Intelligence Squared U.S. Makes International Debut with Humanitarian Intervention Debate, Live from GMF's Brussels Forum

On Friday, March 9, the "fantastic" (New Yorker) nonpartisan oxford-style debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. will host its first debate overseas, building on several years of national expansion beyond their New York home base holding debates from San Francisco to DC. Presented in partnership with The German Marshall Fund of the United States at their flagship international policy conference Brussels Forum, the debate will tackle the motion "Humanitarian Intervention Does More Harm Than Good." As with all their debates, it will live stream globally and air as a syndicated public radio show and podcast.

Debating that the use of military force to halt human rights abuses is thinly veiled Western imperialism and an assault on state sovereignty are Frank Ledwidge, a former British military intelligence officer who served in the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and Columbia University military intervention researcher Rajan Menon. Debating in favor of such intervention are Doctors Without Borders co-founder Bernard Kouchner, also the former French Minister of Health and Humanitarian Affairs, and Kori Schake, who has served in the White House on the National Security Council and in the U.S. Departments of Defense and State.

The debate will stream live online at 3:45pm Brussels time (9:45am ET), then air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast "Intelligence Squared U.S." On March 9, online viewers can tune in at IQ2US's website and ask questions for the debaters through Twitter with #BrusselsForum.

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "Humanitarian Intervention Does More Harm Than Good" at GMF's Brussels Forum

WHEN: Friday, March 9, 2018 / 3:45PM CET (9:45AM ET)

WHERE: Kaye Playhouse / East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues / New York, NY 10065

TICKETS: Live-streaming at IQ2US's website

Debating For the Motion:

* Frank Ledwidge: Senior Fellow, Royal Air Force College & Former British Intelligence Officer

Frank Ledwidge is a senior fellow at the Royal Air Force College and a former military intelligence officer. He spent fifteen years at the front end of British foreign policy, dealing with issues such as torture, human trafficking, and war crimes. In Kosovo, Albania, the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia, Ledwidge advised governments on international human rights protection, criminal law reform, and institution building. In Libya, he worked on stabilization during and after the conflict, focusing on justice and security. Prior to that, he was a barrister in Liverpool and throughout the North of England. He is the author of several well-reviewed books, including "Losing Small Wars" and "Investment in Blood."

* Rajan Menon: Author, The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention

Rajan Menon is a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies and the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair in Political Science at the City College of New York. He is the author of several books, including "The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention," which offers a wide-ranging critique of the ideology underlying military intervention. He has held teaching positions at a number of universities, including Columbia and Vanderbilt.

Debating Against the Motion:

* Bernard Kouchner: Co-Founder, Doctors Without Borders 

Bernard Kouchner, a medical doctor by training, is the co-founder and former president of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). The first person to challenge the Red Cross's stance of neutrality and silence in wars and massacres, Kouchner has played an important role in international humanitarian efforts for more than 20 years. As France's minister of health and humanitarian affairs, he convinced the UN to accept "the right to interfere" resolution, and after devastating civil wars in the Balkans, served as special representative to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Kosovo. He is the author of several books and the co-founder of the news magazines L'Evénement and Actuel. He is the recipient of several human rights awards, including the Dag Hammarskjold Prize and the Prix Europa.

* Kori Schake: Deputy Director-General, International Institute for Strategic Studies 

Kori Schake is the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Previously, she was a distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Schake is the editor, with Jim Mattis, of the book Warriors and Citizens: American Views of Our Military and author of Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony. She is a contributing editor at the Atlantic and writes for War on the Rocks and Foreign Policy. Schake has served in various policy roles including in the White House for the National Security Council, Department of Defense, and the State Department. During the 2008 presidential election, she was senior policy advisor on the McCain-Palin campaign.

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)

A non-partisan, non-profit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded in 2006 to address a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. Their mission is to restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to American public discourse. The award-winning debate series reaches over 30 million American households through multi-platform distribution, including radio, television, live streaming, podcasts, interactive digital content, and on-demand apps on Roku and Apple TV. With over 140 debates and counting, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to "think twice" on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008.

ABOUT THE GERMAN MARSHALL FUND

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan American public policy and grant-making institution dedicated to promoting better understanding and cooperation between North America and Europe on transatlantic and global issues. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship. In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has seven offices in Europe: Ankara, Belgrade, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Paris, and Warsaw. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm.

ABOUT GMF's BRUSSELS FORUM

GMF's Brussels Forum is an annual high-level meeting of the most influential North American and European political, corporate, and intellectual leaders to address pressing challenges currently facing both sides of the Atlantic. Participants include heads of state, senior officials from the European Union institutions and the member states, U.S. cabinet officials, U.S. congressional representatives, parliamentarians, academics, and media. Leaders on both sides of the Atlantic continue to deepen transatlantic cooperation on a vast array of distinctly new and global challenges from the international financial crisis to climate change and energy security to the retention of high-skilled workers, yet there is no single transatlantic forum focused on this broad and increasingly complex global agenda. GMF's Brussels Forum provides a venue for the transatlantic community to address these pressing issues. By bringing together leading politicians, thinkers, journalists, and business representatives, GMF's Brussels Forum helps shape a new transatlantic agenda that can adapt to changing global realities and new threats.