President Bush Heads to Jordan for Crisis Summit

Making News

In Jordan, Bush Still Supporting al-Maliki ()

In a "secret" memo leaked to the New York Times today, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley says Prime Minister al-Maliki may lack the capacity--or the will--to control sectarian violence.  The memo says al-Maliki is either "ignorant... of the reality on the streets of Baghdad," misrepresenting his own intentions or unable to turn them into effective action.

Guests:

• Peter Wallsten: White House Correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, @peterwallsten

Links:

• Wallsten's article on White House insistence that Maliki has US support

Main Topic

New Stumbling Blocks for Crisis Diplomacy ()

Just hours before his meeting with President Bush, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was hit by two challenges to his leadership of Iraq. The first was a leaked memo from National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley saying al-Maliki is either unwilling or unable to control sectarian violence; the second, withdrawal from al-Maliki's government by a key bloc of supporters led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.  How damaged is al-Maliki's leadership of his own divided country?  Would more American troops make a difference?

Guests:

• Bobby Ghosh: Senior Correspondent for Time magazine, @ghoshworld
• Noah Feldman: Professor of Law at New York University
• Laith Kubba: Spokesman for then-Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari
• Barry McCaffrey: Former Commander of the US Southern Command

Reporter's Notebook

Los Alamos Develops Bomb-Detecting Bees ()

Los Alamos is best known as the place where the Atomic Bomb was developed and where research on nuclear weapons has continued ever since.  It's also home to the Stealthy Insect Sensor Project.  The stealthy insects are honeybees, and the project is training them to detect explosives.  Researchers at the project say they're "very excited" about training honeybees to detect explosives in cars, roadside bombs and belts similar to those used by suicide bombers.

Guests:

• Tim Haarmann: Principal Investigator for the Stealthy Insect Sensor Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Links:

• Los Alamos National Laboratory on Stealthy Insect Sensor Project
• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)