War

Tom Segev: The Life and Work of Simon Wiesenthal

Tom Segev
2010

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes historian Tom Segev for a discussion of his new book, The Life and Legends of Simon Wiesenthal. The conversation focuses on the roots of Wiesenthal's passionate commitment to justice and explores his lifelong quest to convict perpetrators of genocide. Wiesenthal's goal was to prevent future genocides by keeping the memory of the holocaust alive. Topics covered in the interview include Wiesenthal's circle of identities, his operating style, his perspectives on the holocaust, his involvement in the capture of Adolph Eichmann, his...

Gideon Rose: How Wars End

Gideon Rose
2010

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Gideon Rose, Editor of Foreign Affairs, for a discussion of his new book, How Wars End. Topics covered include: his intellectual journey, the challenges of editing Foreign Affairs, public discourse on international affairs, the interplay between ideas and action, the politics of ending wars, Obama's strategy in Afghanistan, and the lessons to be learned from the record of American war termination from World War I to the second Iraq War.

Key Words: Political Scientists, War, Editors, Vietnam War...

Stephen D. Biddle: Military Victory in the Information Age

Stephen D. Biddle
2006

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Stephen D. Biddle, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, for a discussion of what factors influence outcomes in military conflict beginning with the battles of World War up until the present. The synergy between force employment and technology is emphasized. They also discuss grand strategy in the post 911 world and the privatization of military power.

http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people6/Biddle/biddle-con0.html

Key...

Sir Lawrence Freedman: Reflections on War

Sir Lawrence Freedman
2018

Conversations host welcomes Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College, London, for a discussion of his new book, The Future of War, A History. Sir Lawrence reflects on the historical perspective he brings to topics such as strategy and war. Emphasizing the importance of understanding patterns and context through the study of history, Sir Lawrence analyzes what we can learn through a focus on ideas that shape thinking about war. What are the origins of these ideas? How do these ideas hold up in the face of the flexibility of adversaries to develop new...

Robert H. Scales: Military Strategy and the Future of Land Warfare

Robert H. Scales
2004

Major General Robert H. Scales, Jr. (U.S. Army, ret.) discusses military strategy with Conversations with History host Harry Kreisler and Professor of Law Thomas Barnes.

Key Words: Military, Strategy, War, Nimitz Lecturers

Jane Mayer: How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Values

Jane Mayer
2008

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes New Yorker writer Jane Mayer for a discussion of her new book, The Dark Side. She explains how, under the direction of Vice President Cheney and his Assistant David Addington,the Bush administration, contrary to American history and tradition, implemented a policy of torture and rendition in violation of U.S. and international law. She describes the resistence within the government and the military to these actions. Mayer also offers a compelling account of what happened to detainees under the Cheney/Addington regime. She also analyzes the long...

James M. McPherson: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief

James M. McPherson
2008

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Pulitzer Prize winning historian and Princeton Professor Emeritus James M. McPherson for a discussion of his new book, "Trial by War." Their discussion focuses on the qualities that defined Abraham Lincoln's leadership, how he came to define the role of commander in chief, the evolution of his thinking on national policy with regard to slavery, how his goal of saving the Union shaped the politics of the war, his relationship to his generals, and the thinking and circumstances that led to his suspension of habeas corpus and the initiation of...

Harold Hongju Koh: Transnational Legal Process and World Order

Hanan Ashrawi
2003

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Harold Hongju Koh, the Dean of the Yale Law School and Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law there. They discuss the role of international law, the meaning of the Iran Contra Affair, the impact of 911, and the prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula.

http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people3/Koh/koh-con0.html

Key Words: Law, International Law, Human Rights, Korea, Iran Contra Affair, War Crimes,...

Alice Karekezi: Justice in Rwanda and the Rights of Women

Alice Karekezi
1999

In this edition, lawyer and human rights activist Alice Karekezi joins UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler to reflect on the plight of women in Rwanda and the importance of making their struggle part of the human rights agenda.

KEYWORDS: Rwanda, Genocide, Africa.

Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt: Recollections from a Military Career

Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt
1989

In this 1989 interview, Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt for a discussion of his life and times as one of America's most distinguished military officers.

KEYWORDS: Nimitz Lecturers.