Middle East Institute
Senior fellow at the Middle East Institute where he focuses on the Levant and North Africa; former US ambassador to Syria (2011-2014)
PROFILE
Robert S. Ford
Guest
FROM Robert S. Ford
To the Point
The Struggle for Peace in a Polarized World Syria's civil war has dragged on for five years, killing hundreds of thousands and turning millions more into refugees. UN-sponsored peace talks were scheduled to start today, but they've been delayed until Friday. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other regional powers disagree about which rebels should be at the table. Russia still supports President al-Assad. The Obama administration says Assad must go, but is resisting calls for military action. Is it time for the US to assert its Superpower status or pursue continued restraint in a multi-polar world.
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To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
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.
To the Point
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
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.