COLUMBIA — Iran expert and New York Times foreign correspondent Stephen Kinzer will discuss the power of diplomacy and the costs of war at a free public lecture at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15 at Middlebush Auditorium on the MU campus. Kinzer will be joined by Trita Parsi, a Middle East expert, author and president of the National Iranian American Council.
Kinzer and Parsi are visiting Columbia as part of a national tour called “Time for Real Diplomacy: The Folly of Attacking Iran.” According to the tour’s Web site, the tour coincides with a new publication of Kinzer’s book, “All the Shah’s Men,” with a new foreword, the “Folly of Attacking Iran.”
The tour brings a message that real diplomacy, not military threats, will bring positive results.
Lily Tinker Fortel, the Community Outreach Coordinator for Mid-Missouri Peaceworks, said this is an important discussion for Columbia to be a part of.
“The decisions that are being made by the policy-makers have a significant impact on us as citizens,” Tinker Fortel said. “These speakers are internationally recognized and on a national tour, so we’re very pleased Columbia is a stopping point on that tour.”
The event is being sponsored by Mid-Missouri Peaceworks, the Columbia Peace Coalition, and MU Friends of Peace Studies.