Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University
Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University
PROFILE
Jack Goldstone
Guest
FROM Jack Goldstone
To the Point
Rebellion by the Young and the Unemployed Again and again, Moammar Gadhafi has blamed the violence in Libya on young people. His claim that they're taking "hallucinogens" supplied by Osama bin Laden may not be credible, but there's no doubt that Libya's youth are in the forefront of protest against his corrupt, tyrannical rule. A high proportion of young people and widespread unemployment have set the stage for a perfect storm in the Middle East and North Africa. The Internet and Al Jazeera have opened the young to the rest of the world and stoked their eagerness and courage to demand major change. But if they succeed, what happens next? Will the newly empowered inherit stagnant economies that still deny opportunity and frustrate ambition? What's being done to prevent crushed expectations by encouraging entrepreneurship, creating jobs and training a 21st Century workforce?
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To the Point
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?
To the Point
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.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.