Then go we're back three o'clock Rock with Clarissa Marquardt on bikes at Pacific Guardians She is with Pacific Guardian the two towers there one of my favorite buildings in downtown Welcome to the show Clarissa. Thank you. Great to have you here. Yeah You know, I just want to just want to say that I care about bikes a lot And this is about downtown's unique bike repair station at Pacific Guardian I think that public spaces are very important and I personally was sensitized to that issue when I was watching I guess it was educational television and I saw a talk by a guy named Michael Kimmelman Who is the New York Times? Architectural reporter and he was giving a talk at Yale And he was talking about public spaces and I realized from that talk that Honolulu, you know, although it has many redeeming features It's it has not done a very good job at public spaces a public space is a space That's comfortable and warm that that draws you in sort of like you see in Europe all the time And a public space is a place where you you know, you feel at home that makes you want to be where you are Usually involves food And so forth and you guys a Pacific Guardian you're thinking those thoughts you're thinking that's important What what is your thinking? Well, I think generally speaking we take responsibility We want to engage our environment and that includes the public spaces that you're talking about whether it's on the street side the curbs We've even there's a strip of median strip on Nimitz Highway that we've taken I want to take control of but we take in Ownership of and we it doesn't belong to us. It's a city and county We actually took out all the weeds put a new grass and we water it and use it that sort So it's it's really about just engaging and being a part of what we have what we're blessed with The courtyard is also another place to your big building. It's a big building You're building involves hundreds of millions of dollars of capital investment. Yes Why do you do such things? Does it does it return a profit for you to do that? I wouldn't say it returns a profit, but there is intrinsic value, right? People are happier when they see greener spaces people are happier when they see a tropical atmosphere in our courtyard It keeps our tenants happy. It keeps our passerby's happy. It's a give back I guess that's kind of how we see it our ownership is very very serious about being able to give back I love that we all love that fortunate good citizenship is what it is. We want everybody to think that way So we focus today on bikes Why bikes and why did you do this special bike bike station in front of Grover? Excuse me? That's how I remember it to and But I think it's the brainchild of our asset manager Brian Brian more and he was traveling And he's a shout-out to Brian Brian. Hi. Hey, Brian. This is great Yes, and so he was traveling and he came across the station of this sort and he thought that would be a wonderful add to what we wanted to accomplish we have bike racks I guess you know for the public but more importantly we knew that We're gonna have the city is very serious about adding back bike lanes in our neighborhood And so we know downtown for instance. We knew a lot of our tenants were into Conservation energy conservation sustainability and they wanted alternative Transportation modes and so a lot of them were asking about what about bike lockers? What about bike facilities things of that sort? So we haven't turned it up here I guess and so as Brian saw this he's like how about let's put a space a station because if we have more bikers They'll need a place to work and let's create something. That's artistic and still you know functional So that's what this bike repair station is. Yeah, it's a great. It's a station and it what it says is that we care about the city We care about transportation in the city. We care about our tenants, which is a great statement to tenants It's a as you said one of our most important statements Yeah, and and and we are part of a larger system of things that encourage people to ride bikes Yes, you know Hawaii could reel and Honolulu could realize its destiny if it could turn into a bike city Right, there's the bike share program. We've we've actually hosted some of their Activities over the years, you know those who are have bike share like ideas We know we embrace it In many ways, we're supportive. We want to understand how it's going to impact us and how we can help So let's talk about what it is. We have a slide show. Can we do a slide show with you? Sir, all right Clarissa Markwart a slide show the meeting place go for it So this is what we talked a little bit about the green space and how do we? Engage our tenants and have a place for them to just really commune. That's what PGC does We have eateries we have a cafe Honolulu cafe and what we want to do is Provide a place where teams are tenants can actually come down and meet, you know instead of being upstairs They have beautiful views, but yet they want to be in the greenery So that's one of the reasons why we say that PGC is part of this meeting place arena. Yeah, I Think that's important to doing business actually It's key. We have Wi-Fi there, you know in the courtyard in the courtyard And so you're absolutely right you'll have a lot of Independent freelancers come through and they'll be in our courtyard and they'll they're waiting for their next appointment with our tenants Yeah, and they're engaging in business. They're being continuous, you know in there I think you know if you if you meet in an office if you have a meeting that is an important meeting You know a substantive meeting in the office It blurs into all the other meetings in the office, and you you know in your recollection of it You just see a lot of office walls, but if you meet out outside That that tapestry at Tableau is different than any other meeting because now you're remembering the greenery You remember the table you sat at the aroma and aroma There's a lot of food. Yes, so true and there's brainstorming brainstorming definitely happens more Actively I think in that environment. You know we also have I you know the one encourages, but we do have pubs too So that also you know encourages creativity and relaxation in their thought process. So We we love that we actually have on Fridays We have music so people can come down and they go there maybe some video of the music, you know Yes, lunchtime. We have music every Fridays. We have popcorn. We have a lot of different things that Encourage people to come down. You know it reminds me of of a city in France And well most cities in France you have a central square which you have yes And you have restaurants around the side. Maybe ice cream Oh, maybe the sandwich whatever and you can come and enjoy and there's always music, you know And this is a European concept, yeah, right? so the question though is and we had a show about this one time is Could we have a glass of wine there? We have events we have a lot of tenants that actually throw functions. Oh, yeah, okay, so I Guess I must say that if they were to do so they would have to have a license. Yeah, that's the problem But we do have like I said, we have Ferguson's right there. Yeah, you can definitely have Glass of wine there and they have a little courtyard on the outside too that you can enjoy that. Yeah, so I Would love to say yes come because I love wine, you know, but um No, there's there's there's other who knows what will happen exactly. There's things you could do You can ask him we can see you see you're starting to get the picture. You're starting to get a picture about Pacific Guardian It's it's a it's a brand. It's a franchise It's a special persona in the downtown community in the business world And of course at the end of the day, they like to fill up the building with tenants But in the process, you know, they're creating a persona. That's really very appealing We'll take a short break. We'll come back and we'll talk about how that fits in the development of our city Hi, I'm Cheryl cruiser Garcia. I'm the host of working together on think tech Hawaii It's a program where we discuss the impact of change on workers employers and the economy So join us every other tuesday from floracock to 430. We're live in the studio on working together In think tech Hawaii. Take care. See you soon.  What's the show be there? I pity the fool wait My name is Seymour Kazimerski. I have a show called Seymours world on think tech Hawaii Our show is about opening minds and facilitating conversations To tell you the truth. I have no idea what we're going to be talking about I have no idea who our guests are going to be but I guarantee you we're going to have lots and lots of fun Aloha from Seymours world It's a bike a great bike. That's a nice bike. Yes So we have some more photos. Let's finish those and you can you know help us with the slideshow What's what's going on here? So this is actually what it is just chatting to you about in the break We know that our landscape or our um Make our tenant makeup is changing with the times. We have a new generation You know that that's because our makeup of the city is changing. Yeah, so true. So true. So we need to be proactive. We need to Basically engage not only to have a meeting place, but how do the millennials for instance? How do they want to interface with each other in their work environment? So we were thinking of let's have fun. Let's start adding different things We have a ping-pong table right now, you know, that's so there's another slide that actually shows that So you'll actually see people having meetings and then right behind them people are playing You know because I think millennials they work hard But they also like to play they like to relax and we want it to be able to you know service that need and so Yeah, there's just a lot of things we have a lot of this slide talks about all the tenant events