Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan: Why Civilians Matter

Dr. John Tirman will give a talk on ‘Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan: Why Civilians Matter’ on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 7:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library.  Our government and the public rarely question the enormous toll in civilian causalities in wars, particularly those that the United States has waged. John will not only speak on the moral imperative of “body counts” but why civilian mortality and displacement affects the way we think about war, strategy, and responsibility. The Walpole Peace and Justice Group is sponsoring the talk. 

John is the Executive Director of MIT's Center for International Studies, where he is also Principal Research Scientist. Previously, he was Program Director at the Social Science Research Council (2000-2004), a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Cyprus (1999-2000), executive director of the Winston Foundation for World Peace (1986-1999), senior editor at the Union of Concerned Scientists (1982-86), and a researcher-reporter at Time magazine (1977-79).

He has written several books on global affairs and more than one hundred articles in a wide range of periodicals. Most recently he published The Deaths of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America's Wars, a major contribution to understanding conflict and America's involvement. His other books includeSpoils of War: The Human Cost of America's Arms Trade (1997) and Making the Money Sing: Private Wealth and Public Power in the Search for Peace(2000). He is editor or coeditor of several collected volumes, including The Maze of Fear: Security & Migration After 9/11 (2004); Terror, Insurgency, and the State (2007); and Multilateralism Under Challenge? Power, International Order, and Structural Change (2006). Periodicals where his articles have appeared include The Nation, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Boston Review, the New York Times, and AlterNet, among others.

The talk will be in the Community Room at the Walpole Public Library, 143 School Street, Walpole, MA.