Executive Director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism
Executive Director of the Washington-based Center for Islamic Pluralism and author of The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror; frequent contributor to the Weekly Standard
Turkey, the West and the Muslim Middle East The 700-year-old Ottoman Empire became the Republic of Turkey in 1923. Though a Muslim country, at the insistence of the founder, Mustafah Kemel Ataturk--government institutions are strictly secular, a tradition backed by the military. Now that might be changing. This week parliament elected Abdullah Gül as President. Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan are both from the Justice and Development Party -- or AKP. Islamic in orientation, it will be more responsive to public opinion, which is increasingly religious and anti-American. We look at the possible impact on US interests in the Muslim world. Will Turkey still be a "bridge" to the West? Does it share America's goals in Iraq? What about Turkey's increasingly close ties with Iran?
Arms for Diplomacy in the Middle East After stops in Israel and the Arab Emirates, the Secretaries of State and Defense are in Saudi Arabia, working out the details of a massive sale of sophisticated weapons . The Bush Administration says it's a way to counter Iran. Opponents accuse the Saudis of supporting terrorists and the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. Israel has signed off on the deal after being promised new arms of its own. Egypt will get new weaponry, too. Is the US fueling the arms race in one of the world's most unstable regions? Is it really all about oil?
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
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?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
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?