20 Burst results for "Middle East Institute"
Dennis Prager Podcasts
"middle east institute" Discussed on Dennis Prager Podcasts
"I will talk to you a bit more about the Georgia indictment and the assault on the United States of America by the left I Just want you to know I spent five minutes looking up what my last caller said when I said Can you name me one prominent Democrat? Who has come out against? Biological men competing with biological women in sports and he said Jamie Raskin Two of us have been doing research for five minutes All we found was Jamie Raskin support for trans quote-unquote chance transgender, right? so Either you made that up or you're right and I missed it. And if you send me data, I'll send you $100 I never made that offer before So either send me the data or apologize You know, it's I've always found this because I've debated a lot in my life The only thing I cannot protect myself against in a debate is when the opponent makes up something Because what am I gonna say you're lying? I don't know for a fact that they're lying You know who did that the Joe Biden did that remember in his vice presidential debate? Said something about the Middle East that I had never heard about in my life and I thought wow Why didn't I know that I follow international events? You know, I that's my field international relations. I would do I Was a fellow at the School of International Affairs at Columbia. That's how did I miss that? I Was at the Middle East Institute no less So How do you there's really no way To rebut a lie That's You could you can announce to the world my opponent lied made up a fact Well, isn't there such thing as made up a fact made up a pseudo fact But it doesn't work because you didn't do it during the debate So if if Jamie Raskin has come out and said I oppose biological men competing with biological women I Will send that man $100 The my general belief as you know is that truth is not a left-wing value Because for people on the left They are so certain of the rectitude of their position That lying on behalf of it is it is all right Just like you could lie in war against the commune the communists or the Nazis Their view of their opponents is that they're Nazis That's what they really think.
Today, Explained
"middle east institute" Discussed on Today, Explained
"Described as war crimes. It led to the passing, and now the implementation of a bill in the U.S., the so called Caesar act. So here we have hard evidence about the brutality of this regime. And yeah, yes, this president is being readmitted into the Arab League and some countries in the world, even in the west, are saying maybe we should just be pragmatic and turn a blind eye, unfortunately. What does this tell us about, say, the Russia Ukraine situation? Are we going to suddenly see Vladimir Putin re embrace further down the line in the same way? I think the way Assad is being handled sets a really dangerous precedent for the world at large, because it gives people like Vladimir Putin, hope that one day they can be back. Lina khatib directs the psoas, Middle East institute in London. Avicii artsy and halima Shah produced today's show with help from Amina Al sadi, Matthew collette, Laura bullard and Patrick Boyd, I'm Sean Rama's firm. It's today explained.
On The Media
"middle east institute" Discussed on On The Media
"Tent. Your budget is much smaller than the budget of the directorate for religious affairs and the person who is in charge is graduated from department of theology and he has no previous experience in disaster management. Why him? Well, that's the story of argonne's turkey. That's what he does. He put loyalists in key positions, and this is the result. One thing I'm curious about is the earthquake tax. That was introduced in the aftermath of the 1999 quake. Homeowners pay it every year, along with their property taxes, 1999 was a long time ago by now that fund should have been valued in billions. That's right. Where did the money go? $38 billion in earthquake tax, and yet we don't know what happened to that money. Did anybody ask Erdoğan? Of course, opposition parties, journalists, experts, they're all asking the same question. What happened to our earthquake tax money and we haven't received an answer? With thousands still buried under the rubble, he seems to be very busy spinning a narrative that this was an inevitability, a huge, unprecedented earthquake bound to kill on a mass scale, that it was impossible to prepare for a disaster like this. How is he getting that message out? From the early hours, that's what his government was doing. Trying to push the narrative that this was the disaster of the century that no government in the world could have responded to this earthquake. Yes, powerful earthquakes kill people, but they are more deadly in countries like turkey where the interest of a corrupt view are prioritized above all else. So this is not a natural disaster. This is a man-made disaster. After the earthquake hit, you say he neglected to dispatch troops or rescue agencies, but he did work on a video yes, it was the presidency's communications directorate that prepared that it was a very clumsily made video. Some of the experts that he included in that video came out later and said that their words had been manipulated. They all accept that this is a huge tragedy that this is a huge disaster. But no one is saying that the government could not have helped. So what does a well constructed response to the earthquake look like? There are things that you have to do before the earthquake hits. And the number one priority should be to construct stronger buildings. To direct the builders to follow the regulations safe to courts and building codes. And also, you have to empower the very institutions that are in charge of responding, put people with the necessary background in charge of those institutions. So those are the things that you should be doing before the earthquake hits. And then there are things that you must do after the earthquake hits. And that is turkey has the second largest army in NATO. So the president should have dispatched the military. If they were Turkish troops on the ground, helping the victims, taking part in search and rescue efforts, the death toll would not have been this high. When he was first elected, did you have any hope in his governance? I did, because the 1990s, it was a lost decade. I was young at the time, but I remember how unstable the country was at the time and all political parties were corrupt. So you came a politician who promised that he would do away with corruption, rebuild stronger, more responsive institutions. He would push hard for turkey to become a more democratic, more prosperous country, any new member country. So he said all the right things. And I believed him. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Gnu toll is the founding director of the Middle East institute's turkey program and author of the book Erdoğan's war, a strong man's struggle at home and in Syria. Over the last few weeks, we've seen the news focus on the devastation and response to the earthquake in turkey, but in Syria, coverage has been more complicated, because when the quake hit, the country was, and is engaged in a long drawn out Civil War. 12 years of war have already wrought destruction killed more than half a million, and now this. Frankly, the earthquake is brought attention back. But those millions of people in Syria have been struggling now for years. And it's become a forgotten crisis. And in the disastrous wake, Syrians still felt unseen. More than a week after the earthquake, some areas are still struggling for international support. From the very beginning, we said we need help. We need your support, no one held with us. No one cared about those civilians. Unfortunately, the time passes, and we run it out of time, and now our responded to our calls. International organizations like the UN have said that this is in part because in Syria, the hardest hit areas are located both in regions controlled by Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, and in the northwest, where rebel groups hold power. Even in the aftermath, the rebel held areas have struggled most for support. For the first few crucial days it was only small groups of local volunteers performing rescues or trying to, from the rubble. Salvations for some, these sisters were pulled from the rubble of their house in jindas by local rescuers as the hours pass exhausted search teams are digging more with hope than expectation. Natasha hall is a senior fellow at the Middle East program at the center for strategic and international studies and has worked as an aid worker on the ground in Syria. She says that access to the northwest was definitely an issue, but politics colluded with mother nature to make it so. The UN agencies that deliver and implement humanitarian aid are only allowed to do so through one border crossing from turkey into northwest Syria. And this is because it relies on a mandate at the UN Security Council. And unfortunately, one of the outside governments stalwart allies, Russia is a permanent member on the Security Council. So every few months or so, there is a vote to renew this mandate or allowance for UN agencies to use this border crossing. So it has become extremely contentious. As you mentioned, it took a while for UN aid to reach northwest Syria, some Syrians are even flying the UN flag upside down. Yes. We saw dozens of search and rescue teams from all around the world flying into government controlled parts of Syria, flying into turkey, and we saw two small teams within the first 5 days of the earthquake. Going into northwest Syria with no equipment. And just to give you a sense of the lack of urgency, I was speaking with a UN official the other day and they said,
On The Media
"middle east institute" Discussed on On The Media
"On the media. I'm Brooke gladstone. Now on to a disaster across the globe and the attendant mixed messages. It's been ten days since the quake's toppled tens of thousands of buildings across turkey and Syria. The sky's over turkey are continuously pierced, but the sound of helicopter planes. Still, performing crucial search and rescue. The window for finding people alive is closing fast. Of what turkey is described as the biggest catastrophe of the century, the magnitude 7.8 quake was the strongest that turkey perched atop fault lines had endured in over 80 years. But still, the horrific ever rising death toll demanded accountability, or at least the appearance thereof. Earlier today, the justice minister in turkey said that detainment warrants had been issued for 134 people that the government suspects of potentially being responsible for shoddy construction that could have led to the loss of life. The government has vowed to punish anyone responsible, but critics say Turkish construction codes are rarely enforced. Political pressure is building on president type Erdoğan over his handling of the crisis the head of defense minister policy aka admitted that after two days, only 7 and a half thousand soldiers have been deployed in an area that encompassed ten large cities. Some critics say the worst offense, however, was the initial delay in rescue efforts. The first few days after can be the most crucial for survival. My sister and her family live in antakya and antakya is one of the worst hit cities in the country. It's on the southern border with Syria. Canoe tall, founding director of the middle east institute's turkey program was on the ground in turkey last week. Few hours after the earthquake hit, the entire city at leveled to the ground. And my sisters in laws remained trapped under the rubble. So my sister and her family and her husband tried to dig them out with their bare hands. When they finally did pull out their father, there was a concrete block on his leg so they needed equipment to be able to lift it concrete block. My family waited for 48 hours for the rescue workers and when they finally did arrive, they told us that they could not help us because they had received instructions to focus their rescue work elsewhere. He died, he died. I'm so sorry. Thank you. When your family was told, we can't do this right now. We have other orders. What were their orders? Well, one of them told us that they were looking for an address that belonged to the family members of a member of parliament from scandal. This is just a symptom of a larger problem, which is a centralization of power. Cast your mind back to 1999. Turkey had another shattering earthquake. It killed over 18,000 people. Erdoğan campaigned on a platform of solving all the problems that had caused the government to respond so sluggishly. He would wipe away corruption and collusion between business and government. He'd rebuild the economy, but what did he actually accomplish in the 20 plus years? Not much. You're right, he blamed all the ills of the 1990s on widespread corruption dysfunctional governments and unresponsive state institutions and he promised things would change radically. And many people believed him. He comes from an Islamist background, and yet social Democrats voted for him, liberals voted for him, not just to conservatives. But headlines followed out stating institutions wiped out most vibrant civil society organizations and basically enriched his cronies to create a small circle of loyalists around him. In the 1990s, my country had many problems and yet we did have institutions. And now none of those institutions are there. Throughout the 2010s, Erdoğan was on a construction spree. Counting on all of this building to inflate the economy, which it did, at least temporarily, more jobs, more manufacturing, much of this to replace the buildings that fell in 1999. You say that the people who benefited most from this building over the long haul were a small circle of Friends from the construction sector. That's right, by awarding them all infrastructure projects without competitive tenders or proper regulatory oversight. And these companies embarked on a massive building spree constructed in earthquake hotspots without following proper building codes in her type, for instance, that's where my sister and her family lived. One of the areas hardest hit by Monday's earthquake residential buildings hospitals and even the local branch of the Turkish disaster and emergency management presidency, all built by arduous ponies. They were either leveled to the ground or suffered massive damage. The towns only airport built on top of a fault line by a company close to tied to our door and it was split into by the earthquake. Are you saying that a lot of the buildings that fell were the newer buildings and older buildings were left standing? That's partly through according to experts and some state agencies, 51% of the buildings that collapsed in Monday's earthquake. They were built after Erdoğan came to power. But all buildings collapse too, because I do want oversaw a sweeping Amnesty program that forgave faults in millions of buildings. What is an Amnesty for a building? It means it should be demolished. Ah. And yet I don't grant them an Amnesty and they were allowed to stand. I see. What about inspection companies weren't they sent around to check these places out? Well, in hotai, many of these inspection companies belong to these construction companies. To inspect their buildings, you've written about the Turkish disaster and emergency management presidency, otherwise known as Assad. It should have been instrumental in coordinating the relief effort, you say that it entirely was not, can you imagine you are the main disaster and emergency management agency in a country like turkey, which is prone to earthquakes and natural disasters, and yet you do not have a
