International affairs

Journalist, professor, and historian Christopher Simpson teaches at American University in Washington, D.C. Last month the U.N. Security Council voted to create a new international tribunal to try those accused of war crimes in the Balkan conflict. Simpson has written a new book about the use of mass murder as an instrument of state power, beginning with World War I, called "The Splendid Blond Beast." Simpson shows how those who commit such crimes are rarely punished, like high-ranking SS killers from World War II.

One of the most respected war surgeons, Dr. Chris Giannou. He was director of surgical operations in Somalia with the International Committee for the Red Cross from February '92 until January '93. He helped set up field hospitals, and taught and performed war surgery. Before that, Giannou spent over two years in a Palestinian Refugee Camp, which was under constant siege. Giannou wrote a book about it, called "Besieged: A Doctor's Story of Life and Death in Beirut."

Award-winning historian Michael Beschloss just co-authored a new book, "At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War." He and co-author Strobe Talbot were in contact with officials in both American and Soviet governments, and in NATO. They show the close tie between George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, which "eventually caused both men to lose touch with their domestic constituencies."

Wu Ningkun, author of a new personal and political memoir, A Single Tear, talks about surviving three decades of Communist rule in China. Wu was born in China, went to college in the United States, and returned to China in 1951 with hopes that the new Communist regime would benefit his country. Instead, he was labeled counter-revolutionary for teaching works by Western authors and sentenced to serve time at various labor camps and prisons. He now lives in the United States with his family.

From the relief and development organization CARE, President and CEO Philip Johnston. Guest host Marty Moss-Coane talks with him about the organization's next efforts in Somalia, helping farmers rehabilitate farms, and training village health workers to monitor the nutritional status of mothers and young children.

Spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Yetta Sorenson. She's based in Zagreb, Croatia. Terry speaks with her from Croatia about the organization's relief efforts in the former Yugoslavia. In May, one of their relief convoys was attacked, and a ICRC delegate was killed. The organization pulled out of the area until mid-July. Last December, in response to the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the ICRC issued an unprecedented public statement condemning the atrocities there.

Terry speaks with Admiral Ge LaRocque, director of the Center for Defense Information in Washington, D.C. They discuss the future of the American military: Is the American military becoming a world police force in the post-Cold War era? General LaRocque offers an analysis of yesterday's allied air strike on missile bases in southern Iraq and also sheds light on question of military invervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Balkans. They also talk about the American military and the U.N. and how the military may fare during the transition between the Bush and Clinton presidencies.

Nachtwey was in Somalia in October, and photographs of his visit were the cover story in The New York Times Magazine section on December 6, 1992. Terry talks with him about his trip to Somalia: why he took the pictures he did, how he was received, why he wanted to go, etc. Nachtwey has been awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal three times. He's been to areas of conflict in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Lebanon, the West Bank, Sudan, the Philippines, Northern Ireland and more.

Associate Director for International Communications for the American Red Cross, Ann Stingle. Terry talked with her about three weeks ago the day before she was on her way back to Somalia. She was also there last spring before international attention was focused on the starving. Stingle just returned from Somalia; she'll talk with Terry about what she saw there after the arrival of American troops.

BBC correspondent Misha Glenny. He's returned to London from covering the war in the former Yugoslavia. Terry will talk with him about the war and the history that led up to it. He's also the author of the book "The Fall of Yugoslavia."