The Frontline Club

On 6 November 300 million Americans in 50 states will go to the polls to elect the next US President. As the race for the White House heats up join us with a panel of experts to map out the arguments being made by both camps. With polling results predicting a close contest join us with Paddy O'Connell of BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House who will be guiding the panel through the issues that this election is being fought over. We will be looking at the politics of Republican candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan, while examining the differences in Mitt Romney and Barack Obama's positions on the economy, healthcare, defence, foreign policy and social issues. With: Felicity Spector, writes about US politics for Channel 4 News. She has been covering US politics for more than 15 years including the 2000 and 2008 campaigns for Channel 4 News, she will be in Washington for the 2012 election. Robert Carolina, chair of Democrats Abroad UK, the official arm of the Democratic National Committee for Americans living outside the US and its territories. He started his support of the Obama campaign in 2007, and went on to lead a number of Obama campaign efforts in the UK in 2008. Alex Spillius, a foreign correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, he was Washington Correspondent from 2007 to late 2011. He covered the 2008 US presidential campaign in its entirety and documented the tribulations of the Obama administration and the rise of the Tea Party. Stacy Hilliard, an active member and former Vice Chairman of Republicans Abroad UK. She has worked on several political campaigns including Mitt Romney's first gubernatorial race in Massachusetts and she appears regularly as a commentator on US politics in the broadcast and print media.

On 6 November 300 million Americans in 50 states will go to the polls to elect the next US President. As the race for the White House heats up join us with a panel of experts to map out the arguments being made by both camps.With polling results predicting a close contest join us with Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House who will be guiding the panel through the issues that this election is being fought over.We will be looking at the politics of Republican candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan, while examining the differences in Mitt Romney and Barack Obama’s positions on the economy, healthcare, defence, foreign policy and social issues.With:Felicity Spector, writes about US politics for Channel 4 News. She has been covering US politics for more than 15 years including the 2000 and 2008 campaigns for Channel 4 News, she will be in Washington for the 2012 election.Robert Carolina, chair of Democrats Abroad UK, the official arm of the Democratic National Committee for Americans living outside the US and its territories. He started his support of the Obama campaign in 2007, and went on to lead a number of Obama campaign efforts in the UK in 2008.Alex Spillius, a foreign correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, he was Washington Correspondent from 2007 to late 2011. He covered the 2008 US presidential campaign in its entirety and documented the tribulations of the Obama administration and the rise of the Tea Party.Stacy Hilliard, an active member and former Vice Chairman of Republicans Abroad UK. She has worked on several political campaigns including Mitt Romney’s first gubernatorial race in Massachusetts and she appears regularly as a commentator on US politics in the broadcast and print media.

What do the recent deadly attacks in Iraq tell us about the country today? It has been nearly ten years since the US-led invasion and nearly a year since the last foreign troops withdrew. But is there anything about the state of the country they left behind that can begin to explain this recent wave of violence? Although al-Qaeda forces appeared to have been pushed back, there has been an increase in violence that culminated on 23 July in the bloodiest day since US troops left Iraq. Coordinated bombings and shootings in 15 cities left over 100 people dead and many more injured. What impact will al-Qaeda's mission to regain ground have on political tensions among the main Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions? Join us with a panel of experts to discuss the situation in Iraq today and what impact the conflict on its doorstep in Syria might have on the country. Chaired by Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News correspondent. With: Tom Hardie-Forsyth, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister’s office, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Northern Iraq. He is a former Chairman of the NATO Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee at its Brussels HQ, and is now a Fellow of the Atlantic Council. He was commissioned in The Royal Signals Regiment, where he saw active service in the Gulf and Northern Iraq. Charles Tripp, professor of Middle East politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Among his books are A History or Iraq, Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism and The Power and the People: Paths of resistance in the Middle East. Patrick Cockburn, senior Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent. He is an experienced commentator on Iraq and has written several books on the country including The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq and Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq. Kamran Karadaghi, former senior political correspondent for the London-based daily Al-Hayat from 1988 to 1998. He has worked as a journalist, interpreter, diplomatic correspondent, and editor for more than 40 years. From 1998 to 2004 he was deputy director and chief editor of Radio Free Iraq at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. From 2005 to 2007 he served as the chief of staff and the official spokesperson for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

