Available Now from Intelligence Squared 'The Saudi Project'

Saudi Arabia, a once insular, oil rich kingdom is transforming into a major diplomatic player, a pivotal actor in the energy transition, an ever-stronger military power, and a host to high-end cultural events, like the FIFA World Cup in 2034. It feels like the era of the Saudi Project. And the country will become a bigger part of all of our lives. But what exactly is the kingdom trying to achieve? And will it succeed? This series speaks to world leading experts to go past the headlines and help listeners understand Saudi Arabia and it's ambitions more clearly. Providing unique analysis and insight into the complex moral questions all Western nations will have to answer as they work with a rising Saudi Arabia in the years ahead.

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General David Petraeus rose to prominence for his role in the Iraq War. He was credited with implementing a counterinsurgency strategy that helped to stabilise the country and reduce violence, earning him widespread praise and recognition as one of the most effective military commanders of his generation. And from September 2011 until November 2012 he served as director of the CIA. In this episode the BBC’s International Editor Jeremy Bowen speaks to the four star General about his understanding of the legacy of the Iraq war 20 years on, and the effect that this has had on US foreign policy today.

This series was produced by Farah Jassat and Catharine Hughes, with editing and artwork from Catharine Hughes. Music is by Lesfm. Excerpts featured in this episode are from The Telegraph.

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Tony Blair is the man who reinvented Labour, won a landslide majority in 1997 and went on to win three elections, becoming Labour’s longest-serving prime minister. He is also the man accused of lies, hubris, money-making deals and taking us into an illegal war.  

This episode features a live event which Intelligence Squared hosted in London in March 2016, when we put Tony Blair on trial and examined his legacy on foreign policy, health, education and much more.

Levelling charges against him was Tom Bower, investigative journalist and author of Broken Vows: Tony Blair and the Tragedy of Power. Defending him was the journalist and Times columnist David Aaronovitch.

This event was originally produced by Hannah Kaye. This series was produced by Farah Jassat and Catharine Hughes, with editing and artwork from Catharine Hughes. Music is by Lesfm.

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How did the Iraq war fuel terror and extremism around the world? What is the connection between Al-Qaeda and ISIS? How did figures like Abū Muṣʻab Zarqāwī and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi become such prominent figures in Jihadism’s global civil war?

On episode four of this series Iraq: Legacy of War, brought to you by Intelligence Squared, foreign correspondent Secunder Kermani is joined by Lina Khatib, Director of the SOAS Middle East Institute; Joby Warrick, journalist and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS; and Tam Hussein, investigative journalist and author of The Darkness Inside.

Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick: https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/joby-warrick

The Darkness Inside by Tam Hussein: https://tinyurl.com/bddmmz7m

This series was produced by Farah Jassat and Catharine Hughes, with editing and artwork from Catharine Hughes. Music is by Lesfm. Excerpts featured in this episode are from DW News.

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Over the last twenty years, award-winning Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, has watched his nation disappear time and time again. Sectarian division, ethnic division, and military intervention have torn his native Baghdad apart - leaving him feeling like a stranger in his own city.

In the third episode of this series Iraq: Legacy of War, brought to you by Intelligence Squared, host Renad Mansour sits down with Ghaith Abdul-Ahad to discuss how Iraqi citizens lost their country and the disappearing sense of ‘Watan’ - a word that means the nation, the state and the homeland all in one.

A Stranger in Your Own City by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad is available now: https://tinyurl.com/2k6kfhh5

To listen to the whole series now please subscribe via Intelligence Squared Premium on Apple Podcasts or here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more.

This series was produced by Farah Jassat and Catharine Hughes, with editing and artwork from Catharine Hughes. Music is by Lesfm. Excerpts featured in this episode are from Al Jazeera.

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What happened in Iraq once the Americans and the British arrived? Why was the transfer of power a far from smooth operation? And what else went wrong in what should have been the mission for liberation?

In the second episode of this series Iraq: Legacy of War, brought to you by Intelligence Squared, host Manveen Rana, is joined again by Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House; and Clare Short, who was Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 to 2003.

This series was produced by Farah Jassat and Catharine Hughes, with editing and artwork from Catharine Hughes. Music is by Lesfm. Excerpts featured in this episode are from BBC news.

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Exactly twenty years ago today on the 20th March 2003, the US along with its allies launched a shock and awe bombing campaign on Iraq. It marked the start of the invasion - and occupation - of Iraq - a defining moment in modern history and contemporary politics. In the first episode of this series Iraq: Legacy of War brought to you by Intelligence Squared, we’ll be taking a deep dive into key moments on the road to war. From understanding Saddam’s rule in the 1980s and the significance of the first Gulf War, to the role of intelligence reports, domestic politics and the Special Relationship between Britain and America.

Our host for this episode is investigative journalist Manveen Rana, who’s joined by Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House; and Clare Short, who was Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 to 2003.

This series was produced by Farah Jassat and Catharine Hughes, with editing and artwork from Catharine Hughes. Music is by Lesfm. Excerpts featured in this episode are from CBS News and AP.

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