In his new book, Negotiating with Iran: Wrestling with the Ghosts of History, Ambassador John Limbert examined four case studies of United States-Iran negotiations to see what can be learned from them. Limbert joined the Council last Monday to present his findings and explained that any negotiations entered into by the United States with Iran must deal with two realities: the need for realistic expectations and the need for high expectations. He cited former Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker’s belief that negotiations will always be harder, take longer, and that, no matter how well they might seem to be going, someone will always come along and mess it up. Limbert said that if this is true in Iraq, “it is doubly true in Iran.” Limbert believes a primary goal should be to begin negotiations with Iran, whether we like its government or not, because there are countless issues to discuss. Referring to the subtitle of his book, “Wrestling with the Ghosts of History,” he said he hopes he can be a ”ghost-buster” of sorts and clear away the ghosts of the past so we can move forward in the near future. A former hostage himself, held at the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, Ambassador Limbert has recently been appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iran in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State.
The entire program can be heard on our online audio archive here.
While his new book, Stripping Bare the Body: Politics, Violence, War discusses three different conflicts, Mark Danner focused his remarks on the “War on Terror” at the Council last Thursday. Danner described the torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, specifically that of Abu Zubaydah, the first of the “high-value detainees” to face interrogation and torture under the post-9/11 directives. The information was recorded by the International Committee of the Red Cross in a classified report that was leaked to Danner in 2008, and later published by him on the New York Review of Books’ website. Danner urged all in attendance to read it to be better informed about these post-9/11 tactics sanctioned by the Bush administration. Danner does applaud the Obama administration’s reversal of numerous interrogation and detention procedures, especially the decision to close Guantanamo. Looking to the future, Danner is concerned about the current situation in Afghanistan, but is optimistic that Obama’s patience and unwillingness to be bullied will lead the president to make the right decision about Afghanistan when he’s ready.
To hear the entire program with Mark Danner, please visit our online audio archive. Read more about President Obama’s Afghanistan decision in an article from today’s New York Times.
On Monday, November 23, the Council will be joined by Ambassador Richard Jones, Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency. He will discuss the IEA’s current analysis of energy supply and demand and the implications for energy security and the environment. The Economist wrote about current and future demands for oil and included a chart displaying the IEA’s projections. Ambassador Jones will be speaking with energy expert David Victor, Professor at UC San Diego’s School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and Director of the School’s new Laboratory on International Law and Regulation.
Lester Brown, founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute and author of the recently published Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, spoke at the Council last Monday night about climate change and food insecurity. Brown acknowledges many problems with modern society, but is especially concerned with global food security, calling it “the weak link in our system.” He cited falling water tables and the melting of the polar ice caps as primary challenges to food production, but also named population growth and greater reliance on grain-based foods as other important factors. Brown has studied past civilizations that have declined and collapsed and has come to the conclusion that food security issues were behind many of these collapses. He worries that our modern global civilization could face the same problem and urged the audience to take action. Brown said that we all know the dangers global warming is having on the planet but that we should be most concerned with saving global civilization.
You can listen to the entire program here at our online audio archive. Learn more about what is being done to combat climate change by visiting the website of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Finally, be sure to attend our program on December 2, “Inside the Copenhagen Climate Negotiations,” with Daniel Kammen and Mark Levine.
This Monday, November 16, Ambassador John Limbert will join the Council to discuss the US approach to negotiating with Iran. Limbert, who has a distinguished history with the US Foreign Service, was just named to the post of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Iran. The announcement came thirty years to the week of his being taken hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran.
To learn more about the appointment and Limbert’s experiences with Iran, read Laura Rozen’s blog on Politico or visit the website of the National Iranian American Council, on whose Board of Advisors Limbert recently served.
Why are women treated poorly in Islam? And, why don’t moderate Muslims denounce jihad? Tamim Ansary, author of Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes, offered his perspective on these two most frequently asked questions at the Council last Thursday. Ansary describes himself as a storyteller and has recently focused on the story of the Islamic world, how it differs from Western history and how the two are beginning to cross paths like never before. He spoke about the Muslim idea of “ummah,” or community, and the ways it has changed over many centuries. Ansary closed by speaking on the threat of Islamic fundamentalism and said that the way to diffuse this threat is to address underlying issues, such as land ownership and water rights, that drive Muslims to fundamentalism and jihadist actions.