What do the recent deadly attacks in Iraq tell us about the country today?It has been nearly ten years since the US-led invasion and nearly a year since the last foreign troops withdrew. But is there anything about the state of the country they left behind that can begin to explain this recent wave of violence?Although al-Qaeda forces appeared to have been pushed back, there has been an increase in violence that culminated on 23 July in the bloodiest day since US troops left Iraq. Coordinated bombings and shootings in 15 cities left over 100 people dead and many more injured.What impact will al-Qaeda’s mission to regain ground have on political tensions among the main Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions?Join us with a panel of experts to discuss the situation in Iraq today and what impact the conflict on its doorstep in Syria might have on the country.Chaired by Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News correspondent.With:Tom Hardie-Forsyth, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister’s office, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Northern Iraq. He is a former Chairman of the NATO Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee at its Brussels HQ, and is now a Fellow of the Atlantic Council. He was commissioned in The Royal Signals Regiment, where he saw active service in the Gulf and Northern Iraq.Charles Tripp, professor of Middle East politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Among his books are A History or Iraq, Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism and The Power and the People: Paths of resistance in the Middle East.Patrick Cockburn, senior Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent. He is an experienced commentator on Iraq and has written several books on the country including The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq and Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq.Kamran Karadaghi, former senior political correspondent for the London-based daily Al-Hayat from 1988 to 1998. He has worked as a journalist, interpreter, diplomatic correspondent, and editor for more than 40 years. From 1998 to 2004 he was deputy director and chief editor of Radio Free Iraq at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. From 2005 to 2007 he served as the chief of staff and the official spokesperson for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

What do the recent deadly attacks in Iraq tell us about the country today?It has been nearly ten years since the US-led invasion and nearly a year since the last foreign troops withdrew. But is there anything about the state of the country they left behind that can begin to explain this recent wave of violence?Although al-Qaeda forces appeared to have been pushed back, there has been an increase in violence that culminated on 23 July in the bloodiest day since US troops left Iraq. Coordinated bombings and shootings in 15 cities left over 100 people dead and many more injured.What impact will al-Qaeda’s mission to regain ground have on political tensions among the main Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions?Join us with a panel of experts to discuss the situation in Iraq today and what impact the conflict on its doorstep in Syria might have on the country.Chaired by Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News correspondent.With:Tom Hardie-Forsyth, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister’s office, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Northern Iraq. He is a former Chairman of the NATO Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee at its Brussels HQ, and is now a Fellow of the Atlantic Council. He was commissioned in The Royal Signals Regiment, where he saw active service in the Gulf and Northern Iraq.Charles Tripp, professor of Middle East politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Among his books are A History or Iraq, Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism and The Power and the People: Paths of resistance in the Middle East.Patrick Cockburn, senior Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent. He is an experienced commentator on Iraq and has written several books on the country including The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq and Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq.Kamran Karadaghi, former senior political correspondent for the London-based daily Al-Hayat from 1988 to 1998. He has worked as a journalist, interpreter, diplomatic correspondent, and editor for more than 40 years. From 1998 to 2004 he was deputy director and chief editor of Radio Free Iraq at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. From 2005 to 2007 he served as the chief of staff and the official spokesperson for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

Anthony Shadid spent most of his professional career covering the Middle East, first for the Associated Press; then The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and finally The New York Times - for which he was working when he died in February this year while crossing the border out of Syria. At this special event we will be joined by friends and colleagues of Anthony Shadid to remember the life and work of this most esteemed journalist. Followed by a drinks reception. His knowledge of the region and his ability to translate the stories of the people to a global audience has seen him recognised as one of the most gifted journalists of his generation. He won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting twice; first in 2004 for his coverage of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the occupation that followed. Second, for his coverage of Iraq as the United States began its withdrawal. In March last year Shadid was captured by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Libya with three other New York Times reporters and held for six days. On his release he did not return to the US, but to the house his great-grandfather had built and he had embarked on restoring in southern Lebanon. His most recent book House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East recounts this journey of restoration entwined with the story of his family's flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America. With contributions from: New York Times reporter and wife of Anthony Shadid, Nada Bakri. Jonathan Rugman, foreign affairs correspondent at Channel 4 News. Kareem Fahim, Middle East reporter for The New York Times. Katia Jarjoura, journalist and filmmaker. Chaired by John Freeman, editor of Granta.