that we have We have oh my gosh, that's a on the bottom. There's our tenants. Those are tenants dressed up as pac-man and The different get-ups. It's just a fun place. You have to come that only during lunchtime. Okay, you come during the holidays Interesting kind of tenants. You have it Exactly, especially the one the lion Well, it strikes me that you know, as I said the city is changing The demographic of the city is changing it better it needs to We we can't have the glass ceiling anymore. We've got to allow for opportunity for younger people Let the millennials come in do business Be your tenants be successful be successful. Yes make money make make new economy for us They are the driving lest we forget. It's not state government. That is the driving force It's it's the people who are in business who you know earn money pay salaries all that stuff Absolutely. So, you know, I really commend you and brian on the notion that you're part of the changing landscape in Honolulu we want to be yeah I don't think a lot of buildings Head of the head of the pack. I can't speak for the other buildings But I know we've been talking about it for a while. It's just about just trying to fund the projects that we think will probably Make the most impact. Yeah, you know And some of them are just fun, you know, we love that a lot of the people who work for Pacific Garden Center. They just enjoy, you know, having a good time too. Yeah, I mean, I can I can see for example You know, usually business office building landlord wants to see nationals wants to see successful businesses in there We have a lot of them. I'm sure you do. Yes enormous amount of square footage of great spaces and all But you know that coming soon you're going to have to rent To younger people who are going into business and that's just it's a risk there And that's another point of commendation, you know, that you're willing to take that risk the co-working spaces for instance Let's talk about that. Yes We've we've seen them around and we know the concept We've entertained the thought maybe they should be considered a block You know or a block tenant or maybe a tenant within our space And if that's the case, you know, we have to look at things differently, right? We talked a little bit about revenue streams and and some of the risks But yet at the same time we're going to be able to see them incubate and grow and hopefully become a permanent tenant so there's that That little transitional piece that we we understand happens with the new Up-and-coming, you know entrepreneurs So we were thinking that what we can do is they love technology Right, they love like I said, they work hard. We we'd love to engage more technology around the building Our elevators are newly modernized. We have the state-of-the-art system They're fun too. I mean I use the word fun forgive me, but because the younger generation, they're so used to using touch pads It's so intuitive for them, you know so we have a sophisticated, you know dispatching system with our elevators and The older generation has to think about it, but the someone a millennial just it's instinctual for them, right? And they find that, you know, just it just peaks Peaks there the creativity. So we want to continue to do that What I get out of this is that the city is in transition Even Neil Abercrombie talked about that when kakaako was first getting planned And then we have to take care of our young people to hold them here You have to make make it attractive enough that they should stay And we have to, you know, provide industry and business for them in places where they can do their creativity And co-working was only the beginning, but I really like the notion of taking co-working to a commercial level Having a space that's a co-working space in a downtown office building is a real turn on for not only for me But for all of those millennials, they knew this they would be, you know, coming knocking at your door just to be involved I think because of networking capability right there They we have the best legal minds in our building. We have architects engineers. I mean, we have scientists. We have security tech companies They're right there for them too. So you're right resources exactly so they're exposed.  I think that they will find that very attractive Like you said and a resource definitely a resource. I can see it now You know, they become familiar with another tenant. Maybe a tenant they can offer them some advice or counsel Come on down, you know to the courtyard. Let's have a let's have lunch Happens all the time Let's let's cross the generations, you know, right and they become clients of Another tenant or vice versa symbiotic for sure. Yes So, you know, I mean, this is really remarkable in the sense that we have needed this for a while in my opinion We have needed to recognize that generation. We have needed to recognize the transformation that we must have And biking is part of that And so, you know, the problem is if you give if you give me one building like this, okay And one bike stand like that It's a beginning it's a statement But you need them all over town So you you guys are the first and that's to your credit But what what needs to happen Clarissa to make this all knit together With our community, you mean our downtown community I think they do have to embrace it as much as we do. I think they they can't ignore it any longer that There's a need for people to Look at alternatives alternative transportation right now is what you're talking about. There's the rail. I know It's so controversial and I don't want to speak too heavily on that But it's coming, you know, and so how do we prepare? How do we engage? the thousands millions of people that'll come right up our corridor Whether it's parklets that, you know, we have architects away. For instance, they they've put out some parklets every once in a while On our curbside wonderful Places of engagement right on the street. That's if we've got more of that more of a pedestrian feel Get people of the cars It might be a way that we might have to embrace hard to say, you know, but definitely it's about Creating some space though some space for all of these people to go and all these people to create and keep our young people Yeah, yeah, you know, it just it just gave me an idea You know, right? We we send people out with think tech with a with a mobile camera. We do live You know and we walk around downtown and we interview people on the street It's really an interesting experience and what we have found is that most of people we meet on the street down here Live a short a short distance from downtown. They're in the central business in the core And they're not from you know far away and one of the reasons they're not from far away is because it's too hard to drive I mean, I like that that's bars. It's a gate and it keeps people out because it's such a burden To come downtown sitting traffic for four hours a day But I'm I'm being optimistic about this But the rail could change that The rail could have people come without that barrier come from far away to downtown For jobs for businesses for doing business, you know in downtown Honolulu and it's going to stop on bishop street there Bishop and Nimitz I think now right near your building and that is probably for downtown Revitalization of sorts. Don't you think? Yes, definitely. Um, we're excited But we're also watching because we're not certain, right? There's a lot of uncertainty Of how it's going to transfer and there's you know, there's the aloha tower That's kitty car kitty corner to us And so there with hpu and things that them it's going to be a wonderful experience for them probably right? Yeah So you we want to encourage and be happy for the neighbors because you're right the more people that are exposed to our property In many ways the better because we can bring in more people that want to you know do business in our property But um, it's I have a prediction for you Clarissa My prediction is that other buildings who knows maybe because of your appearance on the show Okay, Clarissa Marquardt specific guardian Because of your appearance on the show they're going to get the idea and other buildings and there are what you know At least half a dozen other major office buildings In that area They're going to get the idea and downtown could change With this change in culture that you're creating and that could attract a lot of people new businesses new new retail new new New activities in the downtown. I like your prediction. I think it's it's it's I think it's going to happen And it's different from kaka akawa. There's a master plan With downtown it's ourselves It's the building owners themselves seeing the need and the desire to change It's organic right and part of that has to be hpu because we see them here on fort street They walk up and down those kids, you know from the top to the bottom and they they they fill the street They feel different vibe every day and there's so much fun. We go and interview them too. Yeah But you know, they they lend a new a new tone to the downtown area downtown is in transformation It is we're trying to be more safe for them. Yes, you know, um, we're trying to be more Visual more lit more. Yeah, you know, and you're right. I'm glad that they're there They bring a different they've you know, I think what they're doing also is they're expanding all the way around too So you it wouldn't be surprising that you'll see them kind of go into Our side our buildings too, you know, some of your businesses will attract them, right? You know, they can go and eat in the courtyard too and all that So I think it and it's only a block away from, you know, we're right across the street.  