- Social:
journalist and author
Author of A Rage for Order: the Middle East in Turmoil from Tahrir Square to ISIS; former Beirut Bureau Chief for the New York Times
PROFILE
Robert Worth
Guest
FROM Robert Worth
To the Point
Does the "Arab Spring" Have a Future After All? It's been five years since popular uprisings toppled dictators in Egypt and other Arab countries. Except in Tunisia, Democracy has not taken hold. Egypt's new military regime may be worse than the old one; Libya is in chaos; millions of Syrians are fleeing civil war. In 2011, diverse groups were able to unify after years of repression, only to be divided again by their different interests and the need for order. But revolutions take time. We talk with authors of two new books saying it's premature to declare that the "Arab Spring" was a failure.
To the Point
Does the "Arab Spring" Have a Future After All? It's been five years since popular uprisings toppled dictators in Egypt and other Arab countries. Except in Tunisia, Democracy has not taken hold. Egypt's new military regime may be worse than the old one; Libya is in chaos; millions of Syrians are fleeing civil war. In 2011, diverse groups were able to unify after years of repression, only to be divided again by their different interests and the need for order. But revolutions take time. We talk with authors of two new books saying it's premature to declare that the "Arab Spring" was a failure.
To the Point
What's the Next Surprise from al Qaeda? Intelligence agencies say that last September they may have discovered a dry run for the package bombs found Friday in the UK and Dubai. All the intercepted packages contained were books, papers, CD's and household items, and they were allowed to continue to their destinations. Both recent incidents involved shipments from Yemen bound for Chicago, and it's now presumed the bombs were designed to explode in the air. We hear more about the former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who tipped off Saudi intelligence, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and politics in Yemen. Is there any way to protect the multi-billion dollar air-cargo system that's a mainstay of the global economy?
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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
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.