Vice President of the Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution
Vice President of the Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution
at the United States Institute of Peace, an independent federal
institution created by Congress to promote the prevention, management,
and peaceful resolution of international conflicts
African Reconciliation In a year marked, like so many years, with news of war, tales of reconciliation often go untold. The conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia made news this week, but in other parts of Africa, stories of peacemaking unfold each day. Across the continent, communities are rebuilding civil societies through local traditions of forgiveness and apology, as well as formal structures such as truth and reconciliation commissions. Do these efforts lead to sustainable peace? Can forgiveness overcome revenge in the wake of atrocities? How do the victims of war cope with the return of ex-combatants? Does Africa hold lessons for the rest of the world?
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.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?