Sirens: A Bombshell production

The Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC, hosted Loren and Radha this week for a live show. Lara Seligman of Foreign Policy and Valerie Insinna of Defense News joined the Bombshell crew to discuss defense journalism in the Trump administration, what it's like to cover a 17 year old war, and the most mayhem of mayhem weeks the White House has had in the last year. To listen to the audience Q&A for this episode, sign up for the War Hall at https://warontherocks.com/subscribe

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 http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/jack-ryan-amazon-review.html

While the ladies of Bombshell will talk with just about anyone, should the U.S. government? Bombshell dives into President Trump's proclivity for theatrical political summits with adversaries, following up on current efforts in Afghanistan, North Korea, and Iran. Radha introduces a new segment on trade: It's Aghast! And the National Defense Authorization Act is a 2500 page gold mine of wonky policy fun. Keeping up Foreign Relations North Korea "North Korea continuing nuclear programme - UN report," BBC News Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick, "U.S. spy agencies: North Korea is working on new missiles," Washington Post Uri Friedman, "Two Ways to Read the Newest Intelligence on North Korea," Atlantic Pakistan Elections Colin Cookman, "A Tilted Playing Field: What Pakistan's Electoral Shifts Could Mean for Imran Khan's Government," War on the Rocks Alyssa Ayres, "Election 2018: So Far, No Cause for Celebration," Council on Foreign Relations Afghanistan Strategy Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Helene Cooper, "Newest U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan Mirrors Past Plans for Retreat," New York Times Spencer Ackerman, "Inside the Secret Taliban Talks to End America's Longest War," Daily Beast Idrees Ali, "Exclusive: After discouraging year, U.S. officials expect review of Afghan Strategy," Reuters It's Aghast Jack Ewing, "Europe Feels the Squeeze of the Trump Trade Tariffs," New York Times Shawn Donnan, "Trump's hopes for EU trade deal hampered by agriculture," Financial Times Doug Palmer, "US sides with Russia in WTO national security case against Ukraine," Politico White House Mayhem NDAA Mark Cancian, "What Really Matters In The Defense Authorization Act & What Didn't Get Done," Breaking Defense Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould, "Senate moves to empower Pentagon's policy chief as enforcer," Defense News Office of Management and Budget, "Follow-on to Statement of Administration Policy," Executive Office of the President Leo Shane III and Tara Copp, "Pentagon braces for massive change to officer promotions," Military Times Tom Vanden Brook, "Generals and admirals caught in sex scandals could lose clearances under defense funding bill," USA Today Space Force Marcus Weisgerber, "Exclusive: Pentagon To Start Creating Space Force -- Even Before Congress Approves It," Defense One Paul Scharre, "The US Military Should Not Be Doubling Down on Space," Defense One

Alina Polyakova of Brookings joins the Bombshell crew to dive into the fallout from the Helsinki Summit. Radha furthers our education on tariffs, er trade taxes, as the great trade war of 2018 slouches toward chaos. Meanwhile, Teresa May's Brexit woes continue as she mucks around with Northern Ireland. And despite Secretary Pompeo's personal attention, President Trump is catching on to the fact that Singapore did not set up the greatest of deals with North Korea. In White House mayhem Trump's NSC is trying desperately to stay out of his line of sight as they manage crises he won't like - like the reemergence of ISIS in Iraq. Plus, Supergirl and puppies, airplane movies, Bombshell books, early gray fudge, and rose all day. Helsinki Fallout Alina Polyakova and Benjamin Haddad, "Europe in the New Era of Great Power Competition," Foreign Affairs Alina Polyakova, "Trump Has Trapped Himself Into Cracking Down on Russia," Atlantic Alina Polyakova, "Putin didn't have to push the Kremlin's narrative. Trump did it for him." Washington Post Julia Ioffe, "The surreal world," Washington Post All the Tariffs Louis Nelson, Victoria Guida, Adam Behsudi, "Trump threatens tariffs on all $500 billion worth of Chinese imports," Politico "The world trading system is under attack," Economist Hersh Shefrin, "Playing Trade War Chicken," Forbes Ana Swanson, "Republicans Bow to White House on Chinese Telecom Firm ZTE," New York Times Merrit Kennedy, "In Face Of Protectionism, EU And Japan Sign Huge Open-Trade Deal," NPR Raymond Colitt, Patrick Gillespie, Carolynn Look, "World Economic Leaders Condemn President Trump's Twitter Trade Rants at G-20 Summit," Time/Bloomberg Megan Cassella, "Trump's new midterm threat: A trade war smacking voters," Politico John Bowden, "Mnuchin: US open to removing Russian aluminum producer from sanctions list," Hill Brexit "The Great British Venn Diagram," QNTM Henry Farrell, "Theresa May's Brexit speech may break the Northern Ireland peace process," Washington Post "Brexit: May calls for EU to 'evolve' position on 'unworkable' backstop," Irish Times North Korea John Hudson, Josh Dawsey, Carol D. Leonnig, "In private, Trump vents frustration over lack of progress on North Korea," Washington Post Christopher Dickey, "Kim's Still Got His Nukes, and Hasn't Returned Our Heroes," Daily Beast ISIS Liz Sly and Mustafa Salim, "ISIS is making a comeback in Iraq just months after Baghdad declared victory," Washington Post Weekend Edition Saturday, "The Current State of ISIS," NPR Louisa Loveluck, "Syrian army raises flag above city considered as birthplace of uprising against Assad," Washington Post

