Reporter, Christian Science Monitor
Correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor
PROFILE
Paul Rimple
Guest
FROM Paul Rimple
To the Point
Oil, Democracy and Russian Tanks in Georgia Saying that neighboring Georgia has been punished enough, the President of Russia has ordered a halt to military operations. But there's still no formal ceasefire, and the President of France, current leader of the European Union, is shuttling between Moscow and Tbilisi. The US says it's reviewing humanitarian actions and that Russia needs to make good on its promise . Is Russia testing the US and Europe and their support for an emerging democracy? Is it trying to reconstitute the former Soviet Union? We get the latest on the confrontation that threatens to destabilize an already volatile part of the world, and hear about new international realities, including the role of oil.
To the Point
Fighting in Georgia Spreads Russian forces have moved further into Georgia's rebellious province of South Ossetia, despite Georgia's call for a ceasefire. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ran for cover, saying Russian planes were flying over the presidential palace in his capital city. Russia's Prime Minister Putin has flown home from the Olympics, but President Bush was still in Beijing when he denounced Russia's "disproportionate" response” to explosive hostilities in the region. We catch up with events and get the background on a long running local dispute with international implications. What are America's interests in a dispute between Russia and a former Soviet Republic? What's the possible impact on the campaign for president?
Recommended
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.