Yesterday, ASP board member Senator Chuck Hagel spoke at the Atlantic Council spoke yesterday at the Atlantic Council for the release of their Global Trends 2030 Report. Kate Brannen at Politico reported on the event. According to Brannen, noting the limits of power, Hagel said:

These big, complicated issues — whether it’s Egypt or what’s going in Syria today — are beyond the control of any great nation or any great leader. The United States has minimal ability to influence the outcomes in those countries.

Though pointing out these limits, Hagel also contended that U.S. power is still an indispensable asset for the future, and to ensure the continuance of that power, America must fix its political process:

Though U.S. relative power influence will inevitably decline, no other nation is willing or ready to replace the United States as the world’s pivotal power. But to shape tomorrow’s global system, the United States must urgently address its domestic economic and political dysfunctions, even as it fundamentally alters the way it leads globally.