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?
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
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?
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.