To the Point
Will Yemen's Disorder Stop Obama's War on Terror
ISIS may be a looming danger in the Middle East, but US intelligence officials say the greater threat to US security is al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — located in Yemen. Now that the government there has collapsed, are the President's drone strikes keeping American safer or increasing the risk?
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenISIS may be a looming danger in the Middle East, but US intelligence officials say the greater threat to US security is al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — located in Yemen. Now that the government there has collapsed, are the President's drone strikes keeping American safer or increasing the risk?
Also, President Obama's delegation pays homage to Saudi Arabia's kings, old and new, and a conversation with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.
Photo: A man walks past a graffiti, denouncing strikes by US drones in Yemen, painted on a wall in Sanaa. (Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)
In this episode
3 storiesObama Delegation Pays Homage to Saudi Kings, Old and New
President Obama cut short his trip to India to honor the memory of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. During four and a half hours in Riyadh, the President listed common "strategic interests" despite differences on human rights and other issues. Caryle Murphy is a freelancer who spent three years in Saudi Arabia.
Read the story6 minHas Obama's War on Terror Lost a Key Ally?
Since the attempted underwear bombing of 2009, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has not been accused of trying to attack the United States. But its operatives in Yemen have increased from hundreds to thousands — and they claim responsibility for the massacre at Charlie Hebdo.
Read the story32 minFour Years into Syria's War, a Conversation with al-Assad
In Damascus, Syria, last Tuesday the managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine spent much of the day at the presidential palace. In a lengthy interview with President Bashar al-Assad, Jonathan Tepperman asked a series of rough questions and got some remarkable answers. Since the interview, Tepperman has called him "a spectacularly competent liar" and compared him to Hitler in his bunker — still insisting to his generals that Germany could win the war."
Read the story11 min
