For more than 40 years has been a leading voice in Foreign Policy as a journalist, a diplomat and as president of the academy. We look forward in having you here. He has just made his trip to the human. Me introduce the two reporters, Susan Glasser is with a best gifts with us and host of the Global Political. She spent four years living in russia. International diplomacy and Thenew York Times covered east and the covered east asia Southeast Asia and the white house. I think you are up first with questions. Is after thehis super bowl of diplomacy. He talked a lot about sovereignty and he went after four countries in particular a lot of republicans in particular believe that their israel benefit in sounding tough , that you get people to get on board some of your priorities in this case, isolating north korea further and perhaps persuade him iranians to reopen the nuclear deal. Venezuelans to open up a lot of their system to more democracy. Do you think that being tough, will get ust man to denuclearize korean net, and improved somehow improved nuclear deal, a dismissal of the constituent assemblydismissal of the Constit Assembly in venezuela . Mr. Talbott lets take the too big and dangerous situations that you focused on and the president focused on. With regard to iran, the chances backedallies who have the deal that we did with iran with the Previous Administration , they have no desire to reopen it. That i havepany heard suggesting that they are prepared to reopen it is it ran itself and that will not help. In regard to north korea, it is almost as though the two leaders our leader and the leader of north korea are saying seeing. Ho can out bellicose the other that race is already a lot of anxiety, particularly i would republic of south korea and in japan. It doesnt help us to have our allies concerned about whether the United States is going to war,prevent prevent a , there isn oxymoron no imaginable scenario where the United States could preempt north korea that would not trigger massive carnage in at least in south korea. I dont think either of those now orare either clearer confident with American Leadership. When you are a guest on Global Political earlier we talked about rush you russia. Youve mentioned the concern of American Allies with the unpredictability of the Trump Administration. Asiaad a visitor from coming to visit you and he said he was here because washington is now the global epicenter of instability in the world. After trump talked to the united nation, how much do we believe this is something more than a war of words and it represents a significant military conflict of some sort. Are you worried and our people around the world that youve talked to are they worried about american foreignpolicy . He did not mean andshington was the youre not saying that, the epicenter of instability in the world. What he meant was washington was not providing the type of ,eadership that this gentleman who comes from a very close ally on the other side of the pacific was talking about. Dilemma which im that President Trump is thinking about and that i would hope are going to do something about, the closer our relationships are with countries on both sides of both oceans, the more worried they are. There are exceptions. Of friends ofuple , apparentlytates their leaders thought that was a good speech, but they were very much in the minority. Ms. Glasser israel . Yes without the most vocal. The flipside of that is also worrisome. The countries that are not our friends who are at least competitors if not adversaries find that the phenomenon of the new administration to be quite theyul for them, because can now make inroads into countries that were counting on theUnited States providing kind of leadership that it has done for the last 70 years. Ms. Glasser i want to follow up on that. Putting your former secretary of state, you were also on the board advising john kerry and , diplomacy does not seem to be the focal point of the Trump AdministrationForeign Policy. It was Hillary Clinton who said in one of her recent interviews, it seems that the secretary of state how concerned are you what appears to be mr. Talbott virtually in both sides of the potomac. Ms. Glasser she was being a little bit flip, but it seems not trump has not emphasized that. Lowtillerson has been profile who doesnt seem to have the full confidence of his present. What are the of his president. What are the consequences, is that why the allies expressing their concern to you about American Leadership . Numberbott there are a of interesting issues. Let me go to one which i think comfort in of some some very uncomfortable time. Everything that i have heard and seen from a distance about our secretary of defense is comforting. For two reasons. He is a total professional. He has a terrific staff around him, including a lot of people who bring experience from Previous Administrations. He is very well regarded by our allies, and this is a credit to President Trump. The president seems to begin ttis a lot ofry matu running room. I have the extraordinary experience out of the blue of eight years of the , and i cannotnt find a word that captures my emotions about what is happening here. This is a disaster. Blamed onbe president ial personnel offices in the white house. Happening,at what is the diminishment of the both the work that the state department does and the morale of people who do it, and the number of people who are doing it are not just coming out of the white house, and its not because of the president s base wants to see that part of the swamp drained. It is not a small. Swamp. S not a absolutely essential to our security. Can make the argument better than our military. Heard the highest praise over the years that i have been in washington, from our uniformed military that diplomacy is where defense starts. That part of the