When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

This week on Bombshell, we say nothing about Jim Comey! We recorded Monday and who could have guessed we’d be here today? Instead, we discuss recent casualties in Afghanistan and Somalia, check in on Venezuela and the French elections, and talk about the many ways one does and does not talk to friendly dictators. We also do our part to keep Costco margaritas in business. And then, in honor of Mother’s Day, we talk to our moms. You should too (your moms, not ours).

Episode Reading:

• “Elite troops are being worked too hard and spread too thin, military commander warns,” Vera Bergengruen, The Miami Herald 
• “Navy SEAL Who Died in Somalia Was Alongside, Not Behind, Local Forces,” Helene Cooper, The New York Times
• Revolutions Podcast, by Mike Duncan
• “Facebook purges thousands of fake profiles ahead of UK election,” Nick Summers, Endgadget
• “Trump’s praise for authoritarians vs. his platitudes for allies,” Aaron Blake, The Washington Post
• “Venezuela’s leader wants to replace the National Assembly with one beholden to him,” Francisco Toro, The Washington Post
• “Mérida Escalates,” Francisco Toro, Caracas Chronicles
• “Tillerson calls for balancing US security interests, values,” by Josh Lederman and Matthew Lee, AP
• “Tillerson Seeking 9% Cut to U.S. State Department Workforce, Sources Say,” Nick Wadhams, Bloomberg
• “The End of Hypocrisy,” Henry Farrell and Martha Finnemore, Foreign Affairs
• “This State Department Employee Survey Is Straight Out Of ‘Office Space,‘” John Hudson, Buzzfeed
• “Sci-Fi Writer William Gibson Reimagines the World After the 2016 Election,” Alexandra Alter, The New York Times

Events:

• YPFP, Conquering the Foreign Policy Establishment (16 May)
• CSIS, Command Climate: The State of U.S. Civil-Military Relations (23 May)
• CNAS, Annual Conference (28 June)

Image: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jose D. Lujano, adapted