Munk Debate on Foreign Wars: opening statements

On this special podcast episode, we are sharing the opening statements from the Munk Debate on Foreign Wars, which took place this past Wednesday May 20th in front of a packed crowd at Toronto's Meridian Hall. Against the backdrop of America's war with Iran — and after nearly three decades of disastrous Middle East interventions — the debate asked whether the U.S. should continue intervening abroad, and what that means for the future of global order. The resolution was: Be it resolved, don't go hunting monsters. Arguing against the motion was Mike Pompeo, 70th U.S. Secretary of State, former Director of the CIA, and four-term U.S. Congressman. He was joined by Victoria Nuland, whose 35-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service includes roles as Acting Deputy Secretary of State, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and U.S. Ambassador to NATO. Arguing in favour of the motion were two former Munk Debaters and the world's leading proponents of U.S. foreign policy restraint: John Mearsheimer, the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School. Find out how to watch the full debate at Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus and Munk Dialogues. Go to to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to Munk Debate on Foreign Wars: opening statements online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Munk Debate on Foreign Wars: opening statements is an episode from The Munk Debates Podcast by iHeartRadio Podcasts.

This episode is 29:23 long.

This episode was published on May 25, 2026.

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