Bloomberg Radio New York
"middle east institute" Discussed on Bloomberg Radio New York
"And a lot of our markets talk has been derailed over the last few days by a balloon. If you don't live in a cave, then you will have noticed last week when we started to see what is alleged to be a surveillance balloon floating over Montana. Eventually it got to the coast of South Carolina where an F-22 raptor shot it down. The Chinese have said it's a weather balloon from a private company when a stray, the U.S. says it's a spy balloon that was trying to look at our stuff, especially the nuclear silos that are all housed around there in Montana. Let's bring in Mick mulroy right now as the cofounder of the lobo institute is a senior fellow at the Middle East institute, but he's also the former deputy assistant secretary for defense for the Middle East and a former paramilitary operations officer at the CIA. Mick, this is, I think, such an interesting story because it's so weird. Like who sends up a spy balloon when they already have satellites staring at the exact same stuff and why should we care? I mean, the Department of Defense itself said it's not a threat to our physical infrastructure and they're not getting any super top secret intelligence that they wouldn't already have gotten. So what's the deal? So that's something that is in my mind to be determined. Yes, they have satellites all over the world over 500 actually, it probably most of the focus on the United States, but there's a reason why the Chinese were doing this and it probably is that this can collect and stay in areas longer than satellites can't. So I think we really need to exploit the debris that we're getting out of the ocean right now and find out if that's in fact true. And we really need to figure out how we can detect these things earlier so that we can interdict them before they're hovering over our ICBM silos in Montana. But wasn't there reporting I believe that this has been in play for years now and internationally as well. I believe there's been balloons detected in Latin America. I think over Bolivia, as well, why is this moment so crucial when it comes to what's happening? They're everywhere allegedly. Right. Well, sometimes they might have to go, they're going to travel from one place to another. So they might cross over places that aren't significant to get the places that are. And I think from our perspective, this has to your point, it's happened over multiple years and multiple administrations. And now it looks like we didn't even know that they happened before. It's probably that we're going back and looking for a signature that we weren't aware of and actually finding them. These balloons might have fit the perfect gap and said the military is calling it our Dwayne domain awareness gap. So it was something that we had a hard time detecting. Hopefully now that we track this thing across the entirety of the United States almost, we have now figured out the signature so we can compute, if you will, our radars and our early detection systems so that they will pick these up quicker and we'll be able to say next time interdicted off the coast of Alaska instead of watching it go all the way across the United States and downing it off the coast of South Carolina. So I don't want to put you on the spot here, Mick, but we have talked to, for example, a professor at Johns Hopkins who said, well, he was talking about the technology that we use in our spy balloons. So do we have them too? So to my knowledge and I would just talk about what I know on the open-source, not something I knew from my past. We do have all sorts of collection platforms to include. So there has to be something that these balloons do. And they're steerable as we talked about or is The Pentagon has said. This is a steerable. They can put it right over a location that's obviously closer than the satellite and do things like collect not only imagery, but signals intelligence. So everything in M and a from it. So I'm sure that if we're doing it, there's some value added that's in addition to spy satellites and obviously human collection on the ground. So that both countries China and the United States collect intelligence shock. So nothing new. The reason I ask is that so many senators and congressmen went on air saying that they were outraged about this. But aren't we doing the exact same thing? So that's my point. I mean, countries collect intelligence on their adversaries and we try to protect our own secrets from our adversaries collecting on it. So I think we need to do a much better job. I don't know that we need to be outraged. But we certainly do need to protect ourselves in the future from this ever happening again. There's enough additional factor on this one. It almost looks like it was made to embarrass the United States, since it was so visible. It just logged over population areas. Perhaps we could be I'm not much into being outraged. But certainly that was intended to make us at least angry, it looks like and it obviously caused secretary blinken to postpone his trip to Beijing. So they got what they asked for. So what does this mean in terms of the tools that we use for surveillance here? Then amp up surveillance from both sides or kind of wind it down. Well, and are we amping up their surveillance, right? What we want to know is, are they using our gear to spy on us? So unfortunately, a lot, I mean, as we know, a lot of the advanced technological equipment around the world comes to the United States. So they use that. I don't know if there's a way to prevent them from doing that, but it's certainly something you should look into. And as far as the question is, are we going to amp up surveillance? Absolutely. They're going to take everything I learned for this. They're going to try to never let it happen again. Something we should be concerned about is our pilots that are flying near China. In their airspace, the dear China are likely going to start getting harassed by the Chinese air force. That's happened in the past. It probably will happen again. We need to maintain our course. We have all the right in the world to be international air space, and we need to make sure that those aircraft are protected. But the fighter aircraft from us. This is in the context of military drills already taking place on both sides when it comes to the South China Sea. How much worse can things get before we kind of get to the ultimate outcome, which is kind of direct combat? First, I think we should do everything we can to avoid that. I think the United States will be successful. I'm obviously biased, but it's not going to be an either country of all the world's interest to see a conflict between two superpowers. We already have conference going off around the world. That would just be devastating. So we need to do everything we can to get back on the diplomatic side and away from any kind of conflict, but I do think this is going to heat up the tension when it comes to these kind of gray area. These kind of intelligence collection wars, if you will, and they will try to start making sure that we can't do what they just did to us. And so that's going to be something that's continuous, but we do need to make sure that ultimately diplomacy wins today. By the way, I saw a memo, I think NBC News had reported that an air force general Mike minnehan, who was the head of air mobility command, set out a memo to his troops saying, I hope I'm wrong, but my gut tells me we'll fight in 2025 that we're actually going to go to
Bloomberg Radio New York
"middle east institute" Discussed on Bloomberg Radio New York
"Best level right now up 61 up by 1.6%. I'm Charlie Palatin, that is a Bloomberg business flash. Charlie fellow, thank you so much. We appreciate that. Let's look at the latest on what's going on in the war in Ukraine. I guess some of the latest news is that Putin calls a surprise 36 hour Ukraine ceasefire. But no one buys that. Nobody buys that. But that's supposedly today and tomorrow, so we'll have to see how that plays out. But let's get the latest on what's going on over there and how this may play out. Mick mulroy cofounder of the lobo institute, but that's just the beginning senior fellow at the Middle East institute. Marine officer, CIA, all this kind of craziness. But he joins us here. Hey Mick, what do you make of this Putin call for a ceasefire? Again, as Matt was suggesting, not many people are buying it. Yeah, so great to be with you guys. I am one of those people that doesn't buy it. It's essentially, I think what they were trying to do was to have a ceasefire of which the Ukrainians would agree to, but they didn't. So that they could then resupply their troops in the front line, which they're having a very difficult time doing. So that was essentially, in my opinion, why they were doing it. It was never agreed to. So it essentially wasn't a ceasefire in Russia has been engaging on the battlefield, just like Ukrainian. So it is essentially a no go. Does anybody buy a ceasefire? I mean, since the tet offensive, is it just something that no one really does anymore? So it's an increasingly difficult partly because nobody trusts the Russians I mean, they violate they make an agreement and one day and violate it the next, it's not just in Ukraine. You see that in other areas of the world. If you might remember all the issues when it came to get grain out of the quarter of edessa and they just continuously made an agreement and then broke it. So that does not bode well for how this could end if there's any kind of peace agreement. I think the Ukrainians will be very skeptical that any of their efforts would actually amount to anything. What are the likely scenarios for how this ends Mick? What do you think the options are? So from the Ukrainian perspective, they have to essentially keep winning. And what I mean is the Russians only stand might and let's just be specific to president Putin. Only understands Mike. So they have to hit this spring after hopefully getting a lot of the equipment that will get over there and they'll be trained on hard and just start pushing the Russians out of the territory that they occupied. They've already taken us 50% of the territory since February since the Russians took that 50% back. So if the Russians realized that they're just going to lose, that is potentially how they could come to the negotiation table. It's going to be through force quite frankly. You know, we heard recently from admiral James dervis that Ukrainians have proven that they can in fact win and be successful on the ground, but now somehow they have to win the air. How do you think they do that? So one way is to get this integrated air missile defense system. And what I mean by that integrated its it could be a drone that shot at your cruise miss, a little hypersonic missile, they have to have all the systems that can identify the threat and engages in the best possible manner. So patriot is going to be a big part of that. That's really one of the best systems on earth. It takes a little while to trade on it. But once they get that, you get multiple batteries. It'll help them contest the airspace. The other thing they got to do is he drones that are coming from Iran. There are about $20,000. But right now, the only thing they have to shoot it down is around $500,000. So even if they're successfully shooting these things down, eventually they just keep launching and you deplete you resources. So that integration of air defense, I think, is going to be key. So in that case, it seems like this is just going to drag on and on because, you know, we've seen conflicts like this, the U.S. was involved in one ourselves in the 60s and 70s, right? That, you know, where the big power doesn't get the message until it's been a decade. Is that what we're looking at here, possibly? Unfortunately, it is possible. At least in our case, we were democracy so that people will have to say. They're not. They're an autocracy. And they, and it's really up to one man. And let's say depose them. Let's say kick them out, which is I mean, I don't want to hope for that. I mean, but that would be the best case scenario in my opinion. But he spent a lot of time ensuring that doesn't happen. So because of that situation, this could last for decades and it's going to be very difficult to keep all the allies together, but it's the right thing to do. Not only morally, but for NATO, for the United States national security interest to support Ukraine to the end. Exactly what I was just thinking, Mick. I mean, as we watch this new Congress struggle to even pick a speaker, what's the possibility that they wimp out in terms of support for Ukraine pretty quickly? So I'm not on a political side of this. But I think from what I've seen, they will continue to have support. There is a small handful that whatever reason would like to see that cut. But what I would tell them is we spent the equivalent about 5% of our national security budget on Ukraine and they've depleted or destroyed 50% of Russian combat power. So even if you're looking at it from the U.S. national security interest alone, that's a pretty good ratio. It's a really good ratio, right? So it is a charity
