Bombshell

Bombshell returns in 2019 with a new set of Bombshell questions and a guest, Dana Stroul, to give our best shot at explaining US-Syria policy. Secretary Pompeo has finished a whirlwind tour (while his staff are unpaid) trying to do the same, and at least one of the parties to potential US-North Korea summit seems to be doing its homework (guess which). The team digs deep into the longest government shutdown in history and considers just what kind of emergency it would be if Trump used national emergency powers to build a wall. Plus, lots of pop culture for the new year. Syria Policy Robbie Gramer, "Mike Pompeo Is Flying Solo in the Middle East," Foreign Policy Keeping up Foreign Relations North Korea Jon Herskovitz and Youkyung Lee, "North Korea's Nuclear Program Quietly Advances, Pressuring Trump," Bloomberg It's Aghast Brexit "Theresa May Facing Crunch Vote on Her Brexit Deal," BBC China Marilyn Haigh, "US Trade Representative's Office Will Have Only About 30% of Its Staff Due to the Shutdown As Chin

Loren and Erin travel to Kansas City for a special live recording at the National World War I Museum. Joined by John Ismay and Steve Leonard, they dig into the many aspects of the Forever Wars including some Civ-Mil 101, opportunities for oversight and accountability, and everyone's favorite GWOT film. Links Amy Schafer, "Generations of War," CNAS Conflicting Partisan Priorities for U.S. Foreign Policy, Pew Research Center Nikki Wentling, “Tom Hanks Thinks Hollywood Isn't Best Suited to Tell Stories of Iraq, Afghanistan Wars," Stars and Stripes

This ONE TIME we huddled for an emergency podcast. Because the Secretary of Defense resigned in protest. That doesn’t happen everyday. At least we hope not. Enjoy!    

This week Radha, Loren, and Erin sit down to try and figure out just what the hell happened in 2018. Storm clouds gather as the ladies discuss what NatSec stories we missed - and what we’ll still be talking about in 10 years. But Radha brings the sunshine as we discuss the most important events for the military services in 2018 (which sadly has not resulted in any Space Marines). We wrap up with a review of the Administration’s secret villains and heroes and put a bow on it with movie plot lines that best capture 2018.  Links "Jaw-Jaw," War on the Rocks Keith Bradsher and Ailin Tang, "China's Economy Slows Sharply, in Challenge for Xi Jinping," War on the Rocks Sophie Richardson, "China disappeared Interpol's chief. The world can't pretend it's business as usual." Washington Post Heidi Blake, Tom Warren, Richard Holmes, Jason Leopold, Jane Bradley, Alex Campbell, "From Russia With Blood," BuzzFeed News Alex Horton, "The Army kicked out dozens of immigrant recruits. Now it's allowing them back amid a legal bat

This week Erin, Loren, and Radha read the G20 tea leaves, opine on continued chaos in Afghanistan, and remind you about all the White House mayhem from Saudi politics to a Moscow Trump Tower. Radha gets way too excited about USMCA (pronounced U-Smack-Ah) and all things trade before the ladies round some pop culture.   Keeping Up Foreign Relations Afghanistan Rahim Faiez, "At Least 40 People Killed in Deadly 24 Hours Across Afghanistan," TIME John Bacon, "3 American service members killed in Afghanistan roadside bombing," USA Today Jessica Purkiss and Abigail Fielding-Smith, "Uptick in U.S. Air Strikes on Buildings in Afghanistan Raises Questions," Just Security  Ukraine Andrew Higgins, "Ukraine, on a War Footing, Looks Westward for Help," New York Times Andrew Osborn, "Citing Russia threat, Ukraine boosts security at ports, power plants," Reuters Alex Ward, "Russia just openly attacked Ukraine. That could mean their war will get worse." Vox It's Aghast G20 "US-China trade war: Deal agreed to suspend new

Erin, Radha, and Loren invited Dr. Lindsay Cohn of the U.S. Naval War College to join their posse and explain America's history of employing the military for domestic purposes.  In Keeping Up Foreign Relations, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is still negotiating the terms of her break up with the EU, and new revelations on the tragic killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are giving us a collective heart attack.  A new entrant to White House mayhem, First Lady Melania Trump, flexes her muscle to oust the fifth Deputy National Security Advisor of the Trump administration, and we assess the assessment of the National Defense Strategy commission.  Finally, come what may, we commit to developing a holiday shopping list for you festive needs this season.   UPCOMING EVENT: The American Public and the War on Terror https://my.theworldwar.org/2307 (Tue, 4 Dec, Kansas City) Border Deployment Alice Hunt Friend, "5 reasons to be concerned about deploying U.S. troops along the southern border," Washington Post Lindsey P.

Loren, Erin, and Radha meet up in a special short episode to talk about the election aftermath. What will happen with the change in the house, who is on the Senate armed services committee, and what is oversight anyway?! Plus, a quick discussion on the defense budget and why data and statistics should be a year-round pastime!    

