Oberg's special gift is his ability to combine penetrating observations on the disturbed parts of the world we confront with an intensive, hands-on, conflict prevention work. It seems to give his naturally acerbic tongue extra bite. In a recent newsletter he describes the Western alliance as a power adrift now it has lost its favourite enemy, the Soviet Union. Incapable of living without its enemies its depressive side has created scores of rogue states, dictators and terrorists. While its manic, messianic side has invented grandiose projects- globilisation, disciplining interventions as in Kosovo, cultural supremacy and renewed militarism.
Conflicts are neither good nor bad, they happen.
Violence and war is humiliation for both sides. The outsider, if he wants to be useful, has to project soft power, that is humility, tolerance and nonviolence. But too often the West uses hard power, hard talk, hard technology and hard economics as its tools and doesn't think enough about how to build a cooperative and sharing society. When Oberg and his team go into a war zone he doesn't change his tune. I tell them how reconciliation takes at least two individuals.