What was it wild and wet? On the wild side this past weekend. Look at all the restaurants there now. Yeah, exactly There's a kind of revitalization in chinatown And this has an effect on downtown. Yes the arts the arts are coming. We have pop-up galleries um, we really um every time we have An opportunity we all invite artists to come we've actually just recently probably Maybe a couple of weeks ago. We had some UH artists in the courtyard. Yes Actually in one of our suites. Ah, so it was a true gallery. Yeah, you know, so that tenants and patrons could See their work and they can be exposed. That's really what we're about Brian, you know, everyone at PGC. They're definitely into just Commissioning new art on site. We have John Koga who put I don't know if you saw that I think in one of the slide show pictures There's a poi pounder and taro a bronze poi pounder and taro that John Koga commissioned, you know, several years ago so So if I if I want to find out about events that you're doing in Pacific Guardia, is there a first I can look We It's only for the tenants. It's definitely tenant events, but come and ask us. Yeah. Okay. All right Because I think a lot of people would be interested in knowing you know I like to see a downtime where people walk around at lunch and actually take a walk and see, you know Sites and sounds and events. Maybe a couple of blocks away I think there was a time that happened. This could happen again. Yeah, well, we have a st. Patrick Day like From Murphy's I'm not certain who knows but right now we're a little bit more low-key than a block party of that sort Okay, well, you're not low-key today actually Clarissa But let me add you know one other thing it seems to me that, you know, there's there's all good prospect here and you're revealing it and The one thing that I think will, you know Make the deal really work Is a city where people can walk and bike And so, you know, my own feeling is that king street bikeway not enough We have that biking everywhere And I wonder how you see the future Because you're involved. You're leading the future. You're you're creating iconic, you know Equipment so to speak and situations is the bike station And I wonder how you see it evolving On a transportation basis Well, you I think we touched upon this or you might have not had another session But yes the the city definitely wants to be in downtown So our quarter our bishop street is earmarked to have a bike lane It's probably going to be on our side And we we see that like I said we've hosted some bike I guess bike share like Gosh, I can't forgive me a location Yeah, those people that want to see and take surveys and things of that sort I'm going to see that all over. That's what I'm saying. You know, we have to see that So will we have Bikes somewhere Everywhere, I think it's just a matter of time for us. We're going to have to probably Engage and along the rest of the city. We're going to have to put more bike Stations probably like ours, you know to embrace them. Yeah Well, I think we could invite people down to take a look at the one there. It's there now. Yeah, it's there now It's been there for about a month or two of it. It's it's painted. There it is And um, you can actually repair it your own self. Yes, there's tools there Um, there's a tool kit in the in the in the big stand there Right. So what people do is they take off their tires to repair them and there's a pump to provide air For their tires and so it's just so one stop stop for people Well, it's a statement of humanity and humanness I think and god wouldn't it wouldn't it be wonderful if how city could all follow your lead on this And I can't take credit, but pgc's lead. Yes And um, yeah, and just do it everywhere all up and down the street I think it would attract not only people but business And we would all of a sudden have a different image downtown a different, you know persona of the city Yes, we welcome we welcome people to come to pgc and see what we have and You know, um, we welcome tenants to continue to provide feedback because they have the pulse to you know, so I agree. Well, thank you for being responsive To you know, the new changes in our city and being part of them of course. That's great Thank you so much for coming on our show. Oh, I'm glad like I said, I'm glad to be here. Thank you for having me Okay


What about solving nonlinear systems? In general, solving a linear system of equations is easy if a bit time-consuming. On the other hand, solving a nonlinear system of equations is much, much harder. And, at least one of the major motivations per calculus is turning nonlinear systems into linear systems. And that's because nonlinear systems are so much harder to work with. How much harder? There is no general method for solving nonlinear systems of equations. You have to try things until you solve it or until you give up. For example, let's take a system of equations like this. And the first thing we might notice is that since both equations are solved for why, we might try substitution. So again, most of success in life and in math is bookkeeping, so we might start by writing down y equals y. But equals means replaceable, so I can replace y with 3x plus 5, or I can replace y with x squared minus 4x minus 7. So I'll make those replacements. And now I have a second degree equation. So I'll get all the terms onto one side. That gives me a nice little quadratic equation. The quadratic formula gives me the solutions. Well, actually these are half solutions. These are the values of x. We do need the values of y. Fortunately, we have this nice equation that tells us how to find y if we know the value of x. Even better, we have a simpler equation that tells us how to find y once we know the value of x. So if x equals 7 plus root 97, then y equals, and we won't even bother to simplify, if x equals 7 minus root 97 over 2, then y equals. And again, we don't really gain anything by simplifying. And so the solutions to this system, x equals this, y equals that, or x equals this, y equals that. How about this system of equations? Well, we already have one equation solved for y, so let's replace every occurrence of y with e to power 2x. Except y doesn't appear in this other equation. Let's take a closer look. And the thing that's worth noting here is e to power 2x is y. Well, we're given that as part of our system. But this other expression, e to power 4x, well, that's really e to power 2x squared, and equals means replaceable. So that means this is y squared. So we might make the following observation. If y equals e to power 2x, then y squared is e to power 4x. So we can substitute, and that gives us a quadratic equation. So the quadratic formula gives us solutions. Now, equals means replaceable. So if I know that y is equal to this mess, then I know e to power 2x is equal to this mess. So we'll replace. Now, this actually gives us two equations. e to power 2x is minus 5 plus root 125 over 2, and e to power 2x equals minus 5 minus root 125 over 2. However, because this is an exponential expression, we know that it always has to be positive, and this number is negative. And what that means is that this equation won't lead to a solution, so we can discard it. This equation, on the other hand, will give us a solution, so we'll hit both sides with a log, solve for x, gain street cred among bands of wandering mathematicians by showing off, or not, you don't really need to do this simplification. While the simplification isn't actually necessary, you might want to do it anyway as a reminder that any time you have a number multiplied by a log, it's the same as a log of something raised to a power. Whether you simplify or not, x equals this quantity is only half a solution. Our system had two variables x and y, so we'll need to include the y value. Now, what's important here is to remember that we actually had two solutions for y, but one of them, negative 5 minus root 125 over 2, didn't give us a solution. So the only y value that we want to include is the y value that gave us this solution for x. The important thing to remember about nonlinear systems of equations is there is no general method for solving nonlinear systems of equations. Try things until you solve them or until you give up. So we have our system of equations. Well, we could try to solve one equation for a variable. So if I take that first equation and try to solve it for x, I get a rather scary looking expression. Well, maybe I should take a look at trying to solve the other equation for x, so I'll do that. And that's not any better. Now, we could actually use substitution and solve this system of equations, but the problem is we'd be substituting things that are like this, and maybe we don't want to do that. Well, the other way we have for solving systems of linear equations is to use addition. So we might notice here that the coefficients of x squared are 1 and 2. So if we multiply one equation by 2 and the other by negative 1, we get. And if we add them, we get, which is a quadratic equation, and so we can solve this to find half a solution. Remember, our system of equations had two variables, so we need to give both variables as part of our solutions. So we'll take our y values one at a time. If y equals 2, then we can find x using either equation. Equals means replaceable, so we'll replace y with 2 in, I don't know, the first equation seems a little easier. And we can solve that. So our solution requires both an x and y value, x equals 5, y equals 2 is a solution, so is x equals negative 5, y equals 2. But wait, there's more. We have a second value of y, so we'll replace y with negative 2411's in either equation and solve for x. And the key here is not to get too lost in the arithmetic, this thing is just a real number, so we can play around with it as a real number without worrying about what its actual value is. And we solve finding x equals, so again, if x is positive principal square root of this mess, y equals negative 2411's, and if x equals negative principal square root of this mess, y equals negative 2411's. And so we have our four solutions.


