[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.00,0:00:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My story is a little bit about war.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.00,0:00:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about disillusionment.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.00,0:00:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about death.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.00,0:00:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's about rediscovering
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.00,0:00:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,idealism
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.00,0:00:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in all of that wreckage.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.00,0:00:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And perhaps also, there's a lesson
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.00,0:00:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how to deal with
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.00,0:00:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our screwed-up, fragmenting
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.00,0:00:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and dangerous world of the 21st century.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.00,0:00:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't believe in straightforward narratives.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.00,0:00:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't believe in a life or history
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.00,0:00:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,written as decision "A" led to consequence "B"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.00,0:00:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,led to consequence "C" --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.00,0:00:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these neat narratives that we're presented with,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.00,0:00:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that perhaps we encourage in each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.00,0:00:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I believe in randomness,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.00,0:00:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one of the reasons I believe that
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.00,0:00:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is because me becoming a diplomat was random.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.00,0:00:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm colorblind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.00,0:00:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was born unable to see most colors.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.00,0:00:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is why I wear gray and black most of the time,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.00,0:00:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I have to take my wife with me
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.00,0:00:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to chose clothes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.00,0:01:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'd always wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was a boy.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.00,0:01:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I loved watching planes barrel over
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.00,0:01:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our holiday home in the countryside.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.00,0:01:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was my boyhood dream to be a fighter pilot.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.00,0:01:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I did the tests in the Royal Air Force to become a pilot,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.00,0:01:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sure enough, I failed.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.00,0:01:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn't see all the blinking different lights,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.00,0:01:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I can't distinguish color.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.00,0:01:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I had to choose another career,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.00,0:01:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this was in fact relatively easy for me,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.00,0:01:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I had an abiding passion all the way through my childhood,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.00,0:01:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was international relations.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.00,0:01:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a child,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.00,0:01:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I read the newspaper thoroughly.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.00,0:01:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was fascinated by the Cold War,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.00,0:01:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the INF negotiations
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.00,0:01:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over intermediate-range nuclear missiles,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.00,0:01:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the proxy war between the Soviet Union and the U.S.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.00,0:01:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Angola or Afghanistan.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.00,0:01:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These things really interested me.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.00,0:01:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I decided quite at an early age
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.00,0:01:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted to be a diplomat.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.00,0:01:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I, one day, I announced this to my parents --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.00,0:01:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my father denies this story to this day --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.00,0:02:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I said, "Daddy, I want to be a diplomat."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.00,0:02:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he turned to me, and he said,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.00,0:02:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Carne, you have to be very clever to be a diplomat."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.00,0:02:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.00,0:02:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And my ambition was sealed.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.00,0:02:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1989,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.00,0:02:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I entered the British Foreign Service.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.00,0:02:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That year, 5,000 people applied to become a diplomat,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.00,0:02:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and 20 of us succeeded.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.00,0:02:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as those numbers suggest,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.00,0:02:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was inducted into an elite
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.00,0:02:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and fascinating and exhilarating world.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.00,0:02:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Being a diplomat, then and now,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.00,0:02:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is an incredible job, and I loved every minute of it --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.00,0:02:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I enjoyed the status of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.00,0:02:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I bought myself a nice suit and wore leather-soled shoes
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.00,0:02:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and reveled in
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.00,0:02:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this amazing access I had to world events.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.00,0:02:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I traveled to the Gaza Strip.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.00,0:02:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I headed the Middle East Peace Process section
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.00,0:02:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the British Foreign Ministry.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.00,0:02:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I became a speechwriter
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.00,0:02:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the British Foreign Secretary.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.00,0:02:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I met Yasser Arafat.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.00,0:02:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I negotiated
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.00,0:03:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with Saddam's diplomats at the U.N.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.00,0:03:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Later, I traveled to Kabul
