former diplomat, Afghanistan's Embassy in Washington
Former diplomat in Afghanistan's Embassy in Washington; founder and Executive Director of the Afghanistan Policy Council, and contributing author to The Silk Roads: Transport and Trade in Greater Central Asia
Afghanistan and the 'Civilian Surge' Laying out his strategy for Afghanistan last March, President Obama called for "agricultural specialists and educators, engineers and lawyers…to develop an economy that isn't dominated by illicit drugs." But last week's speech on increasing troops contained only a single reference to a "civilian surge."
Afghanistan and the 'Civilian Surge' In last week's speech on Afghanistan, President Obama barely mentioned the so-called "civilian surge," an essential part of counterinsurgency doctrine. But Secretaries Gates and Clinton are talking it up , and government employees are being recruited from Agriculture and other departments. Will paving roads and building schools help win the "hearts and minds" of Afghans? Will they help defeat the Taliban? What are the prospects of blowback if big money is wasted in bribes and other forms of corruption?
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.
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.
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.