9/11: The Arc of History

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It was Barack Obama, borrowing a phrase from Martin Luther King, who talked often about an “arc of history” that could be “bent towards the hope of a better day”. And he illuminated what he meant when he described the United States being “on the right side of history”. 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’s 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’s 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’s Council of Foreign Relations; and David Richards, who commanded NATO forces in Afghanistan. Producer Smita Patel Editor Carl Johnston