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.00,0:03:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and served in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.00,0:03:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I would travel
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.00,0:03:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a C-130 transport
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.00,0:03:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and go and visit warlords
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.00,0:03:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in mountain hideaways
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.00,0:03:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and negotiate with them
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.00,0:03:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how we were going to eradicate Al Qaeda from Afghanistan,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.00,0:03:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,surrounded by my Special Forces escort,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.00,0:03:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who, themselves, had to have an escort of a platoon of Royal Marines,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.00,0:03:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it was so dangerous.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.00,0:03:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that was exciting -- that was fun.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.00,0:03:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was really interesting.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.00,0:03:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's a great cadre of people,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.00,0:03:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,incredibly close-knit community of people.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.00,0:03:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the pinnacle of my career, as it turned out,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.00,0:03:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was when I was posted to New York.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.00,0:03:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd already served in Germany, Norway,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.00,0:03:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,various other places,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.00,0:03:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I was posted to New York
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.00,0:03:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to serve on the U.N. Security Council for the British delegation.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.00,0:03:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And my responsibility was the Middle East,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.00,0:03:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was my specialty.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.00,0:04:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there, I dealt with things
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.00,0:04:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the Middle East peace process,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.00,0:04:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Lockerbie issue --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.00,0:04:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can talk about that later, if you wish --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.00,0:04:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but above all, my responsibility was Iraq
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.00,0:04:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and its weapons of mass destruction
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.00,0:04:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the sanctions we placed on Iraq
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.00,0:04:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to oblige it to disarm itself of these weapons.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.00,0:04:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was the chief British negotiator
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.00,0:04:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the subject,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.00,0:04:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was steeped in the issue.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.00,0:04:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And anyway,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.00,0:04:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my tour -- it was kind of a very exciting time.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.00,0:04:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean it was very dramatic diplomacy.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.00,0:04:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We went through several wars
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.00,0:04:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,during my time in New York.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.00,0:04:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I negotiated for my country
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.00,0:04:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the resolution in the Security Council
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.00,0:04:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the 12th of September 2001
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.00,0:04:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,condemning the attacks of the day before,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.00,0:04:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which were, of course, deeply present to us
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.00,0:04:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually living in New York at the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.00,0:04:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it was kind of the best of time, worst of times
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.00,0:04:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of experience.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.00,0:04:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I lived the high-life.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.00,0:05:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although I worked very long hours,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.00,0:05:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I lived in a penthouse in Union Square.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.00,0:05:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a single British diplomat in New York City;
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.00,0:05:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can imagine what that might have meant.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.00,0:05:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.00,0:05:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had a good time.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.00,0:05:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in 2002,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.00,0:05:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when my tour came to an end,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.00,0:05:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I decided I wasn't going to go back
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.00,0:05:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the job that was waiting for me in London.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.00,0:05:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I decided to take a sabbatical,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.00,0:05:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in fact, at the New School, Bruce.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.00,0:05:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In some inchoate, inarticulate way
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.00,0:05:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I realized that there was something wrong
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.00,0:05:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with my work, with me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.00,0:05:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was exhausted,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.00,0:05:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was also disillusioned
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.00,0:05:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.00,0:05:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I decided to take some time out from work.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.00,0:05:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Foreign Office was very generous.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.00,0:05:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You could take these special unpaid leave, as they called them,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.00,0:05:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet remain part of the diplomatic service, but not actually do any work.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.00,0:05:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was nice.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.00,0:05:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And eventually, I decided
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.00,0:05:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to take a secondment to join the U.N. in Kosovo,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.00,0:06:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was then under U.N. administration.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.00,0:06:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And two things happened in Kosovo,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.00,0:06:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which kind of, again,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.00,0:06:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shows the randomness of life,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.00,0:06:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because these things turned out to be
