Director of Russian Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Resident Scholar and Director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute; author of Yeltsin: A Revolutionary Life, the first definitive biography of Boris Yeltsin
PROFILE
Leon Aron
Guest
FROM Leon Aron
To the Point
The Cold War Revisited The US stopped flying bombers armed with nuclear weapons back in 1968, after crashes in Greenland and Spain that contaminated the ground with Plutonium. But last month, a B-52 flew from North Dakota to Louisiana armed with six cruise missiles--each 10 times as powerful as the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. Tomorrow 100,000 airmen at all Air Combat Command bases will stand down as investigators try to figure out how that happened. Meantime, Russia has tested what it calls the "Father of All Bombs" and resumed Cold-War type bomber patrols close to NATO airspace. What's behind Russia's aggressive behavior? Can the US keep track of its weapons of mass destruction?
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To the Point
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.
To the Point
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.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?