I think we'll start. Hi, my name is David. I'm a student at MIT Sloan. I'd like to introduce to you Sandy. He is one of the most cited research scientists on Earth. Forbes recently called him one of the seven most powerful data scientists in the world. He helped co-found and direct the MIT Media Lab. He also runs the MIT Connection Science and Human Dynamics Lab. Please welcome our very own. Thank you. So I guess I'm going to stand, because that's will make me think faster. So great to see everybody having fun here, and interesting stuff. So I'm going to tell you a little bit of a story about the program that I run in entrepreneurship and venturing, and where it ends up, which is someplace new, someplace we call first customer. And the story starts almost 20 years ago when I noticed a big change. Until that point, students who graduated with PhDs either went to academia, or they went to places like IBM or Microsoft. And then suddenly in the late 90s, there was this big change. And the big change was is that an increasing percentage of people wanted to get involved in startups. And it happened very quickly. It happened only over a couple of years. You've got 50% of the students getting PhDs. I'm going to talk about masters and things like that. PhD students doing it, because you can imagine the percentage is much higher among people who are getting MBAs and things like that. And there were no programs for it. Some courses here in Sloan, but for most of the university, nothing, right? And particularly if you were like a technical guy, or something like that, there was nothing. So I started a venture program. And the venture program was really what is all this stuff about? And would you fit in this? So it's really more about self-reflection and personal identity than it is about content. So we don't teach content. We have people who are starting companies, come and talk to the students. We do networking events. We try to get them seed money, pre-seed money, and help people really think about, is this a good path for them? Because it's tough being in a startup. There's a lot of ups and downs, a lot of uncertainty. And the first thing I started, because at that time I was putting together a series of laboratories in India, was I started a course called Development Ventures. And Development Ventures, nothing like starting in the hardest possible place, was about starting for-profit companies in the poorer parts of the world, the non-OECD countries. And it was tough, because you couldn't get seed funding. You couldn't get venture funding. The rule of law doesn't work everywhere. So there were a lot of issues there. But we did pretty good. Over the last 20 years for Development Ventures, we've probably had over 1,000 students go through there and had almost 100 companies formed out of that one class, which is quite something given how hard it is to do things like that. And over the years, I've seen things evolve. Originally, it was very hard to get any money to do anything. You had to be a very special person to raise money angel funding or series A. Then things like the 100k, well, first it went from 10k up to 100k over the years. And it got looser in the sense that it included things like Development Ventures and Energy Ventures and things that normally weren't the domain of VCs back at the beginning. So money got easier to do. And the other thing that we saw was that here in this ecosystem, we had more and more gift programs, things like the Ideas Contest. So I think the best record we've had is out of one class, we've had 15 groups raise money their first semester. So think about that.    And you have two months to raise money. And the majority of the people raise money. That's how rich this area is in terms of little contests, little things to get 5, 10, 15, 20k, up to 50k worth of money to try out your DIA and so forth. And once you've done that, you can begin raising money. And of course, over the years, it's become easier and easier to get A-Round money. But what's not been easier is to turn that A-Round company into something that's really accelerating. That's the Valley of Doth, right? And what I noticed over the years was some companies took off like jet rockets or something like that. And they had special help. Early on, they ran into a big company who could give them a hand. The best examples, Carlos Slim, one of the richest people in the world, helped one of our companies start sort of manpower Inc. on mobile phones in poor countries. He said, well, I'm not going to invest in this because I think you guys are nuts. But what I will do is I'll give you some space in all of our stores in Nicaragua, just to pick a country that he happens to have a telephone company in. And you can advertise there. And that first customer, that first hand up to have space in all the stores in Nicaragua, not a big country, let them work out what they actually needed to do. And it turned out the things they needed to do were not day workers, which is what they thought they needed to do. But things like the bigger stores had no way of getting workers either. And they would come to them and ask, well, we're going to need 10 people a month. And they said, well, gee, that's great. We have all these people who put the resumes in through church groups and things like that. And we can begin doing that. And over the years, what I've seen is that when there are those sort of personal connections, the need meets the startup, then things can really take off. Now, that sounds a little bit obvious, but that's not what normally happens.  And it's really, really hard. So what we've done is we've tried to think, how could we institutionalize this? Who in the world has lots and lots and lots of first customers? And it's in their interest not to take those customers, but to introduce them to startups. And the answer is, at least so far, consulting companies are that way. So we have Deloitte, who is putting a rather large amount of money into helping startups at first, just in the energy sector, find first customers. So what's in it for the customer? Well, lots of people have interesting energy needs. What's in it for Deloitte? Well, they get to look smart to their paying customers. We know some good people at MIT. So they're qualifying these customers, they're looking for the opportunities for the startups so that they can get paid and deliver on their contract. They don't take any equity. None of this has anything to do with equity. In fact, what Deloitte is willing to do is give gift money to the startups for the privilege of introducing them to first customers. And the gift money is, please spend a little bit of time, do a wireframe, do a little market study for this customer. I'll give you 5K, 50K, 100K even, so that you can meet this customer and see if it works. Nothing, no contracts, nothing, right? Just here, I'll give you some cash, gonna introduce you to some people. Deloitte gets something out of it, the customer gets something out of it, and the startup gets something out of it. And I think it's a really interesting recipe. And at Davos this year, I spent an hour and a half with the global head of Deloitte and he was very enthusiastic about the sort of baby steps we've been taking and wants to expand it to different categories. And he doesn't see that it's just a Deloitte thing, he doesn't want exclusivity. He's willing to have other people in there, of course he's gonna raise his eyebrows about some competitors, but we've seen that there are some other companies who are very broad, they're essentially holding company structures, that again have a Rolodex that's impossible to compete against, they know everybody. And it's in their interest to bring people here and they're willing to pay for the privilege. So that's where we're beginning. I think it's an interesting idea. And if you think it's interesting, you can send me email and maybe we can figure out something to do about it. Okay, that's it. Thank you.