defense of the badly it iss not getting the kind of leadership from the white house, it is not getting the kind of leadership it needs from the secretary of day secretary of state. Have you ever spoken to him about this . Mr. Talbott i have not been asked. Mr. Harris one of the things tillersontalbott tillotson says he never met with his predecessor, john kerry. He never met with john Hillary Clinton. Have you heard him reaching out . Was in the when i profession that both of you are in, i covered the state department. This is without precedent. If one party comes in and the other party goes out, the incoming secretary of state has always gone to his or her press predecessors, plural. I dont think that has happened. What i hear from i have many friends who i revere as colleagues back and the 90s who say that they have been in a way nned from sending messages to the secretarys office. They are supposed to be like victorian children, they dont speak unless they are spoken to. There are a lot of empty offices. As you both know, we are just coming out of the United Nations general assembly, and a lot of diplomats from other countries, including some of our most important allies have come down to washington to meet with c, they arehe ns having some luck of their. Stateing to the departments and either there is nobody in the office, or whoever is in the office doesnt know what the thoughts are on the mr. Nth floor which is where tillerson sits. Mentioned thatu this is not part of the trump agenda. Do you think republicans are also worried about this . Mr. Talbott you bet. I have been at a couple of conferences and meetings in recent weeks which are very bipartisan. I would like to say you bet. I have that our foreignpolicy is nonpartisan, and they are very distressed about this. I should also say that there are, and i will not name down people both are political and professional at the state department who are doing the very best they can who do understand the value and the importance of the morale of the Civil Service and the foreign service. It is not completely agree bleak. But when the aptitude from the top both in the building and in dismissive, i is dont think i have seen this and i hope never to see it again. It is bad for the country. Mr. Harris i have listed lived in hazard, kentuckyit is. For many years and this has been a serious problembased place. I think they would look at you as one of the great wise man in washington. Mostave had it one of the important think tanks in washington. They see you as a guy who has brought down nothing but difficulties over the last 20 years, the coal industry has collapsed, not you in particular wiseou representing the man consensus in washington. How do you there is a part of the Trump Administration that dismisses the status quo and that massachusetts avenue think this is why we went to washington to do differently from what bipartisan consensus has been for a long time. Do you see that rejection of the appropriate any way , and have you seen any sort of replacement ideology that is ineffective is effective . Appropriate ,i think your criticisms of the Trump Administrations, for some of their base supporters will that would be the point. This guy has come to shake up allington, and you of people kind of represent washington consensus that they very much reject. Mr. Talbott all you are taking us in a new and important direction. Iat you are talking about think and you will correct me if wrong, is not so much the president of the United States you are talking about the phenomenon of the Trump Supporters around the country. I will put this aside, puts you and me all in the same boat. E have been in a bubble we are part of the elite. Level ut of that bubble, and understanding the grievances that are obviously ir own in the country country, while i am stepping down from the presidency of brookings, i will join the ranks of dollars scholars. With all respect for the new have fabulousu reporting during the course of the campaign. But even the New York Times did not realize the depth and breath of the grievances out there. Itont think, what was hazard, kentucky or dayton, ohio where i was born, i dont think they are thinking about the foreignpolicy of the United States, they are thinking are their kids going to have a better life for a worse one and what is happening to their jobs. It is a different issue. That was nice to bring us into the questions about who is the washington establishment and who is in the washington bubble. It glasser lets say that since the full year Election Hacking of the election by the russians. Our Intelligence Community does not think it was a lead. President trump repeated again hope, hehis is a repeated this yesterday. What do you believe the investigations hope are likely o you and how serious do believe these investigations are when it comes to potential jeopardy that President Trump and others may see. Where do you think the policy is today . Russia mr. Talbott i just watched a about doping in sports. You may not think that has a lot to do with russia. Issia today under putin weaponize and the 21st century in the digitalh world and in the biological weaken his adversaries, a hispanic number one. Us being number one. Is certainly not the same ideological competition that we andwith marxist. It is american it is american democracy. I have had any number of europeans, particularly from states, alsoltic major countries on the continent feeling the same threat that we are dealing with. I think it is going to be the specter of mushroom clouds. It will be a version of the kind we face during the cold war from Nuclear Weapons now that there are is the weaponization of the digital world, and things like our health. Ms. Glasser this weekend will be the election and germany. The written polls suggest that chancellor Angela Merkel will win another