Larry Pressler on his book Neighbours in Arms: An American Senator’s Quest for Disarmament in a Nuclear Sub-Continent
This book is an epic journey of the Senator's public life and the US foreign policy landscape. It tells the story of the passing and subsequent demise of the Pressler Amendment and its impact on the US’ aid assistance to Pakistan
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Three time US Senator Larry Pressler talks to Biraj Swain, development writer and international negotiations watcher, on his book Neighbours in Arms, An American Senator’s Quest for Disarmament in a Nuclear Subcontinent.
In a free-wheeling conversation, they discuss the Vietnam War, its impact on him, the origin of Pressler Amendment, its passing, dilution and demise under the leadership of three US presidents. He shares its impact on Pakistan and why it made him public enemy in Pakistan while a hero in India. They discuss their concerns regarding the capture of public policy spaces by military industrial complex, or the Octopus, the dangers it poses to governance and peace everywhere. They talk about the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. They conclude with the future of peace activism and complete nuclear disarmament and why Pressler is not a “dangerous pacifist”.
Produced by Kartik Nijhawan.
The author can be reached at biraj_swain@hotmail.com.