Director, Ohio State University's Middle East Studies Center
Director of Middle East Studies Center at Ohio State University in Columbus
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Alam Payind
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FROM Alam Payind
Which Way, L.A.?
The Run on Kabul Bank: Corruption and the Karzai Government After Somallia, Transparency International now ranks the government of Afghanistan as the most corrupt in the world. The latest evidence is the crisis involving Kabul Bank , Afghanistan's most important private financial institution.
To the Point
Corruption and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan After Somallia, Transparency International now ranks the government of Afghanistan as the most corrupt in the world. The latest evidence is the crisis involving Afghanistan's most important private financial institution. Friends and relatives of President Karzai borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from Kabul Bank and invested in Dubai's risky real estate market. That revelation has caused a run on the Kabul Bank, which could pave the way to the country's financial collapse. As Karzai tries to limit investigations, will the corruption of his regime make the Taliban look good to ordinary Afghans? What would that mean for the counterinsurgency strategy of General Petraeus, which depends on a solid government supported by its own people?
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To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.