Bloomberg Radio New York
"middle east institute" Discussed on Bloomberg Radio New York
"Get to our next guest Matt Mick mulroy cofounder of the lobo institute Listen to this bio It's just ridiculous Talk about a misspent youth Senior fellow at Middle East institute former deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East at the U.S. Department of Defense Former paramilitary operations officer at CIA I don't know what that is Former U.S. Marine infantry officer I mean what's this guy been doing with this life Mick thanks so much for joining us here I mean how did this all start Just before we get to the serious stuff did you grow up in a military family or what No my dad poll is actually a professor So he was kind of shocked myself and joined the marines That's how you go That's when you got your JD from Stanford from Stanford University Sanford right Basically other people would just say I can't hold a job It has been ridiculous And you also dive master certification dude Patty dive master This guy just never sits on your dive master Yeah Matt Miller is a dive master Shocking I mean Eric you did not see that coming All right let's get serious stuff here Mick I'm probably like a lot of folks I am shocked at how poorly the Russian military has performed in Ukraine Give us your sense given your background your experience about what's happened over the past two months in Ukraine on the ground on the field Yeah Paul So I think the first plug for my old profession is the Intel has gotten the Russian intentions dead on Where we fallen short quite frankly is our analysis in our assessment of how the Russians would do based on what we thought they could do militarily And the Ukrainians ability to resist them So most all belcher analysts I know got that part wrong Happily quite frankly and they're all I think happily to admit that So the Russians have proven to be quite frankly incapable for so when it comes to conventional warfare They're invaded a country right next to them and they can't even keep up with the logistics train required to do that There are soldiers are completely undisciplined and quite frankly tactically incompetent However they have a lot of firepower and that's what they're using to try to brutalize the Ukrainian population to gain something out of this whole endeavor So what can the west do or is the west doing enough to help the Ukrainians defend themselves against that firepower in this sort of second wave Sure So the west is doing a lot But we have to be able to do more And it's not a criticism quite frankly of what we're doing It's just that it's really going to come down especially in the next phase is phase it just started The battle for the Donbass is president zelensky Is really going to be a logistics battle We have to be able to not only get the weapon systems but a continuous non interrupted supply of ammunition out there to help the Ukrainians who have proved that they are obviously have the will to fight and the capability to fight the Russians How about some of the higher tech military equipment whether it's anti aircraft systems or anything else to try to get a little bit more control of the sky here How far do you think the U.S. administration is willing to go with some of our more higher technology military equipment So I would look at this in two stages So right now we're giving them weapon systems they know how to use Because they don't have time necessarily to train on all these really advanced systems They use primarily Russian But in the future we need to start pulling some of these individuals out to train them on these advanced patriot air and missile defense systems Those type of systems ultimately are where they should be going Can't we just not fit an aircraft carrier through the Bosporus Like why don't we just turn one of those guys lose for a couple of days Yeah I mean don't we have the capability to stop the Russians especially if they're committing war crimes in a European nation Sure we have the capability to stop Russia I think that's now very obvious to anybody that's looking at how the Russians are performing in Ukraine The question is do we want to start a war with Russia They're only real way to fight us specifically Is to go nuclear because they will lose in a conventional fight That is now obvious So that is the decision Do we want to potentially come straight head to head with Russia a third World War if you will with the idea that the only way they could be successful is to use nuclear weapons And then therefore we have a nuclear war We're not entering the war but for humanitarian reasons you know just to protect the Red Cross set up a no fly zone Well that is that is a legitimate question We could set up one We could set up humanitarian assistant zones in certain parts where we could put the air coverage over it so that the missile defense I think that's a viable and legitimate question If we want to stop the Russians from flying no fly zone we have to be willing to shoot down Russian aircraft It hit Russian air defense So that would take us directly into conflict with Russia Real quick 30 seconds Tell us what you know about the new commander of the Russian forces Yes so devoted cough Alexander devoted He is very experienced in Chechnya and Syria He was ultimately the deciding factor in both of those in grozny and Chechnya and then Aleppo in Syria because of the brute force tactics he's a scorched first general They want that in Ukraine and I think we're seeing it continued into this new phase All right Mick thanks so much for joining us Always appreciate getting your perspective You're experienced the benefit of your experience Here as we try to again make sense of what's going on on the ground in Ukraine Mick mulroy is a cofounder of the lobo institute Lots of experience in the military and strategy We will have more coming up This is Bloomberg This is a Bloomberg Mike With the cost of living going up across the country you deserve a solution that offers some change BJ's Wholesale Club members can save an extra 50 cents per gallon.
Bloomberg Radio New York
"middle east institute" Discussed on Bloomberg Radio New York
"Thank you so much Charlie pellet The United States has gotten its allies particularly in NATO Western Europe to go along to a surprising degree of unanimity in its sanctions against Russia But for the rest of the world well maybe not so much not just China not just India but some people who were our allies and at least we thought our friends in the Middle East have been reluctant perhaps sitting on the fence Countries like Israel like Saudi Arabia like the United Arab Emirates For an explanation of what's going on with the Middle East part of the U.S. strategy we turn now to Karen young She's senior fellow and founding director of the program on economics and energy at the Middle East institute So Karen thank you so much for being with us It doesn't feel like we're getting an awful lot of enthusiastic support from the Middle East right now Well that's true And thank you for inviting me on the program But I think there are a couple of other considerations And sometimes the oil exports the OPEC and OPEC plus relationship is taking precedence over the partnership particularly from the UAE and Saudi Arabia with the United States And I say partnership because these countries are not treaty allies of the United States But you're correct This is a very strange moment So we have an OPEC meeting coming up here What do you expect to come out of that So there's an OPEC plus meeting tomorrow and essentially I think the expectation is that the agreement in place is to increase about 400,000 barrels a day every month since we were in the pandemic And that is meant to continue through the end of 2022 And I think the expectation is that that will hold Further there's no expectation that OPEC and it's plus members these additional members to the organization including Russia will make a break or chastise Russia in any way And their argument is that they don't want to see a repeat of the price war which happened in March 2020 between Saudi Arabia and Russia They don't want to strain that relationship again And that they see a whole lot of uncertainty both in the kind of policy environment and what we see in terms of climate regulation of their products And they don't know what's going to happen with the return of Iranian barrels to market If we have our resumption of the JCPOA and they don't really know what's happening in terms of demand destruction If we have more COVID lockdowns in Asia if we have real concern about price inflation that will decrease demand for their products So they're holding tight So let's take these countries if we could one at a time because I suspect the answer may be different for each one of them Saudi Arabia Most people say that would be the easiest the quickest solution to the tightness and the oil market if Saudi Arabia were to turn on the spigot They've said no and you just suggested some of the reasons for that How much of this is a personal issue between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman The Crown prince Well I mean it's true that there is definitely not this is not a high point in U.S. Saudi relations That's true And the way that the U.S. government the Biden administration has communicated a certain kind of unfriendliness towards Mohammed bin Salman and Biden called him a pariah and these kinds of things It hasn't helped But historically Saudi Arabia has not weaponized oil We have of course the 1973 oil embargo but in the intervening 50 years it's not it's priority has been stability And of course a higher but an even price For the kingdom So that would be their defense But yes I mean there is a bit of kind of back and forth and pettiness in terms of who called whom and who's not picking up the phone But they're only really three OPEC members with spare capacity to bring to market And that Saudi Arabia the UAE and to a lesser degree Kuwait And none of those countries is willing to break with OPEC or the OPEC plus agreement since the end of 2016 And none is really willing to I don't know to kind of step forward and take a position against Russia in its invasion of Ukraine So if we could let's turn to the country I mentioned that we are definitely have an ally relationship with and that's Israel Historically there's been a very strong connection going all the way back to the recognition of Israel which is I recall was triggered by Harry Truman in the late 1940s Why is it that Israel is not stepping up with us So Israel of course not an oral producer but a burgeoning gas producer which is another part of the argument But I think that the reason why the Israeli government has been you could argue perhaps more sympathetic towards Russia is that this is a domestic political issue for them There are a lot of Russian Jews as Israeli citizens and there are many people who are quite sympathetic to Putin Israel is also in the process since the Abraham accords of creating greater financial ties with the gulf Arab states particularly the United Arab Emirates And so we see a lot of cooperation there And this has to do with all kinds of issues not just energy issues This has to do with defense and most importantly the anticipation of a need for a confrontation with Iran should the U.S. end sanctions and reenter the JCPOA But that's fascinating to me at least I understand Israel's been not shy about expressing their deep concerns about Iran And dissatisfaction with what the United States did particularly on the president of Barack Obama with respect to the Iranian nuclear deal At the same time Israel's security historically has depended in significant part I believe on its relationship with the United States is it willing to jeopardize that or do you think this is not rise to that level I don't think it's quite to that level but you're exactly right I mean the U.S. is a security guarantor of Israel and has been steadfast and that commitment including provided billions of dollars in aid and security assistance every year And so it is a little bit of a slap in the face The kind of positioning that the Israeli government is taking but I think for their main security concern which is an attack by Iran and the kind of burgeoning ties that they have in affinities they have within the gulf this is what they see as taking their security into their own hands So for the duration of this conflict and goodness knows I don't know how long it might last Should we expect basically what we're seeing right now to be the continuation of the position of the Middle Eastern countries I think we're going to see more divergence economically within the Middle East between oil exporters and gas exporters and those countries that are energy in energy deficits And we're going to see more emphasis on sort of regional security architecture So more alliances or partners should arm sales with the region and that means one turkey that means from Israel from the gulf And yes it.
