Atlantic
National correspondent for the Atlantic and author of Prisoners: A Story of Friendship and Terror; former columnist for Bloomberg View; former Washington correspondent for the New Yorker; American Jew who served as a former prison guard in Israel
The Obama Doctrine, Part II Part II of Warren's interview with Jeffrey Goldberg. The national correspondent for the Atlantic has spent more time talking foreign policy with President Obama than any other journalist. The result is his cover story " The Obama Doctrine ." In it, he writes that "what will be controversial for years to come is the standard Obama has used to define what constitutes a direct threat to the Unites States."
The Obama Doctrine: Fear and Force Since before he took office, President Obama has spoken to one reporter more than any other — focused especially on foreign policy. We hear about the " Obama Doctrine " from Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic. (We'll have more of the conversation tomorrow, including how the legacy of George W. Bush helped shape Obama's "long view.")
Bibi Goes to Washington Republican House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress about his views on a nuclear deal with Iran. President Obama was not consulted and won't see the Israeli Prime Minister while he's in the United States. There's been much concern about the impact on Israeli-American relations. Today, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Powers, preceded Netanyahu at a convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She spoke of commitment "rooted in shared, fundamental values, cemented through decades of bipartisan reinforcement. This partnership should never be politicized, and it cannot and will not be tarnished or broken." Echoing her words, Netanyahu assured the audience that , "I plan to speak about an Iranian regime that is threatening to destroy Israel, that is devouring country after country in the Middle East, that is exporting terror throughout the world and that's developing as we speak the capacity to make nuclear weapons. Lots of them."
Obama Gives Netanyahu a Countdown to the Peace Process Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to be selling peace with the Palestinians today in a speech to AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel lobby. This, after President Obama publicly questioned Netanyahu's commitment to the peace process and despite opposition from within Netanyahu's political party. At the same time, the Israeli Prime Minister continues to insist that peace depends on the Palestinians recognizing Israel as "the Jewish State." And, as promised, Netanyahu left no room for compromise when it came to Iran's nuclear program. We get a progress report on the peace process, US-Israeli relations and the complicating factor of Iran's nuclear program.
Al Qaeda Is Making a Comeback Al Qaeda militants in Iraq, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, have fought to seize control of Fallujah and Ramadi in Anbar Province, where at least 100 American troops were killed during the Iraq War. Although US troops are no longer there, the civil war rages on. According to the United Nations, more than 7800 people were killed in Iraq last year. Just today, dozens were killed at an Iraqi Army Recruiting Center. ISIS' resurgence is mirrored in other conflicts in the Mideast, stemming from the Syrian war and creating instability from Baghdad to Beirut, as Shiite-Sunni sectarian violence is creating fault lines from Saudi Arabia to Iran. How do veterans feel about the resurgence of al Qaeda? What does it say about the sectarian violence? What, if anything, should the US do about it?
Will President Obama Raise New Hopes for Middle East Peace? As President Obama plunged back into the perils of Middle East diplomacy , the White House worked hard to lower expectations. But in his visit with Palestinians in Ramallah and his speech in Jerusalem to Israeli students were all about hope for peace and the necessity of a two-state solution. The President backed a Palestinian state at the same time supporting Israel almost without reservation. He condemned earlier rocket fire from Gaza into Southern Israel that broke a three-month cease-fire. He called settlements in the occupied West Bank "counterproductive," and urged young Israelis to pressure an older generation of political leaders. We hear excerpts and a variety of reactions.
Komen Foundation Reverses Decision to Cut Off Planned Parenthood The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation has apologized "to the American public" and restored funding to Planned Parenthood for breast-cancer screening. Komen insists the cutoff was not the result of political pressure or a penalty because Planned Parenthood also finances abortions. But interviews with "three sources with direct knowledge" say the board created a new rule to provide an excuse for cutting some $600,000 dollars annually. That's according to Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine.
Conversations with Fidel In a recent for The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg wrote about the prospect of war between Iran, Israel and the United States. One of his readers was Fidel Castro, who then invited Goldberg to Cuba for three days of lengthy conversations. Goldberg's posted accounts about his visit, responding to readers and to Castro himself, who took issue with how Goldberg interpreted one of Castro's remarks.
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.
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
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.
