Behind the scenes in Washington, a bipartisan coalition of foreign policy experts, issue advocates, military professionals, and political leaders of all persuasions has quietly been coalescing into a newly-announced organization that is dedicated to changing America’s relationship with the world.

The American Security Project has been in the planning and construction stages for a while now, but it made its formal public debut with a high-profile presentation and press conference at the National Press Club yesterday. The most newsworthy elements of its announcement had to do with the results of a nationwide survey it conducted regarding public attitudes on national security:

The results of the survey reveal a country that is tired of war, concerned about the country’s loss of moral authority, and receptive to new approaches to national security, stressing multilateralism over a go-it-alone approach.

Americans believe we are losing the ‘war on terror’ by a 51 to 34 percent margin and losing the war in Iraq by an even greater 62 to 27 percent margin. A plurality of the public, 44 percent, believe we are losing in Afghanistan, compared to 38 percent who believe we are winning. A majority, 57 percent, believe we are slipping backwards in Afghanistan.

However, even in light of the war fatigue, this survey also demonstrates that Americans remain committed to participation in world affairs. By a nearly 2:1 ratio, most support U.S. engagement through multilateral actions and international organizations.

Nearly two thirds of all those surveyed, 62 percent, believe that America’s moral authority in the world has declined since 2001. A remarkable 93 percent believe that declining moral authority is a serious challenge to American national security—a belief that extends across all demographics and political affiliations.

Americans remain concerned about the risks of future terrorist attacks. Of those surveyed, 49 percent believe the war in Iraq has increased the likelihood of an attack against the United States. Even more striking, 72 percent of Americans believe there will be another terrorist attack inside the United States within the next two years.

<!-more-> The American Security Project’s mission is to bring people together in new ways to create a new awareness of global policy and security issues as it affects individuals everywhere, as this press release notes:

ASP is a non-profit initiative organized around the belief that honest public discussion of national security requires a better-informed citizenry—one that understands the dangers and opportunities of the twenty-first century and the spectrum of available responses.

ASP exists to help Americans, from opinion leaders to the general public, understand how national security issues directly relate to them. Challenges will be explained in plain language. Threats will be described to spur constructive action, not to incite fear. Models for leadership will be devised for future needs. Principled solutions will be developed and communicated across broad platforms.

America needs a new national security vision for this new era and a dialogue at home that is as robust as it is realistic.

While the American Security Project may be a relatively new player on the national scene, the people behind it are anything but newbies when it comes to the serious business of protecting America's interests in a rapidly-changing world:

The Honorable Gary Hart, Chairman
Senator Hart served the State of Colorado in the U.S. Senate and was a member of the Committee on Armed Services during his tenure.

The Honorable Richard L. Armitage Richard L. Armitage is President of Armitage International.

Lael Brainard Dr. Brainard is Vice President and Director of the Global Economy Development Center and holds the Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in International Economics at the Brookings Institution.

Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.) Brigadier General Cheney is the President of the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas.

Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, USA (Ret.) Lieutenant General Christman is Senior Vice President for International Affairs at the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Gregory B. Craig Mr. Craig is a Partner at Williams and Connolly LLP.

Nelson Cunningham Mr. Cunningham is Managing Partner of Kissinger McLarty Associates.

Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, USN (Ret.) Vice Admiral Gunn is the President of the Institute of Public Research at The CNA Corporation, a non-profit corporation in Virginia.

Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, USA (Ret.) Lieutenant General Kennedy is the first, and thus far only, woman to achieve the rank of three-star general in the United States Army.

The Honorable John Kerry Senator Kerry was the Democratic nominee for President in 2004 and represents the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States Senate.

The Honorable George Mitchell Senator Mitchell is Partner and Chairman of the Global Board of DLA Piper, Rudnick, Gray, Cary.

Susan E. Rice Dr. Rice is Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution.

The Honorable Warren B. Rudman Senator Rudman represented the state of New Hampshire for two terms in the United States Senate.

David Thorne Mr. Thorne is currently Founder and Director of Adviser Investment Management, Inc.

General Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.) General Zinni is President of International Operations for M.I.C. Industries.

If some of those names look familiar to you, that’s because they certainly should. There are a variety of well-known and very well-qualified individuals making up this initiative, as the above list of its Board of Directors indicates. And if some of those one-sentence bios look surprising to you, perhaps they shouldn’t. A truly high-level think tank and policy center that purports to be bipartisan certainly ought to be able to include members of the conservative Brookings Institution, career military officers, current and former senior officers of government from both parties, and well-established representatives of the private sector if it is to have credibility on the global stage.

And credibility is something that the American Security Project definitely does have. While it’s only officially gone public this month, it’s already been active behind the scenes since it was first in the planning and creation stages. And as this report on its public debut this week from DefenseNews.com indicates, the key players behind the ASP have no intention of letting it keep a low profile during these crucial moments in history.

Sen. John Kerry and retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni blasted the Bush administration’s handling of U.S. foreign policy, calling May 16 for a new approach under which America would work more closely with other nations and place greater emphasis on “strategic thinking.”

Calling Washington’s current foreign policy plans “ill-defined and ill-directed,” Kerry said U.S. leaders should start a “new dialogue” on America’s actions and role in world affairs, he said.

U.S. officials need to “re-value strategic thinking” and craft policies that are clear and “understandable to the American people,” said Zinni, a former chief of U.S. Central Command.

Those in Washington now crafting American foreign policy have “over-politicized things … and only deal in the here and now,” Zinni said, taking a thinly-veiled swipe at the Bush administration and Congress. He called for a resurgence of leaders who “saw the broader picture,” such as Army Gen. George Marshall, who was chief of the American World War II effort. He also had stints leading the Departments of Defense and State.

The duo’s comments came during a briefing in Washington that was billed as the formal launch of a new think tank, dubbed the American Security Project.

The foreign policy debate in Washington has degenerated into nothing more than a “mud-slinging and gun-slinging affair,” said Kerry. He also said the nation must move away from “lowest-common-denominator politics,” which the senator said can too often “lead to rash actions.”

The new organization was the brainchild of Kerry over a year ago, said former Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo, the new organization’s chairman. Kerry said the group took a year to formally launch the think tank because he did not want the event to be linked to anything the Democratic nominee for president in 2004 “may or may not do” in the 2008 race for the White House.

One of the goals of the American Security Project will be determining where the American people stand on security-related issues and to “spur constructive action, not incite fear,” according to a May 9 statement announcing the group’s launch.

Saying many Washington think tanks seem to use high-brow language to “talk to themselves,” Kerry said the project will attempt to explain complex challenges “in English.” Members of the new organization are planning a 20-city U.S. tour aimed at sparking a debate about how America should best use its power and influence around the globe.

Mr. Hart announced the launch of the American Security Project in his ongoing blog at the Huffington Post this week. Kerry online media director Brian Young also discussed it in his Daily Kos diary, paying special note to the ASP’s intention to invite and encourage direct participation from the netroots community as it moves forward with its public-policy research and advocacy activities. The ASP also offers news updates and policy notifications by email via a citizen signup option on its website.

All things considered, not only is the emergence of the American Security Project a welcome new force for rational public and security policy on the national scene, it promises to be a valuable venue for average citizens to make their voices heard in Washington on the most critical issues facing our country and the world today.