political scientist
Political scientist and author of Circle in the Sand: The Bush Dynasty in Iraq
PROFILE
Christian Alfonsi
Guest
FROM Christian Alfonsi
Which Way, L.A.?
September 11: Advance Warnings and the War in Iraq Seven years after the 9/11 Commission's best-selling report, co-chairmen Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean have issued a report saying the US is still not prepared for a major catastrophe. Though only Hamilton and Keane issued the " Report Card ," ten years after September 11, many questions remain. What about efforts to warn the Bush Administration about al Qaeda? Why did President Bush accuse Saddam Hussein? Has US intelligence strategy been improved?
To the Point
September 11: Advance Warnings and the War in Iraq The co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission claim in a " Report Card " that the nation is still not as secure as it should be, partly because intelligence lacks coordination. Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean say first responders couldn't find each other on radios; Congressional oversight of homeland security and intelligence is "dysfunctional;" privacy, civil rights and the treatment of prisoners need further attention; and transportation security is a major concern. What about intelligence prior to 9/11? What did President George W. Bush know and when did he know it? Why did he insist that Saddam Hussein was involved? We talk with a former 9/11 Commission member, a former FBI agent who turned whistle-blower and a historian of two Bush Presidencies involved with Iraq, and hear how US intelligence has been updated since September 11.
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To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
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.