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

Bryan is celebrating the anniversary of our first episode on a beach, so this week, Chris and Melanie are joined by Tom Karako of CSIS. In this episode, they discuss the Syria Study Group Report, which concludes that “the US can still influence the outcome of the Syrian war in a manner that protects US interests.” Does America have interests in Syria? If so, can they be managed and protected, particularly with a president who seems uninterested in investing political capital and American resources there? How has the Syrian civil war affected Russia, Iran, and Turkey, and does that matter to America? Finally, is there anything the United States should do about the terrible humanitarian situation, the effects of which have spilled over to other countries?

Tom tells us about taking his son to his first baseball game (go Nats!), Chris has a birthday wish for a former president, and Melanie both sticks it to and congratulates the press. We can’t wait for Bryan to return and give us his review of the Downton Abbey movie!

Links

• “Syria Study Group Final Report,” United States Institute of Peace, September 24, 2019
• Josh Blackman, “When Is It Acceptable Journalistic Practice to Surface Old Social Media Posts?” Reason, September 27, 2019
• Vance Serchuk, “Russia’s Middle East Power Play,” National Review, September 12, 2019
• Michael Singh, Tweet, September 23, 2019
• Trevor Thrall, “Resettling Syria’s Refugees Would Be Cheaper Than Widening the War,” Defense One, October 21, 2015
• Alex Nowrasteh, “Terrorists by Immigration Status and Nationality: A Risk Analysis, 1975 – 2017,” Cato, May 7, 2019
• Kareem Fahim, “In ‘60 Minutes’ Interview, Saudi Crown Prince Denies Ordering Khashoggi Killing,” Washington Post, September 29, 2019
• Anna Massoglia, “Saudi Arabia Ramped Up Multi-Million Foreign Influence Operation After Khashoggi’s Death,” Open Secrets, October 2, 2019
• Elizabeth Wolfe and Brian Ries, “Jimmy Carter, the Oldest Living Former US President, Is 95 Today,” CNN, October 1, 2019
• Reis Thebault and Brittany Shammas, “Amber Guyger, Police Officer Who Shot a Man to Death in His Apartment, Found Guilty of Murder,” Washington Post, October 1, 2019
• Josh Blackman, “When Is It Acceptable Journalistic Practice to ‘Surface’ Old Social Media Posts?” Reason, September 27, 2019
• Jack Detsch, “Congress Aims to Restore Syria Stabilization Aid,” Real Defense, September 18, 2019
• Brett McGurk, “Hard Truths in Syria,” Foreign Affairs, May 28, 2019
• Eric Schmitt, “US Sees Rising Threat in the West from Qaeda Branch in Syria,” New York Times, September 30, 2019
• Brittany Shamas, “When Trump’s Special Envoy to Ukraine Resigned, a Student Newspaper Beat Everyone to the Story,” Washington Post, September 28, 2019
• “Timeline: Syria’s Eight Years of Fire and Blood,” Reuters, March 16, 2019
• Keith Pandolfi, “How to Refinish Woodwork,” This Old House
• “Hypersonic,” Merriam-Webster

Events

• “NATO: The Dangerous Dinosaur,” Cato Book Forum, October 18, 2019
• “Fuel to the Fire: How Trump Made America’s Broken Foreign Policy Even Worse (and How We Can Recover),” Cato Book Forum, October 21, 2019