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Staff writer for the New Yorker magazine
Staff writer for the New Yorker magazine
PROFILE
Jon Lee Anderson
Guest
FROM Jon Lee Anderson
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Will López Obrador be Mexico's next president? Mexico has a presidential election this weekend. If things go as expected, the country’s new leader will be Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He’s a populist who rails against government and corporate corruption. He gets compared by rivals to Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. He is no fan of Trump. And he gets rock-star-like receptions pretty much everywhere he goes.
To the Point
Fertile Ground for ISIS in Libya Last weekend, a faction of the Islamic State beheaded a dozen Christians in Libya, and the eyes of the world turned back to a nation in chaos. Egypt responded with airstrikes — designed to punish ISIS and help one of two rival governments trying to take power in Libya. The UN is trying to get the two groups together. The ISIS group may or not provide a common enemy. In 2011, Europe helped end Moammar Gadhafi's brutal dictatorship in Libya as the US famously "led from behind." With the Islamic State now on Europe's doorstep, will the West intervene again?
Which Way, L.A.?
The Syrian War and Secret U.S. Support As crisis grows more dangerous by the day, nobody yet knows what the Obama Administration is doing to help Syrian rebels against the al-Assad regime. It's more dangerous to smuggle medical supplies than weapons and there are vast stores of chemical weapons. The struggle between Shiites and Sunnis creates the threat of regional instability, even a new Cold War, and the UN has become a non-factor. Since the beginning of peaceful demonstrations in March of last year, some 21,000 people have now died in Syria's crackdown against rebel forces. What's at stake for the region and the rest of the world, including the US? On a grim historical note: seldom have medical personnel been so systematically targeted. It's reportedly more dangerous to smuggle humanitarian aid than weapons. Is it time for the Obama Administration to get directly involved in helping Syrian rebels against the al-Assad regime?
To the Point
The Syrian War and Secret U.S. Support As crisis grows more dangerous by the day, nobody yet knows what the Obama Administration is doing to help Syrian rebels against the al-Assad regime. It's more dangerous to smuggle medical supplies than weapons and there are vast stores of chemical weapons. The struggle between Shiites and Sunnis creates the threat of regional instability, even a new Cold War, and the UN has become a non-factor. Since the beginning of peaceful demonstrations in March of last year, some 21,000 people have now died in Syria's crackdown against rebel forces. What's at stake for the region and the rest of the world, including the US? On a grim historical note: seldom have medical personnel been so systematically targeted. It's reportedly more dangerous to smuggle humanitarian aid than weapons. Is it time for the Obama Administration to get directly involved in helping Syrian rebels against the al-Assad regime?
Recommended
To the Point
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.
To the Point
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
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.