It was an exclusive lunch at a high-end Manhattan restaurant on 7 March 2011. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his A-team were present. It soon became clear that the main item on the menu was Libya, where it was alleged that the forces of Muammar Gaddafi were advancing on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to crush all opposition. Over an $80 per head lunch, a small group of the world's most important diplomats from countries represented on the Security Council discussed the possibility of the use of force. As things turned out, the Council's authorization came only ten days later, and all hell broke loose. Hardeep Singh Puri, India's envoy to the UN at the time, now reveals the Council's whimsical decision making and the ill-thought-out itch to intervene on the part of some of its permanent members. Perilous Interventions shows how some recent instances of the use of force -- not just in Libya but also in Syria, Yemen and Crimea, as well as India's misadventure in Sri Lanka in the 1980s -- have gone disastrously wrong.
Ten long years have been wasted since the onset of the Arab Spring that started off in Tunisia and engulfed the whole region in some form or the other. While hardened and well-entrenched unpopular autocratic leaders were easily uprooted by the sheer force of the disenfranchised public opinion the role of external and regional powers remained suspect and became the greater cause of worry and in many cases made life even worse than before. Arguably it became far more unstable, violent, and it f..
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The term “Iatrogenesis” comes from a Greek word that means “brought forth by a healer”. It has a negative connotation that entails the potentially damaging effects of misguided medical intervention. This could be the reason why the primary consideration for the Hippocratic Oath is “primum non nocere” which translates to first do no harm. For physicians, this oath is a guiding principle that necessitates the patients’ well-being as the healer’s p..
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Dear Hardeep,
I read your book with keen interest and wanted to compliment you on the skill with which you have approached a difficult subject and retained the interest of the reader throughout. I was able to read the book in just a couple of days since I found your experience at the UN quite fascinating and instructive. I am so glad that you decided to put this down in print. We are usually overwhelmed by someone else’s narrative. We needed an alternative perspective and you ..
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“This is an outstanding book on the side effects of interventionism, written in extremely elegant prose and with maximum clarity. It documents how people find arguments couched in moralistic terms to intervene in complex systems they don’t understand. These interventions trigger endless chains of the unintended consequences – consequences for the victims, but none for the interventionists, allowing them to repeat the mistakes again and again. Puri, as an insider, outlines th..
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‘Hardeep Puri’s voice is one the whole world should heed. His message to the global North is that coercive military intervention has been, as often as not, catastrophically counterproductive – even when conducted for the highest-minded of stated reasons: to halt feared mass atrocity crimes. But he also tells the global South not to abandon the principle of the Responsibility to Protect but rather to reinforce it – by demanding that it be given military appl..
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‘When Hardeep was on the Council, I used to say that speaking after him was like playing the harmonica after a full symphony orchestra. He is as forceful and analytical in this book as he was then.’
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‘A distinguished professional diplomat from India offers a unique window into the geopolitical cockpit of the United Nations Security Council during two tumultuous years in Libya, Syria and elsewhere. The book provides a necessary corrective to the dominant narrative of the three western permanent members and cautions that when you destroy a state, the gates to every corner of hell are opened. Those wishing to avoid repeating the tragic perilous interventions of recent histo..
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‘With his extensive diplomatic experience and inimitable eloquence, Hardeep Singh Puri tackles the central dilemmas confronting the United Nations Security Council as it struggles with new and persisting challenges to world peace. At a time of geopolitical redistribution of international influence and emerging multipolarity, Ambassador Puri exposes ill-conceived military strategies and questions both the morality and the effectiveness of interventionist ideologies. The analy..
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‘Hardeep Singh Puri brilliantly depicts a new trend of world powers unleashing their vision and interests on the rest of the world. We are privileged to a front-row view of what took place at the ever-secretive horse-shoe table of the UN Security Council directly after the Arab Spring. The action (and in action) recounted sheds new light on this turning point for the Middle East and the world as a whole. A must-read for neophytes, seasoned diplomats, and anyone who is ..