KQED Radio
"middle east institute" Discussed on KQED Radio
"And I'm Peter O Dowd. This is here and now U. S. Intelligence officials are concerned that the Islamic state could attack crowds of people trying to flee Afghanistan as they gather outside the international airport in Kabul. Here's national security advisor Jake Sullivan on CNN yesterday. It is something that we are placing paramount priority on stopping or disrupting, and we will do everything that we can for as long as we are on the ground. To keep that from happening, but we are taking it absolutely deadly seriously. For 20 years after the 9 11 attacks, US troops in Afghanistan helped keep terrorist groups like Al Qaeda in check. So now what? Charles Lister is director of the countering terrorism and extremism program at the Middle East Institute. Charles. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me You wrote recently that the Taliban takeover of Kabul was the most significant day for Al Qaeda since 9 11. Why do you say that? Well, I think putting aside you know, the war in Afghanistan and the strategy and the mission creep and everything else that has, you know being being discussed in terms of countering terrorism. Presence in Afghanistan in the air over Afghanistan, and the wider region has afforded us the ability to exert an enormous amount of pressure on Al Qaeda senior leadership over the last 20 years. Um and the the implications and the consequences of that have been clear. Of course, we killed bin laden years ago. But now the current leader, Ayman al Zawahari, has literally not being seen or heard of for almost a year. The senior leadership has been very effectively cut off from its affiliates all around the world, to the extent to which many of them are following its instructions anymore, and that's of real significance. And, of course, looking back at 9 11. That is a kind of an accomplishment that we should all be proud of. But contrary to what President Biden said in his most recent speech, Al Qaeda is not gone from Afghanistan is most certainly still there and at least in several 100. Operatives and senior leaders. So the mission in that sense is far from finished, and by taking our hand off of al Qaida's neck, so to speak and gifting Afghanistan To the Taliban. We are quite literally giving it back the very safe haven that allowed it to build and thrive and operate and coordinate pre 9 11. Do you believe that the Taliban will do anything to keep those remaining Al Qaeda members in check? Well, listen, The relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda has always been very complicated. I mean, at the very top Al Qaeda owns and owes an oath of allegiance to the Taliban. That is never going to disappear. That is a Religiously binding, irreversible both of allegiance. That's never going to go away anywhere, notwithstanding anything that someone from the State Department might have been telling us over the last several years. Now below that a run below that on the operational level, the Taliban is very complicated movement. Parts of the Taliban are very close to Al Qaeda and parts of the Taliban are quite distinctly not Um, but I'll Qaida for itself has retained the relationships with those at certain allies within the Taliban all throughout the past 20 years and will undoubtedly exploit them now that Afghanistan has fallen into the Taliban hand, so it's not a matter of what one Taliban official might be saying. In public. It's much more complicated than that. The Taliban isn't an organization is essentially an alliance. Of warlords and faction leaders, some of which are very close to Al Qaeda. And that is what Al Qaeda will be relying upon now it What's the time frame you're looking at here in terms of risk that Al Qaeda would be resurgent enough that they could strike the West? In a significant way again. Well, that's I mean that that question is almost impossible to answer. I mean, in theory, Al Qaeda could have the potential with you know, two or three operatives to do that tomorrow. They could have done that six months ago. I think the reality or the more specific answer to the question is how how much higher is the risk of that? I would say it is far more significant. Al Qaeda. Will we'll look to receive foreign fighters. In fact, there are already reports just in the last couple weeks of foreign fighters beginning to arrive in Afghanistan, and most of them will not be joining Isis, which does have a small presence in Afghanistan. They will be joining Al Qaeda whose deepest, deepest roots Are in Afghanistan itself, so the more fighters it has at its command. The more resources it's able to extract the more it's able to exploit relationship or revitalized operational relationship with the Taliban, the more risk that we face Let's hear what President Biden has to say about some of this. He has said since the fall of Kabul that the terrorist threat has metastasized well beyond Afghanistan, and that's why it's time to end this war. Here's the president, speaking Friday at the White House, the bottom line is we have to do we're dealing with those cherished threats from other parts of the world and failed states. Without permanent military up without permanent military presence there. We have to do the same in Afghanistan. What do you think about that? Does the United States have to be in country with boots on the ground at that level to successfully stop Al Qaeda from coming back? Well, there's a few different levels upon which to answer that question the first and I think the most significant is that yes, the United States is combating terrorism. Elsewhere in the world without a permanent boots on the ground presence, But it's not doing that in a country that is controlled by a terrorist organization, the Taliban. It's not doing that It is doing that in places. Where there is a legitimate government with a legitimate armed force that allows US air and ground access from time to time to conduct counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and Afghanistan is a totally different Challenge for us. That's my main concern. More importantly or equally importantly, at least, is the fact that we're going to now be doing this so called over the horizon, as president, Biden has said. But that's kind of pulling the wool over American people's eyes. We do not have a racks s rights. We have not managed to negotiate a single air access arrangement with any of Afghanistan's neighbours. And we've also had to as a result of this very hasty withdrawal dissolve essentially our entire intelligence network all across Afghanistan. So in theory, yes, we are going to continue to counter Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, but we will be doing it. Effectively blind and that is very different to the way that we have been countering terrorism elsewhere in the world isn't optimistic or realistic to think that the U. S. Might have some sort of relationship with the Taliban, whether its diplomatic or otherwise. In order to get intelligence about Al Qaeda. The Taliban is not going to be a publicly facing US ally in the fight against terrorism. There is, in theory, the possibility That our intelligence community has managed to establish relationships covert secret relationships with certain Taliban figures who may for one reason or another be willing to provide US intelligence in secret about Al Qaeda. Um, but the Taliban as a movement will never, ever turn to being a U..
WBUR
"middle east institute" Discussed on WBUR
"And I'm Peter O Dowd. This is here and now U. S. Intelligence officials are concerned that the Islamic state could attack crowds of people trying to flee Afghanistan as they gather outside the international airport in Kabul. Here's national security advisor Jake Sullivan on CNN yesterday. It is something that we are placing Paramount priority. On stopping or disrupting, and we will do everything that we can for as long as we are on the ground to keep that from happening, But we are taking it absolutely deadly seriously. For 20 years after the 9 11 attacks, US troops in Afghanistan helped keep terrorist groups like Al Qaeda in check. So now what? Charles Lister is director of the countering terrorism and extremism program at the Middle East Institute. Charles. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me You wrote recently that the Taliban takeover of Kabul was the most significant day for Al Qaeda since 9 11. Why do you say that? Well, I think putting aside you know, the war in Afghanistan and the strategy and the mission creep and everything else that has, you know being being discussed in terms of countering terrorism. Presence in Afghanistan in the air over Afghanistan in the wider region has afforded us the ability to exert an enormous amount of pressure on Al Qaeda senior leadership over the last 20 years. Um and the the implications and the consequences of that have been clear. Of course, we killed bin laden years ago. But now the current leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, has literally not been seen or heard of almost a year. The senior leadership has been very effectively cut off from its affiliates all around the world, to the extent to which many of them aren't following its instructions anymore. Um, and that's of real significance. And, of course, looking back at 9 11. That is a kind of an accomplishment that we should all be proud of. But Contrary to what President Biden said in his most recent speech. Al Qaeda is not gone from Afghanistan is most certainly still there, at least in several 100 operatives and senior leaders. So the mission in that sense is far from finished. And by taking our hands off of al Qaida's neck, so to speak, and gifting Afghanistan to the Taliban, we are quite literally giving it back the very safe haven that allowed it. To build and thrive and operate and coordinate pre 9 11. Do you believe that the Taliban will do anything to keep those remaining Al Qaeda members in check? Well, listen, The relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda has always been very complicated. I mean, at the very top Al Qaeda owns and owes an oath of allegiance to the Taliban. That is never going to disappear. That is a Religiously binding, irreversible oath of allegiance That's never going to go away anywhere, notwithstanding anything that someone from the State Department might have been telling us over the last several years. Um, now below that run below that on the operational level, the Taliban is a very complicated movement. Parts of the Taliban are very close to Al Qaeda and parts of the Taliban are quite distinctly not But Al Qaeda for itself has retained the relationships with those at certain allies within the Taliban all throughout the past 20 years and will undoubtedly exploit them now that Afghanistan has fallen into the Taliban hands, so it's not a matter of what one Taliban official might be saying. In public. It's much more complicated than that. The Taliban isn't an organization is essentially an alliance. Of warlords and faction leaders, some of which are very close to Al Qaeda. And that is what Al Qaeda will be relying upon now it What's the time frame you're looking at here in terms of risk that Al Qaeda would be resurgent enough that they could strike the West? In a significant way again. Well, that's I mean that that question is almost impossible to answer. I mean, in theory, Al Qaeda could have the potential with you know, two or three operatives to do that tomorrow. They could have done that six months ago. I think the the reality or the more specific answer to the question is how how much higher is the risk of that? I would say it is far more significant, Um Al Qaeda will we'll look to receive foreign fighters. In fact, there are already reports just in the last couple weeks. Of foreign fighters beginning to arrive in Afghanistan, and most of them will not be joining Isis, which does have a small presence in Afghanistan. They will be joining Al Qaeda whose deepest, deepest roots are in Afghanistan itself. So the more fighters it has at its command. The more resources it's able to extract the more it's able to exploit a relationship or revitalized operational relationship with the Taliban, the more risk that we face Let's hear what President Biden has to say about some of this. He has said since the fall of Kabul that the terrorist threat has metastasized well beyond Afghanistan, and that's why it's time to end this war. Here's the president, speaking Friday at the White House, the bottom line is we have to do we're dealing with those terrorist threats from other parts of the world and failed states. Without permanent military without without permanent military presence there. We have to do the same in Afghanistan. What do you think about that? Does the United States have to be in country with boots on the ground at that level to successfully stop Al Qaeda from from coming back? Well, there's a few different levels upon which to answer that question the first and I think the most significant is that yes, the United States is combating terrorism. Elsewhere in the world without a permanent boots on the ground presence, But it's not doing that in a country that is controlled by a terrorist organization, the Taliban. It's not doing that It is doing that in places where there is a legitimate government with a legitimate armed force that allows US air and ground access from time to time to conduct counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and Afghanistan is a totally different challenge for us. That's my main concern. More importantly or equally importantly, at least, is the fact that we're going to now be doing this so called over the horizon, as president, Biden has said. But that's kind of pulling the wool over American people's eyes. We do not have a racks s rights. We have not managed to negotiate a single air access arrangement with any of Afghanistan's neighbours. And we've also had to as a result of this very hasty withdrawal dissolve essentially our entire intelligence network all across Afghanistan. So in theory, yes, we are going to continue to counter Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, but we will be doing it effectively blind. And that is very different to the way that we have been countering terrorism elsewhere in the world isn't optimistic or realistic to think that the U. S. Might have some sort of relationship with the Taliban, whether its diplomatic or otherwise in order to get intelligence About Al Qaeda. The Taliban is not going to be a publicly facing US ally in the fight against terrorism. There is, in theory, the possibility That our intelligence community has managed to establish relationships covert secret relationships with certain Taliban figures who may for one reason or another be willing to provide US intelligence in secret about Al Qaeda. But the Taliban as a movement will never, ever turn to being a U. S ally in the fight against terrorism that would go against everything they have ever stood for. And it would be to portray, as I say, a religiously binding, irreversible relationship that they have had with Al Qaeda for decades. Now, considering everything you've been telling me, do you think the United States military should have remained In Afghanistan. On balance. I think it was time for the United States to look towards the exit in Afghanistan. But this clearly wasn't the way to proceed. The Trump Administration set all of this up. Was a dreadful, one sided deal. It was a deal that demoralized and undermined our ally, the government in Kabul and set and created conditions in which the kind of chaos we've seen unfold was essentially inevitable. I think there was a much slower, more conditions based or conditional withdrawal that we could potentially have looked to do, but that would have necessitated a deal between the Taliban and the government in Kabul. That would have necessitated us to establish some kind of fall back longer lasting covert ability to counter terrorism from within Afghanistan rather than what we've done, which is to dissolve it all entirely. But it's largely about the conditions..
