US
US ELECTIONS
Even before the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 race for the White House was certain to be highly contentious. The coronavirus, however, has now created profound uncertainties for the campaigns of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden: it is predicted to take hundreds of thousands of American lives, radically stall the US economy and result in deep recession and long-term unemployment.
A Dog Called Money + Q&A
Award-winning war photographer and filmmaker Seamus Murphy explores the creative inspiration behind PJ Harvey’s ninth studio album in A Dog Called Money, an arresting collage-style documentary charting their travels together in Afghanistan, Kosovo and the US.
Arms Trade and Counter-Terrorism: Developments in Yemen’s Civil Conflict
Since Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, the country has been embroiled in fighting between forces loyal to the president, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Shia Houthi rebels. Is enough consideration of Yemen’s humanitarian contexts being taken in arms exporting and counter-terrorism? With a judicial review aiming to halt UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia beginning in February – and US involvement in the country changing under the Trump administration – we will discuss the role of foreign powers in Yemen’s civil conflict.
First Wednesday: Chilcot and the Legacy of Iraq
Seven years after the announcement of the Iraq Inquiry by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the long-awaited Chilcot Inquiry report into the UK’s involvement in Iraq from 2001 until 2009 is finally due to be published on Wednesday 6 July. We will be joined by a panel of experts to hear their initial reactions to the report – and without the power to assign criminal culpability, we will consider its potential impact in bringing those accountable to justice and in assuring that a foreign policy disaster of this scale is not repeated.
Crisis in Yemen: The Forgotten War
As one of the world’s deadliest yet least reported conflicts escalates into its second year, we will be bringing together a panel of experts to discuss the current situation in Yemen.
We will map out the players involved, discuss the toll of the conflict on one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, as well as the potential for reconciliation and a lasting peace process. We will discuss the alleged complicity of Western powers – the UK, the US and France – by way of billion-dollar arms deals to the Saudi-led coalition, as well as exploring the disproportionate lack of media coverage.
Sicario: Mexican Drug Cartels & the US-led War on Drugs
Journalist and writer Ed Vulliamy was joined by Empire film critic Dan Jolin on Friday 5 February at the Frontline Club, to watch and discuss Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario. The Academy Award-nominated film, the title of which translates to ‘assassin’, tells the story of the inextricably linked worlds of US law enforcement agencies and Mexican drug cartels.
US Election Year: What is in Store?
It is election year in the US and one man has dominated the headlines. Six months ago, the prospect of Donald Trump as presidential candidate might have been something to joke about but it is now looking increasingly like a reality. With primaries about to begin, we will be looking at the battles going on in both parties and who we might see come out on top.
Food Chains: The Struggle of Farm Workers in the US
By Ratha Lehall On Wednesday 27 May, the Frontline Club hosted a preview screening of Food Chains, a documentary which gives a revealing insight into the working conditions of farm labourers in the US. The film also follows a campaign against a powerful supermarket chain led by a workers’ movement in Immokalee, Florida. The screening was followed by a Q&A […]
Preview Screening: Dead When I Got Here + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Mark Aitken and journalist Ed Vulliamy.
Compassion and self-affirmation are discovered by a man as he manages a mental asylum run by its own patients in Juárez, Mexico – the world’s most violent city. Juárez, a city that borders the United States, is at once a place of diverse culture and tradition and a site of desperation and rampant poverty.
President Obama’s “Legacy of Absences”
By Robert Van Egghen With the 2015 State of the Union address showing a rejuvenated and confident Barack Obama, a panel of experts met at the Frontline Club on Wednesday 21 January to debate his legacy, the partisan nature of US politics and whether racial divides have been healed by the nation’s first black president.
A Divided Country, A President’s Legacy
After a devastating defeat in the midterm elections, which saw the Democrats lose control of the Senate, what can we expect from President Barack Obama as he enters his final two years in office? With events in Ferguson, Missouri highlighting the deep racial divides that still exist in the US, we will be asking what the legacy will be of the country’s first African-American president.
Tracing Migration
By Lisa Dupuy Where there are borders, attempts will likely be made to cross them in the hope of reaching greener pastures. But the individuals who try are not necessarily welcomed by those who live on the other side. Fences, walls and legislation are thrown up to at least regulate the influx of migrants. And in some cases, borders are […]
Iraq on the Brink
With a panel of experts we will take a view of events on the ground and the measures being taken by Iraq, its neighbours and the international community. Asking how ISIS has been able advance so quickly and what can be done to prevent further escalation of sectarian polarisation. We will also be looking at the new alliances that might be formed in this new front on the fight against extremism.
The Afghanistan Debate
This event is in association with BBC Service for Afghanistan. It will be held at the Shaw Theatre, 100-110 Euston Rd, London, NW1 2AJ.
As the final stage of the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan begins, we will be bringing together leading experts to look at the country’s roadmap and the legacy of the past 12 years.
