Day: November 30, 2023

Background Briefing: November 30, 2023

The Death of Henry Kissinger, a Great Elder Statesman to Some and a War Criminal to Others

We begin with the death of Henry Kissinger at the age of 100 and get an appraisal of his life and legacy which is clearly controversial since Kissinger is being hailed as a great elder statesman by some and a war criminal by others. Joining us is Jeremi Suri, who holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a professor of history and public affairs. He is the co-host of the podcast This is Democracy” and the author and editor of a number of books including The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office, Henry Kissinger and the American Century and most recently, Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy.

 

The Canadian Connection to the Foiled Assassination Plot on US Soil

Then we examine the Canadian connection to the foiled assassination plot on American soil by a “senior field officer,” which Indian Intelligence revealed on Wednesday in a detailed indictment in federal court in Manhattan. Joining us from Canada is Stephanie Carvin, a Professor of International Relations at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ontario whose research focuses on national security, international security and international law. Her most recent book is Stand on Guard: Reassessing Threats to Canada’s National Security and, from 2012-2015, she was a national security analyst with the Government of Canada.

 

Why Did Modi’s Government Take Such a Brazen Risk to Conduct a Hit on a US Citizen on US Soil?

Then finally we get an assessment of why Modi’s government in India took such a risk to plan to conduct a brazen act of terrorism on US soil, and speak with Dr. Daniel Markey, a senior advisor on South Asia at the United States Institute of Peace and a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies Foreign Policy Institute. From 2003 to 2007, Dr. Markey was a member of the U.S. State Department’s Policy Planning Staff where his work focused on U.S. strategy in South Asia, especially Pakistan and India. His books include China’s Western Horizon: Beijing and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia and No Exit from Pakistan: America’s Tortured Relationship with Islamabad.