Good morning everybody, welcome. On a soggy and cold day, I'm glad so many people could join us and we're delighted to have you here. This is a very important opportunity for CSIS to be able to host Steve Hadley. He's been a great friend through the years, through both his time before he has been the National Security Advisor and of course these last years. To be candid, I don't know how he made it. I mean, eight years as deputy and then National Security Advisor, I think it's got to be a world record. It's a remarkable, this is one of the most demanding jobs and remarkable accomplishment. I did happen to notice, however, that your deputy is within the voice-throwing range of you, Steve, so JD is here just in case there's a problem. You can call on him and I'm sure he'll be glad to pitch in. You all know Steve Hadley and so it's pointless for me to give a mechanical review of his biography, but just to, if I might just put some skin tone on what would otherwise be a black and white representation. This is a man who has been living in the biggest pressure cooker in the world and yet throughout this period has kept hold of his humanity. I've talked to lots of people, I've hired some of them that have worked for him, talked to a lot of people that have worked for Steve through the years and there's such a uniform representation of Steve as a gracious gentleman in all circumstances. And it's that deep humanity that I think has sustained him through eight very hard years and we're so fortunate that a man of his character would choose to be a leader for all of us during this time. So I'm very grateful to have a chance publicly to say, Steve, this country is deeply grateful to what you have done and we look forward to hearing your thoughts and hear toward the sunset of this remarkable career. Steve Hadley, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, John, very much for those kind words. I'm honored to be here at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. I thank you for the research you conduct, the analysis you provide, and the policy ideas that you develop. In less than two weeks, a new president will take the oath of office and a watching world will witness the greatest of democratic transitions and traditions, the peaceful transfer of power. President Bush's administration has been working closely with the president-elect's team to make this transition the smoothest in history. The stakes are clear. America is a nation at war. And in the post-911 world, we face complex challenges that will not pause for a change in administrations. Last month, President Bush delivered a series of speeches about how we have worked to confront these challenges over the past eight years. At the Saban Forum, the president discussed how our approach to the Middle East changed after 9-11. At West Point, the president explained how the military has transformed to meet the dangers of a new century. And at the Army War College, the president outlined the steps we have taken to keep America safe here at home and to promote liberty abroad as the great alternative to terror. Today, I would like to talk to you about the core convictions that have formed the basis of President Bush's foreign policy. What this administration has accomplished in key regions of the world, and what opportunities and challenges await the next administration. Over the past eight years, President Bush's foreign policy has been guided by three firm convictions. The president believes that liberty is God's gift to every man, woman, and child. That effective democratic states are the critical building blocks of a peaceful and prosperous international order. And that America is called to lead this community of democracies. Ultimately, people will make the best decisions for themselves and for their societies if given the political freedom to do so. But to exercise that freedom, they must also be free from violence and injustice, and be offered the means to overcome ignorance, want, and disease. Democratic states with effective institutions are best able to meet these needs, and are our best partners in building a more peaceful and prosperous world. But these nations need American leadership. We are a wealthy and powerful nation with the capacity to make the world safer and better. And that imposes on us a moral obligation to do so. As President Bush often says, to whom much is given, much is required. These core convictions have helped President Bush steer his foreign policy through four popularly perceived, but ultimately false choices. The first false choice is between a realistic and an idealistic foreign policy. After 9-11, President Bush recognized that an idealistic foreign policy based on promoting liberty was the only realistic strategy for advancing America's fundamental interests. We are engaged in a great ideological struggle, and to prevail, we must counter the terrorist dark ideology with a more hopeful alternative. As the President said in his second inaugural address, the best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. And so America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. Second false choice is between unilateralism and multilateralism. President Bush recognizes that the United States can rarely achieve its objectives by acting alone. So our preference is always to work with allies and partners. Yet international partnerships are not self-justifying. They must produce results. And when necessary, like every modern president before him, President Bush has been prepared to act alone to defend America's security. The third false choice is between hard power and soft power, or military force and diplomacy. President understands that we do not have to choose between these tools. Instead, we must integrate all elements of national power, including diplomatic, economic, and military, to advance our interests. When properly employed, these tools can be mutually reinforcing. Hard power makes soft power more effective. And by maintaining the credible threat of military force and economic sanctions, we add weight to our diplomacy. The fourth false choice is between popularity and principle. America has always been defined by our ideals of liberty and justice. These ideals have made our nation a beacon of hope and opportunity for people around the world. In the short run, acting on principle can be unpopular, because our principles challenge the worldviews of many, and our power throats the hegemonic ambitions of the few. But ultimately, it is our principles that make us attractive to most of the world. And if we hold to them, the world will see, respect, and support us. By defying these false choices, President Bush has pursued a foreign policy that has delivered results around the world, in Europe. President Bush has worked to build a continent that is whole, free, and at peace, that is united by common values, and that joins with America to confront the challenges of the 21st century. Under the President's leadership, America has helped consolidate post-war democratic gains in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, 10 nations that were once behind the Iron Curtain are now members of Euro-Atlantic institutions. The people of Ukraine and Georgia have cast off tyranny and cast their votes in free elections. A reforming and democratic Turkey has a stronger relationship with the United States and is moving closer to membership in the European Union. An expanded NATO alliance is fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and transforming to conduct operations beyond its borders. Our strong relations across Europe present the next administration with many opportunities. Working with our European partners, the next administration should be able to enforce tougher sanctions on Iran, complete the integration of the Balkan states, including Kosovo and Serbia, into the transatlantic community, bring freedom to Belarus, and diversify the sources and routes of Europe's gas and oil supply. On Russia, President Bush has worked to shift America's relationship from the rivalries of the Cold War to partnering with Russia in areas where we share common interests. While managing our differences in a frank, consistent and transparent way. Today, Russia and America are partnering on many fronts. We are working together to reduce operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads. We are working together to prevent nuclear materials and technologies from falling into the hands of terrorists. We are working together to ensure that Iran and North Korea cannot threaten their neighbors with nuclear weapons. And we are working together to support negotiations in the Holy Land for a Palestinian state and a durable peace. At the same time, we understand the true partnerships depend on shared democratic values. And insofar as Russia falls short of respecting the rights and freedoms of its people and its neighbors, the scope of our partnership is necessarily and correspondingly limited. President Bush has made clear to Russia's leaders that the great powers of the 21st century cannot pursue the coercive policies of the 19th century. A Russia that continues to threaten its neighbors and manipulate their access to energy will compromise any aspirations for greater global influence. The next administration will have the challenge of building on our cooperation with Russia while also confronting that nation's aggressiveness and uncertain intentions. In the Middle East, President Bush emphatically rejected the widely held view that the Arab world was unsuited for democracy and its people unready for freedom. Instead, the President has promoted democracy, liberty and tolerance throughout the region, supported our friends and allies, and confronted extremist states and groups. In many respects, the Middle East has become the center of gravity of American foreign policy, the principal theater of operations and deployment of our military, the testing ground for the strength of our principles and ideals, and the focus of our most important diplomacy. Today, despite the violence in Gaza, there is the prospect of a freer and more hopeful future for the region. With help from the United States, our Gulf allies have greater defensive capabilities and more confidence in their ability to confront terrorism and other threats. Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of 15 of the 9-11 hijackers, is one of America's most capable partners in counter-terrorism operations. Libya has abandoned its dangerous weapons of mass destruction programs and its support for terror, paid more than $1 billion to victims of past terrorist activities, and welcomed its first US ambassador in three decades. Lebanon has regained its sovereignty, independence, and democracy after nearly 30 years of Syrian occupation thanks to the courage of its people and the joint diplomacy of France and the United States. And across the Middle East, more people participate in competitive elections and more women vote and hold office than ever before. We also see reasons for hope in the Holy Land. Israelis and Palestinians have been negotiating the peace with Arab support based on a vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. The United States is facilitating these talks, but we are not substituting ourselves for the parties or imposing our views on either side. In parallel with these negotiations, the United States is supporting Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in his efforts to build the security, economic, and political institutions of a democratic state. For the next administration, the biggest challenge in this region is Iran. Negotiations with Iran, as some have proposed, without leverage on Iran will not produce a change in Iranian behavior or advance US interests. The outgoing administration and its international partners will leave the incoming team with significantly increased leverage on Iran. The issue is how the new team will use this leverage to produce a different Iranian policy on its nuclear program, terrorism, and Middle East peace. Perhaps surprisingly, the biggest opportunity for the new administration may be Middle East peace. I hope the new team will not feel compelled to reinvent the wheel, but will use the Annapolis process which has been embraced by the states of the region and enshrined in United States Security Council Resolution 1850 as an opportunity to advance the cause of peace. First and foremost, this means helping complete the building of the democratic institutions of a Palestinian state. This work is critical to any future peace. Second, it means using the confidential bilateral negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis already underway to negotiate the peace and build on the substantial progress that already has been made. On Iraq, you have heard President Bush describe his strategy many times to build a democratic Iraq that can govern itself, defend itself, sustain itself, and be an ally in the war on terror. This goal has not changed. It has not been dumbed down in response to hardgoing on the ground, and its realization is now in view. It is in view because in January 2007, President Bush made the decision to surge additional forces into Iraq and give them a mission of securing the population. President Bush took this decision at a time when many government officials and military officers initially recommended against it. When many in the intelligence community, Washington think tanks, and on the editorial pages, thought Iraq was lost to civil war, and Congress was trying to constrain funds for the effort. But events have vindicated the President's decision. Today, violence is down across Iraq. Iraqi people govern themselves under one of the most progressive constitutions in the Middle East. And for the first time in the region's history, Sunni, Shia, and Kurds are working together within a democratic framework to build a more hopeful future for their country. As the return on success of its policies, the administration has been reducing troops in Iraq from post-surge levels since the end of 2007. And we recently concluded agreements that envision the completion of the U.S. withdrawal by the end of 2011. As the members of the next administration carry out the status of forces agreement, they will have the opportunity to successfully conclude the American effort in Iraq. And as they implement the Companion's Strategic Framework Agreement, America will gain a long-term democratic partner in the Middle East. Together, a democratic Iraq, a free Lebanon, and a democratic Palestinian state can be the keys to a transformed and more hopeful Middle East. The Asia Pacific is a region of increasing importance to America's security and economic well-being. President Bush has strengthened the institutional relationships that will allow the new president the better to advance our interests there. President Bush's strategy has been to revitalize existing alliances, establish new strategic partnerships, bring China into the international system as a responsible player, confront terrorist and proliferation threats, and promote freedom and democracy. America is helping the people of Afghanistan recover from years of tyranny under the Taliban and build a more hopeful future of freedom. Today, Afghanistan has a new democratic constitution, an elected parliament and president, more than 6 million children in school, 8,000 kilometers of new paved roads, and a growing military of 80,000 personnel. We have maintained close relations with Afghanistan's neighbor, Pakistan. We recognize that Pakistan faces enormous economic, political, and security challenges. But we also understand that Pakistan has a better chance of successfully meeting these challenges with a freely elected democratic government. And today, Pakistan has such a government thanks in no small part to President Bush's skillful diplomacy. We have formed a new strategic partnership with the world's largest democracy, India. An historic agreement for civil nuclear cooperation has helped transform our relationship and make us global partners. We have rebuilt relations with Indonesia, the nation with the largest Muslim population in the world. Indonesia has now ended the insurgency in Aceh and is combating the threat of terrorism. We have revitalized our security alliances with Japan, South Korea, and Australia. We have realigned and repositioned our military forces in these nations so we can better meet future challenges and reduce the burdens on local populations. And we have joined with our democratic allies to create the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership to strengthen freedom in the region. We have built a stronger relationship with China based on cooperation where we agree and candor where we disagree. Tensions with Taiwan have eased considerably and we continue to press China on human rights and religious freedom. We have used the multilateral framework of the six-party talks to pressure North Korea to follow through on its agreements to abandon its nuclear weapons programs. These talks will be an early challenge for the incoming administration. North Korea will test the new administration by once again trying to split the six parties and renegotiate the deal. We've seen it before. And when its efforts to do so fail, North Korea will need to accept a verification agreement so we can verify the disablement and then dismantlement of that country's nuclear capabilities. Without this verification agreement, there can be no progress. This is especially true because some of the intelligence community have increasing concerns that North Korea has an ongoing covert uranium enrichment program. Afghanistan will be another early challenge for the new administration. The Taliban remain a serious threat. Its fighters have found safe haven across the border in Pakistan. And if the extremists succeed in destabilizing Pakistan, the chaos will threaten peace and progress throughout the region. So stabilizing Pakistan must be a first priority of the new administration as it has been one of ours. The new administration also has the opportunity to build on our efforts to link the countries of Central Asia with the nations of South Asia through a new axis of trade and energy. This axis can be the key to our more stable, prosperous and democratic region. And finally, I hope the new administration will continue pushing the cause of human rights and freedom in Burma. In the Western Hemisphere, President Bush confronted the challenges of a region where many had begun to doubt the benefits of democracy and freedom. President's strategy has been to help democratic governments in the region better serve their people and demonstrate that democracy can deliver and that freedom is the path to prosperity and a better life. Under President Bush's leadership, the United States has renewed its commitment to social justice in the region. We pledged $2 billion for new initiatives to improve access to health care, education, affordable housing, and economic opportunity. We have helped lift the burden of more than $3 billion of debt. We have negotiated free trade agreements with 10 nations, including two agreements awaiting approval from Congress. We pledged $1.3 billion to help Mexico and Central American nations fight organized crime networks and drug traffickers. We are helping Colombia defeat the FARC and other narco-terrorists. We have formed an important strategic partnership with Brazil, and we are working with states like Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay to showcase the benefits of markets, democracy, and freedom as the alternative to competing visions based on populist rhetoric, status-deck economics, and authoritarian politics. The commitment of these states represents an important opportunity for the new administration. As a good first step, the new Congress should approve the free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama, as well as South Korea. And the most dramatic opportunity for advancing America's agenda in the hemisphere would be for the new administration to work with Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform and build an immigration system that is compassionate and fair. As seen best in Africa, President Bush has followed an approach to development that embraces partnership instead of paternalism. We work with democracies that govern justly, fight corruption, invest in the health and education of their people, embrace free trade and free markets to lift people out of poverty, and achieve results. President Bush and Congress have backed this strategy with unprecedented resources. During the President's first term, our nation tripled bilateral assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, and we are on a pace to double our assistance again by 2010. Across Africa, a new day of hope is dawning. Major conflicts have ended in Liberia, Angola, Sierra Leone, and Burundi. With American support, African leaders and regional organizations are stepping forward to help end violence in Darfur, Congo, and Somalia. Together, the countries of the G8 have relieved $34 billion of debt for 19 African countries. Through new initiatives, the United States is partnering with African nations to improve education, promote free enterprise, and combat the scourge of HIV, AIDS, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases through the International Global Fund and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. And through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, we