Rand Beers, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, will speak at Syracuse University on "The Bush Administration's Policy in the War on Drugs and Crime" from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. March 6 in the Public Events Room, Room 220 of Eggers Hall. The lecture is sponsored by The Maxwell School's Global Affairs Institute.
In his role as assistant secretary, Beers advises President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell on the development of policies and programs to combat international narcotics and crime. He has also served on the National Security Council.
Beers joined the U.S. Department of State in 1971 after four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Before assuming his position as assistant secretary, he was the principal deputy assistant secretary for INL from January to October 1998.
Beers served on the National Security Council three times, recently as special assistant to the president and senior director for intelligence programs, and previously as director for global issues and as director for counternarcotics and counterterrorism. He also held various positions in the Bureau of Political Military Affairs of the Department of State, including deputy assistant secretary for regional affairs and export control; deputy for strategy; operations coordinator for regional affairs and security assistance; director of the Office of Security Analysis and the Office of International Security Policy; and deputy director of the Office of Policy Analysis. Additionally, he served as the deputy political advisor to the supreme allied commander in Europe.
"This is a unique opportunity for the SU community to hear from an official of the Bush administration on what its approach will be on illegal narcotics and crime," says Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international relations and public administration in The Maxwell School. "Much has been written lately about new approaches on sentencing. Beers is one of the few officials who has been kept on from the previous administration, so what he says has a ring of authority."
