New America Foundation
Senior fellow with the New America Foundation and a senior vice president for strategy with Mantid, a strategic consulting firm helping Iraqis with development plans; retired Lieutenant Colonel with the US Army and former chief of plans for American forces in Iraq
The US in Afghanistan and the Rules of War After first calling it "collateral damage," then then saying that Afghan forces needed support against the resurgent Taliban, the US has admitted it ordered a deadly air-attack on a hospital in Afghanistan -- but calls it a mistake , not a war crime. Doctors Without Borders, which ran the hospital, has demanded an international investigation . The incident has dramatized the resurgence of the Taliban, potentially upsetting US plans to withdraw almost completely by the end of next year. The City of Kunduz, where the attack occurred, is now a shambles, and tens of thousands of Afghans are desperate to leave their country. Do setbacks and blunders make the case for being stronger and staying longer?
The Islamic State Is Making Advances Despite Air Strikes Airstrikes by the US and other countries have not yet slowed advances by the so-called Islamic State–ISIS or ISIL. One place threatened by the brutal extremists is Kobane, a Kurdish town in Syria near the border with Turkey. We’ll hear reports and analysis of how the warfare is going.
An End to the Civil War in Iraq? The "surge" of US military forces in Iraq has reduced the level of violence, as promised. However, not until this week did the "so-called "breathing room" lead to "benchmark legislation" from the Iraqi parliament. The Shiite-dominate legislature has passed a a law promoted by the United States, that's supposed to open the government to Sunnis bureaucrats, engineers, teachers, soldiers and police officers from Saddam-Hussein's Baath Party. But today's New York Times reports that it could make matters worse.
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.
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
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.