have signed 11 compacts with African nations to help their people build a brighter future. The people of Africa have a strong and reliable partner in the United States, and I hope the next administration will continue this approach. Finally, around the world, President Bush has led a global campaign against terror. After September 11, 2001, President Bush recognized that terrorism was not just an issue of law enforcement, but a war to be won, a battle of arms, and ideas. One of the President's most significant contributions has been to establish the basic principles for waging this struggle. We will not wait for new threats to gather. We will fight the terrorists abroad, so we do not have to face them here at home. We will make no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbor them. We will counter the ideology of violent extremism with a more hopeful vision of tolerance and freedom. And we will make clear that violence against civilians is never justified by any cause or creed. We have seen the results of this approach. Together with a coalition of more than 90 nations, we have used all elements of our national power to kill or capture terrorist leaders, deny them safe haven, and choke off their financing. And thanks to the courage of the men and women who worked day and night to defend our nation, we have saved lives around the world and have not experienced a terrorist attack on our soil for more than seven years. The biggest threat to our nation would be the world's most dangerous weapons falling into the hands of the world's most dangerous terrorists. President Bush has placed great emphasis on countering proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He created the Proliferation Security Initiative, which now includes over 90 countries that cooperate together to interdict the movement of WMD materials and technology on land, at sea, and in the air. Through other initiatives, the administration is helping to secure WMD materials and technology around the globe. And we have enhanced our defenses against the WMD threat. This includes building missile defenses that provide protection to the U.S. homeland, our deployed troops, and our allies from attacks by robed states that might possess these weapons. President Bush has put in place the tools that will permit future presidents to succeed in the long struggle ahead. And I hope the next administration will preserve these tools and use them effectively to defend our security and freedom. President Bush has led our nation during a time of great consequence. Few presidents have faced more challenges. But when the history books are written, they will tell the story of a man who never wavered from his principles, who kept our nation safe, and who helped spread the blessing of liberty to millions around the world. As this administration ends and a new one begins, we can have confidence in the future of our nation because we can have confidence in the character of our people, the power of our ideals, and the enduring strength of our democracy. Along with every other American, I wish the President-elect Obama and his team all the best in every success. Thank you. Thank you very much, Steve. We've got about 15 minutes for questions. And so let me open up the floor for those that would like, please identify yourself so that I know who you are so that we can get the ball rolling. Yes, please. Microphone's coming right down. My name is Elena Bosnikova. I am from Freedom House. And I represent an international nonprofit organization that monitors freedom and democracy around the world since 1972. And we release annual surveys with ratings on freedom in every country in the world. And we use complex methodology that is internationally recognized and respected. Do you have a question? Let's have a question. Yes. Our surveys show that for the past three years, freedom was in retreat around the world. President Bush declared his freedom agenda to be a priority in the U.S. foreign policy. And I would like to know what you can say about how you can comment that our ratings show retreat in freedom around the world. One thing we know is the advance of freedom is hard work and a long-term project. And I think it's had its ups and downs. And I think a three-year sample, I'm sure that all your metrics are right. And you can say that it may have declined over the last three years. I think what the present agenda is based on the following notion. One, we need to hold the ideal of freedom out there as a rallying point for people. But also, there are national projects that advance the hard work of freedom that are going to take time. I think the point I made with respect to the Middle East, I think that, as I said, there are more people voting. There are more women participating in government than there were in the past. But the truth is, the project of bringing freedom to the Middle East is going to depend on the success of the efforts in Lebanon, the success on the efforts in Iraq, and the success on building a Palestinian state, so that there are examples of free societies that are succeeding to give hope and examples in the region. If you look at what's going on in Iraq, Dr. Rabbi, the National Security Advisor for Iraq, was in yesterday. And one of the things I talked to him about was what is really going on there is unprecedented in the history of Iraq and unprecedented in the Middle East. Sunni, Shia, and Kurds are trying to work together in a democratic framework to advance a future for their country, not Shia on top, Sunni on the bottom, or the reverse, which has been the history in the region, but with them working together in a democratic framework. The success of that experiment is terribly important if the issue of tensions within the Middle East is going to be resolved. If that experiment can succeed and be an example for the rest of the Middle East, you can, over time, and it is the work of a long period of time, advance and bring freedom to the Middle East. But it's going to take time, and it's not going to be something that you can take the temperature every year and say, are we succeeding and failing, useful as that activity is.  You know, we saw in 2004-2005 the advance of freedom. We saw the, you know, the Rose Revolution, the Cedar Revolution, the Orange Revolution. And what we found in 2006 is the empire has a way of striking back, and the forces of reaction are strong. So this work of freedom is going to take a long time. It is not the work of the Bush administration. It has been the project of America since its inception. We are founded as a nation, not because of common language or common ethnic background. We are founded as a nation on a set of principles, and they have freedom and liberty on their core. And that is who we are as a people, and that is what we've done throughout our history. We have fought in world wars in order to advance the cause of freedom and democracy. It's what we are as a nation, and I think it is what every administration has done with more or less emphasis. And my hope for the new administration is that they maintain the emphasis, because as I think we've seen, and the President strongly believes, the challenges we face are from forces that oppose freedom and have a different view. And we are only going to defeat them as if we can offer an alternative to people of a democratic and a structure and society that will over time deliver a better life for their peoples. Right behind you, Allison. Like Bowman, Voice of America. Mr. Hadley, I was wondering if you could comment on an article in The New York Times a couple of weeks ago that spoke of an unprecedented effort on the part of the outgoing Bush administration to bring the incoming Obama national security and foreign policy team up to speed on the world's hotspots, drawing up special contingency plans. Can you confirm basically the gist of the article? And to what extent should anyone view this, if in fact this is the case, as an admission on the part of the outgoing administration that they're leaving a lot of loose ends for the incoming people to pick up? Well, I think loose ends is putting it mildly. Look, there has, I think, rarely been a President who has had more challenges, he would say opportunities than President Bush. And that means that there rarely has been an incoming President who has as many challenges and opportunities as President-elect Obama. We are doing this transition for the first time in over 50 years when the nation is at war and when our forces are deployed in a global war on terror, but also with theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan. And so it seems only appropriate in this different kind of historical time we have a different kind of transition. And this is very much a mutual effort by the outgoing team and the incoming team. I was in the transition from President Ford to President Carter. And I must say I was surprised. I stayed on with a new team for about three weeks and all the vaunted secure filing cabinets in the old EOB were empty. There was not a single piece of paper that was transitioned to the new team. And I've always thought this was very, not good governance at its best. So what we are doing is the following. One of the things we've done is we have taken the 40 key issues in this administration and we have prepared a document which basically on each one is a memorandum that says this is what we found, this is what our strategy was, this is what we think we've accomplished, and this is the work that remains to be done. And behind that memorandum is a chronology of events within our administration and all the various source documents. Why do we do this? The new team doesn't need to read them, certainly doesn't need to follow the policies in them, but what we thought it was important in this different kind of transition for them to know what they have to work with, what kind of policies in place, what kind of relationships are in place and what kind of tools they have available, and what we at least think are the challenges that are going to hit them quickly. We've also got, as you would expect, the series of briefing memorandums and, you know, view graph briefings on the issues of the day. We're also going to try and see if we can have some sessions where the outgoing NSC team meets with the incoming NSC team, sits down and has some briefings on particularly sensitive topics, briefed to them together so we can have some interaction and they can get a sense of how the various departments and agencies are working together on some of these common problems. So it is, we are both sides with the direction of both President Bush and President-elect Obama and we're going to make this a very different transition because we're in a very