The international sex trade criss-crosses the globe using a sinister network made up of criminal masterminds, local handlers, corrupt policemen, wilfully blind politicians, eager consumers, and countless hapless women and children. In a ground-breaking new work of investigative reporting internationally renowned Mexican journalist and campaigner Lydia Cacho follows the trail of the traffickers and their victims from Mexico to Turkey, Thailand to Iraq, Georgia to the UK. She exposes the trade's hidden links with the tourist industry, internet pornography, drugs and arms smuggling, the selling of body organs, money laundering, and even terrorism. Lydia Cacho will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with executive director of Article 19, Dr Agnès Callamard to talk about her expansive investigation into this world and the work she does reporting on domestic violence, child prostitution, organised crime and political corruption, whilst teaching workshops on how to help victims of trafficking.

Created in 1989 by a small group of young British men and women, Frontline News Television was a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. The agency closed in 2003, by which time half of its camera-people had been killed while filming around the world. FNTV founders Peter Jouvenal and the Frontline Club's Vaughan Smith, in conversation with BBC World Affairs EditorJohn Simpson, will tell the thrilling story of the agency with clips from the footage they and their colleagues recorded on the front line. Frontline's cameramen and women were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras. Their successes included securing the first western media interview with Bin Laden, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980's war in Afghanistan, key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War and footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently published in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World's Deadliest Places. This event is free to attend but please register in advance by clicking the "book" link above. The event has been made possible through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund with which the Frontline Club Charitable Trust is currently digitising and cataloguing 1,000 hours of FNTV footage.

The international sex trade criss-crosses the globe using a sinister network made up of criminal masterminds, local handlers, corrupt policemen, wilfully blind politicians, eager consumers, and countless hapless women and children.In a ground-breaking new work of investigative reporting internationally renowned Mexican journalist and campaigner Lydia Cacho follows the trail of the traffickers and their victims from Mexico to Turkey, Thailand to Iraq, Georgia to the UK. She exposes the trade's hidden links with the tourist industry, internet pornography, drugs and arms smuggling, the selling of body organs, money laundering, and even terrorism.Lydia Cacho will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with executive director of Article 19, Dr Agnès Callamard to talk about her expansive investigation into this world and the work she does reporting on domestic violence, child prostitution, organised crime and political corruption, whilst teaching workshops on how to help victims of trafficking.insightlydiacacho

Created in 1989 by a small group of young British men and women, Frontline News Television was a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. The agency closed in 2003, by which time half of its camera-people had been killed while filming around the world.FNTV founders Peter Jouvenal and the Frontline Club’s Vaughan Smith, in conversation with BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson, will tell the thrilling story of the agency with clips from the footage they and their colleagues recorded on the front line.Frontline’s cameramen and women were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras. Their successes included securing the first western media interview with Bin Laden, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980′s war in Afghanistan, key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War and footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently published in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.This event is free to attend but please register in advance by clicking the "book" link above. The event has been made possible through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund with which the Frontline Club Charitable Trust is currently digitising and cataloguing 1,000 hours of FNTV footage.newsFrontlineJohn SimpsonVaughan SmithPeter Jouvenal

Created in 1989 by a small group of young British men and women, Frontline News Television was a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. The agency closed in 2003, by which time half of its camera-people had been killed while filming around the world.FNTV founders Peter Jouvenal and the Frontline Club’s Vaughan Smith, in conversation with BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson, will tell the thrilling story of the agency with clips from the footage they and their colleagues recorded on the front line.Frontline’s cameramen and women were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras. Their successes included securing the first western media interview with Bin Laden, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980′s war in Afghanistan, key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War and footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently published in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.This event is free to attend but please register in advance by clicking the "book" link above. The event has been made possible through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund with which the Frontline Club Charitable Trust is currently digitising and cataloguing 1,000 hours of FNTV footage.newsFrontlineJohn SimpsonVaughan SmithPeter Jouvenal