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‘Perilous Interventions is an important work of scholarship of the world order and the institution which was supposed to maintain it, the United Nations Security Council. Clearly, as Puri tells it, the world order is frayed and the UNSC is no longer in a position to honestly exercise the enormous powers that were given to it by the UN Charter in the wake of the second World War. The UNSC was the realpolitik part of the idealistic UN system. Unfortunately, what Puri tells us is that real..
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‘Hardeep Singh Puri is a rare diplomat – a real political thinker who is not afraid to write fiercely and challenge stale assumptions. I may not agree with everything he says, but by the bottom of the first page, all I wanted to do was to keep reading. Just like when I used to interact with him when he was on the UN Security, every thought is engaging, intelligent and provocative and equal measure’.
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'This remarkable account of the UN Security Council’s role in the Libyan intervention and its continued difficulties in Syria provides a very valuable insider’s perspective. As India’s permanent representative to the UN, and with extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy, Hardeep Singh Puri probes beneath the broad public declarations (protection of civilians) to examine the underlying motives of the principals actors, especially the US, UK and France. H..
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‘As the saying goes, everyone has twenty-twenty hindsight. That saying certainly is applicable to events that took place in the United Nations Security Council in 2011 and 2012 regarding Libya and Syria – events which ultimately led to what Hardeep Singh Puri describes as “the mess that the world finds in”. That mess includes the catastrophic consequences of the intervention in Libya and, even worse, the protracted war in Syria, with over 300,000 dead and over fo..
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‘Hardeep Singh Puri’s Perilous Interventions opens a welcome window into the closed-off inner sanctum of multilateral diplomacy, the United Nations Security Council. The look is a privileged one – both because Puri, a former Indian ambassador, was a member of the Council himself at a critical intervention-minded moment and because he wields a pen that cuts through institutional self-regard and obfuscating UN speak to reveal how the panel can end up undermining the very..
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“In Perilous Interventions, Hardeep Singh Puri takes a forensic swipe at the United Nations Security Council, forcefully arguing that if it continues to function as it presently does it will further discredit the cause of peace and security. Since his posting as a young diplomat in the Sri Lankan Tamil War, Puri had a ring-side seat on numerous faulty interventions and knows why they went wrong. He ended up at the heart of the Security Council and its ill-fated decisions on Libya and Sy..
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“As the world copes with the unending political tragedy in the Middle East, Hardeep Singh Puri offers a trenchant critique of the Western use of the military force and the abuse of the United Nations Security Council that are now widely seen as contributing to the regional crises. The severe judgements of Puri who served as India’s envoy to the United Nations in both Geneva and New York, do not stem from the traditional Indian obsession with the principles of territorial sov..
Read More“Pakistan will have to pay a price for irresponsible conduct” (Interview with Aditi Bhaduri) – Hardeep Singh Puri
Hardeep Singh Puri, one of India’s ablest and most outstanding diplomats, has served as India’s representative to the UN. His first UN posting came in 1981 when as first secretary he was a member of India’s delegation to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Thereafter, he served as ambassador and India’s permanent representative (PR) to the UN in Geneva from March 2003 to January 2006. In 2009, he assumed office as India’s PR to the UN in New York, ..
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‘Yemen as a Saudi Target’ – The Globalist – Hardeep Singh Puri
How Western powers are nice to rich Saudi Arabia and assist it in covering up its disastrous war tracks.
Since the beginning of the Saudi-led coalition’s onslaught on Yemen, more than 6,000 people, half of which were civilians, have been killed.
In the continued bombing of Yemen, 119 air strikes have been conducted that have hit hospitals, schools and camps for the internally displaced persons and refugees.
As a result of this military campaign under the ae..
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‘Governments behind rise of IS, Al Qaeda: Ex-diplomat’ – NewKerala.com – Hardeep Singh Puri
New Delhi, Sep 7 : Terror organisations like the Islamic State (IS) and the Al Qaeda could rise only because governments of different countries funded them at one point of time or the other in their early days, Hardeep Singh Puri, veteran diplomat and former Indian Permanent Representative to the UN, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a panel discussion on the launch of his book “Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos” (HarperCollins) by Vice ..