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.00,0:06:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,two of the pivots of my life
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.00,0:06:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and helped to deliver me to the next stage.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.00,0:06:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they were random things.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.00,0:06:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One was that, in the summer of 2004,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.00,0:06:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the British government, somewhat reluctantly,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.00,0:06:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,decided to have an official inquiry
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.00,0:06:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into the use of intelligence on WMD
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.00,0:06:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the run up to the Iraq War,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.00,0:06:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a very limited subject.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.00,0:06:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I testified to that inquiry in secret.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.00,0:06:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had been steeped in the intelligence on Iraq
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.00,0:06:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and its WMD,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.00,0:06:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my testimony to the inquiry said three things:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.00,0:06:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the government exaggerated the intelligence,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.00,0:06:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was very clear in all the years I'd read it.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.00,0:06:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And indeed, our own internal assessment was very clear
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.00,0:06:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Iraq's WMD
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.00,0:06:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,did not pose a threat to its neighbors, let alone to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.00,0:06:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Secondly, the government had ignored all available alternatives to war,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.00,0:07:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which in some ways
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.00,0:07:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a more discreditable thing still.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.00,0:07:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third reason, I won't go into.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.00,0:07:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But anyway, I gave that testimony,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.00,0:07:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that presented me with a crisis.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.00,0:07:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What was I going to do?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.00,0:07:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This testimony was deeply critical of my colleagues,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.00,0:07:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of my ministers, who had, in my view
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.00,0:07:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had perpetrated a war on a falsehood.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.00,0:07:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I was in crisis.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.00,0:07:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this wasn't a pretty thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.00,0:07:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I moaned about it, I hesitated,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.00,0:07:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I went on and on and on to my long-suffering wife,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.00,0:07:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and eventually I decided to resign from the British Foreign Service.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.00,0:07:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt -- there's a scene in the Al Pacino movie "The Insider," which you may know,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.00,0:07:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where he goes back to CBS
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.00,0:07:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after they've let him down over the tobacco guy,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.00,0:07:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he goes, "You know, I just can't do this anymore. Something's broken."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.00,0:07:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was like that for me. I love that movie.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.00,0:07:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt just something's broken.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.00,0:07:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can't actually sit with my foreign minister
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.00,0:07:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or my prime minister again with a smile on my face
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.00,0:07:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and do what I used to do gladly for them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.00,0:07:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So took a running leap
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.00,0:08:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and jumped over the edge of a cliff.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.00,0:08:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was a very, very uncomfortable, unpleasant feeling.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.00,0:08:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I started to fall.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.00,0:08:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And today, that fall hasn't stopped;
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.00,0:08:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm still falling.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.00,0:08:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, in a way, I've got used to the sensation of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.00,0:08:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in a way, I kind of like
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.00,0:08:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the sensation of it a lot better
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.00,0:08:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than I like actually standing on top of the cliff,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.00,0:08:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wondering what to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.00,0:08:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A second thing happened in Kosovo,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.00,0:08:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which kind of -- I need a quick gulp of water, forgive me.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.00,0:08:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A second thing happened in Kosovo,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.00,0:08:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which kind of delivered the answer,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.00,0:08:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which I couldn't really answer,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.00,0:08:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is, "What do I do with my life?"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.00,0:08:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I love diplomacy --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.00,0:08:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have no career --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.00,0:08:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I expected my entire life to be a diplomat, to be serving my country.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.00,0:08:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted to be an ambassador,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.00,0:08:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my mentors, my heroes,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.00,0:08:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people who got to the top of my profession,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.00,0:08:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and here I was throwing it all away.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.00,0:08:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A lot of my friends were still in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.00,0:09:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My pension was in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.00,0:09:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I gave it up.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.00,0:09:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what was I going to do?
