Speaker to talk about problems Obama is facing

Mary Beth Long, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, will speak today about her experiences in dealing with Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

Long will lecture about “Challenges Facing the Obama Administration: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran,” at 7 p.m. today in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Whittenberger Auditorium and give insight into the challenges that are ahead for the Obama administration.

This event is sponsored by the Student Alliance for National Security and is being co-sponsored by the IU Student Association and the Department of Political Science and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures.

“This is a critical political juncture, so a person with expertise like Mary Beth can give us a good sense of what we can expect in the politics that lay ahead in the Obama administration,” said junior Miles Taylor, director for the Student Alliance for National Security.

In December 2007 President George W. Bush appointed Long as the first, highest-ranking female to ever serve in the Department of Defense as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, said junior Lauren Polaski, member of the executive board for Student Alliance for National Security.

Long was highly involved with the international policy in the Middle East, Europe and Africa for the Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, according to a press release.

From 1986 to 1999, she worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, where her experience included targeting narcotics, weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, according to a press release. Her work in the CIA earned her many awards, including in covert action.

“Heading into a new political time, it will be interesting to see how the Obama administration will handle the difficult situations in Iraq and Iran, and Mary Beth will surely give some great insight,” Polaski said.