BENGHAZI | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
Date and Time
Feb 7, 2023 6:00 pm
Location
450K
450 K St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
Feb 7, 2023 6:00 pm
450K
BENGHAZI | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
Author Ethan Chorin was one of a handful of American diplomats posted to Libya in the wake of US rapprochement with Colonel Gaddafi in 2003. Six years later, he was in Benghazi when the US mission came under attack, killing US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Stevens had invited Chorin to the mission for dinner that night, and the two were to have met the following day.
Despite 10 sets of Congressional hearings, a deep dive into Hillary Clinton’s emails, and the trial of two suspects (acquitted of the most serious charges), many of the burning questions Americans originally had about Benghazi remain, at best, incompletely answered. This is largely because the fusion of two Benghazi narratives to partisan identity left little room for update, revision, or re-assessment, even after the immediate fog of battle had cleared. 10 years later, that's changing.
In BENGHAZI!, Chorin puts the attack and the scandal in their broader political and historical context, sorting out fact from 'fake news'. Understanding Benghazi, he argues, is no less relevant today than it was in 2012, for the attack and multi-year scandal left a profound mark on American politics and foreign policy, and suggest several key areas for policy reform.
To tell this story, Chorin draws on his own jarring experience during the Benghazi attack, his expertise as a former diplomat and scholar of Libyan history, and more than 250 interviews with Libyan insiders, eyewitnesses, and a Who's Who of US officials, on both sides of the aisle.
Democrats and Republicans agree on little when it comes to Benghazi, but both sides are likely to find themselves feeling vindicated by some of Chorin’s revelations and conclusions, while strongly contesting others.
Dr. Ethan Chorin is joining the Busboys stage to discuss this new book release. He will be joined in conversation by Prof. Bradley F. Podliska, author of the just-released "Fire Alarm," an insider analysis of the deliberations of the House Benghazi Committee. This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of BENGHAZI will be available for purchase before and during the event. Please note that this event will not be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books.
Dr. Ethan Chorin is a former diplomat, senior political analyst, and author. His work on Libya, the Middle East, and Iran has appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Forbes, Newsweek, and many other outlets. He has been a regular commentator on Libya for the BBC, and has also appeared on CNBC, CNN, CBS, and C-SPAN.
Bradley F. Podliska is a former investigator for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Benghazi. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science (International Relations major) from Texas A&M University, a M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A. (with honors) in International Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies with the Air Force and a retired U.S. Air Force Reserve intelligence officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Prior to working for the Benghazi Committee, he worked as an intelligence analyst for the Department of Defense. His publications include a book, Acting Alone: A Scientific Study on American Hegemony and Unilateral Use-of-Force Decision Making (Lexington Books), a book chapter on congressional oversight, and articles on national security and the military.