America’s Shifting Foreign Policy
As Barack Obama enters the second year of his second and final term in office, he faces considerable foreign policy challenges. Join us as we dissect Obama’s foreign policy ambitions, exploring the shifts in focus and how they are playing out. Will he achieve his second term goals? Can he successfully pull focus to Asia or will the conflict in Syria direct attention back to the Middle East?
The case of the US vs Bradley Manning
In February this year Private First Class Bradley Manning pleaded guilty to sending restricted documents to Wikileaks in violation of military regulations, making him the source of the largest intelligence leak in US history. Ahead of his trial in June we will be examining the charges he faces and the implications if he is found guilty.
North Korea: Sabre-rattling or imminent threat?
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has announced that it has entered into a ‘state of war’ with the US and the Republic of Korea (ROK). The US defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, has declared that DPRK poses “a real and clear danger”. Is this a war of words or could talk of war precipitate a full-blown military conflict?
FULLY BOOKED On the frontline: Refocusing on Afghanistan
October this year will mark 12 years since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and with the 2014 deadline looming join us with author and award winning journalist Christina Lamb, Afghan American author Tamim Ansary and others, as we look ahead at the path to troop withdrawal.
#FCBBCA Israel and Iran: Countdown to war?
Join us to discuss what the future holds for relations between Iran, Israel and the US in the year ahead.
FULLY BOOKED Insight with Ahmed Rashid – Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
As we approach the one year anniversary of the death of Osama Bin Laden, Ahmed Rashid will be joining senior BBC presenter and special correspondent Lyse Doucet to discuss the future for Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States.
Frei at The Frontline Club
By Alan Selby A packed house at The Frontline Club heard Matt Frei regale them with tales from his long and illustrious career. The former BBC Washington correspondent, recently poached by Channel 4 News, was on fine form as he spoke to former BBC executive Vin Ray about more than 20 years with the BBC: […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 27 February – 4 March
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 27 February to Sunday, 4 March from Foresight News By Nicole Hunt This week’s roundup includes no fewer than eight elections at all levels of government, beginning with a leadership ballot for Australia’s Labor Party on Monday. Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the snap ballot on […]
American Muslim: Freedom, Faith and Fear
By Alan Selby A lot has changed in the years since 9/11. The date itself has become emblematic of a change in attitudes towards Islam, perhaps most notably in the country which bore witness to the infamous attacks that day. Popular opinion has shifted, and the land of the free has become an increasingly […]
U.N Me Screening and Q&A with author Ami Horowitz
By: Ivana Davidovic When the United Nations was founded after World War II it embodied the world’s hopes for a more peaceful and just world. Since it’s noble founding, wars and human rights abuses have continued unabated, throwing a spotlight at the UN’s role in keeping the peace and building a fairer world for all. […]
Robert King: The Angola 3 and their fight for justice
Watch the event here. By Thomas Lowe Robert King was freed in 2001 after spending 29 years in solitary confinement in Louisiana state penitentiary ‘Angola prison’. Convicted for the murder of a prison guard, his trial was fraught with inconsistent evidence and clouded by the racism of the Deep South. Clive Stafford Smith, founder and […]
Kissinger: Screening at the Frontline Club in October
Julia Barron of October Films writes an assessment of the documentary film Kissinger, which will be screened at the Frontline Club in October.
With access to Dr Henry Kissinger over the past two years, this award-winning documentary gives unique insight into the personality and motivation of one of America’s most powerful and controversial international statesman.
Afghanistan: The mistake was not going in, but not knowing why we were there
If you want to take part in further discussion about the impact of the War on Terror on our world today and how it might shape our future, come along to our FIRST WEDNESDAY SPECIAL: Changing world – conflict, culture and terrorism in the 21st century on Wednesday, 7 September. The decision to go into Afghanistan was […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 1 – 7 August
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 1 August to Sunday, 7 August from ForesightNews Monday is the beginning of a new month and the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. In Saudi Arabia, the date is doubly significant: following the 18 June beheading of Indonesian maid Ruyati binti Sapubi and […]
First Wednesday: Kill/Capture missions in Afghanistan
Following the targeted killing of Osama Bin Laden we will be devoting July’s First Wednesday to the expansion of man hunt missions used in Afghanistan to take out thousands of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
With a panel of experts we will be examining the effects of the kill/capture missions on the ground? How are they are conducted and how is the intelligence obtained? What effect are they having and could they play a definitive role in ending the war?
FULLY BOOKED Insight with Leila Ahmed: A Quiet Revolution
Leila Ahmed was raised in Cairo in the 1940’s, by a generation of women who never dressed in veils and headscarves. To them, they seemed irrelevant to both modern life and Islamic piety. Today, the majority of Muslim women throughout the Islamic world again wear the veil. Why, Ahmed asks, did this change take root so swiftly, and what does this shift mean for women, Islam, and the West.
Leila Ahmed, who is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School, will be joining us at the Club in conversation with Azadeh Moaveni, Iranian-American writer, journalist and author of Lipstick Jihad, to discuss her new book A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence, from the Middle East to America and her surprising discoveries about Muslim women, Islamism and democracy.