Robin Wright, a media-savvy foreign policy analyst, will give a free public lecture on Thursday morning (10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon) on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University.[1]  --  The title of Wright's talk is also the title of her 2011 book, Rock the Casbah: Challenges and Solutions in the Middle East, whose paperback version came out a few months ago with a new epilogue entitled "The Morning After."  --  Her reassuring message in Rock the Casbah is that the Arab Spring is "about pluralism" (p. 11).  --  Like many mainstream analysts, Wright tends to give a wide berth to subjects that make the national security state uncomfortable -- subjects like the Iraq war, Israel, WikiLeaks, and oil....
1.

WHAT: "Rock the Casbah: Challenges and Solutions in the Middle East" -- a public lecture
WHO: Robin Wright
WHEN: Thursday, February 21, 2013 -- 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon
WHERE:  Pacific Lutheran University -- Mary Baker Russell Music Center 330 (Lagerquist Concert Hall)

This event is free and open to the public; no ticket is required.

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Robin Wright is an award-winning author, foreign policy analyst, and journalist.  In her talk, she will share her views on the Islamic world and talk about her friendship with Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in Libya on the anniversary of 9/11 last year when militants attacked a U.S. mission he was visiting in Benghazi.

Wright was born in 1948 and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.  She has reported from more than 140 countries on six continents, writing in a broad array of mainstream newspapers, magazines, and journals.  She has frequently appeared on television as an expert commentator, and has taught and lectured widely in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. 

Among her awards are an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship in 1975 to study the dismantling of Portugal's African possessions, a MacArthur "genius" award, a National Magazine Award for reporting from Iran, an Overseas Press Club Award for "best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initiative" (on wars in Africa), the U.N. Correspondents Association Gold Medal for analysis and coverage of international affairs, the National Press Club award for diplomatic reporting, and the 2004 journalist of the year award from the American Academy of Diplomacy. 

Robin Wright is the author or co-author of seven books, from Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam (1986) to Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World (2011).  Three of her books have been about the Iranian Revolution and its aftermath.

Robin Wright maintains a blog:  http://robinwrightblog.blogspot.com/

She also maintains a webpage promoting her books:  http://www.robinwright.net/