NEWS 88.7
"middle east institute" Discussed on NEWS 88.7
"This is here and now U. S. Intelligence officials are concerned that the Islamic state could attack crowds of people trying to flee Afghanistan as they gather outside the international airport in Kabul. Here's national security advisor Jake Sullivan on CNN yesterday. It is something that we are placing Paramount priority. On stopping or disrupting, and we will do everything that we can for as long as we are on the ground to keep that from happening, But we are taking it absolutely deadly seriously. For 20 years after the 9 11 attacks, US troops in Afghanistan helped keep terrorist groups like Al Qaeda in check. So now what? Charles Lister is director of the countering terrorism and extremism program at the Middle East Institute. Charles welcome. Thank you so much for having me You wrote recently that the Taliban takeover of Kabul was the most significant day for Al Qaeda since 9 11. Why do you say that? Well, I think putting aside you know, the war in Afghanistan and the strategy and the mission creep and everything else that has, you know being being discussed in terms of countering terrorism. Presence in Afghanistan in the air over Afghanistan, and the wider region has afforded us the ability to exert an enormous amount of pressure on Al Qaeda senior leadership over the last 20 years. Um and the the implications and the consequences of that have been clear. Of course, we killed bin laden years ago. But now the current leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, has literally not been seen or heard of almost a year. The senior leadership has been very effectively cut off from its affiliates all around the world, to the extent to which many of them aren't following its of instructions anymore, And that's of real significance. And, of course, looking back at 9 11. That is a kind of an accomplishment that we should all be proud of. But contrary to what President Biden said in his most recent speech, Al Qaeda is not gone from Afghanistan is most certainly still there, at least in several 100. Operatives and senior leaders. So the mission in that sense is far from finished, and by taking our hand off of Al Qaeda is neck so to speak and gifting Afghanistan. To the Taliban. We are quite literally giving it back the very safe haven that allowed it to build and thrive and operate and coordinate pre 9 11. Do you believe that the Taliban will do anything to keep those remaining Al Qaeda members in check? Well, listen, The relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda has always been very complicated. I mean, at the very top Al Qaeda owes and owes an oath of allegiance to the Taliban. That is never going to disappear. That is a Religiously binding, irreversible oath of allegiance That's never going to go away anywhere, not withstanding anything that someone from the State Department might have been telling us over the last several years. Um, now below that run below that on the operational level, the Taliban is a very complicated movement. Parts of the Taliban of are very close to Al Qaeda and parts of the Taliban are quite distinctly not But Al Qaeda for itself has retained the relationships with those certain allies within the Taliban all throughout the past 20 years and will undoubtedly exploit them now that Afghanistan has fallen into the Taliban hands, so it's not a matter of what one Taliban official might be saying. In public. It's much more complicated than that. The Taliban isn't an organization is essentially an alliance. Of warlords and faction leaders, some of which are very close to Al Qaeda. And that is what Al Qaeda will be relying upon now it What's the time frame you're looking at here in terms of risk that Al Qaeda would be resurgent enough that they could strike the West in a significant way again? Well, that's I mean that that question is almost impossible to answer. I mean, in theory, Al Qaeda could have the potential with, you know, two or three operatives to do that tomorrow. They could have done that six months ago. Um I think the reality or the more specific answer to the question is how how much higher is the risk of that? I would say it is far more significant. Al Qaeda. Will we look to receive foreign fighters. In fact, there are already reports just in the last couple weeks of foreign fighters beginning to arrive in Afghanistan, and most of them will not be joining Isis, which does have a small presence in Afghanistan. They will be joining Al Qaeda whose deepest, deepest roots Are in Afghanistan itself, so the more fighters it has at its command. The more resources it's able to extract the more it's able to exploit a relationship or revitalized operational relationship with the Taliban, the more risk that we face Let's hear what President Biden has to say about some of this. He has said since the fall of Kabul that the terrorist threat has metastasized well beyond Afghanistan, and that's why it's time to end this war. Here's the president, speaking Friday at the White House, the bottom line is we have to do we're dealing with those terrorist threats from other parts of the world and failed states. Without permanent military without without permanent military presence there. We have to do the same in Afghanistan. What do you think about that? Does the United States have to be in country with boots on the ground at that level to successfully stop Al Qaeda from from coming back? Well, there's a few different levels upon which to answer that question the first and I think the most significant is that yes, the United States is combating terrorism. Elsewhere in the world without a permanent boots on the ground presence, But it's not doing that in a country that is controlled by a terrorist organization, the Taliban. It's not doing that It is doing that in places where there is a legitimate government with a legitimate armed force that allows us Air and ground access from time to time to conduct counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and Afghanistan is a totally different challenge for us. That's my main concern. More importantly or equally importantly, at least, is the fact that we're going to now be doing this so called over the horizon. As president, Biden has said, but that's kind of pulling the wool over American people's eyes. We do not have a racks s rights. We have not managed to negotiate a single air access arrangement with any of Afghanistan's neighbours, and we've also had to as a result of this very hasty withdrawal. Dissolve, essentially our entire intelligence network all across Afghanistan. So in theory, yes, we are going to continue to counter Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, but we will be doing it. Effectively blind and that is very different to the way that we have been countering terrorism elsewhere in the world..
Monocle 24: The Globalist
"middle east institute" Discussed on Monocle 24: The Globalist
"For the full interview tune into you on the monocle. Weekly page of our website at monaco dot com Let's continue now with. Monday's newspapers journey me in the studio simon brooke journalists and communications consultant complex. I'm thank you this wall-to-wall coverage i would imagine of afghanistan and various takes various papers. Today you're absolutely as you say the newspapers and news websites around the world very much focusing on really. What's next for afghanistan so how does The us extricate itself of this problem looking as well International media looking at the role that Other countries other world leaders have to play. And i suppose there's a sort of feeling to some extent of the americans really weren't great if you like it communicating with their western counterparts You know when they organized and put into practice evacuation so for instance the financial times today leading on the that. Boris johnson the uk. Prime minister is to host a g. Seven talks on afghanistan and looking for a role for china and russia of course acknowledging that beijing and moscow are crucial to limiting the sales of the paper. The piece also makes the point that this is an opportunity. I suppose for the us the uk government to try and I as given that the prime minister at boris johnson is chair of the g. Seven for an opportunity for them to sort of strengthen their links with the eu and supposed to try and put the uk back on the world. Stage if you like The paper the piece points out the britain's working with france on a un security resolution. That might win the support of moscow and beijing and one british You're you're a british official is quoted as saying it's really important that we have a united front so a lot of speculation thoughts about how the world can respond to what does seem to be an a an unfolding crisis. Just mentioned that. I thought we were going to be talking about afghanistan and the world's response to it but then very quickly does from the financial times article is the fact that the united kingdom is trying to get a hold of the steering wheel with all this as chair of the g seven the united kingdom arguably has to be a world leader on this but it comes to the situation in a very compromising difficult position. Doesn't it yes absolutely and i think well for a number of reasons. It's interesting that widely reported in the the the uk paper certainly in the sunday times. A rift between boris johnson and biden the sunday times yesterday had some pretty rude off. The record quotes about the. Us president by british cabinet ministers and officials and things but as the f. t. points at the uk foreign policies heavily dependent on the us. It has been shaken by the crisis and a and the f. points out that it's forced london to court are the capitals so hence this this meeting of the un security council and an opportunity. I suppose for london to to do some behind the scenes High level diplomatic work to bring about here and Response by the the international community to the situation in afghanistan. Meanwhile while the wealth very several foreign powers catching up with themselves arguably that. You've just mentioned there. We have the south china morning. Post looking at china and its plans for afganistan might be. Yes absolutely so interesting Comparison here with and slightly unusual. Nice oppose with somalia. An insight by doctor alessandria audi dino who is of From the middle east institute at the national university of singapore so as you say looking at it from the china perspective And he points out that tongues have been wagging as he describes it as soon as the state. Councillor wang ye met the taliban co-founder muehler abdelghani baradari in tianjin on the twenty eighth of july. What could be going on well. The chinese described the taliban has a pivotal pivotal military and political force and So questions already being asked as you say about what china's influence might be well according to Dr are doing. Oh we should look at somalia Because they're also to connections here The somalia is like afghanistan fail state riven with internal conflict in warlord and things but on the other hand it does have its coastline runs along the gulf of aden which overlooks one of the world's most traveled sea lane so already other gulf states such as saudi arabia. Cata are involved Turkey as well in a in a sort of strengthening economic and security relations with somalia. So china is now moving in here as well on the way they will do it according to a They've done it in somalia and we'll do it in afghanistan as well. According to this is to build up economic relations but also notice that full-scale military force if you like but it's providing Sort of private security contractors. That's the way apparently So they'll protect the country's investments but also provide vital intelligence for beijing. So it's happening somalia. Could it happen. An afghanistan finally Story in today's guardian. Which when i saw the pictures made me. Think of monty python Forgive me for that but it is a serious source of story about an excommunicated village into absolutely so what do you do if you got excommunicated This is a village of trauma. it which is In the In just in the northwest of spain Northwest of gotha. And anyway yes. They were sort of struggling to think about. How can we tracked tourists here. Whatever and they discovered. Actually it's britain. It's spain's sorry. Spain's only excavate excommunicated and cursed village so are taking that rather unusual position. They've decided to use it as a marketing tool. And the celebrity quote here from one of the One of the the forty seven people who live around in the villages incredible lola ruiz diaz says so far. Being excommunicated. excommunicated in cursed hasn't been too bad for us which is good news so it's actually going to drag people into the into the town. They hope they have a witchcraft fair. Vgli's gonna be signing up for that if you wondering where to go next time you some some holidays. Simon burke thank you so much for joining us. On the labour list with multiple twenty.
