges, what their concerns are, what their aspirations are. and to enter into an inclusive dialogue with them, to act before it was too late. now, we must help these nations in transition. that is one of my priorities. in tunisia, egypt, libya, and elsewhere. we are working for solutions that focus on people. building democratic institutions, helping to promote human rights, creating jobs and economies, economic opportunities, especially for women and young people. the challenge in syria is especially difficult. the government continues to these people. every day unfortunately we see the most appalling images, tro

general brent scowcroft, who has been such a strong leader of the atlantic council, said himself thathis is the way of future, and i couldn't agree more. few events in modern memory have been more inspiring or more challenging than the arab spring. from the outset, i called -- the united nations have called on theirs to listen to people. to enter into an inclusive dialogue with them. for some, it was too late. now we must have these nations. that is one of my priorities. in tunisia, egypt, libya and israel, we are walking for -- working for solutions that focus on people. building democratic institutions, helping to promote human rights, creating jobs and economies, economic opportunities, especially for women and young people. the challenge in syria is especially difficult. the government continues to assault its people everyday. unfortunately, we see the most appalling images, firing in city centers, innocent civilians are dying, even children. security forces are arresting and torturing people with great to brutality. meanwhile, attacks by the opposition have escalated. as of today

scowcroft center. that's one thing brent's known for, mentoring the next generation.this is all part of the council's goal of building networks in the next generation from around the world to insure the nature of the transatlantic alliance and its global friends. and, prince harry, you have inspired us by your prince william and harry foundation, and we will also expand our work on veteran affairs as well because that is a national security issue. finally n your gift bag you'll find one of the council's flagship reports just released, "the task ahead," which features memos from some of the most illustrious names in foreign policy, many here tonight. hats off to bruce mosler and harlan allman, senior adviser. this is just a taste of the extraordinary accomplishments over the last year, and none of it would be possible without your support and the involvement of our board members, international advisory members and individual members. thank you very much. [applause] >> let's turn, now, to the 2012 leadership awards. the first presentation this evening is for distinguish

our witnesses from the reserve include the people of the army reserve, general scowcroft, the chief of reserve, admiral devorin, the commander of the marine corps reserve, daniel harmer, and the chief of the air force reserve. i would like to thank all of you for joining us today. as the committee reviews 2013 budgets for the reserve components. this year's budget proposal has significant changes for the air national guard, reducing street by 5100 billets and aircraft inventory by one of the 34 aircraft. this proposal has come under intense scrutiny from the members of congress, the council of governors, and many of generals. we would like to hear from you on how involved you were in the process that preceded the force structure announcement and what and put you were asked to give. in addition, over the last several years, the guard and reserve have made important changes as they have changed from a strategic to an operational reserve. this shift required to have deployment ready units available at all time. the department will need to figure out how to best utilize this new operationa

general brent scowcroft, who has been such a strong leader of the atlantic council said himself thatf future, and i couldn't agree more. for events in modern memory have been more inspiring, if you events in modern memory have been more inspiring or more challenging than the arab spring. from the outset of this transition, transformation, i called the united nations have called on leaders to listen to their people, carefully insincerely, what they are telling us, what their aspirations are. and to enter into an inclusive dialogue with them, to act before it was too late. now we must have these nations in transition. that is one of my priorities. in tunisia, egypt, libya and israel, we are walking for solutions that focus on people. building democratic institutions, helping to promote human rights, creating jobs and economies, economic opportunities, especially for women and young people. the challenge in syria is especially difficult. the government continues to assault its people everyday. unfortunately, we see the most appalling images, firing in city centers, innocent civilians ar