麻豆社

It was Barack Obama, borrowing a phrase from Martin Luther King, who talked often about an 鈥渁rc of history鈥� that could be 鈥渂ent towards the hope of a better day鈥�. And he illuminated what he meant when he described the United States being 鈥渙n the right side of history鈥�. Behind that rhetoric lies the idea that history is driven by values; that it is not just economic and military power that makes some nations winners in history鈥檚 game but what they believe in and stand for. After recent events in Afghanistan - 20 years after 9/11 - that arc may be bent out of shape. That鈥檚 the framework for this discussion chaired by Edward Stourton with contributions from: the historian Margaret MacMillan; Mark Malloch-Brown, formerly of the UN; Richard Haass, president of America鈥檚 Council of Foreign Relations; and David Richards, who commanded NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Producer Smita Patel
Editor Carl Johnston