August 22 - The Strategic Complexities and Contradictions Surrounding Afghanistan; The Generals Beat the Mercenaries Over Afghanistan Strategy; Mnuchin's Wife's "Let Them Eat Cake" Moment

Full Program
 

Part 1

We begin with an analysis of President Trump’s address to the nation on his strategy for America's longest war in Afghanistan now in its 16^th year. Two specialists who have spent a lot of time in the country join us starting with Christine Fair, a former United Nations Political Officer and a Professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program and author of “Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War”. We  discuss the complex and contradictory strategic landscape surrounding landlocked Afghanistan with Pakistan in the east and south sabotaging the U.S. at every turn, and Russia in the north now arming the Taliban. And while Iran to the west is the best bet to work with India to get our irons out of the fire, Trump is likely to resume sanctions and provoke hostilities at the behest of both our Israeli and Saudi allies who want us to go to war against Iran. Meanwhile Iran and India have built a port, road and rail link from the Indian Ocean into Herat, Afghanistan which could be the only way for India, as Trump announced, to help with the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Part 2

Then we look further into Trump’s just-announced Afghanistan strategy that was long on bravado and promises but short on specifics, and speak with Robert Young Pelton, the author of “Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror”. He joins us to discuss how the generals, Mattis, McMaster and Kelly won the argument with the ignoramus their Commander-in-Chief over Bannon, who wanted to privatize the war in Afghanistan and hand it over to the hedge fund billionaire Feinberg who owns DynCorp and the Blackwater founder Erik Prince, the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos who is close to Vice President Pence and has been on the Chinese payroll while in bed with the Emiraties where he has a private army.

Part 3

Then finally we get an assessment of the “let them eat cake” moment that has social media abuzz following an Instagram that Louise Linton, the trophy wife of the Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin sent out cataloging the designer outfit and accessories she was wearing on a visit to Fort Knox where the nation’s gold is stashed. Robin Givhan, the Washington Post’s fashion critic joins us to discuss her article at The Washington Post, “Louise Linton just spelled out her value system to you common folk”.