Mountainfilm: Obama Top Aide Ben Rhodes, “The World As It Is”

03 May Mountainfilm: Obama Top Aide Ben Rhodes, “The World As It Is”

The line-up for the 41st annual gathering of the tribe in Telluride over Memorial Weekend features guest director Cheryl Strayed, plus speakers Sir Chris Bonington, local Hilaree Nelson, Erin Parisi and Obama top aide and voice in national security Ben Rhodes. (More on that program here .)

Please scroll down to listen to a podcast with Rhodes.

Volunteer FAQ. Apply to volunteer here.

Passes/tickets to the 41st annual Mountainfilm are selling out.

Mountaineer, writer, photographer and lecturer Sir Chris Bonington started scaling peaks as a teenager in 1951. He has been chasing his passion ever since. The author of 17 books and knighted in 1996 (for services to mountaineering), Bonington is one of the illustrious featured speakers at the 41st annual Mountainfilm.

Another is a young man who also has scaled towering mountains – of ideas with wide-ranging strategic implications. For nearly 10 years, Ben Rhodes helped to shape the Obama playbook, first as a speechwriter, then as deputy national security advisor, and finally as a multipurpose aide and close friend and collaborator.

At Mountainfilm, Rhodes will talk about “The World As It Is,” (the title of his acclaimed memoir). He will open the door to Obama’s sanctum sanctorum and offer insights into his years with Obama (which continue for him) and his journey from wide-eyed idealism to harsh realism somewhat surprisingly still spiced with idealism.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Ben Rhodes was 24 years old and working on a city council campaign in Brooklyn on Sept. 11, 2001, when a hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center. He stood on the street, watching as a second plane struck, and then as the first tower collapsed.

Rhodes knew the event that marked the end of innocence in America had also triggered a sea change in his life. He just did not know what shape that change would take.

Presto change-o: a few years later, Rhodes found himself inside the room for almost every tense, poignant moment in the Obama presidency, starting every morning with the Daily Briefing.

He was there to wait out the bin Laden raid in the Situation Room.

There when a nuclear agreement with Iran was signed.

There for the Syria “red line” debate.

Present at secret negotiations with the Cuban government that led to normalizing ties.

On hand to confront the resurgence of nationalism that led to the election of Donald Trump. In fact,“The World As It Is” opens and closes with Obama’s reaction to the election of Donald Trump, which Rhodes said shook the 44th, no-drama president to his core.

It was also Ben Rhodes who wrote Obama’s memorable and very moving Cairo speech delivered in 2009:

“….So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the co-operation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

“I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect…”

Writing for The New York Times following the midterm election in 2018, he reinforces that message of inclusiveness:

“…First, Democrats should send a clear message to the world that we stand by our allies and our democratic values. Congress can make its voice heard in reaffirming our alliance commitments, increasing funding for the State Department, pressing the administration to admit more refugees and providing both tangible and moral support for independent civil society and media around the world. Mr. Trump may not see American values as a part of our strength and influence, but Congress should…”

Having been involved with nearly all Obama’s key decisions and having overseen all national security communications, Rhodes’ compelling perspective, reflected in those throat-clearing paragraphs, puts a hard spit polish on the contrasts between the 44th and 45th presidents of the United States, two radical, but radically different leaders.

Writing for The Atlantic in October 2018, Rhodes said the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi drove home the consequences of the current administration’s refusal to champion democratic values around the globe.

That and a thousand other points of slight.

Ben Rhodes is sought-out for his wide range of first-hand experience, his shrewd observations and expertise across the board in today’s top foreign affairs and security challenges.

Ben Rhodes, more:

Deputy National Security Advisor for former President Barack Obama, Ben Rhodes is a leading voice on politics and foreign affairs with over 15 years experience working in Washington. A current Political Contributor for NBC News and MSNBC, much of Rhodes’ extensive experience is chronicled in his New York Times bestseller “The World As it Is.”

Renowned for his leadership during the secret negotiations with Cuba, resulting in the historic normalization of relations, and his role as a prominent advisor on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, Rhodes was also crucial to the administration’s engagement with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

Prior to joining Obama for America, Rhodes worked as special assistant to Lee Hamilton at the Wilson Center, where he helped draft the Iraq Study Group Report and the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. He is the co-author, with Hamilton and Tom Kean, of “Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission.”

Rhodes is also co-chairman of National Security Action, a progressive foreign policy organization.