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‘Governments behind rise of IS, Al Qaeda: Ex-diplomat’ – Business Standard – Hardeep Singh Puri
Terror organisations like the Islamic State (IS) and the Al Qaeda could rise only because governments of different countries funded them at one point of time or the other in their early days, HardeepSingh Puri, veteran diplomat and former Indian Permanent Representative to the UN, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a panel discussion on the launch of his book “Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos” (HarperCollins) by Vice President Hamid Ansa..
Hardeep Singh Puri,
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‘Jaitley at his witty best at Hardeep Puri’s book launch’ – PTI News – Hardeep Singh Puri
New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was at his witty best today as he recalled his long association with his party colleague Hardeep Singh Puri at the launch of a book authored by the former diplomat.
Noting that their friendship goes back 46 years, Jaitley praised Puri and joked that he was exactly like what is often said about a “good Sikh”.
“A good Sikh, when he loses, he behaves like a winner and when he wins, he behaves like ..Hardeep Singh Puri,
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‘Jaitley at his witty best at Hardeep Puris book launch’ – India Today – Hardeep Singh Puri
New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was at his witty best today as he recalled his long association with his party colleague Hardeep Singh Puri at the launch of a book authored by the former diplomat.
Noting that their friendship goes back 46 years, Jaitley praised Puri and joked that he was exactly like what is often said about a “good Sikh”.
“A good Sikh, when he loses, he behaves like a winner and when he wins, he behaves like God..Hardeep Singh Puri,
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‘Governments behind rise of IS…’ – The Free Press Journal – Hardeep Singh Puri
New Delhi : Terror organisations like the Islamic State (IS) and the Al Qaeda could rise only because governments of different countries funded them at one point of time or the other in their early days, Hardeep Singh Puri, veteran diplomat and former Indian Permanent Representative to the UN, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a panel discussion on the launch of his book “Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos” (HarperCollins) by Vice..Hardeep Singh Puri,
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‘Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos’ – Crissie Delvy, Indian American Times – Hardeep Singh Puri
New York – “Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos” (Harper Colins, 2016), a book providing a sharp analysis of the recent history of the UN and non-UN military interventions, by Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, was recently released at an Asia Society event in New York titled “The UN Security Council and Military Interventions.”
Puri, with a distinguished four-decade career in diplomacy spanning the multilateral ar..Hardeep Singh Puri,
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“Eye for an Eye – will lead to complete blindness” – Hardeep Singh Puri, Udaipur Times – Hardeep Singh Puri
Hardeep Singh Puri was in Udaipur today evening as part of a book signing event under the Kalam series, a Padma Khaitan Foundation event, organized by Udaipur’s Cultural Rendezvous at Radisson Blu.
Candid as ever, Ambassador Puri overwhelmed the elite gathering with his crisp elocution and flamboyant interpretation of decision making at the highest levels of global politics.
Puri, in his tete a tete with the audience, spoke on global situations prevalent today,..
Hardeep Singh Puri ,
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UN Security Council’s “Perilous Interventions” in War Zones – Thalif Deen, Icrowdnewswire.com – Hardeep Singh Puri
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7, 2016 (IPS) – When the UN Security Council last week discussed the “deliberate” attacks on medical facilities in war-ravaged Syria and Yemen, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon implicitly criticized some of the warring nations lamenting that “even a slaughterhouse is more humane” than the ongoing indiscriminate killings of civilians in the two devastating conflicts.
The attacks on hospitals, he warned, were “war crimes and violati..
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‘Crises, Conflict and Intervention: Global Perspectives: Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri’ – IISS.org – Hardeep Singh Puri
As Prepared:
We meet in the midst of several wonying interlocking economic and political developments. To Say that the “Arab Spring” has placed existing governance structures in that region under some stress would be an understatement. The initial hope and excitement generated by the Arab Spring is now giving way to analyses that are more realistic, factoring in both the country specific peculiarities and, indeed, anxiety and uncertainty that the successor political disp..