This week Tamara Cofman Wittes joins the Bombshell ladies to discuss the fallout of the Khashoggi assassination and the future of US-Saudi relations. We get further bogged down in Afghanistan and try to understand the migrant caravan moving north from Central America. Then Radha tries to cheer us up by explaining the intricacies of the Universal Postal Union. For icing on the cake, we dive deep into the INF treaty and wonder if the Defense Department really being asked to cut its budget.   Saudi Emma Ashford, "The U.S.-Saudi alliance was in trouble long before Jamal Khashoggi's death," War on the Rocks Keeping up Foreign Relations Caravan Delphine Schrank, "Thousands of caravan migrants take shelter in southern Mexico," Reuters Afghanistan Dan Lamothe, "U.S. general wounded in attack in Afghanistan," Washington Post Thomas Ruttig, "The Killing of Razeq: Removing the Taleban's strongest foe in Kandahar, an indirect hit at elections," Afghanistan Analysts Network Ashley Jackson, "The Taliban Just Won a Key

This week, Loren, Radha, and Erin are reunited to discuss such cheery topics as political assassinations and sexual violence (albeit in the form of Nobel Prizes awarded to combat it). Radha dives deep on NAFTA 2.0, and we work our way through the crazy Chinese hacked hardware story. Rounding out White House Mayhem, John Bolton is back and joins the president and vice president in making blustery foreign policy speeches. And Erin demands answers on Banksy's newest prank.   New WOTR podcast: Melanie Marlowe, Bryan McGrath, and Christopher Preble, "Net Assessment," War on the Rocks   KUFR Nobel prize Emily Sullivan, "Nobel Peace Prize Goes To Denis Mukwege And Nadia Murad For Fighting Sexual Violence," NPR Saudi-Turkey "Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey says journalist was murdered in Saudi consulate," BBC Karim Fahim, "Turkey concludes Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed by 'murder' team, sources say," Washington Post Trade Heather Long, "U.S., Canada and Mexico just reached a sweeping new NAFTA deal. Here's what'

This week on bombshell Erin and Radha drink at Kori Schake's favorite bar in the world. Joined by Amelia Egghart, they discuss why climate change is still a thing and the (lack of) process in national security issues from Syria to Korea. They also remind us why you shouldn't start a land or trade war in Asia. And of course all the White House mayhem that's fit to print. Did we mention the guest was a chicken?   Venezuela https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/08/world/americas/donald-trump-venezuela-military-coup.html https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-venezuela/us-preparing-actions-in-coming-days-against-venezuela-pompeo-to-fox-news-idUSKCN1M12RF China  https://www.npr.org/2018/09/21/650554494/china-fires-back-against-u-s-sanctions-for-purchases-of-russian-weapons https://thehill.com/policy/finance/407871-5-things-to-know-about-trumps-escalating-trade-war-with-china  Israel/Russia https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-russia-syria/israel-showed-russia-proof-syria-to-blame-for-downed-plane-israeli-military-

The Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC, hosted Loren and Radha this week for a live show. Lara Seligman of Foreign Policy and Valerie Insinna of Defense News joined the Bombshell crew to discuss defense journalism in the Trump administration, what it's like to cover a 17 year old war, and the most mayhem of mayhem weeks the White House has had in the last year. To listen to the audience Q&A for this episode, sign up for the War Hall at https://warontherocks.com/subscribe

Erin, Radha, and Loren head back to school from summer break, with smiling and shining faces. This week they catch up on some extensive Kabul mayhem, covering recent Taliban forays into Afghan-government controlled cities, the state of possible negotiations among both parties, and how this fits into new changes on command at ISAF and CENTCOM.  Revisiting a topic that's come up since the first episode of Bombshell, the ladies check in on U.S. support to the coalition campaign in Yemen and recent USG and Congressional frustrations with civilian casualties in the region - are we any closer to the end of our rope in enabling Saudi operations there or business as usual? And the enormous growth Chinese harassment of Uighurs in Xinjiang combined with the technological prowess of the Chinese surveillance state has a terrible alchemy that other autocratic states may find attractive. Radha continues her trade segment "It's Aghast" and talks through the current shenanigans with Mexico and Canada as well as a rapid rundo

While the ladies of Bombshell will talk with just about anyone, should the U.S. government? Bombshell dives into President Trump's proclivity for theatrical political summits with adversaries, following up on current efforts in Afghanistan, North Korea, and Iran.  Radha introduces a new segment on trade: It's Aghast!  And the National Defense Authorization Act is a 2500 page gold mine of wonky policy fun.    Keeping up Foreign Relations North Korea "North Korea continuing nuclear programme - UN report," BBC News Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick, "U.S. spy agencies: North Korea is working on new missiles," Washington Post Uri Friedman, "Two Ways to Read the Newest Intelligence on North Korea," Atlantic Pakistan Elections Colin Cookman, "A Tilted Playing Field: What Pakistan's Electoral Shifts Could Mean for Imran Khan's Government," War on the Rocks Alyssa Ayres, "Election 2018: So Far, No Cause for Celebration," Council on Foreign Relations Afghanistan Strategy Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Helene Cooper, "New

