One Decision

Latest Episodes:

What is Hezbollah's Next Move? Oct 26, 2023

Show notes

Robin Wright from The New Yorker has, on more than one occasion, been granted an audience with the reclusive but fiery leader of the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, designated a terrorist group in the United States and most of the Western world. Having spent years observing and reporting on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and its spinoffs in Lebanon and the wider Arab world, how does she view the events of this month, following Hamas’s unprecedented attacks on October 7th, and the shockwaves that have emanated from it? Sir Richard Dearlove argues that while Iran stands to benefit from chaos in the region and a stalling of Saudi-Israel normalization talks, Tehran may be less invested in the Palestinian cause than many might have thought.

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Biden Flies Into War Oct 19, 2023

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After the divisive and controversial storm surrounding an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, President Joe Biden flew on Wednesday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Cabinet, and families touched by the October 7th massacre last week. As protests and riots spread like wildfire around not just Arab and Muslim capitals and cities worldwide, but in London, Paris, New York, and Berlin—the diplomatic stakes could not be higher. A four-way summit Biden planned to attend with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and King Abdullah II of Jordan was abruptly called off. However, all was not lost—before returning to the United States, Biden announced that Israel had agreed to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and Egypt acceded to let the convoys across the Rafah crossing. Gaza has been without electricity, food, water, and medicine for nearly a week. One Decision speaks to former State Department official and CIA Middle East Analyst Marie Harf, who was in office during the intense Israel-Hamas war of 2014.

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What Went Wrong? Ex-Head of MI6 on the Attacks and Israeli Intelligence Oct 12, 2023

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The world is still reeling from the shocking invasion of Israel over the weekend, where Hamas militants staged the most audacious and horrific attacks in Israel resulting in the biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. But questions are now being asked, to how the country's high tech military and sophisticated intelligence services missed what Hamas was planning? Did Mossad drop the ball? What responsibility belongs to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? One Decision's Sir Richard Dearlove, the former Chief of MI6, examines the issues that may have impacted Israeli intelligence agencies' ability to anticipate the worst attack in the state's history.

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EU Parliament President on Putin, Populism and the Biggest Problems it Faces Oct 05, 2023

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Europe today is being tested like never before in its recent memory—war and instability are on the edges of Europe, threatening to spill over into its borders; Russian influence and propaganda are sowing divisions across the continent, and rising inflation and unemployment are giving oxygen to divisive populist politics. One Decision sits down for a sweeping and wide-ranging conversation with Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Union Parliament to discuss the bloc’s biggest security priorities and what needs to happen now to address them, what the EU is doing about Putin weaponizing its energy needs, the migrant crisis and how populists have been exploiting divisions across the continent.

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Bonus: He Met Putin and Xi Over 30 Times. What Did He Learn? Oct 02, 2023

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No country quite understands what it’s like to live next to a major power to the extent Mongolia does because it lives between two. For decades, the government had to balance its relations and goals against the actions and ambitions of its neighbors— except one, Russia is now a pariah, and Mongolia is almost entirely dependent on the other—China for trade. In this week's bonus episode, guest host, journalist and Senior Editor at Semafor, Prashant Rao, sits down with Mongolia's former President and Prime Minister, Elbegdorj Tsakhia, who led his country’s transition to democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union. They discuss the relationship that Mongolia has built with China and Russia, what he learned from his interactions with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, how he navigated pressure from Beijing during the Dalai Lama's visits to Mongolia, and what the United States should understand about China.

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Trump National Security Advisor's Warning About His Return to Office Sep 28, 2023

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Washington foreign policy hawk Ambassador John Bolton has served in every Republican administration since President Reagan, with his most recent post serving as Donald Trump's National Security Advisor. Bolton sits down with guest host and award-winning anchor and foreign correspondent Robyn Curnow and Ex-MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove to discuss his time during the Trump administration, why he is working to prevent a second Trump term, and his thoughts on the end game in Ukraine.

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Bonus: Canada’s UN Ambassador on Assassination Allegations Against India Sep 25, 2023

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Canada’s Justin Trudeau threw a petrol bomb into the opening of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York last week—announcing that there were “credible allegations” that Delhi was behind the shooting of a Canadian Sikh activist in Vancouver in June. Prime Minister Modi is riding high after a successful G20 summit, having entertained a slew of world leaders from the West, all hoping to curry favour with the biggest population in the world. Is Canada mad to start a fight with Delhi at a time when allies are needed to square up to China and Russia? Or does human rights trump geopolitics? One Decision sits down with Canadian Ambassador to the UN Robert Rae to discuss.

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More Cooperation with China: A Good Move for the UK? Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

China's President Xi Jinping is absent from this year’s United Nations General Assembly, but he’s certainly being talked about. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who also skipped the meeting, is moving the United Kingdom away from its previously hostile stance toward China, arguing that boycotting Beijing is not an option amidst the many global challenges requiring cooperation. He has angered many in his right-wing governing party, particularly longstanding China hawks like former leader Iain Duncan Smith. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane sits down with the UK’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward, who served as their first female Ambassador to Beijing to discuss UK relations with China and Sir Richard Dearlove joins Julia to discuss his takeaways and Russia's role in the UN Security Council.

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Bonus: What's a Spy Chief Watching for at UNGA? Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

The world’s leaders descend on New York City this week for the annual gathering of the United Nations—think of it as our global town hall. Amid the backdrop of the Ukraine war, spiralling inflation, natural disasters and heightening superpower tensions, there is a lot to be discussed. It comes also on the heels of the G20, where Indian PM Narendra Modi played a pivotal role in shaping global agreements on Ukraine and pushing for the African Union to join the bloc—an equivalent, he argues, to the EU. As the Global South continues to refuse to pick a side in the war in Europe, we are asking this week: is the West’s global dominance over?

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Christiane Amanpour on Ukraine, Democracy and 40 Years at CNN Sep 14, 2023

Show notes

Christiane Amanpour, the legendary foreign correspondent, marked 40 years with CNN this week. She's covered some of the biggest stories of our times: the Gulf wars, the conflict and breakup of the former Yugoslavia, the War on Terror, the Arab Spring, interviewing and challenging world leaders from Washington to London to Paris to Tehran. Having recently returned from Ukraine, she shares with One Decision's Julia Macfarlane and Sir Richard Dearlove what she heard in Kyiv on their counteroffensive against Russia. She also offers an assessment of the strength of American support for Ukraine, the influence of tech barons like Elon Musk on the safeguarding of democracy, and also her thoughts on the newly announced CEO at her network, former BBC Director General Mark Thompson.

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