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.00,0:09:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that year, in Kosovo,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.00,0:09:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this terrible, terrible thing happened, which I saw.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.00,0:09:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In March 2004, there were terrible riots
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.00,0:09:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all over the province -- as it then was -- of Kosovo.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.00,0:09:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,18 people were killed.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.00,0:09:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was anarchy.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.00,0:09:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's a very horrible thing to see anarchy,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.00,0:09:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to know that the police and the military --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.00,0:09:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there were lots of military troops there --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.00,0:09:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually can't stop that rampaging mob
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.00,0:09:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who's coming down the street.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.00,0:09:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the only way that rampaging mob coming down the street will stop
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.00,0:09:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is when they decide to stop
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.00,0:09:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when they've had enough burning and killing.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.00,0:09:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that is not a very nice feeling to see, and I saw it.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.00,0:09:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I went through it. I went through those mobs.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.00,0:09:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And with my Albanian friends, we tried to stop it, but we failed.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.00,0:09:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that riot taught me something,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.00,0:09:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which isn't immediately obvious and it's kind of a complicated story.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.00,0:09:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But one of the reasons that riot took place --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.00,0:09:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those riots, which went on for several days, took place --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.00,0:09:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was because the Kosovo people
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.00,0:10:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were disenfranchised from their own future.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.00,0:10:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were diplomatic negotiations about the future of Kosovo
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.00,0:10:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going on then,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.00,0:10:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Kosovo government, let alone the Kosovo people,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.00,0:10:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were not actually
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.00,0:10:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,participating in those talks.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.00,0:10:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was this whole fancy diplomatic system,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.00,0:10:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this negotiation process about the future of Kosovo,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.00,0:10:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Kosovars weren't part of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.00,0:10:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And funnily enough, they were frustrated about that.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.00,0:10:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those riots were part of the manifestation of that frustration.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.00,0:10:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn't the only reason,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.00,0:10:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and life is not simple, one reason narratives.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.00,0:10:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a complicated thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.00,0:10:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm not pretending it was more simple than it was.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.00,0:10:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that was one of the reasons.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.00,0:10:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that kind of gave me the inspiration --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.00,0:10:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or rather to be precise,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.00,0:10:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it gave my wife the inspiration.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.00,0:10:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She said, "Why don't you advise the Kosovars?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.00,0:10:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why don't you advise their government on their diplomacy?"
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.00,0:10:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the Kosovars were not allowed a diplomatic service.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.00,0:10:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were not allowed diplomats.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.00,0:10:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were not allowed a foreign office
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.00,0:10:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help them deal with this immensely complicated process,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.00,0:11:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which became known as the Final Status Process of Kosovo.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.00,0:11:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so that was the idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.00,0:11:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was the origin of the thing that became Independent Diplomat,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.00,0:11:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the world's first diplomatic advisory group
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.00,0:11:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a non-profit to boot.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.00,0:11:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it began when I flew back from London
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.00,0:11:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after my time at the U.N. in Kosovo.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.00,0:11:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I flew back and had dinner with the Kosovo prime minister and said to him,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.00,0:11:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Look, I'm proposing that I come and advise you on the diplomacy.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.00,0:11:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know this stuff. It's what I do. Why don't I come and help you?"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.00,0:11:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he raised his glass of raki to me and said,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.00,0:11:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Yes, Carne. Come."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.00,0:11:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I came to Kosovo
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.00,0:11:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and advised the Kosovo government.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.00,0:11:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Independent Diplomat ended up advising three successive Kosovo prime ministers
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.00,0:11:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the multi-party negotiation team of Kosovo.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.00,0:11:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Kosovo became independent.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.00,0:11:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Independent Diplomat is now established
Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.00,0:11:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in five diplomatic centers around the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.00,0:11:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we're advising seven or eight
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.00,0:11:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,different countries, or political groups,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.00,0:11:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,depending on how you wish to define them --
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.00,0:11:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm not big on definitions.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.00,0:11:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're advising the Northern Cypriots on how to reunify their island.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.00,0:12:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're advising the Burmese opposition,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:00.00,0:12:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the government of Southern Sudan,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.00,0:12:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which -- you heard it here first --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.00,0:12:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is going to be a new country within the next few years.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.00,0:12:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're advising the Polisario Front of the Western Sahara,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.00,0:12:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are fighting to get their country back
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.00,0:12:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Moroccan occupation
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.00,0:12:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after 34 years of dispossession.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.00,0:12:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're advising various island states in the climate change negotiations,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.00,0:12:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is suppose to culminate
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.00,0:12:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Copenhagen.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.00,0:12:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a bit of randomness here too
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.00,0:12:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because, when I was beginning Independent Diplomat,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.00,0:12:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I went to a party in the House of Lords,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.00,0:12:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is a ridiculous place,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.00,0:12:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I was holding my drink like this, and I bumped into
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.00,0:12:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this guy who was standing behind me.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:38.00,0:12:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we started talking, and he said --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.00,0:12:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I told him what I was doing,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.00,0:12:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I told him rather grandly
Dialogue: 0,0:12:44.00,0:12:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was going to establish Independent Diplomat in New York.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.00,0:12:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At that time there was just me --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.00,0:12:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and me and my wife were moving back to New York.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.00,0:12:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said, "Why don't you see my colleagues in New York?"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.00,0:12:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it turned out
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.00,0:12:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he worked for an innovation company called ?What If!,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:57.00,0:12:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which some of you have probably heard of.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.00,0:13:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one thing led to another,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.00,0:13:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I ended up having a desk
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.00,0:13:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in ?What If! in New York,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.00,0:13:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I started Independent Diplomat.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.00,0:13:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And watching ?What If!
