Events at the Shop
Rory Stewart on International Intervention
Monday 9 June 2008
On the day on which the hundredth British soldier was killed in Afghanistan, Rory Stewart spoke at the Bookshop about international intervention and ‘Afghanistan rhetoric and reality’. Drawing on his experience as chief executive of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, which is working to rebuild Kabul, he spoke about his recent experiences of the reconstruction and shared his views on how the country could best move forward.
Listen now (21:19)
Stewart shares his “questions and anxieties about what we’re doing” in Afghanistan, covering the successes and failures to date in the international balance book. He analyses the structural reasons for the latter, and speculates on the reasons for continued international participation in the region.
Recorded and edited by Adrian Leibowitz and Brett Wilson
Common Custom:documentary & archive
Rory Stewart was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Malaysia. After a brief period in the British army, he joined the Foreign Office, serving in the Embassy in Indonesia and as British Representative in Montenegro, Yugoslavia. In 2002 he completed a 6,000 mile walk from Turkey to Bangladesh. He was awarded an OBE in 2004 for his work in Iraq. He now lives in Kabul, where he is the Chief Executive of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation.
Further Reading
If you enjoyed this event, you may also be interested in:
Sebastian Barry and Richard Mason - The Secret Scripture and The Lighted Rooms