Bombshell: Next Time Jack Write a Memo
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 rundown of our many trade tax tools! After some White House mayhem where it’s clear that process is still our valentine we delight and quibble over the new Jack Ryan series.
Keeping up Foreign Relations
Afghanistan
- https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/analysis-gen-nicholson-says-us-strategy-in-afghanistan-is-working-despite-the-facts.php
- http://time.com/longform/ghazni-fight-taliban/
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-politics-security/rows-resignations-underscore-afghanistans-security-crisis-idUSKCN1LI0CN
Yemen
- https://twitter.com/Brian_Castner/status/1031961797249646592
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45257631
- https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/20/politics/yemeni-bombmaker-dead/index.html
- https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/yemen-saudi-airstrike-school-bus/567799/
China
- https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/31/asia/china-xinjiang-uyghur-intl/index.html
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/former-inmates-of-chinas-muslim-re-education-camps-tell-of-brainwashing-torture/2018/05/16/32b330e8-5850-11e8-8b92-45fdd7aaef3c_story.html?utm_term=.0b9c4d3c852f
- https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/china-surveillance-technology-muslims/567443/
- https://www.npr.org/2018/08/31/643736351/u-n-urges-china-to-stop-detaining-uighurs-political-reeducation-centers-reported
It’s Aghast
China tariffs
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2018/08/23/china-trade-war-update-preparing-for-trump-vs-xi/#6bdc310814a0
- https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-china-tariff-second-list-of-goods-products-worth-16-billion-2018-8
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/08/24/china-trade/?utm_term=.256b6f1a0647
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-tariffs/trump-ready-to-ratchet-up-china-trade-war-with-more-tariffs-report-idUSKCN1LF2BP
NAFTA
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/nafta-canada-trump-trudeau-twitter-1.4807836
- https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/naftas-economic-impact
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/i-was-all-set-to-terminate-inside-trumps-sudden-shift-on-nafta/2017/04/27/0452a3fa-2b65-11e7-b605-33413c691853_story.html?utm_term=.8873dabcb477
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-trump/trump-says-mexico-trade-deal-near-nafta-hurdles-seen-easing-idUSKCN1LA0H0
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-mexico-close-to-resolving-issues-holding-up-nafta-talks-1535214739
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/09/01/trumps-playing-tough-with-canadians-he-needs-them/?utm_term=.724c9007d666
White House Mayhem
- https://www.vox.com/2018/8/28/17790546/north-korea-trump-pompeo-letter-trip
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mccains-funeral-was-a-melancholy-last-hurrah-for-whats-been-lost-in-trump-era/2018/09/01/156784c6-ad46-11e8-b1da-ff7faa680710_story.html?utm_term=.2369d4ecda58
Pop Culture
