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The Fogs of War and Peace

 

 

A review essay for Peacehawks, by Jamie Arbuckle

 

if you want peace, prepare  for peace.

-Hans Blix

 

Being a review of the book The Fog of Peace – How to Prevent War,  by Gabrielle Rifkind and Giandomenico Picco,[1]

and

of the Zoom conference,  Honouring Giandomenico Picco: A Conversation About Negotiation and Diplomacy,narr Christine Amanpour and Sulome Anderson[2]

 

Introduction

 

Gabrielle Rifkind is Director of the Middle East programme at Oxford Research Group, and a group analyst dealing principally with the politics of the Middle East. Giandomenico Picco was for 20 years a UN Secretariat officer and was prominent as a negotiator with focus on Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.  In 1991 he was able to secure the release of a number of hostages from long-term captivity by the Hezbollah; best known among them were Terry Anderson and Terry Waite.  Rifkind and Picco have co-authored this important and highly readable book, which is amplified by the Zoom conference, co-hosted by Amanpour and the daughter of Terry Anderson.

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