A 33-year-old British Pakistani who grew up in Essex, Maajid Nawaz was recruited into political Islam as a teenager. He joined Hizb al-Tahrir (the Liberation Party) where he played a central role in the shaping and dissemination of an aggressive anti-West narrative.Having journeyed into and out of Islamic extremism, Maajid Nawaz remains a Muslim but is a leading critic of his former Islamist ideological dogma. He will be joining us in conversation with Shiv Malik, an investigative journalist and the co-author of Jilted Generation: How Britain Has Bankrupted Its Youth to discuss this journey told in his new book and the work he now does undermining the beliefs he had once been prepared to die for.After travelling to Pakistan, where he hoped to bring about an Islamist coup, Nawaz then went to Egypt, arriving the day before the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. Adopted by Amnesty International as a Prisoner of Conscience, he underwent an intellectual transformation and upon his release renounced political Islamism.Maajid Nawaz is co-founder and chairman of Quilliam, a globally active civic-intervention organisation that focuses on matters of Integration, Citizenship Identity, Religious Freedom, Extremism and Immigration. He is also the Founder of Khudi, a Pakistan based social movement campaigning to entrench democratic culture among the nation's youth.

It has been a year since the Prime Minister announced an inquiry examining the culture, practices and ethics of the media in light of the phone-hacking scandal. Since then we have heard from journalists, editors, proprietors, politicians and victims of phone-hacking. As the hearings draw to a close and Lord Justice Leveson begins his report, we will be holding a special event in association with Index on Censorship to discuss what we have learned and the key issues Leveson will have to tackle. Join us with a panel to map out the questions Leveson will be asking. How should public interest be defined? Is regulation required and if so, what would its purpose be? How should relationships between journalists, proprietors, politicians and police be conducted in the future? Chaired by writer, broadcaster and filmmaker, Jonathan Dimbleby. With: Brian Cathcart, professor of journalism at Kingston University London and founder of the Hacked Off campaign. He served as specialist adviser to the commons media select committee in 2008-10. He was a journalist at Reuters, the Independent and the New Statesman, and has written books about the murders of Stephen Lawrence and Jill Dando, as well as on the history of nuclear science. Twitter: @BrianCathcart Angela Phillips, senior lecturer in journalism at Goldsmiths College, author of Good Writing for Journalists and co-author of Changing Journalism. She has been a journalist for over thirty years, starting in the alternative press of the 1970s and moving on to work for national newspapers, magazines, television and radio (the BBC and independents). She is also the chair of the Ethics Committee of the Coordinating Committee for Media Reform and gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry on Friday 13 July, 2012. Twitter: @AngelaELL David Aaronovitch, writer, broadcaster, commentator and regular columnist for The Times. He is author of Voodoo Histories: The role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History and Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country. Twitter: @DAaronovitch Helen Lewis, deputy editor at the New Statesman. As well as commissioning and editing, she writes for the NS magazine and blogs for its website, with favoured topics including comedy, feminism, politics and computer games. She has also written forEdge magazine, the Stylist, Square Meal and the Guardian; she reviews the papers on Sky News and has appeared on the Today programme, Woman’s Hour and The Daily Politics. Twitter:@helenlewis In association with Index on Censorship

Renowned Arab journalist Yosri Fouda will be joining us in conversation with senior BBC presenter and special correspondent Lyse Doucet for this special event, post elections we will be asking what lies ahead for the people of Egypt and its new leader. Fouda, who was editor and presenter of Last Word on Cairo-based ONTV, said there had been "a noticeable deterioration in media freedoms when he announced he would be "indefinitely suspending" his show in October last year. Following the presidential elections Fouda who chaired Egypt's first presidential debate will be discussing events in Egypt in the 17 months since the toppling of president Hosni Mubarak and his hopes for the country post elections. Yosri Fouda began his career at the BBC's Arabic-subsidiary and was chief investigative reporter and executive producer for Al Jazeera. He is the co-author of Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Attack The World Has Ever Seen.

Renowned Arab journalist Yosri Fouda will be joining us in conversation with senior BBC presenter and special correspondent Lyse Doucet for this special event, post elections we will be asking what lies ahead for the people of Egypt and its new leader.Fouda, who was editor and presenter of Last Word on Cairo-based ONTV, said there had been “a noticeable deterioration in media freedoms when he announced he would be “indefinitely suspending” his show in October last year.Following the presidential elections Fouda who chaired Egypt’s first presidential debate will be discussing events in Egypt in the 17 months since the toppling of president Hosni Mubarak and his hopes for the country post elections.Yosri Fouda began his career at the BBC’s Arabic-subsidiary and was chief investigative reporter and executive producer for Al Jazeera. He is the co-author of Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Attack The World Has Ever Seen.NewsYosri FoudafcbbcaEgypt