Pod Save the World
"middle east institute" Discussed on Pod Save the World
"Journalist. He's the founder and editor in chief of michigan which is english arabic language news outlet covering tunisia and he's also a nonresident scholar at the middle east institute he's calling in from tunis today Final thank you so much for doing shop my pleasure so on sunday the tunisian president suspended the legislature fired. The prime minister bunch of other members of of government. Can you give us sort of like the back story here. Why did he do that. What was his reasoning in the reaction. Been so far. Yeah well it depends on how far back you want to go but the that day There had been large photons. People have been calling for the government to step down for parliamentary frozen But there's been a sort of health crisis that the government really has been on top of The death rates in the world per population in recent weeks At a time when the government has hasn't really done much You've seen the prime minister actually a at a luxury hotel two days after the worst death rate and that was leaked by anti corruption watchdog group operation that they like they found him at this luxury hotel after he skipped town Well very unfortunately. The tourism minister are not minister. The transportation minister did share it on his instagram. Yeah so the the this. This group also I watch which is the the local chapter of transparency international They get a lot of blowers as well so they had information. I think in advance and they wanted to make a big deal and You know there's i think there's an democracy is it's good to have accountability for You know officials particularly public officials. Who who really can't afford that. They had this five star hotel that they were out on their salary So i mean that was that was just one buried blatant example but for months we've seen The response to kobe has been very punitive in. It's been locked You know economic activities. Slow down at the same time. He's seen the government raising prices of basic consumer goods as they're in the middle of negotiations with trying to maybe show the imf that they're serious about economic reforms So there's a series of factors that played into this Parliament itself has been extremely unpopular and getting less popular year after year. You've seen less than less people turning out for parliamentary elections A lot of people. Just don't think that. Parliamentary lee is the place where You know democratic politics is happening So this all filtered into christ himself stepping in and saying that You know. I'm going to interpret the constitution as this is an emergency situation And article eighty of the constitution gives me the power to To do these things now. Obviously there's been people disagreed with his interpretation and that sort of being played out now Between different groups of people. But i can tell you The initial response was jubilation for people who felt You know this is long overdue The felt like our government has stopped listening to him. That there was not really Anything being done by the two governments to today care people's basic needs whether that healthcare transportation economically You know you've just seen Case after case over the last few years of being a being the case and and particularly with this last government. So you know my neighborhood. I went out. It was way after curfew and everyone went out ten fifteen minutes. After the president's speech there are thousands of people in in in my neighborhood celebrating with fireworks and You know the shouting freedom. And how their horns. And more than i've ever seen in the in the peak of rush hour so that's just to give you a sense of the immediate reaction. Yeah well it's good to know that Idiot elite politicians who get themselves in trouble. Scrammed is kind of a universal thing at this point so even before this this big decision over the weekend minor standings there were like a whole bunch of series of demonstrations and protests what were those protests about what was it similar like a know sort of economic and covert based grievances or did they have a different flavor. Like how would you describe them I mean we've we've covered all different kinds of protests in the last Couple of years You we've had protests of people who for example are against police repression. There has been police repression Particularly poor neighborhoods. There was a Just a month ago. The there was a little over a month ago. There was a young man in deport neighborhood has died in police custody on and his family said that Police have actually beaten on the head. He bled to death and then they dumped on the side of the road. So and that's something that you we've. It's not the first time that we've seen young men killed by police. There's been Particularly young men from poor neighborhoods or or poor regions of the country That we've we've we've seen quite a few. There's there's even a couple of websites that have like tried to to to list them all out and you were rarely see police facing justice for that So that's you know that's one example of some of the protests but definitely economic issues. I mean the fact that You had these sort of punitive Lockdown measures curfew. You've had curfew in place For months at a time. hasn't really affected The spread the infection rate of kovic so extensively for that but You know the the net effect was particularly. You know cafe owners people who work at cafes. There's sort of a knock on effect on the economy where people are really suffering as a result of particularly as you know. Prices of basic goods are going up. You know we've seen about seven. Eight years of the dean. Are the local cars the devaluing as well so it's so people aren't getting as much as as as they were while at the same time sort of wages are stagnating so those are some of the economic issues. The police issues You know there's there's there's some some neighborhoods feel completely cut off from other areas of tunis because there's no public transportation and that's gotten worse and worse with with increasing up relation but not an increasing investment and public transportation. So that's you know. I could list at several of the mountain view but just sort of a sense of the anger. that's been building over time And i i would also remember. That just reminds maybe listeners. The two thousand eleven they were the revolution You know there wasn't a lot of resolution for the people who were Who had gone out and done the revolution who were injured by security officials. At the time right there was about three hundred people or more who were killed by security officials and and there wasn't really justice for them. There wasn't really state acknowledgement of them. A lot of them The families of these people they called martyrs people who said you know the people free tunisia from a dictatorship Their names were published for example in official that there was no sort of A follow up on healthcare for people who've been injured on that's another series of protests that we've seen as well. Yeah i mean it's interesting to hear you describe the sort of a series of grievances of people in the streets for the economic concerns. They're treated by police like things that are local and specific. Of course the covers in the united states is was is a coup attempt. What does it mean for the future of democracy in tunisia Right which was seen as this. This one's a good story that came out of the arab spring. Do you think those are important questions in are they things that people are also talking about in tunisia or as is the west just like navel-gazing as we always do not as much definitely not as much question about coup or not You know there are people. I would say most of the people i've seen who are upset about What i did and calling it a coup. I would say first and foremost the not the party. The islamist party. That was the biggest party in parliament. They've directly been disenfranchised by this decision. You know you can't actually come into the parliament We're suspending work for a month. They say a month. Obviously some people are skeptical about that. But that's what the.
WNYC 93.9 FM
"middle east institute" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"Said the spell feels like retaliation for progress made last summer. You Katarina, similar to what Ross Smith was saying They're Democrats felt the same way here, and advocates for free speech and students were also upset. With the legislation, While long force men officers and other first responders were probably happy for the bill, along with the passions of the bill, each first responder in the state receives a $1000 bonus during the upcoming fiscal year. And as there has been pushed back all along as soon as the bill was signed that a CEO Yu and NW CP filed a lawsuit, saying it was unconstitutional and also dissuades protesters from exercising their right to free speech. Meant Ah, you were at the Statehouse. As we said in Denver. How are people reacting there? Colorado has really been focusing on criminal justice reform, not on protesters or protests per se. Last summer, the state passed a sweeping law enforcement accountability measure and that had almost universal support and it requires body cameras and gets rid of qualified immunity for law enforcement among a host of other things, But I would say that new proposals this session To limit how often arrest result in jail time and better defined use of force have run into significantly more opposition from Republicans and law enforcement. The partisan differences have deepened, in part because of the national political climate over the last few months, and then also, Colorado saw an escalating crime rate in virtually every category that was been to Brooklyn of Colorado Public Radio in Denver. Thank you. Thanks for having me Blaze. Gainey of member Station wfs you in Tallahassee. Thank you Blaze. Thank you. Catarina is historic of Iowa Public radio in Des Moines. Katarina. Thank you. Thank you. Secretary of state Antony Blinken has set off for the Middle East. President Biden asked him to go, but only after a ceasefire was in place, ending the latest military conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports. Secretary, Blinken has been cautious about jumping into Middle East diplomacy. He started quietly with phone calls while he was on a trip to the Arctic. Plans for a visit came together only after Israel and Hamas agreed to stop fighting. And White House press secretary Jen Psaki is making clear that blinking has narrow goals for this trip to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan, ensuring that we're creating conditions with our partners in the region. For a sustained ceasefire and also discussing the path forward on rebuilding Gaza. Something that there's a great deal of interest in support and the international community on and they're great needs on the ground. This was the fourth military conflict like this between Israel and Hamas since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip about 15 years ago. This last episode has taken Gaza back several years. That's Elizabeth Campbell, who runs the Washington office for UNWRA, U. N agency that runs clinics and schools for Palestinian And of the 66 Children that were killed. 19 of them went to our schools. This is very traumatic for the families for the teachers for the fellow students on DIT is increasingly difficult to keep rebuilding. During the last outbreak of violence in 2014, then Secretary of State John Kerry rushed to Egypt hoping to do some shuttle diplomacy. He stayed in Cairo all week, with little to show as both sides made demands of him and airstrikes and rocket fire continued. This secretary was far more hesitant, says Holiday Al Gindi Ah, former adviser to Palestinian negotiators. Risk averse is probably an understatement. Secretary Blinken says Israel has the right to defend itself against rocket fire from Gaza. But he also says he wants to make sure Israelis and Palestinians have equal measures of security, peace and dignity. Elgindy says all those things they're lacking for Palestinians that just seems so detached from where things aren't so I'm not sure they fully appreciate How far away that Isse on Dwight a difficult political lift, it will entail to make any progress on those. Elgindy, who's now with the Washington based Middle East Institute, points out that Israel's Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is fighting for his political survival, and the latest conflict again highlighted the dysfunction of the Palestinian Authority. And because you have this duel dysfunction inside Israeli and Palestinian politics that makes the American role all that more important. Because that's when you need a responsible third party actor that can help the party's change their political calculations. Secretary Blinken is defending his decision not to rush to the region. Though he told ABC s this week with George Stephanopoulos that Biden's quiet approach worked. We got to the result, thanks to President Biden's relentless Focus on this quiet, but I think effective diplomacy in getting to a cease fire and stopping the violence in 11 days if you go back and look at it. Previous crises. They've lasted a lot longer. Lincoln's challenge now is to try to move the ball forward in a way that will break the cycle. He's not raising expectations of any quick resumption of talks on Palestinian statehood. Michele Kelemen NPR NEWS Washington Support for NPR comes from W. N. Y C members and from Procter and Gamble, maker of Metamucil of fiber.