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Las “peligrosas intervenciones” del Consejo de Seguridad – Por Thalif Deen, ipsnoticias.net – Hardeep Singh Puri
“Si no se tiene el apoyo del Consejo de Seguridad, se tendrá solo una acción unilateral. La respuesta… no es disolver el Consejo, sino buscar una mejora en su funcionamiento” – Hardeep Singh Puri.
NACIONES UNIDAS, 10 oct 2016 (IPS) – Cuando el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU discutió los ataques “deliberados” contra hospitales en Siria y Yemen, el secretario general Ban Ki-moon criticó a varios de los pa&i..Hardeep Singh Puri,
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“Peligrosas intervenciones” del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU – THALIF DEEN PARA IPS, elpaisonline.com – Hardeep Singh Puri
Cuando el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU discutió los ataques “deliberados” contra hospitales en Siria y Yemen, el secretario general Ban Ki-moon criticó a varios de los países combatientes al señalar que “incluso un matadero es más humano” que las matanzas indiscriminadas de civiles en los dos conflictos en curso.
Los ataques contra hospitales, advirtió, fueron “crímenes de guerra y violaciones d..Hardeep Singh Puri,
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‘Puri: Stalemate over Syria Is Security Council’s “Most Serious Failure”’ – International Peace Institute – Hardeep Singh Puri
Hardeep Singh Puri, former ambassador of India and author of Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos, told a book launch event at IPI on October 25th that the stalemate over Syria and the Council’s consequent inaction was the panel’s “most serious failure.”
He said there must now be a “Syrian peace process” that would lead to an end of fighting and disbanding of rebel forces.
The United Nations estimates th..
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Will Ban Ki-moon be the next President of South Korea? – Hardeep Singh Puri
Called on outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on 28 December 2016, a few days before he demited office.
How will his 10-year tenure as the ‘secular pope’ be assessed? If the farewell ceremonies both inside the UN and in New York provide any indication, his 10-year tenure might be characterized as hugely successful.
He was widely regarded as the most pro-US Secretary-General and saw the US as a vital actor for the UN’..
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An Indian settles a score (Translation from German: Ein Inder rechnat ab) – Hardeep Singh Puri
The diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri blames the West of moral hysteria. The result would be wrong wars. A meeting
By Jan Ross, New Delhi
Once the Russian UN envoy remarked that whoever speaks after Hardeep Singh Puri in the UN Security Council sounded like a harmonica player after the concert of a symphony orchestra. You believe it right away. Ambassador Puri is one of those eloquent, cultivated appearances that the Indian elite are so rich of. We are sitting in his apartment i..
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‘Perilous Interventions’ That Damaged the International Political World – Hardeep Singh Puri
Going by the introduction, the presumption is that Hardeep Singh Puri’s book, Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos, was finalised early in 2016. Developments since then have only confirmed its central argument – the world remains a dangerous place with challenges that have become ever more complex. It needs a collective effort to provide an international legal framework to deal with them. The UN system offers one, provided it can be made to work.<..
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Presenting the book to External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj.
Presenting the book to Shri L.K. Advani
In discussion with th Honourable President Shri Pranab Mukherjee.
In discussion with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
In discussion with Henry A. Kissinger in New York.
Great audience at Perilous Interventions book event in New York Yale Club on 17 May, 2017. Full house and robust discussion. Generous and classy hosting by IDB bank, AIF made possible by my friends Anil Monga and Ankur Vaidya.
Great audience at Perilous Interventions book event in New York Yale Club on 17 May, 2017. Full house and robust discussion. Generous and classy hosting by IDB bank, AIF made possible by my friends Anil Monga and Ankur Vaidya.
Great audience at Perilous Interventions book event in New York Yale Club on 17 May, 2017. Full house and robust discussion. Generous and classy hosting by IDB bank, AIF made possible by my friends Anil Monga and Ankur Vaidya.
Great audience at Perilous Interventions book event in New York Yale Club on 17 May, 2017. Full house and robust discussion. Generous and classy hosting by IDB bank, AIF made possible by my friends Anil Monga and Ankur Vaidya.
Presenting the book to the Honourable President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.
Presenting the book to Vice President Shri Hamid Ansari.
Presenting the book, Perilous Interventions to India's Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
Presenting the book to Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley.
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