A look at noteworthy addresses in...

A look at noteworthy addresses in the Southland. Former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney spoke Sunday at the Century Plaza Towers in Century City. His speech was sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, which gave him its distinguished public service award. From his remarks:

On the Role of Foreign Policy “I am concerned about a set of developments I see occurring . . . (and) it has to do with the euphoria that we’ve experienced as a nation over the last few years as we’ve seen some pretty phenomenal changes occur in the world. . . . There’s been a real tendency for us to come to the conclusion that, as a nation, foreign policy, national security and defense aren’t very important anymore.

. . . That’s a sadly flawed notion. There’s a great danger that if we operate off of that assumption we’re going to find ourselves repeating the serious mistakes that we have made in the past. We are going to strip ourselves of the capacity to shape the future course of events. We’re going to strip ourselves of some of the basic tools we need in order to guarantee our security and provide for some measure of peace and stability in the world in the years ahead.”

On the United States’ Role “. . . When I start to talk about these things . . . (people say) we’ve made the sacrifices . . . let someone else do it . . . turn it over to one of those nations that has benefited economically by the peace and stability that we’ve provided to the world for the last 50 years. . . . Who? . . . There isn’t anybody else other than the United States that’s capable of providing that kind of leadership. No one else could have put together that coalition in the Gulf. . . . Think about what would have happened if we’d taken a pass (in the Gulf).

. . . I see a debate developing in the country that says we don’t have to be concerned . . . that somebody else will step forward . . . and we can afford to dramatically cut back on military commitments and our military capabilities. I’m worried that we will strip away that capacity to be a leader in world events.

. . . We are on the verge of doing exactly what we shouldn’t do, taking it down too far, taking it down too fast, so that once again we’ll find ourselves in the soup not too many years from now.”

Looking Ahead * Wednesday: Ali Mazrui, director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton, will discuss “Afrocentricity vs. Multiculturalism: Are They Rival Paradigms of Education?” at the UCLA Faculty Center. He will also speak on Thursday at UCLA’s MacGowan Little Theater. For more information call (310) 825-3686.

Announcements about prominent speakers in Los Angeles should be sent to Speaking Up, c/o Times researcher Nona Yates, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, 90053