Alina Polyakova of Brookings joins the Bombshell crew to dive into the fallout from the Helsinki Summit.  Radha furthers our education on tariffs, er trade taxes, as the great trade war of 2018 slouches toward chaos. Meanwhile, Teresa May’s Brexit woes continue as she mucks around with Northern Ireland. And despite Secretary Pompeo’s personal attention, President Trump is catching on to the fact that Singapore did not set up the greatest of deals with North Korea. In White House mayhem Trump’s NSC is trying desperately to stay out of his line of sight as they manage crises he won’t like - like the reemergence of ISIS in Iraq. Plus, Supergirl and puppies, airplane movies, Bombshell books, early gray fudge, and rose all day.   Helsinki Fallout Alina Polyakova and Benjamin Haddad, "Europe in the New Era of Great Power Competition," Foreign Affairs Alina Polyakova, "Trump Has Trapped Himself Into Cracking Down on Russia," Atlantic Alina Polyakova, "Putin didn't have to push the Kremlin's narrative. Trump did it

This week we do our best impersonation of the Georgetown set recording from 1789 and lamenting the world gone to hell. We break down Pompeo's trip to North Korea, Theresa May's Brexit woes, and the NATO summit which has already been overrun by chaos Muppets. With so much White House mayhem, we focus on Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin, and Radha gets on her soapbox about MAVNI and suitability screenings. Need a pop-culture escape? We suggest Crazy Rich Asians and Sharp Objects.   Dahlia Lithwick, "Chaos Theory," Slate Daniel Russel, "The Singapore Honeymoon Is Over," Foreign Policy Jane Vaynman and Vipin Narang, "There are signs North Korea is still working on its nuclear program. Here's why 'denuclearization' is so problematic." Washington Post Nick Wadhams, "Inside Pompeo's Fraught North Korea Trip," Bloomberg Alex Hunt and Brian Wheeler, "Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU," BBC Silvia Amaro, "There's now a real chance the UK won't get a Brexit deal—here's what that means for mark

Bombshell goes international! Loren warily crosses the border to visit Stefanie von Hlatky, Stephanie Carvin, and Elaine Bunn for a special Canadian episode at the Kingston Conference on International Security. The ladies give deterrence a playlist and it’s own film series, then dive deeper into what deterrence means to the public and How to Teach Your President About Deterrence. And since deterrence is above all a human interaction, we discuss that elephant in the room: what it means to be a woman in the field.

In the most ambitious crossover event since that one time on TGIF, Bombshell joins Rational Security for a very special joint episode.  Radha, Erin, Loren, Shane, and Susan take on our hellscape of a government’s evolving policy on family separation; Radha as a Real Life Economist schools us on the not-so-cleansing fire of the latest trade wars, and, of course we go full blast on Space Force. You knew it was coming. It’s real. And it’s spectacular.   

Radha, Loren, and Erin invite Alex Bell to preview the Singapore Trump-Kim summit, explaining that while there’s more than staring into one another’s eyes for arms control, chemistry is a good start. When we recorded, the G7 had wrapped but not yet crashed and burned into a playground taunt with Canada, so Radha gives a good lesson on tariffs instead of assessing border skirmishes along the Great Lakes. If you’ve been distracted you may have not noticed the absurd amount of Chinese espionage activity as the OPM hacks bear fruit. The show recommends everyone keep an eye on the Pompeo-Bolton tea leaves and how Pompeo’s embrace of State bureaucracy may be hamstrung.  Erin kicks off a new segment, the Soapbox, on Google’s rejection of military AI work and what that means for future advances in military technologies.  Conflicting Civilian casualty reporting, protests in Jordan, and SOF in Somalia are somehow the lesser included events in the crazy three ring goat rodeo of a week. Credit for this week’s title and g

This week we ask Emma Ashford to reveal the mysteries of Trump's Middle East policy. Then Loren, Radha, and Erin dive into the recent trade dramas before pondering whether the summit with North Korea is best understood as a Rom-Com or Telenovela. Colombian elections, change of command in Afghanistan, and the toxic culture within ICE round out the conversation before we escape to the wonders of pop-culture.    Emma Ashford and John Glaser, “Unforced Error: The Risks of Confrontation with Iran,” CATO Institute Emma Ashford, “Unbalanced Rethinking America’s Commitment to the Middle East,” Strategy Studies Quarterly Trevor Thrall and Emma Ashford, “Power Problems,” CATO Institute  Runrig, Loch Lomond “Colombians vote for new president with peace deal, economy at stake,” Reuters Camila Zuluaga, “Colombia, trapped between extremes,” Washington Post Ana Swanson, “Trump Administration Plans to Revive ZTE, Prompting Backlash,” New York Times Shawn Donnan, “Trump car tariffs highlight threat of retaliatory trade war,”