Hillary Mann Leverett, former State Department official and co-founder of The Race For Iran, discusses neoconservative Michael Rubin’s doubts about Iran’s 2003 “Grand Bargain” of diplomatic overtures to the US; how US and Iranian interests aligned against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, creating an opportunity for an al-Qaeda/MEK prisoner swap that may have prevented future terrorist attacks; the pushback from the US intelligence community/military against Israel and the Obama administration (proudly “marching in lockstep” with Israel); why Iran really is an imminent threat (to Israel’s regional hegemony, not existence); and why plans to use Syria as a conduit to effect regime change in Iran are not based in reality.
MP3 here. (24:16)
Hillary Mann Leverett has more than 20 years of academic, legal, business, diplomatic, and policy experience working on Middle Eastern issues. In the George W. Bush Administration, she worked as Director for Iran, Afghanistan and Persian Gulf Affairs at the National Security Council, Middle East expert on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, and Political Advisor for Middle East, Central Asian and African issues at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. From 2001-2003, she was one of a small number of U.S. diplomats authorized to negotiate with the Iranians over Afghanistan, al-Qa’ida and Iraq. In the Clinton Administration, Leverett also served as Political Advisor for Middle East, Central Asian and African issues for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Associate Director for Near Eastern Affairs at the National Security Council, and Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S. embassy in Cairo. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and a Watson Fellowship, and in 1990-1991 worked in the U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and Israel, and was part of the team that reopened the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait after the first Gulf War.
Ms. Leverett has published extensively on Iran as well as on other Middle Eastern, Central and South Asian, and Russian issues. She has spoken about U.S.-Iranian relations at Harvard, MIT, the National Defense University, NYU, the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, and major research centers in China. She has appeared on news and public affairs programs on BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera (Arabic and English), and was featured in the highly acclaimed BBC documentary, Iran and the West. Along with Flynt Leverett, she appeared in the PBS Frontline documentary, “Showdown With Iran”, and was profiled in Esquire magazine. She has provided expert testimony to the U.S. House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.
Ms. Leverett is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Brandeis University. She also studied at the American University in Cairo and Tel Aviv University. She currently teaches foreign policy at the American University in Washington D.C.
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Antiwar Radio with Scott Horton and Charles Goyette
www.AntiWar.com/radio
Check Out Scott Horton’s website TheStressBlog.com
Andrew has been an enthusiast of the esoteric for decades. He is Editor in Chief of Mindscape – an international magazine, Chairman of The Rennes Group, and former Director of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Sciences (ISIS). Andrew has also been featured in several documentaries. Gough has written for journals and publications and is currently finishing his new book, The Hidden Hive of History: The Forgotten God of the Ancients. Andrew is considered an expert on bees and their mythology. We’ll explore the sacred tradition that has existed for over 100 million years; the veneration of the honey bee. Gough reveals new insights into Atlantis, the fabled labyrinth of Knossos, the Sphinx, as well as the genesis of religion, politics, the illuminate, and the mysterious seafarers whose hallucinogenic concoctions enabled them to become the drug lords of the ancient world, and rulers of souls in the afterlife. The Hidden Hive of History is about the forgotten god of the ancients; the sacred honey bee.
The long and winding road that has been BoA:Audio, Season Six reaches its destination as the incomparable Brad Steiger returns to the program for our Season Finale. Plus, we’ve got a bonus mini-interview with Whitley Strieber to close out the program and season.
