Human Rights Watch Senior Analyst Take Us "Behind the Headlines" of War During Special Presentation

Marc Garlasco isn’t afraid to quickly mobilize to war zones to gather the information he needs. He’s also not afraid to speak his mind regarding what he finds. As a senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch, Garlasco reports his findings to the world and pressures government officials to protect people caught in the crossfire of war. His expertise has been instrumental in forging change in the most trying of circumstances.

Garlasco will share his personal experiences investigating conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and Gaza during “Behind The Headlines and Off the Record,” at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 7, at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice (IPJ) Theatre at the University of San Diego (5998 Alcala Park).  He will explain how Human Rights Watch researchers collect evidence in war zones and how his weapon’s expertise has contributed to HRW’s successful campaign to ban the use of deadly cluster bombs.

Garlasco served for seven years at the Pentagon where he was chief of high value targeting during the Iraq War in 2003. He was an intelligence professional at the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Iraq invasion where he led the effort to track and target Saddam Hussein. At HRW, Garlasco works deep in war zones as part of the organization’s emergency team. As one of the world’s leading human rights organizations, HRW is often the first on the ground and the first to publicly expose the abuses of war—a strategy that influences government policy when it matters most.

During his visit to San Diego, Garlasco will also speak at the Grauer School, located at 1500 S. El Camino Real in Encinitas. The public presentation will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, in the school’s Great Room.  In addition, he will interact with Grauer students as part of the IPJ’s WorldLink Youth global awareness program. For additional information, visit www.grauerschool.com or call 760/944-6777.

Garlasco’s visit is part of a series held at USD over the past year focusing on the work of HRW. The IPJ and HRW partnered with the following sponsors for the series: The Grauer School, The Center for Global Awareness and Jubilee San Diego.

About the University of San Diego

The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls approximately 7,500 graduate and undergraduate students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service. The inauguration of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies brings the university’s total number of schools and colleges to six. Other academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Law, Leadership and Education Sciences, and Nursing and Health Science.

About the Grauer School

The Grauer School, founded in 1991, is a grades 6-12 private, college preparatory day school. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the preeminent accreditation organization in the western United States.  The school is renowned for it’s humanitarian, inter-disciplinary curriculum with the highest graduate college placement ratio in San Diego County.

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About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.