wbur.org
support wbur today!
Listen to this story
Iraq: The Road To Democracy
photo

By host Tom Ashbrook:

There were no cars on the streets and, therefore, no car bombs. There were millions of voters, and once again the inspiring sight of Iraqis turning en masse to the ballot box, this time — it appears — to approve a new Iraqi constitution.

Official results are not expected until midweek, but the table now appears set for the next chapter of the Iraq saga. The question is whether it looks like more of the same — insurgency and a slide toward civil war — or something better.

Shia, Sunni, and Kurds appear to have voted their interests, but do those add up to the national interests of Iraq, peace, and a U.S. exit?

Hear about the fog of democracy in Iraq.

Guests:

Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor reporter.;
James Dobbins, Director of International Security and Defense Policy for RAND.;
Ian Lustick, professor of Political Science at University of Pennsylvania and author of “Unsettled States Disputed Lands: Britain and Ireland, France and Algeria, Israel and the West Bank-Gaza” and “Right-Sizing the State: The Politics of Moving Borders.”;
Fouad Ajami, director of Middle East Studies at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University;
Peter Galbraith, Senior Diplomatic Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington DC and former United States Ambassador to Croatia.

 
 

Comments are closed.

Recent Shows
Poker: America’s Game
Thursday, November 19, 2009 image

Poker and American history. How the game of presidents, cowboys, gangsters, and online gamblers helped shape America.

Comments [9]
 
Google vs. Murdoch
Thursday, November 19, 2009 image

Rupert Murdoch wants to block the search giant from scooping free content from his newspapers. We’ll look at the staredown.

Comments [131]
On Point Blog
Michael Wolff and Jeff Jarvis on Murdoch v. Google

We had a rousing discussion about Google vs. Murdoch, and what it says about the whole future of news, with Michael Wolff, Jeff Jarvis, and Steven Brill. Here’s what Wolff and Jarvis had to say about the delusions of both Murdoch and Google.

More » | Comments [18]
 
Video: Google CEO Eric Schmidt

Last week, host Tom Ashbrook was on stage with Google CEO Eric Schmidt, asking him about some of the biggest technology and business issues of our time.
It was part of an MIT event held on Thursday, Nov. 5, to commemorate computer science professor Michael Hammer, who died last year. Here’s video of the full interview, courtesy of WBUR.org:

Among other things, Schmidt said the possibilities [...]

More » | Comments [4]
 
California, here we come! And we need your questions!

On Point is headed west!
No, no. Not for good. Only for one show. But it’s a very special show!  The NPR station in Thousand Oaks, California – KCLU – is celebrating their 15th anniversary. We’re lucky to have been on their airwaves for nearly seven years, and they invited us out west to host a live [...]

More » | Comments [10]