Dialogue: 0,0:13:09.00,0:13:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,develop new flavors of chewing gum for Wrigley
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.00,0:13:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or new flavors for Coke
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.00,0:13:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually helped me innovate
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.00,0:13:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,new strategies for the Kosovars
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.00,0:13:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and for the Saharawis of the Western Sahara.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.00,0:13:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I began to realize that there are different ways of doing diplomacy --
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.00,0:13:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that diplomacy, like business,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:25.00,0:13:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a business of solving problems,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:27.00,0:13:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet the word innovation doesn't exist in diplomacy;
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.00,0:13:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's all zero sum games and realpolitik
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.00,0:13:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ancient institutions that have been there for generations
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.00,0:13:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and do things the same way they've always done things.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.00,0:13:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Independent Diplomat, today,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.00,0:13:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tries to incorporate some of the things I learned at ?What If!.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.00,0:13:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We all sit in one office and shout at each other across the office.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:47.00,0:13:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We all work on little laptops and try to move desks to change the way we think.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.00,0:13:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we use naive experts
Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.00,0:13:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who may know nothing about the countries we're dealing with,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:55.00,0:13:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but may know something about something else
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.00,0:13:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to try to inject new thinking
Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.00,0:14:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into the problems
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.00,0:14:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we try to address for our clients.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.00,0:14:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not easy, because our clients, by definition,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.00,0:14:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are having a difficult time, diplomatically.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:10.00,0:14:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are, I don't know,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.00,0:14:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some lessons from all of this,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:15.00,0:14:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,personal and political --
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.00,0:14:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in a way, they're the same thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.00,0:14:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The personal one
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.00,0:14:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is falling off a cliff
Dialogue: 0,0:14:24.00,0:14:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is actually a good thing, and I recommend it.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:28.00,0:14:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's a good thing to do at least once in your life
Dialogue: 0,0:14:30.00,0:14:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just to tear everything up and jump.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.00,0:14:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The second thing is a bigger lesson about the world today.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.00,0:14:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Independent Diplomat is part of a trend
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.00,0:14:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is emerging and evident across the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:43.00,0:14:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is that the world is fragmenting.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.00,0:14:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,States mean less than they used to,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.00,0:14:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the power of the state is declining.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.00,0:14:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That means the power of others things is rising.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:53.00,0:14:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those other things are called non-state actors.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.00,0:14:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They may be corporations,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.00,0:15:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they may be mafiosi, they may be nice NGOs,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.00,0:15:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they may anything,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.00,0:15:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any number of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:04.00,0:15:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are living in a more complicated and fragmented world.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:07.00,0:15:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If governments are less able
Dialogue: 0,0:15:09.00,0:15:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to affect the problems
Dialogue: 0,0:15:11.00,0:15:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that affect us in the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.00,0:15:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then that means, who is left to deal with them,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.00,0:15:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who has to take greater responsibility to deal with them?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:19.00,0:15:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Us.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:21.00,0:15:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If they can't do it, who's left to deal with it?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:24.00,0:15:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have no choice but to embrace that reality.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:27.00,0:15:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What this means is
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.00,0:15:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's no longer good enough