Here & Now
No Sign of Israel and Hamas Ending Rocket Attacks
"Fighting in Israel in the Gaza Strip has entered its second week. Israeli war planes bombarded Gaza City this morning. Hamas continues lobbing rockets on southern cities in Israel. Roughly 200 Palestinians have died, and officials saying nearly half of them are women and Children. Israel has reported at least 10 dead. Of course, many more people have suffered in the long history of this conflict since Hamas to control of the Gaza Strip in 2000 and seven Israel in Egypt. Have blockaded the region. And with that in mind, we want to try to answer some of the fundamental questions that get to the root of what's happening right now. College El Guindi is director of the Palestinian Israeli affairs at the Middle East Institute. Hello. Welcome. Thanks for having me. Do you want to get to the blockade in just a moment. But first, how did it come to be that millions of Palestinians are living in the Gaza Strip? Well. The guy's a ship, of course, is in is entirely artificial creation that emerged in 1948. When roughly 3/4 of Palestine's Arab population was displaced, in some cases expelled During the course of Israel's creation, and most of the refugees were, they were sort of scattered across the region in neighboring countries like Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Some went to the West Bank, which came under Jordanian rule after 1948 and a very large number went to the Gaza Strip, which is right, this tiny little coastal strip between Egypt and what is now Israel. Um, Today, the population of God's about 70% of Gaza's population are refugees when
Bloomberg Radio New York
"middle east institute" Discussed on Bloomberg Radio New York
"People will have to continue to wear masks. Former first lady Melania Trump is launching her own office, She announced the creation of the office of Melania Trump via Twitter. CNN reports the office will continue her be best message. I'm Brian shook. This is a balance of power with David Western on Bloomberg Radio. A civil war has been raging in Yemen, the second largest Arab country on the Arabian Peninsula, since 2014 resulting in tens of thousands of civilian casualties and what the U N has said could become the worst famine in the world in the last 100 years. Biden administration is in the process of changing US policy in an attempt to bring the civil war to an end. Underscore commitment. We're ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales. Gerald Firestein served as U. S ambassador to Yemen during the Obama administration. He is now senior vice president at the Middle East Institute. I asked Ambassador Firestein to take us through how the Biden administration is changing US policy. Towards Yemen. The by the administration took two steps that were quite important. One, of course, is the decision to and U. S support for Offensive military operations that are being carried out by the Saudi that coalition in Yemen. What exactly that means? How the administration is going to define It's support, which has diminished over the years that there was already significantly lower than it had been when the Saudis first went into the evidence. 2000 and 15. So how are they going to define that? The president was very clear in saying that it only applies to offensive operations inside of Yemen, But he reiterated that the U. S would continue to support Saudi defensive measures. Including defensive, its border and its defense against Hootie of missile and drone attacks inside of Saudi Arabia, as well as it continued support for Saudi and Saudi coalition counterterrorism initiatives and Yemen. So that was one announcement. The second announcement was that he was naming Tim Lender King, a career foreign service officer to be the special envoy. For Yemen toe work very closely with the U. N special envoy Mark Griffis in trying to revitalize the political process aimed at finding A peaceful resolution of the conflict, bringing the civil war that started as you said in 2014 to an end and allowing for a political process. To bring back a government into Senna and it also to begin the process of addressing the critical humanitarian crisis and then the third step that was taken by Secretary Blinken. Was to announce that the Biden administration was going to reverse the decision that has been announced by the Trump administration in December to designate the Hootie's As a foreign terrorist organization. There have been a lot of concern about that decision to designate because there was general assumption and I was I was part of that, in some sense. Was that it was going to have an extremely harmful impact on innocents Yemeni civilians but would likely not have much of an effect on the Ruthie's themselves. So the Biden administration has now decided to reverse that decision. They have sent a notification to Congress of their intent to do that. How are those steps toward resolving this conflict in Yemen? Because it has been Many, many years in the development. As I understand it goes way back before 2014 and some degrees isn't in a circuit war between Saudi Arabia and one hand and Iran on the other. No, really. And I don't know that there is a tendency to take a shorthand approach to the conflict in Yemen by many people here in the United States and around the world. Who would want to look at this is a proxy conflict. It's really not a proxy conflict. This is a continuation of a civil work of AH, period of A people and repeated cycles of violence That really goes back to the early 19 sixties and the fact that neither in the north of Yeah, but or the sounds of the Emmett Has there ever really been government that has addressed the basic political, economic and social issues that have challenged the Yemeni people. So what we're seeing now is really continuation. Of a war that has gone on inside Yemen for many, many years. It is exacerbated by the engagement of outside powers. So the Arabia is Iran and others that that are for their own reasons, seeing Yemen as a as a battlefield for their own interests of their own issues. But that's not the heart of the matter, and it's really important. As the administration quite rightly thinks about how it can help bring this conflict to an end that it understands that Well, they're pressuring the Saudis. Pressuring Iran is not going to be a solution to the conflict. The solution finally to the conflict is gonna come among Yemenis inside of Yemen. We may not be able to pressure the Saudis at the same time. This is a decided departure from what the Trump Administration had done with respect to this does this weekend, our relations potentially with Saudi Arabia how Saudi Arabia, reacting to what the Biden administration is doing? So far, The Saudis have accepted the decision and welcome the decision. I think that they were happy to have the appointment. Tim Letter King as a special envoy. I think they appreciate the fact that the U. S is going to be putting More diplomatic muscle into trying to find a solution, and I think that they were also restored to a certain extent by President Biden's very explicit reassurance. We were going to continue to partner with the Saudis in ensuring that their own security Woz was looked after so the Saudi respond so far has been pretty positive. As has the response of the government of Yemen and the hoodies themselves. So so you know there is there is hope there that indeed the parties to the conflict. Are going to be willing to come back to the table and find solutions to this issue. It's important that the administration understands also That we have an interest in determining how this the have. This conflict comes out thanks to Ambassador Gerald Firestein of the Middle East Institute. Carrier. Global has had a great run since splitting from United Technologies last April, performing better than any other industrial stock in the S and P 500 last year, But it's fourth quarter earnings per share were less than expected. I spoke with carrier's CEO David get land for his take on the earnings. We did exactly what we said We were gonna do. In fact, if you look at our guidance that we gave you then in the course, Porter, we beat sales and cash by about 100 million. We did exactly what we said. We were going to do on the earning side. While we were very clear about is that we were going to use the court order to play offense. We said that we would have 100 million additional investments last year 75 of that game in the fourth quarter. Half of our cab Becks for the entire year came in the close quarter. What we were really doing was consciously positioning ourselves for growth in 2021. Beyond so you look at our 21 guidance. Guided top line up 68%, including some benefit from that fax GPS growth 14% at the midpoint 1.6 billion of cash so very pleased with last year and very, very Bullish and how our position could this year. So give us a sense of where that growth is going to come from You said 68% something like that Top line. Where is that going to come from? How much of it is H B? A. C? How much would his residential Where do you expect it to come? We really look at 2021 is a tale of two halfs. We're very well positioned with our backlog for the first half. So you look at our residential H V. A C business. For example, we had the third quarter was up, 12. Almost 50% 4th quarter of 25% and our backlog coming into this year was up three X over was at the same time last year, so coming in with very strong backlog. On the rez East side. We're looking at very strong growth on the aftermarket for our commercial age backside. We're going to see a rebound and fire and security see growth there and the refrigeration business. Little bit of benefit, of course from the Kobe of vaccine distribution, But it's a very cyclical business. North American truck trailer should be up about 40% this year over last, we're seeing great growth in China, so it's pretty widespread..
Radio Free Nashville
"middle east institute" Discussed on Radio Free Nashville
"The town of Hartmann University Book Club Today we're reading from Medea Benjamin's new book, Kingdom of the Unjust Behind the U. S Saudi Connection. This is from the introduction. Where the women led Peace organization code Pink, which I co founded with Jodie Evans after the 9 11 attacks. I spent much of the last decade standing up against the U. S military intervention in the Middle East. Supporting local democracy activists traveled many times to the region, listening to human rights activists marching with them in the streets, dodging tear gas and bullets and getting beaten up, beaten up and deported by government thugs. I've seen firsthand the deadly effects of U. S foreign policies. The 2003 U. S invasion of Iraq destroyed the lives of millions, including many of my dear friends and unleash the sectarian hatred that lead later gave birth to the Islamic state. Recall a conversation with my Iraqi colleague Yanar Mohammed, daughter of Shiite father and a Sunni mother and founder of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq. I asked her what was the most notable legacy of the U. S invasion of her country? Gave the chilling response We Sunnis and Shia learned who hate each other. In another part of the Middle East. U. S military support for Israel has re tabac on the lives of Palestinians and aroused the ire of people throughout the region. Continuous U. S military inventions interventions. Drone warfare and Yemen overthrowing Moammar Khadafy in Libya, the funnel in an endless stream of weapons into the region of unleased new levels of violence. The United States is not the only nation is massive footprint has been trampling on the lives of people in the Middle East. Other nation is Saudi Arabia and oppressive monarchy that denies human rights to its own people and exports extremism around the world. Also happens to be the closest U. S ally in the Arab world. In the 19 eighties and 19 nineties, I met intolerant and violent young man in Pakistan and Afghanistan who are trained to hate Westerners in Saudi schools. In 2001. I saw my own nation convulsed by an attack on September, 11th was perpetrated mostly by Saudis. Hard to connect the dots behind the spread of the solid Saudi intolerant ideology of Wahhabism, the creation of Al Qaeda and the Islamic state and the attacks in New York, Paris, Brussels in San Bernadino. You can also connect the dots between Saudi Arabia and the failure of some of the historic uprisings associated with the Arab spring since the Saudi monarchy did not want calls for democracy. Grip it to threaten its own grip on power. Was in Bahrain after Saudi tanks crushed the inspiring grassroots encampment and Pearl Square pretends of thousands have gathered day after day to demand democracy. I will never forget the excitement of being in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution and watching a gasp. Gassed as a military coup backed by the Saudis, but some 40,000 activists behind bars In Yemen, the Saudis took a direct military role in that nation's internal conflict with the ruthless bombing campaign. Travel overseas people people often ask me why Saudi Arabia, a country that is so repressive internally and overseas. Such a close ally to the United States. Iranian friends want to know why the U. S government is so out, spoken about human rights violations in Iran but silent about the worst abuses in the Saudi kingdom. Amenities on ask why my government supplies weapons to the very nation Saudi Arabia that bombed their schools and hospitals. Saudi women ask why the United States which professors great democratic values props up the regime that treats women as second class citizens. Easy answer is oil, weapons sales and other business interests. Oil has formed the basis for US Saudi ties, The kingdom has become the largest purchaser of American weapons in the world. Hundreds of billions of Saudi petrodollars help shore up the U. S economy. There's another reason perhaps more critical than any of the others. American people have not demanded an end to this dysfunctional, toxic relationship. Why In part because the American people know so little about it. Even Americans who consider themselves parts of a peace movement. Know virtually nothing about the kingdom. Saudi presses muzzled Oren Journalists are strictly monitored and only tourists visiting for religious purposes are allowed into the country. Add to that a Saudi lobby the lines, the pockets of us think think tanks such as the Middle East Institute, Ivy League universities such as Harvard and Yale and influential institutions from the Clinton Foundation to the Carter Center. Checkbook diplomacy helps put a happy face on the abusive monarchy and silences its critics. We have a lot to uncover. Book is meant to be a primary, giving readers of basic understanding of how the kingdom holds onto power internally and tries to influence the outside world. It looks at the founding of the Saudi state. Treatment of dissidents, religious minorities, women and migrant workers spread of Wahhabism kingdoms relationship with the West and its role in the region. What the future might hold. As we delve into the inner workings of this dystopian regime don't mistake criticism of Saudi Arabia for Islamophobia. Book is not a critique of Islam, but critics could critique of three intertwining factors that have shaped the Saudi nation. Extremist interpretation of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism. Appropriation of the Saudi state by one family and Western support for this dynasty. Criticizing Saudi Arabia should not be equated with support for Saudis. Nemesis Iran. Iranian government is guilty of some of the same abuses is the Saudis. Would.
