In a time of increased militarisation, conflict and vicious wars, we ask:
How did we get here?
And we add: It is possible to stop drifting into a catastrophic Third World War!
John Kiriakou was with the CIA for 15 years and led the CIA's hunt for al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan. When he publicly exposed the CIA/USA's illegal torture practices, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison. He is a member of VIPS, the
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. Today he campaigns for the release of Guantanamo prisoners and against warmongering policies.
Kiriakou has been awarded the US PEN’s Freedom of Expression prize. He asks: "How do you keep quiet when the country you love knowingly and willingly violates the very basis of its foundational beliefs and laws? And when you speak out, does the system support you or punish you for revealing the ugliness?
Hear John Kiriakou's gripping story, his thoughts about the CIA and its operations from inside the organisation, and not least — what we can do to prevent a Third World War.
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At the center of the evening is the interaction between Norway’s internationally renowned jazz pianist Tord Gustavsen and actress Juni Dahr who has been writing, adapting and performing theatre plays all over the world.
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We end the evening with a panel dialogue (led by
Deepa G. Driver) featuring
John Kiriakou together with
Arne Ruth,
Ola Tunander and
Glenn Diesen.
Ola Tunander is a former research professor at PRIO and a geopolitics expert. He has written and edited 12 books and a number of articles on security politics, naval strategy, submarine operations, geopolitics, Dual State, psychological operations (PSYOPs) and Cold War history.
Glenn Diesen is a professor of political science and of geoeconomics at the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN). He is an expert in Russian foreign policy and Eurasian integration. Diesen is an internationally renowned speaker and author, and has published 8 books by well-respected international publishers, such as Routledge. Glenn’s podcast has more than a million subscribers.
Arne Ruth was editor-in-chief of Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter and Expressen for 22 years. He is a staunch fighter for freedom of expression and campaigned for Salman Rushdie, as well as for the release of the jailed editor of Wikileaks, Julian Assange.
Deepa Govindarajan Driver is a university lecturer and trade unionist. She is vice-chair of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (UK) and serves as a legal/trial observer, predominantly in cases related to whistleblowing, journalism, counter-terrorism and national security. For five years she served as the legal observer in the extradition case against Julian Assange.