To hear the full program with Tamim Ansary, visit our audio archive here.
Robert Musil, author of Hope for a Heated Planetand Senior Fellow at American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, joined the Council Tuesday night to present strategies for combating climate change. Musil said he prefers to be an optimistic environmentalist, rather than emphasize “gloom and doom” like so much of what’s found in today’s media. He acknowledged many problems that the world is facing, such as the spread of malaria and the rise of sea-levels, but spent the majority of his time focusing on positive solutions, like the increasing global investment in alternative energy and the changes the Obama administration is making in environmental policy. Musil also discussed the current Boxer-Kerry “cap and trade” bill that is making its way through the Senate and he encouraged the audience to write Senator Boxer to ask her to keep plans for new nuclear plants out of the bill. However, of all the solutions Musil has for fighting climate change, his biggest is getting the general public involved. He cited numerous groups all across the political spectrum that are doing good things for the environment and said the only way we can slow global warming is to become involved ourselves.
2009 has been an amazing year at the World Affairs Council. Here’s a collection of highlights from just a few of our engaging speakers, including Nicholas Kristof, Michael Pollan, and Madeleine Albright.
Next Monday the Council will be joined by Lester Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute and renowned environmentalist. He will be speaking about two pressing issues: climate change and global food insecurity.
Last week, the New York Times‘ Room for Debate blog featured the opinions of six experts about biotech food and its potential to cure world hunger. Before coming to our program with Brown, read what they had to say about ending hunger here.
Acknowledging the diverse feelings Americans have about the United Nations, Dr. Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, spoke to a large audience about the many ways the UN and the United States interact. Brimmer used examples relevant to California, such as aviation and shipping, intellectual property rights, and communications, to illustrate the support given to the UN by the US and the protection and oversight of US interests by various UN agencies. Brimmer also discussed President Obama’s call for an “Era of Engagement,” which is already bringing about changes in nuclear nonproliferation policy, climate change negotiations, and food security initiatives. While responding to audience questions, Brimmer devoted time to explaining the Obama administration’s decision to rejoin the UN Human Rights Council as well as the continued concerns about HRC members’ compliance with the organization’s mission. Brimmer was optimistic throughout the program and ended by expressing her joy at seeing the Islamic world’s positive reception of Obama’s June speech in Cairo.
To listen to the entire program, please visit our audio archive. Learn more about the United States’ involvement with the UNHRC here. Finally, you can watch a clip of the program below.
Washington Post Associate Editor and Chief Foreign Correspondent Jim Hoagland joined the North American Forum again this year as a participant. One of his most recent columns draws from this year’s discussions at the Forum in Ottawa and advises President Obama to work with Canada and Mexico to form a “more perfect economic union to deal with a lingering international financial crisis that drains the U.S. dollar of value and credibility and that fuels rising unemployment.”
October has been a busy month at the Council. We’ve had programs about issues ranging from the resource curse of oil to the ways game theory can be applied to national security challenges. There was one region, the Middle East, which was given particular attention as we strove to provide the community with multiple perspectives of the region, its people, and the challenges they face.
On October 15, we welcomed Ambassador Hossam Zaki, Senior Political Advisor to Egypt’s Foreign Minister. He spoke about the Arab-Israeli conflict as well as Egypt’s work to aid peace and stability in the Palestinian territories. Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, joined us on October 21 to discuss the results and findings of Gallup’s recent survey of 50,000 Muslims from more than 35 countries.
Then, on October 22, we hosted a conversation between the former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert and Council CEO Jane Wales. Olmert responded to questions about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the economic situation in the West Bank and Gaza, but particularly focused on the peace proposal he made to the Palestinians in September 2008. We concluded our Middle East perspectives series on October 27 with a program featuring Ambassador Maen Areikat, PLO Representative to the United States. Areikat discussed the ongoing hardships that Palestinians endure under occupation as well as how the Palestinians must heal internal divisions between Hamas and Fatah in order to secure a Palestinian state.
If you missed a program, check our online archive. To learn more about Gallup’s survey of Muslims, go to MuslimWestFacts.com. You can also read an editorial by Maen Areikat from the SF Chronicle here.
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