The ACU Foundation is launching the Policy Center for Statesmanship and Diplomacy today as a way to spread the message of the Reagan Doctrine and further educate grassroots conservatives on foreign policy.
“The American people are growing more concerned about what they are seeing across the Middle East, from the rise of the Islamic State to the blasé disposition of President Obama to the prospects of a nuclear Iran," ACU chairman Matt Schlapp said in a statement. "I believe that these concerns, when combined with an increasingly emboldened Russia and China, could mean that questions of our security and the state of the globe will dominate the presidential election. We believe this is the right time to offer constructive answers to our elected officials and to the people they represent."
The Policy Center for Statesmanship and Diplomacy will feature former Assistant Secretary of Defense KT McFarland, American Islamic Center for Democracy president Dr. Zhudi Jasser, Forbes contributor Gordon Chang, founder and president of Shea Strategies Dennis Shea, managing director of Magan Dahlgren Mike Magan, historian Amanda Bellows and Jeff Ballabon.
Schlapp told Townhall.com that the launching of the new center is being done to continue the conversation on foreign policy.
"The announcement of this policy center demonstrates that we will have scholars associated with the ACU who will enter the fray on the top issues from a global perspective and come up with conservative solutions for what's affecting the security of the globe," Schlapp said. "It's something that Americans need to understand better... and that includes conservative activists."
He said that the ACU doesn't intend to be a think-tank, but as a way to fill a policy and communication gap in educating activists.
"We will not be timid in talking about any issue of foreign affairs and diplomacy that we think is important to add our voice to," Schlapp said.
The center's first event will be Friday at the Cannon House Office Building, called Iran Nuclear Deal: What Can We Expect? The event will feature McFarland, General Mike Flynn, Clare Lopez and Michael Rubin.
Schlapp thinks that the nuclear deal with Iran is a serious issue and voters need to be more informed about it.
"When they read the New York Times and other places that Obama has a real strategy and that this is a responsible approach, it's easy for people to think that this isn't as serious," Schlapp said. "I don't know of any issues that would be more serious."
Correction: (A previous version of the article said that the name of the center is the Policy Center for Statesmanship and Democracy, it has been corrected to Policy Center for Statesmanship and Diplomacy. Also, Jeff Ballabon was mislabeled as a historian. The historian is Amanda Bellows. We apologize for the error.)
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