former Director for Counterterrorism, National Security Council
President of Good Harbor Consulting, an Arlington, Virginia-based firm offering advice about security risk management, and senior fellow at New York University's Center for Law and Security; former Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council (1999-2001)
WikiLeaks Rips the Lid off US Diplomacy Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today denounced the release by WikiLeaks of a quarter-million documents she said "purport" to be confidential State Department communications.
WikiLeaks Rips the Lid off US Diplomacy Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the release of more than a quarter-million confidential documents endangers lives and threatens national security . Veterans say it betrays the trust that is the essence of diplomacy. We hear some of the myriad details and ask what it means for the future of international relations.
Is Homegrown Terrorism Blowback From The Predator Drones? Why would a naturalized American citizen try to set off a bomb in Times Square? One theory is that Faizal Shahzad was radicalized by CIA-drone strikes in his native Pakistan--strikes that have killed not just the militants actually targeted but innocent civilians as well. Robert Baer was a Middle East field officer for the CIA. His latest book is, “The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower…”
A Real Case of Murder Unfolds Like a Hollywood Thriller On January 19, a military official from the Palestinian group Hamas was killed in his luxury hotel room in the Arab Emirate of Dubai. The Dubai police call the death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh an assassination by agents of Israel, who allegedly entered Dubai using the identities of other, real people and whose pictures were recorded on surveillance cameras at the airport and at the hotel itself. The Israeli government has said nothing, but the incident has lit political firestorms in Israel itself and around the world. Were the killers agents of Israel? Why did they falsely adopt the identities of real Israelis and allow themselves to be videotaped? Was it a targeted assassination justified in the interests of national defense? Is that like the US practice of using Predator drones to take out the leaders of the Taliban and al Qaeda?
Predator Drones: Fighting the Covert War in Pakistan Emblematic of modern warfare, predator drones have become the weapon of choice in America's war in Afghanistan. Initially used for reconnaissance, for years the airborne robots have been armed with Hellfire missiles. Reportedly very effective in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban, the Obama Administration is debating a plan that would extend drone strikes into the Pakistani city of Quetta. But could urban use of this weapon end up costing innocent lives, driving a wedge between Washington and Islamabad? Will their use be expanded to the US border for surveillance purposes?
Predator Drones: Fighting the Covert War in Pakistan Emblematic of modern warfare, predator drones have become the weapon of choice in America's war in Afghanistan. Initially used for reconnaissance, for years the airborne robots have been armed with Hellfire missiles. Reportedly very effective in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban, the Obama Administration is debating a plan that would extend drone strikes into the Pakistani city of Quetta. But could urban use of this weapon end up costing innocent lives, driving a wedge between Washington and Islamabad? Will their use be expanded to the US border for surveillance purposes?
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.
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.
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
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?