Tapped phones and emails. Secret surveillance. Insistent cajoling and front-page versions of “Let’s Make a Deal.” The diplomacy that used to be conducted in whispers behind closed doors seems lately to be getting louder, and going public, as the United States sizes up its support on the UN Security Council, and tries to cobble together “a coalition of the willing” for a war against Iraq.
While bugging your enemy may be nothing new, bugging your friends and would-be allies has some crying foul. It’s no way to win friends and influence people, they say. And it’s going overboard. Others counter: all’s fair in the run-up to war, and if it works, do it. Threats, bribes and pointed persuasion: Diplomacy’s dark side in the spotlight.
Guests:
Melinda Kimball, Senior Vice President for Programs at the United Nations Foundation
Ambassador Richard Murphy, Senior Fellow for the Council on Foreign Relations
Ed Vulliamy, UN Correspondent for The Observer.