term. There is a Strong Performance by a third party. Party which has been supported by russia. Mr. Talbott when President Trump came into office, i would guess that mr. Putin would regard a president clinton as his number one enemy, but that is no longer the case. I think chancellor merkel probably has the dubious honor of being a target for him. Russians havee used money and hacking in almost every democratic election in the west over the last year. We are not alone. Let me just say something, the russians through the ages have had a propensity to overplay their hand. Their handverplayed up bigtime in this way. This whole hacking operation was supposed to be covert. Is not covert. Well it is arguable that mr. To put mr. Trump in the white house, he is not getting the policies out of mr. Trump and the white house because all of america including the Republican Party knows that mr. Trump might go putin something, so he is blocked and checked and not going to be able do favors to russia for a long time to come. Mr. Harris putin will be over the next 18 months. Over the next 18 months. Do you see this rivalry heating up going into that . Is it structural joined the west and russia or all based upon putins anger over the breakup. Do you foresee this ever Getting Better . Im not sure if this answers your question, but i would be quite certain that the u. S. Is not going to play not leastp tat, because it will not be a fair election. Im sure you know something about this, there is a sense in russia that this society is original, there might be some interesting opposition. Enough toe potent keep him from getting another term. I do think sense russia now is , it issent at russia modernizing to some degree and we can hope that maybe mr. Putin , who has brought back some much of the past will be the last russian leader to do that. Thank you for being our guest on newsmakers. After our is back conversation with Strobe Talbott. Where we endedh which is russia. A lot is happening this week regarding facebook that during to turn over to investigators advertisements that they say were bought by russias attempt to influence the election. Both of you are watching this closely. The thing that is striking to me, you may or may not agree with me with these comparison, this is a form of warfare in the 21st century. I am hearing it from the long time russia experts both inside and recently outside the u. S. Government, this is something new. People have watched the career,ry of putins they thought that he was headed in the direction away of integrating with the west. This rhetoric that there is a war going on, only in the last six months to one year that i started hearing from russia hands. The worsening of the situation from event where we were just a few years ago. From aris i just came meeting with the lip the when he and foreign minister, he the lithuanians have been sounding the russia alarm for years and years. He is essentially feels that finally the United States is listening, and that his alarmist sense about the russians and the russian threat is now increasingly shared across the sea. We thought with this great , Strobe Talbott saying the same thing, i think susan is right, this attitude about russia has gelled in this town over the last couple of months and it is striking. You referenced his recent tweets. Hired many he has people in his administration that agree. , he is notsensus representing mainstream republican form policy but his own set of conditions. I pointed out he is restrained from acting on some of his from , his and ration for pertinent four putin. Even hiring for keep Foreign Policy decisions has constrained hand because they do not agree with him on russia. Mr. Harris trump was talking with about sovereignty and how important it is, never mentioning that the biggest threat to u. S. Sovereignty was the russian hack of our election , never mentioning the russian attack on the ukraine and crimea as a huge threat to sovereignty. Although he talked about sovereignty with great aplomb, he never mentioned the russian part of that, which was significant. Were you struck by Strobe Talbotts comments, he called it a disaster. Mr. Harris extraordinary that he would say that. A fairly recent phenomenon and this town that patients with Rex Tillerson has basically run out. Has if not defenders people who said give him time, this transition is taking a while. He said was ahat widening sense in this town that they are giving up on Rex Tillerson. Its not just democrats, it is something of a consensus on this. You hear this level of alarm from republicans on capitol hill , even close to the Trump Administration, there is a level of resignation at this point. There is a level of alarm what is happening at the state department. Previous administrations come ,nd valley to change the policy but they have never viewed the people who work for them as the enemy. Reagan who had a rhetorical criticism of the bureaucracy here in washington, even he used the bureaucracy to his end. Mr. Harris some of the great heroes to the state department were republicans, baker who her husband is writing a book about. Colin powell, george shultz. Managed to bring the state department along, that is not happening now. That was earlier on when i believe trump was had Just Announced and they were worried that he was going to be bad. I thought really . Back theyg how far platform. Iwoman reproductive rights, equal pay. Prizewinningser cartoonist. I dont remember who did the interview but he was interviewed and said Something Like he never goes to any washington dinners without his wife. I thought this is a gift. He doesnt have anybody talking about womens reproductive choices. But you wont go to dinner where a woman fully closed is at the same table. Tonight on cspans q a , opening of the second the general assembly. Focusing his speech