Dialogue: 0,0:15:32.00,0:15:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to say that international relations, or global affairs,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:35.00,0:15:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or chaos in Somalia,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.00,0:15:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or what's going on in Burma is none of your business,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:40.00,0:15:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that you can leave it to governments to get on with.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:43.00,0:15:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can connect any one of you
Dialogue: 0,0:15:45.00,0:15:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by six degrees of separation
Dialogue: 0,0:15:47.00,0:15:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the Al-Shabaab militia in Somalia.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:50.00,0:15:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ask me how later, particularly if you eat fish, interestingly enough,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.00,0:15:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that connection is there.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:56.00,0:15:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are all intimately connected.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.00,0:16:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this isn't just Tom Friedman,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:00.00,0:16:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's actually provable in case after case after case.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.00,0:16:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What that means is, instead of asking your politicians to do things,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.00,0:16:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you have to look to yourself to do things.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:09.00,0:16:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Independent Diplomat is a kind of example of this
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.00,0:16:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a sort of loose way.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:13.00,0:16:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There aren't neat examples, but one example is this:
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.00,0:16:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the way the world is changing
Dialogue: 0,0:16:18.00,0:16:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is embodied in what's going on at the place I used to work --
Dialogue: 0,0:16:20.00,0:16:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the U.N. Security Council.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:22.00,0:16:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The U.N. was established in 1945.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:25.00,0:16:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Its charter is basically designed
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.00,0:16:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to stop conflicts between states --
Dialogue: 0,0:16:29.00,0:16:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interstate conflict.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:31.00,0:16:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, 80 percent of the agenda
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.00,0:16:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the U.N. Security Council
Dialogue: 0,0:16:35.00,0:16:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is about conflicts within states,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:37.00,0:16:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,involving non-state parties --
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.00,0:16:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,guerillas, separatists,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.00,0:16:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,terrorists, if you want to call them that,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:43.00,0:16:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people who are not normal governments, who are not normal states.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:46.00,0:16:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is the state of the world today.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:49.00,0:16:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I realized this,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:51.00,0:16:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when I look back on my time at the Security Council
Dialogue: 0,0:16:54.00,0:16:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what happened with the Kosovars,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:56.00,0:16:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I realize that often
Dialogue: 0,0:16:58.00,0:17:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people who were most directly affected
Dialogue: 0,0:17:00.00,0:17:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by what we were doing in the Security Council
Dialogue: 0,0:17:02.00,0:17:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,weren't actually there, weren't actually invited
Dialogue: 0,0:17:04.00,0:17:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to give their views to the Security Council,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.00,0:17:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought, this is wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:08.00,0:17:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Something's got to be done about this.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:10.00,0:17:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I started off in a traditional mode.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:13.00,0:17:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Me and my colleagues at Independent Diplomat
Dialogue: 0,0:17:15.00,0:17:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,went around the U.N. Security Council.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:17.00,0:17:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We went around 70 U.N. member states --
Dialogue: 0,0:17:19.00,0:17:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Kazaks, the Ethiopians, the Israelis --
Dialogue: 0,0:17:21.00,0:17:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you name them, we went to see them --
Dialogue: 0,0:17:23.00,0:17:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the secretary general, all of them,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:25.00,0:17:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and said, "This is all wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:27.00,0:17:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is terrible that you don't consult these people who are actually affected.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:29.00,0:17:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've got to institutionalize a system
Dialogue: 0,0:17:31.00,0:17:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where you actually invite the Kosovars
Dialogue: 0,0:17:33.00,0:17:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to come and tell you what they think.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:35.00,0:17:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This will allow you to tell me -- you can tell them what you think.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:37.00,0:17:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It'll be great. You can have an exchange.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:39.00,0:17:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can actually incorporate these people's views into your decisions,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:42.00,0:17:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which means your decisions will be more effective and durable."
