“The Middle East peace process is dead,” said journalist, historian and author Gwynne Dyer while speaking at the University of Calgary’s MacEwan Hall on Oct. 19.

That blunt assessment was among many laid out by Dyer who, while sporting his trademark weathered leather jacket, tore apart the reasons for invading Iraq and Afghanistan (the latter being “unwinnable”), talked realistically about the threat of terrorism (small), the unreasonable expectations placed on U.S. President Obama, and of Alberta’s tarsands (the term ‘oilsands’ is nothing more than a PR gimmick, he said) being an easy oil supply for the Obama administration to cut in order to live up to its campaign promises of emissions reductions.

Dyer also took aim at the Canadian government’s (both Liberal and Conservative) inaction on reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — something it promised to do when it signed onto the Kyoto Protocol. While other signatories have already reached their target and are taking bold action to reduce them further, Canada’s GHG emissions have shot up 35 per cent since 1990. 

But it wasn’t all doom and despair.

Dyer called the rigged Afghanistan election a “golden opportunity” for the U.S. and coalition forces to wipe their hands clean of a corrupt Karzai government and to back out as early as 2012. The results of an early withdrawal from Afghanistan, he opined, would be the same five years from now — only with fewer casualties for western forces.

And after conducting many interviews with those in the Obama camp for his latest book ‘Climate Wars,’ Dyer is convinced they understand all too well the risks of not taking the necessary steps to avoid a climate catastrophe. Just don’t expect anything to happen on that front until the battered U.S. president has dealt with the financial crisis and health care reform.

But I didn’t record Dyer’s talk in its entirety just to filter and transcribe bits and pieces, so if you missed the opportunity to hear him speak in person, or simply want to hear it again, here’s your chance.

(h/t goes out to @andrewmcintyre who likely incurred long-term damage to his opposable digits from live-Tweeting the event and to Gwynne Dyer for allowing FFWD to post the audio recording)