This week on q a, our guest is margaret macmillan, author of nixon and mao the week that chnaged the world. Cspan margaret macmillan, but if you think a book about nixon and mao would so . Guest my father was a good subject and i love the good storiestoriesof history and thou have two extraordinary personality is with great falls and talent and it was an interesting moment that ended the period but in the United States and china and started Something Else so my next book i wanted to do something manageable has a good story. Cspan did he rely on to tell you what that moment was like . Guest that the documents. Theres a record now of all the transcripts of the first memoirs. Bob haldeman did a diary that is helpful, Henry Kissinger wrote them and thereve been lots of interviews, so i gathered whatever i could from those that have been there. Cspan did you learn anything they dont already know . Guest i learned something i didnt know. I think i learned a great deal more about Richard Nixo
You this faint hope that you just articulated though its may lead to something beyond talks well 1st of all i mean you referred to the situation in. The world of the war is certainly warranted and i think people are tired in syria and beyond and i think this is. A mechanism that allows the syrians to get together and do something about now. Positions have changed and i told you i mean we could have had an agreement a year ago and why its happening now because positions have changed has the positions how the positions changed within syria or is it the stance of foreign partners or foreign sponsors if theyre inside that have said well. As you know the syrian. Conflict has 3 levels was the international theres a regional and of course there is a domestic local. Positions have changed both of the regional. In the sense that at some point there were countries did not. See. Much meaning towards a Constitutional Committee i think that has changed i think they have come around to and that has
Prolong or to shorten the syrian conflict as you pointed out when there was basically talking about europe and were talking your waiter or he was advising them merican president as well but in the middle east its its not just the region its beyond the region and beyond the region there are 2 camps in the region the return camps so that really complicates things enormously so the context has changed in the sense that when it 1st started of course it was an expression of the grievances of the Syrian People became complicated by. I would say Regional International interventions. They were designed to change things in syria its understandable that at the time it was the beginning of the arab spring and everybody thought that this was the tide of history things got more complicated i think people started to wise their positions and understood that the continuation of syrian conflict are a continuation is in no ones interests including the neighbors quite frankly youre a big very diplomatic
Shortening the 2nd world war through his coordination efforts do you think the syrian war would have been shortened a more specifically do you think the coordination among western powers on the syrian front did it ultimately how to prolong or to shorten the syrian conflict as you pointed out when there was basically talking about europe and were talking you later oh he was advising them merican president as well but in the middle east its its not just the region its beyond the region and beyond the region there are 2 camps in the region there were 2 camps so that really complicates things enormously so the context has changed in the sense that when it 1st started of course it was an expression of the grievances of the Syrian People became complicated by. I would say Regional International interventions. They were designed to change things in syria its understandable that at the time it was the beginning of the arab spring and everybody thought that this was the tide of history things g
Whats going on in syria given the scale of suffering given the scale of divisions how significant or insignificant is this latest development arent we all sort of overselling the whole that is there well 1st let me say that i remain of course very much attached as you said that motion syria this is the 1st this is the reason why i took the draw 1st with the u. N. To try to help bring about a settlement to meet the aspirations of certain people you know coming from the region. I think you would understand now the Constitutional Committee i look at it as a milestone. Very long process and bring about a peaceful peaceful and political settlement in syria. It is something that weve been working for as you know for some time ive said it before no suit again i think we could have had it earlier it will help syrians you know go to the opposition but also independents to put their minds together and work out. A new constitutional framework you know i think you know. Im sure you know that there