The United Nations released a grave warning this week that some 1,500 women have been captured as sex slaves by the Sunni extremist group that is rampaging through parts of Iraq and Syria. Mark speaks with Zainab Hawa Bangura the UN Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict about the situation in Northern Iraq and what can be done to help these women.
Episode 29: Chris Hill
Chris Hill was born into the foreign service…and he stayed there. He has served as Ambassador to Iraq and as the lead American negotiator in the six party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program. Ambassador Hill sits down with Mark to discuss managing US relations with key allies as the iron curtain fell, facing down Slobodan Milosevic, negotiating with North Korea and the current problems facing Iraq.
These stories are all fresh in his mind. Ambassador Hill just completed his highly anticipated memoir, to be published this fall. Have a listen!
Turkey’s Strategic View of the Iraq Crisis
Turkish foreign policy is always a fascinating case study. As the sunni insurgency in Iraq is gaining steam, how are Turkish foreign policy elites responding? What are Turkey’s near term strategic goals for Iraq and Syria? And how does this impact Turkey’s sometimes hostile relationship to its Kurdish population? Mark speaks with professor Louis Fishman who answers these questions and more.
Be sure to check out Prof. Fishman’s blog, Istanbul-New York-Tel Aviv.
A UN View of the Iraq Crisis
From the perspective of the United Nations, the crisis in Iraq cannot be disaggregated from the crisis in Syria.
In this special edition of Global Dispatches, I speak with the United Nations Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliason who shares his deep concern that ISIS’s offensive in Iraq and Syria’s escalating conflict could plunge the entire region into sectarian war.
I also speak with Bettina Luescher, spokesperson for the World Food Program, who discusses the UN’s humanitarian response to the Iraq and Syria crises. Have a listen. Look out for more of these conversations from the United Nations on Monday.
Episode 14: Douglas Ollivant on Iraq’s Violent Death Spiral
Iraq is in the midst of an unrelenting descent into violence. Every day brings news of another bombing or attack that leaves scores of people dead. This has been the case for the past several months, and it only seems to be getting worse.
I speak with Douglas Ollivant of the New American Foundation who helps put this current wave of violence in context. Ollivant served as a military officer in Iraq, then served on the Iraq team at the National Security Council under both President Bush and Obama. Ollivant offers an indepth analysis of what is driving this violence, what can be done to stop it and the regional implications (read: Syria) of it all. Have a listen.
