By Otto Kreisher
WASHINGTON: Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, a serious contender to be the next Defense Secretary, may have given us a glimpse of his policies today as he argued today that diplomacy rather than military power is the way to resolve emerging global crises.
Hagel gave a short address opening the Atlantic Council's two-day conference discussion about a study of comprehensive global trends produced by the National Intelligence Council, the government's preeminent intelligence thinktank. One of its main tasks is creating the global trends reports.
The NIC report, looking ahead to 2030, foresees the United States and Europe losing their status as the world's economic powers to China and India. It also warned of the impact of aging populations, the growing competition for finite natural resources, such as water and energy. The council's Strategic Foresight Initiative presented an alternative report that had a somewhat more positive view of America's position in the future, while noting most of the same problems cited by the NIC.
Read the full story at AOL Defense