Ambassador to the United States, Pakistan
Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States
PROFILE
Mahmud Ali Durrani
Guest
FROM Mahmud Ali Durrani
To the Point
A Resurgent Al Qaeda Late last year, President Bush declared that Osama bin Laden's " Al Qaeda is on the run ," but US and British intelligence now say it's back in business. Last month, former US Intelligence Director John Negroponte told Congress that both Al Qaeda and the Taliban have critical sanctuaries in Northwest Pakistan. Britain's MI-5 has said there's a Pakistani connection between the London subway bombings and threats against airliners bound for the US. This week, the New York Times reported that Al Qaeda leaders have reconstituted their terrorist training camps in Northwest Pakistan. Pakistan calls the assessment "absurd." Has Iraq has blinded the Bush Administration to Al Qaeda's resurgence. What's next for the war on terror? We talk with Pakistan's Ambassador to the US and a Pakistani journalist who tell very different stories, and a converted Muslim who worked for a charity that has since been linked to Al Qaeda.
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Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
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?
To the Point
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
To the Point
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.