Dialogue: 0,0:17:47.00,0:17:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Super-logical, you would think.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:49.00,0:17:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, incredibly logical. So obvious, anybody could get it.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:51.00,0:17:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, everybody got it. Everybody went, "Yes, of course, you're absolutely right.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:54.00,0:17:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Come back to us
Dialogue: 0,0:17:56.00,0:17:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in maybe six months."
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.00,0:18:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, nothing happened -- nobody did anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:01.00,0:18:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Security Council does its business
Dialogue: 0,0:18:03.00,0:18:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in exactly the same way today
Dialogue: 0,0:18:05.00,0:18:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it did X number of years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:08.00,0:18:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I was there 10 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:11.00,0:18:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we looked at that observation
Dialogue: 0,0:18:13.00,0:18:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of basically failure
Dialogue: 0,0:18:15.00,0:18:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and thought, what can we do about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:17.00,0:18:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, I'm buggered
Dialogue: 0,0:18:19.00,0:18:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if I'm going to spend the rest of my life
Dialogue: 0,0:18:21.00,0:18:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lobbying for these crummy governments
Dialogue: 0,0:18:23.00,0:18:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to do what needs to be done.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:25.00,0:18:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what we're going to do
Dialogue: 0,0:18:27.00,0:18:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is we're actually going to set up these meetings ourselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:29.00,0:18:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So now, Independent Diplomat
Dialogue: 0,0:18:31.00,0:18:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is in the process of setting up meetings
Dialogue: 0,0:18:33.00,0:18:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between the U.N. Security Council
Dialogue: 0,0:18:35.00,0:18:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the parties to the disputes
Dialogue: 0,0:18:37.00,0:18:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are on the agenda of the Security Council.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:40.00,0:18:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we will be bringing
Dialogue: 0,0:18:42.00,0:18:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Darfuri rebel groups,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:45.00,0:18:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Northern Cypriots and the Southern Cypriots,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:49.00,0:18:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rebels from Aceh,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:52.00,0:18:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and awful long laundry list
Dialogue: 0,0:18:54.00,0:18:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of chaotic conflicts around the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:57.00,0:19:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we will be trying to bring the parties to New York
Dialogue: 0,0:19:00.00,0:19:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to sit down in a quiet room
Dialogue: 0,0:19:02.00,0:19:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a private setting with no press
Dialogue: 0,0:19:04.00,0:19:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and actually explain what they want
Dialogue: 0,0:19:06.00,0:19:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the members of the U. N. Security Council,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:08.00,0:19:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and for the members of the U.N. Security Council
Dialogue: 0,0:19:10.00,0:19:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to explain to them what they want.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:12.00,0:19:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there's actually a conversation,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:14.00,0:19:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which has never before happened.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:16.00,0:19:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, describing all this,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:19.00,0:19:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any of you who know politics will think this is incredibly difficult,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:22.00,0:19:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I entirely agree with you.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:24.00,0:19:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The chances of failure are very high,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:27.00,0:19:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it certainly won't happen
Dialogue: 0,0:19:29.00,0:19:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if we don't try to make it happen.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:32.00,0:19:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And my politics has changed fundamentally
Dialogue: 0,0:19:35.00,0:19:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from when I was a diplomat to what I am today,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:37.00,0:19:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I think that outputs is what matters, not process,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:40.00,0:19:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not technology, frankly, so much either.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:43.00,0:19:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Preach technology
Dialogue: 0,0:19:45.00,0:19:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to all the Twittering members of all the Iranian demonstrations
Dialogue: 0,0:19:48.00,0:19:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are now in political prison in Tehran,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:51.00,0:19:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where Ahmadinejad remains in power.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:53.00,0:19:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Technology has not delivered political change in Iran.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:57.00,0:20:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've got to look at the outputs, and you got to say to yourself,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:00.00,0:20:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What can I do to produce that particular output?"
Dialogue: 0,0:20:02.00,0:20:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is the politics of the 21st century,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:05.00,0:20:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in a way, Independent Diplomat
Dialogue: 0,0:20:07.00,0:20:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,embodies that fragmentation, that change,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:10.00,0:20:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is happening to all of us.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:14.00,0:20:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's my story. Thanks.