Former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice visited Saint Joseph’s University on September 11 to talk about the international and domestic policy in front of a sold-out crowd during a moderated discussion, writes Cara Smith for The SJU Hawk News.

The conversation was hosted by the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, which provides non-profit and non-partisan educational activities for all ages. For the discussion, Rice was joined by Philip Zelikow, former executive director of the 9/11 commission.

Rice and Zelikow zeroed in on the fact that many of the audience members were too young when 9/11 happened to have actual experience of the event itself.

“You didn’t have an option after 9/11 to decide if you were going to focus on that problem,” Rice said. “Anyone here who is old enough to remember what America felt like after 9/11 knows there was no choice, America was at war.”

Rice also spoke about the current political situation in the country, saying that the current division in the nation’s politics may endanger its future stability.

“When asked what keeps me up at night, it’s not the Iranians, it’s not the North Koreans, it’s us,” said Rice.

Read more about the discussion at The SJU Hawk News by clicking here.