ABOUT

The NSSP was established at Georgetown University in 1977.

The “DC World Affairs Blog” was created primarily for my students in the National Security Studies Program.  The blog is in the public domain and anyone is welcome to read it.  However, visitors will not appreciate many of the posts because they are related to classroom assignments.  Many of these tasks concern issues which were previously addressed by the U.S. Congress but are still relevant classroom discussion topics.
The author of this blog is Greg Hilton, and the title of my course is “The United States in World Affairs.”  I try to cover a broad range of foreign policy issues.
As my students will tell you, I emphasize class participation and this is a significant part of the final grade.   Many faculty members will not express a personal opinion, and in a number of institutions a discussion of personal political preferences is banned. I understand the reasoning behind this. However, I do have a different outlook.  I am not trying to convince students to my viewpoint, but I am trying to foster a vibrant discussion.  I want students to think for themselves, and that is why I challenge them on a regular basis.  I often play the devil’s advocate in class and advocate positions I know will be controversial.
This often happens during our group discussion on Tuesday afternoons.  To be frank, I am surprised so many students find it difficult to follow and participate in these discussions.   It was student anxiety which prompted me to start this blog in the first place.  A student will always know if a specific article or analysis paper has been selected for discussion, but every NSSP student should have an excellent grasp of current public policy issues.
I strongly encourage students to read a newspaper such as the “Washington Post” or the “New York Times” because they provide in-depth coverage of foreign policy and national security issues. Other excellent sources are the bookmarks on the right hand side of this page.  Please note that I am no longer allowed to add students as “friends” on Facebook, and I have deleted every student from my profile.  This was not my decision but it is a policy I must respect.
Aside from this course, the past two decades of my life have been devoted to national security and foreign policy causes.  I was part of a team which raised over $100 million for non-profit organizations. I took advantage of an early retirement program in 2006 after serving 20 years as Executive Director of the American Security Council (ASC). The firm I am now working with “offers seed-stage venture capital and professional management support to high-tech, start-up companies.” We take companies from start ups to stand outs, but the capital markets have been changing significantly. Venture capitalists have pumped billions into a variety of fledgling companies, and with the recent economic downturn as many as 80% of them might go out of business. Needless to say, I have been working hard in recent weeks!
I have a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from my career. I have written five book length policy papers and I have produced and or directed seven TV documentaries. I have many fond memories of my old job, but once again, it was hard work. I rarely had a free weekend, and working late at night was frequently expected. I do like this new phase of my life and schedule is not like the past. My best characteristics are listening and trying to see things from another persons point of view. I continue to be active in non-profit organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations, the World Affairs Council, and UNICEF. Through these organizations and the American Security Council, I have had an opportunity to work closely with House and Senate lawmakers in both parties. I sincerely admire the dedicated men and women who are serving in the U.S. Congress, and I regret the intense partisanship on Capitol Hill. Unfortunately, I do not believe the election will change this climate. Most people in DC immediately ask about politics. I guess I am a moderate. I am conservative on economic and national security policy, but liberal on social issues. I am always interested in listening to both sides of a debate, and this may explain my attachment to C-SPAN. No party or individual has a monopoly on being correct all of the time. I believe if we listen better, we can all learn a great deal from each other. As my photo gallery demonstrates, I have traveled extensively. I could have posted many additional photos because I have been all over the world for either pleasure or business. My favorite adventures have been peacekeeping operations in west Africa and an extensive trip through much of China. I lived in the Philippines for six months during the Marcos investigation, and I just returned from two weeks in Japan. I will never do it, but I have often thought of living in Asia.