- Social:
Director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute
PROFILE
Matthew Levitt
Guest
FROM Matthew Levitt
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why Belgium? Three explosions in the airport and subway of Brussels, the capital of Belgium, left dozens of people dead today. ISIS has claimed responsibility. The attacks came four days after the capture of Salah Abdeslam near Brussels. Abdeslam is the only survivor of 10 men said to be behind the Paris terror attacks in November. ISIS also took credit for those. He was from Belgium, and he was radicalized there. The tiny country has a population of only 11 million people. But in the EU it has the highest number per capita of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria -- more than 500 in the latest count. Why?
To the Point
The Islamic State The Islamic State, also called ISIS and ISIL, now controls a major part of Iraq and an entire province in Syria. It’s replaced the Taliban as a fomenter of terrorists-including a disturbing number with American or European passports. Now, President Obama has authorized spy planes to conduct surveillance over Syria—a possible precursor to a bombing campaign. We hear about the risks of military action—and a possible alternative: striking the real source of the Islamic State’s power: The modern financial system that keeps it armed and fed and guarantees its continuity.
Recommended
Bookworm
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Design and Architecture
Farewell LA freeways, Peter Shire is back Angelenos don't want more freeways but we seem not to want mass transit either. Metro has killed the 710 freeway extension, and bus and train ridership is down across the region. What's the future of getting around in LA? And, Peter Shire is having a comeback. What attracts a new generation to his playful ceramics and furniture?
The Business
In 'Speechless,' Scott Silveri combines comedy, family & disability Scott Silveri has written and produced sitcoms for more than 20 years. In all that time, he never encountered a TV family that looked anything like the one he grew up in -- with a mom, a dad...and a brother with cerebral palsy. He changed that with his show Speechless on ABC. Silveri tells us about looking to his own past for stories, and why he was determined to make a family comedy and not just a "disability show."
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Trump says goodbye Paris Accord: What does it mean for U.S. and the planet? President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, the landmark international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Trump was to renegotiate a new deal, but will that happen?