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

This week Erin and Radha hold down the fort and return to some of Bombshell’s greatest hits topics, starting with North Korean missile tests and a double feature from ISIS (a new video from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the horrific attacks in Sri Lanka), and spinning some militias in Libya and new Iran sanctions for good measure.  With the continuing mayhem in Washington, they turn to the chaos in Venezuela, lack of data from Afghanistan, and of course the “clash of civilizations” on the horizon with China.  With Loren out, Erin has to skip Game of Thrones coverage and talk princess TV and tiaras with Radha.

Links

Libya

• Mieczyslaw Boduszynski and Christopher Lamont, “Trump Changed US Policy Toward Libya. This is Why it Matters,” Washington Post, May 03, 2019

Al Baghdadi/Sri Lanka

• Frank Gardner, “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: Why is it So Difficult to Track Down IS Leader?” BBC, May 01, 2019
• Souad Mekhennet “In ISIS Leaders Video Appearance, Messages to Followers, Rivals, and the West,” Washington Post, May 02, 2019

Iran Sanctions

• “Six Charts That Show How Hard US Sanctions Have Hit Iran,” BBC, May 02, 2019
• Osama Bin Javaid, “Iran Sanctions Explained,” Aljazeera, May 04, 2019
• Matthew Lee, “US Renews Iran Sanctions Waivers for Civilian Nuclear Work,” AP, May 03, 2019

“Clash of Civilization”

• Daniel Drezner, “Let’s Grade the State Department’s Director of Policy Planning on Her Grand Strategy Musings,” Washington Post, May 01, 2019
• Paul Musgrave, “The Slip That Revealed the Real Trump Doctrine,” Foreign Policy, May 02, 2019
• “A Better Reading of History Must Bring Home the Truth That the Basic Factor in Human Affairs is Not Politics, But Race,” Lawyers Guns Money Blog, May 03, 2019
• Jessica Chen Weiss, “No China and the US Aren’t Locked in an Ideological Battle. Not Even Close,” Washington Post, May 04, 2019

Afghanistan

• “US Military Stops Releasing Information Tracking Progress in Afghanistan,” CBS, May 01, 2019

Sri Lanka

• James Griffiths, “A Week After the Easter Sunday Attacks, Sri Lanka is No Closer to Understanding or Healing,” CNN, April 28, 2019

Venezuela

• Karen DeYoung, “US Officials Weigh Options for Venezuela as Trump Describes Positive Call with Putin,” Washington Post, May 03, 2019
• Anthony Faiola, “Guaido Says Opposition Overestimated Military Support Before Failed Uprising,” Washington Post, May 04, 2019