Middle East Policy Council
Richard Schmierer is a member of the Board at the Middle East Policy Council.
Schmierer served as director of Iraqi Affairs at the US State Department from 2007-2009, when he was appointed as US ambassador to Oman. He served in that capacity until 2012.
Military escalation… without diplomacy President Trump wants the Pentagon to "fight to win," and battlefield commanders now make decisions that used to come from the Obama White House. There's been increased action in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, and a dramatic rise in civilian casualties — providing fodder for Islamic State propaganda. What's missing is diplomacy and political planning for what to do when the wars are over. But even Trump's critics say Obama didn't have any "endgames" either. We hear about America's increased involvement in murky wars where victory might be possible… but not sustainable.
US Blames Iran for Escalating Violence in Iraq Iran has suspended talks with the US on Iraqi security, denouncing US attacks on Shiite militias in Baghdad. The US accuses Iran of supplying the militias with weapons. Charges and counter-charges fly amid increasing violence in a complex political labyrinth. Does support for the Maliki government mean taking sides in a Shiite civil war? Is the US fighting a proxy war with Iran? We update conditions on the ground and the prospects for stability in Iraq before both US and Iraqi elections.
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.
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.
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?