WORT 89.9 FM
"middle east institute" Discussed on WORT 89.9 FM
"Hello. Welcome to a public affair. Am STD, Nor first of all, thanks to shally Full subbing for me last week when I was sitting Shiva for the second time in just over the month. My father has died. Hey, was old and not well, But yeah, I was definitely not ready to do a show. I would like to dedicate this show again. This timeto dub thee nor We have a new president Ahn do many things we want him to do, and many that we want him to change from the way Trump dealt with issues on one off, the less discussed on duh, less known, or maybe even least, is the ongoing war in Yemen and the role of the United States in this terrible disaster this coming Monday, January 25th is the international day of protest against the war in Yemen, so We will be discussing this today and to discuss it. We have two guests. Charles Schmitz is professor of geography at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he has start since 1999. He's also an affiliate of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D C doctor she means is especially stunned the Middle Eastern Yemen. He began his academic career as a Fulbright scholar and American Institute for Yemeni Studies fellow in Yemen. In the early 19 nineties. His current research interest include the political economy off development in Yemen. Assuming that there is such a thing. We will talk about that Professor Schmidt on the sociology of contemporary Yemeni society. We also have with us a guest. We've had a number of times in the past. Cassie Kelly is a peace activist, pacifist and author. She co founded Voices in the Wilderness and Co co ordinated voices, full creative Nonviolence. Campaigns, which worked for 25 years to end U. S military and economic warfare. She has helped organized numerous actions calling full and end to US complicity with the Saudi led war in Yemen as part off piece teamwork in several countries. She has lived alongside people enduring invasion and bombing in Iraq. Afghanistan. Gazza, the West Bank, Lebanon on Bosnia, Kelly has been imprisoned in the U. S federal prison system three times for nonviolent protests. Since 1980 as they will tax resister. She has refused all payment off federal income tax on Hello to both of you. Thank you for joining us today on guard its start with you, Charles. If you can give us just a primer on what's going on in Yemen. When did the world start? Why did it's the Who's involved? What's the role of the United States? What is going on there? Uh, thank you. Asked it zah complex war waken say on the one hand that it began in 2014. At the conclusion of Yemen's transitional process when they were ending the long time rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh. Andre, The healthy who will talk about the Houthi came in the sun on the capital city. And put in the new government helped put in a new government. Can you just explain who the hooches are? We hear that name all the time. Who are they? Yes, This is the difficult this is a complex subject so Uh, that the Yemen Yemen for, um, 1000 years before the revolution in 1962 was ruled by a Zadie amendment's atheism is a form of she is, um Onboard in Zadie ism the right to rule the ruler must be from the profits Family. And the profits family defined in the Shia way. Which is this descendants of Fatima Ali and this this created in Yemen. I am a class of people who claimed descent from the prophet. They call them the Hashemites, now in Yemen. And The Hashemites amongst the Hashemites are the whole see. The Houthi are a family. It's a family name that comes from a place actually in, um, run in. In Yemen. Um, they are along a family with deep religious roots they have they produced lots of religious scholars. Um When the revolution happened in 62, the Hashemites felt that the republic discriminated against them. The Republic, of course, was based on Republican ideals in which everybody is equal, and everybody has the right to equal right to be president to lead the country. And this through the Hashemites into some turmoil. Most of them just went into business or or other fields there well qualified people and but some felt discrimination. And when Khomeini's revolution happened in Iran, many were inspired by his message, which was an activist political message, which said that Um Muslim should stand up and should stand up for against, uh, the head, Jiminy hegemony of Israel and the United States in the Middle East. And This in Khomeini's Iran. This was a revolution because the dominant position political position of the clergy had been quietest to not become involved in politics. Um And in Yemen in those eighties, it was a little different because the amendment, of course, was a political state led by religious people. But the new kind of Khomeini activism took root in Yemen, amongst the hashing might must mostly the hash but young people in one person and in particular Hussein al Houthi. Who root who who was very charismatic and who began amongst the youth in the north in this 80 north, too. Spread his ideas on bond. Hussein al Houthi was particularly opposed to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. Around that period, he took his movement and began to politicize it on to point out the American alliance with al Andalus Solich within the war on terror. On D began to embarrass the president because his followers followers would come and and chance the Houthi chant, which is death to America. Death. Israel curse The Jews. Long live a slow this was a thorn in the side of Ali Abdullah Saleh. And it works. So I did. Dallas. Alec went after him and killed him. And everybody thought that was the end of the whole CIA. That point But his brother of demonic and his father, brother, the Hoshi Um, ALS traditional cleric took up the cause on dit really? At that point is this when the houthi as we know them were born because they were they were, they really were a military insurgency. These these were people who are opposed the government's treatment of The people in north and they gained a lot of supporters and again a lot of supporters because the government about it that a sonic were carried out scorched earth warfare against the whole city in the north. Basically drove most of the north into the hands of the Hopi people were fighting the government as much as they were supporting the hosting. There were six wars. The war is concluded in 2000 and 10, the most of Yemen looked upon the Hoshi as fellow victims of selects regime on by Houthi had support Amongst Yemenis of all Stripes, and when the houthi in the interim period between 2000 and 12 and 2014 when the gulf Agreement was put into power. Haddie, the current president, who's in Riyadh, the Houthi participated the national dialogue. Houthi were welcomed by by many says part of the M in the society, the Houthi Move militarily north of South gives me from the north to Sana, and in September they entered the capital, and there was lots of support again because the Houthi will calling for Security. There was lots of insecurity. They were calling for economic reforms, and they were calling for for competent and government because the traditional Democrat was clearly political and incompetent. Um And so again, they had lots of support. And they signed an agreement with the U. N and with the current president had E, in which the new technocratic government, which was a good government was put into power..
Weekend Edition Saturday
A year after Khashoggi's slaying, Saudi clampdown persists
"Wednesday marks a year since Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. the idea that Saudi operative for plot to kill a man a US journalist inside their own consulate shocked the world after the gruesome details that emerged Mr Shoji was a critic of the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Selmon who is suspected of involvement of the killing NPR checking north of looks at whether he and his kingdom. ice exactly three weeks after the death of Jamal Khashoggi Saudi Arabia held its second annual international investment conference the glittering of van dubbed Davos in the desert was meant to showcase business opportunities in the kingdom a year earlier it brought in some of the biggest names in international banking and investment but not this time a lot of people a lot of phone investors stayed away Christian coats Gourock sin is a Middle East specialist at rice university's Baker institute he says dozens of investors and government officials quickly dropped out of the conference after could show she's killing that was when they were daily revelations about Saudi hit squads and dismemberment but now those horrors have faded and lower expenses Saudi Arabia still has so much oil wealth it's your resistible for many investors they started to come back over the past few months so it's initial outcry and a quiet year few began to go back into Saudi Arabia tempted by the Congress of contracts the Muhammad somebody's trying to push through these young friends was says Nick with the Middle East institute says many investments are being delayed in large part out of concern over crown prince Mohammed bin Selmon the crown prince is widely suspected English oak trees killing despite his repeated denials says Nick says the prince's autocratic tendencies such as detaining hundreds of wealthy Saudis at the Ritz Carlton hotel for several months had already worried foreign investors says Nick says the could show G. killing reinforce those concerns the fight that now the country's a one man show you know means that you're at the mercy of preaching this one person and if you are going to put many millions of dollars in investment and a lot of management time and so on you don't want to be at the mercy of one person that's too dangerous that's on the business side there's also been a political toll at a G. twenty meeting earlier this year picture showed the crown. prince isolated from world leaders accept Russia's Vladimir Putin who gave him a hearty handshake Saudi Arabia has lost arms sales from Germany Denmark and Finland the US Congress his efforts to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia increased after could show she's death the crown prince still has one key supporter president trump who is even cast doubt on the CIA's assessment that the crown prince played a role in could show she's death they have nothing definitive and the fact is maybe he did maybe he did Ben Friedman the director of the foreign influence transparency initiative at the nonpartisan center for international policy says trump is effectively allowing Saudi Arabia to get away with crucial trees killing the Saudis haven't actually paid a large price for the murder of your market share gains insure we can look at what Congress is nine terms of legislation that they've been working on related to arms sales to Saudi Arabia but at the end of the day trump has vetoed every single bill that would have hurt the Saudis in this regard but the race institutes all works in believes ultimately Saudi Arabia will pay a price and I think for the first time. recent history there's no bipartisan support in the Congress in the US political spectrum for for Saudi Arabia and that's going to be concerned because trump will be there forever to protect the crown prince still only works and believes the crown prince will become king because he still has the blessing of his father king someone despite what the rest of the world
Morning Edition
Kurds brace as Turkey-backed Syrian fighters prepare to replace exiting U.S. forces
"Caught many. By surprise, including those who have been fighting alongside the Americans specifically allied Kurdish. Forces NPR's, Ruth, Sherlock, just visited a military base in northern Syria right near the Turkish border. And she was speaking with a twenty five year old Kurdish soldier named Muhammad. We're only using his first name because he did not have formal authorization to speak. But here was his reaction to Trump's announcement. The Hazara ally. This decision is very dangerous because we're still fighting ISIS on the front line and had gene down even in those areas where we forced ISIS out. There's still thousands of sleeper cells me all know that they're still active. All right. Let's talk through the implications of President Trump's decision with Robert Ford. He served as US ambassador to Syria from twenty two thousand eleven two thousand fourteen he's now a fellow at the Middle East institute. And also a senior fellow at Yale University investor. Good morning. Good morning. So is the president making the right decision here to pull out of Syria. I don't usually agree with President Trump. And in this case, I do I think he's making the right decision to pull out and it needs to be done slowly. But surely is it going to happen slowly. But surely, I mean, I I don't know if you've got a firm time line from the Trump administration you here, I think they're working on that. Now, I'm the president seemed to say Tweety put out the other day that it'll be a slow and gradual and coordinated why do you think this is a good move. A lot of people really concerned that the two thousand or so forces have been doing some important work to fight ISIS. Right. I think there are people who were hoping that we could completely destroy ISIS which camp destroying aetiology with fighters with soldiers soldiers, don't destroy ideology and mother people thought it was a place to draw a line against Iran, but Iran's already in Syria, and it's not waving. And so I think there were people who had a variety of ideas about what an American military force in Syria can do, but the ideas themselves are very realistic. So the courtesy culture that we just heard from. I mean is there a reason he shouldn't feel abandoned by the United States here? Well, I think I understand why he feels abandoned but his fight a fight to set up an autonomous Kurdish zone. Self ruling into the northeastern Syria. Kids fight is not our fight. And I think that's the crux of the issue that needs to be discussed about the presence of us troops in Syria. What is the downside of keeping the two thousand forces, you know, beyond obviously, putting Americans endanger, which is always a deep concern. Is there a downside to keeping the force there for some time were? Yeah. There is it. It's a constant risk that we will get pulled into the fight that has long been going on between other states in the region. The Turkish fight with Syrian Kurds goes back decades. And I think President Trump is wise to try to keep it out of that fight. You. Put troops in northeastern Syria. All of a sudden, you're in the middle of perky, Syria, Iraq, Iran, it's it's messy. And I think most Americans don't really want to get involved in that let me ask you about the flip side of that, you know, for the US pull out maybe you avoid getting tangled in some of those those fights that you mentioned, but is there a risk in nations like Russia nations like Iran, filling a vacuum and having greater influence, not just in Syria but throughout the region, and and could that be a real concern for the US role in in the world? Why I don't think either Russia or China hopes to dominate the Middle East militarily? I think they are there for purely commercial reasons on the Russians, for example, have fat oil contracts with the Syrian government was loss of government. So of course, they'd like those field, but that Kurdish fighter that you talked about his forces control those over killed the Russians would like them. I've got a contract, but that isn't a reason to keep you as forces there, do we really want to get in the middle of a commercial argument between Russia and Syria and Turkey, and the Kurds you were in Damascus in two thousand eleven when the Syrian civil war broke out. I mean, it it looked like Bush L assets rule could be at risk. He is held on. Can you just reflect now looking seven years back? I mean, we have the United States announcing this pull out we have Russia's still there. We have our still in power. What what what are you reflecting on at this moment? Well, I was there. It was almost eight years ago now that the uprising started, and it is a reminder to me I'm in especially after I was in Iraq for five years that. We cannot control events on the ground in places like Iraq and Syria, Iraqis controls, Syrians, control them. And so we have to be realistic about what we can achieve as an American military force cannot fix all of the social economic and political problems in that region. Robert Ford served as the US ambassador to Syria from two