different time and we all, as Americans, want the new team to succeed and to be able to take these challenges and turn them into opportunities for the country. Down here, Allison in the front, the second chair. Thank you. Now we'll go for India Globe in Asia. Mr. Hadley, thank you very much. This is a great speech. Many, many years I have heard this may be a farewell speech by the President Bush. My question is that you said the Pakistan has become a safe haven for terrorists and it's been eight years now that many think tanks are saying that Pakistan is today a factory for terrorists which they are exporting around the globe, including against India and also in the Middle East and so forth. It's been eight years now that billions of dollars has gone to Pakistan to curb the terrorists and also hatred against the West and against the U.S. to close down Madrasas and so forth. But still in eight years terrorism has not gone down but it has gone up. I need a question. I need a question. The question is that what happened in eight years that we could not control terrorism there and what advice you have for your counterpart or the new administration? How they will do it and which we could not do and we still have at large a sound dialogue. I think that Pakistan is a victim of terror and one of the things that people have focused on is well, activities in certain of the border regions of Pakistan and make more difficult achieving democratic stability in Afghanistan, which is true. I think one of the things we've also seen is that terrorist presence, Taliban, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups also are a threat to Pakistan. And I think this democratic government in Pakistan understands that. If you talk to President Zardari, he says you don't need to tell me that Pakistanis are victims of terror.  So what you have is a democratic government in Pakistan and we think that is a real opportunity because we think that democratic government has the opportunity to rally the people of Pakistan behind what is going to be a very difficult fight. This is a new government. It is getting its bearings. It faces severe terrorist threats from organizations that have deep roots into the society. They have a military force that was designed for conventional conflict with India, not for dealing with counter-terrorism. What we've learned in all of these things that it takes a long time. I think in the early years after the war on terror, we made some great progress. I think we should not underestimate the difficulty of President Musharraf after 9-11 being called upon to make a strategic shift and going against al-Qaeda and being willing to do so. In the years past 2001, in the first three or four years of the war on terror, most of the al-Qaeda leadership, which were killed or captured, were killed or captured in Pakistan. But there was a period of time about two to three years ago when Pakistan tried negotiating arrangements with tribal groups on the grounds that they would control the terrorists. And I think those arrangements for a lot of reasons did not work. And then Pakistan went into a very difficult political transition from which this new government has emerged. And that's where we are. A new government that I think is talking clearly that it wants to confront terror, but does not really at this point have the tools and has probably as difficult a challenge to deal with the various groups that it has of any nation. That's why I think it is going to be one of the key challenges because success in Pakistan overcoming this challenge is important for stability in Pakistan, which is important to us in itself. But stability in Pakistan is also going to be important and success in the war on terror in Pakistan is also going to be important if we're going to take care of the problem in Afghanistan and if we are going to get Pakistan and Indian relations to continue on a positive footing. So there is a lot at stake in Pakistan and they have as daunting a task as any government today. And it is going to be very important for the new team to support their efforts. And I'm encouraged. I think you've seen statements from President-elect Obama, certainly from President-like Vice President Biden, that I think they understand the challenge that Pakistan faces and that means the challenge we face. No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Second, in the third row from the front, right in standing up. Mark, just a second. Microphone? Microphone, please. Who's that? Mark Brzezinski, Mr. Hadley. Could you say a little bit more about Mexico? You mentioned the Merida program, which the administration effectively saw through. Has the money been released? But more generally, is the problem being effectively tackled in Mexico? The Calderón government has deployed 36,000 troops across the country and yet the killings continue and there seems to be a real problem there. I did not probably say enough about that. I think that is a real challenge for the new team as well. Mexico, I think, is obviously, if you've talked to Mexican authorities, they feel very much under threat. And it's, you know, the way to understate it is to say it is a terrorism problem, it is a narco-trafficking problem. I think a better way to see it is that it is a potential threat to the future of a democratic Mexico. And I think if you listen to President Calderón, that's how he sees it. It is very much the kind of threat that President Arriba faced in Colombia. There are things we can do, and the Merida initiative has a long list of training, equipment, and other things we can provide to make Mexican authorities more effective in dealing with this problem. But the Mexican authorities have some choices they have to make as well. And it's this old problem. For the moment, it is being fought in the context of a law enforcement model with the military now engaged, which has been a difficult issue for Mexican society, but in this odd arrangement in conjunction and in support of the law enforcement. So my understanding is the military go after people with a warrant in hand. You can work that, I suppose, but I think the real question for the Mexican authorities and for their politics is the level of effort and commitment they are making proportional to the threat that the problem is poses to the future of that government. And then the question for us is are we doing all we can to support them to make them more capable and more effective? That in itself is a difficult issue for Mexico, given the history between the United States and Mexico. And I think they have been quite courageous, and it's an indication of the measure of seriousness with which they view the problem is that they are willing to consider a kind of cooperation with the United States that would have been unthinkable ten years ago. The President Bush is very impressed with President Calderón. We think he has the right plan. He has a challenge, obviously, to mobilize his society to make the commitment to deal with this problem, and then we in turn need to do what we need, what we can to help them. Because a problem on the southern side of the border, if we do not handle it, will be an even more severe problem on the north of the border, that is to say in the United States. It's a problem now, and it could get worse. So we think what we have left for the new team is a good framework. Thanks to the Congress, we have an initial down payment of some important resources to put into it. But again, this is going to be one of those long, long struggles. I think the importance of what has happened in Colombia in a program started by the Clinton Administration then and continued by ours, and really because of President Arriba in Colombia is this can be done. Democratic societies do not need to give in to these narco-terrorists. It's a long fight. It requires a commitment. It requires help. But I think the lesson from Colombia is that these fights can be won, and we need to then help Mexico to win its fight as well. We've got time for one last question. It's the third person here, and that's going to be it. I'm sorry. Johnson with CTI TV of Taiwan. Sir, you mentioned U.S.-China relations. You touched upon cross-strait relationship, the reduction of tension. Could you elaborate a little bit more on the current state of U.S.-China relations, which seems to be one of the bright spots of President Bush's foreign policy successes and also the current state of U.S.-Taiwan relations, which experienced some very hard times over the last eight years. Thank you very much. What the President Bush has tried to do is have a course that basically respects, you know, the One China policy and all the rest and the three communiques, which are the bulwark of our policy with respect to China, but also to make very clear that both sides, China and Taiwan, need to respect the status quo and there needs to be no unilateral actions by either side. And that was very much the framework of his policy with respect to China. And at the same time making very clear to China that we would carry out our obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act to make sure that Taiwan had the capacity to provide for its own defense. And the President stood very firm with respect to those principles and I think that helped to get through a difficult patch in the relations between China and Taiwan and have helped encourage what is really a very hopeful turn in relations between China and Taiwan. And to make another point, which is that when China, when the President Bush approached Asia, he approached it not by starting first with our relations with China, but starting first with our relations with our traditional allies. And he took as part of his, a central feature of his Asia policy to strengthen those alliances and to try and deal with a long, a pretty long list of unresolved issues and irritants in those relationships, dealing with our force presence, the location of our forces and all the rest. And working with successive governments in Japan and South Korea, we have really worked through that list over these last eight years. And I think those relationships are very strong and that provides a platform for the United States in dealing with China, both the opportunities and challenges presented by China. So I think it is also very important for the new administration to think in the same way about how they are going to approach the issue of Asia more generally and to see our relations with China in that broader context. Ladies and gentlemen, I know there are more questions, I'm sorry, but we promised that the National Security Advisor would be out by 1130. So thank you all. Please stay in your seats for the pattern. Thank you. Let's all thank him for his great presentation.