Senior Research Fellow, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Senior research fellow
at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; former officer of the Royal
Air Force and Army and co-author of the British plan for Helmand in
2008, he has worked on the use of development assistance in conducting
counterinsurgency
Afghanistan and the 'Civilian Surge' In last week's speech on Afghanistan, President Obama barely mentioned the so-called "civilian surge," an essential part of counterinsurgency doctrine. But Secretaries Gates and Clinton are talking it up , and government employees are being recruited from Agriculture and other departments. Will paving roads and building schools help win the "hearts and minds" of Afghans? Will they help defeat the Taliban? What are the prospects of blowback if big money is wasted in bribes and other forms of corruption?
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.
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?
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.