This week we do our best impersonation of the Georgetown set recording from 1789 and lamenting the world gone to hell. We break down Pompeo's trip to North Korea, Theresa May's Brexit woes, and the NATO summit which has already been overrun by chaos Muppets. With so much White House mayhem, we focus on Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin, and Radha gets on her soapbox about MAVNI and suitability screenings. Need a pop-culture escape? We suggest Crazy Rich Asians and Sharp Objects. Dahlia Lithwick, "Chaos Theory," Slate Daniel Russel, "The Singapore Honeymoon Is Over," Foreign Policy Jane Vaynman and Vipin Narang, "There are signs North Korea is still working on its nuclear program. Here's why 'denuclearization' is so problematic." Washington Post Nick Wadhams, "Inside Pompeo's Fraught North Korea Trip," Bloomberg Alex Hunt and Brian Wheeler, "Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU," BBC Silvia Amaro, "There's now a real chance the UK won't get a Brexit deal—here's what that means for markets," CNBC John Cassidy, "Boris Johnson's resignation can't disguise the harsh reality of Brexit," New Yorker Robert Hutton, "U.K. Labour Open to Brexit Referendum If May's Deal Fails," Bloomberg Mark Newton, Rachel Rizzo, Julianne Smith, and Jim Townsend, "More Than Burden Sharing," CNAS Kathleen Hicks, "Press Briefing: Allied and Partner Contributions to NATO: Redefining Security Investment," CSIS Heather Hurlburt, "Even the Best-Case Scenario for What Trump Does at the NATO Summit Is Pretty Grim," New York Magazine Victoria Newland, "In Two Summits, a Moment of Truth for Trump," New York Times Tara Copp, "Here's the bottom line on the future of MAVNI: Many foreign-born recruits may soon be out," Military Times Jeff Schogol and Adam Linehan, "No, President Trump Is Not Purging The Military Of Immigrants," Task & Purpose Beth J. Asch, Jennie W. Wegner, Troy D. Smith, "The Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Program," RAND Ben Mathis-Lilley, "The Pentagon Says It's Not Purging Immigrant Recruits, but Some Evidence Says Otherwise," Slate Alex Ward, "Why Trump may not be to blame for immigrants being booted from the military," Vox Alex Horton, "ICE is moving to deport a veteran after Mattis assured that would not happen," Washington Post

Bombshell goes international! Loren warily crosses the border to visit Stefanie von Hlatky, Stephanie Carvin, and Elaine Bunn for a special Canadian episode at the Kingston Conference on International Security. The ladies give deterrence a playlist and it's own film series, then dive deeper into what deterrence means to the public and How to Teach Your President About Deterrence. And since deterrence is above all a human interaction, we discuss that elephant in the room: what it means to be a woman in the field.

In the most ambitious crossover event since that one time on TGIF, Bombshell joins Rational Security for a very special joint episode. Radha, Erin, Loren, Shane, and Susan take on our hellscape of a government's evolving policy on family separation; Radha as a Real Life Economist schools us on the not-so-cleansing fire of the latest trade wars, and, of course we go full blast on Space Force. You knew it was coming. It's real. And it's spectacular.

Radha, Loren, and Erin invite Alex Bell to preview the Singapore Trump-Kim summit, explaining that while there's more than staring into one another's eyes for arms control, chemistry is a good start. When we recorded, the G7 had wrapped but not yet crashed and burned into a playground taunt with Canada, so Radha gives a good lesson on tariffs instead of assessing border skirmishes along the Great Lakes. If you've been distracted you may have not noticed the absurd amount of Chinese espionage activity as the OPM hacks bear fruit. The show recommends everyone keep an eye on the Pompeo-Bolton tea leaves and how Pompeo's embrace of State bureaucracy may be hamstrung. Erin kicks off a new segment, the Soapbox, on Google's rejection of military AI work and what that means for future advances in military technologies. Conflicting Civilian casualty reporting, protests in Jordan, and SOF in Somalia are somehow the lesser included events in the crazy three ring goat rodeo of a week. Credit for this week's title and general approach to life go to Jeffrey Lewis. Alexandra Bell and James McKeon, Three strikes means Bolton should be out, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The Once and Future Framework, The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation R Scott Kemp, North Korean disarmament: build technology and trust, Nature John Lyons, "From 'Punk Kid' to 21st Century Tyrant: Kim Jong Un Seizes His Moment," Wall Street Journal Zainab Fattah, "Saudis to Host Jordan-Support Meeting After Tax Bill Protests," Bloomberg Barbara Starr and Ryan Browne, "US service member killed in Somalia," CNN U.S. Africa Command, "U.S. Statement on Situation in Somalia," AFRICOM Shawn Snow, "One US special operations member killed, several wounded in attack in Somalia," Military Times Aruna Viswanatha, "Ex-CIA Officer's Case Highlights Fears About Reach of Chinese Spying," Wall Street Journal Adam Goldman, "Ex-C.I.A. Officer Is Convicted of Spying for China," New York Times Mike Ives, "U.S. Army Veteran Tried to Spy for China, Officials Say," New York Times Ellen Nakashima and Paul Sonne, "China hacked a Navy contractor and secured a trove of highly sensitive data on submarine warfare," Washington Post Ian Brown, "Imagining a Cyber Surprise: How Might China Use Stolen OPM Records to Target Trust?" War on the Rocks Thomas Wright, "Trump Is Choosing Eastern Europe," Atlantic Susan B. Glasser, "Under Trump, "America First" Really Is Turning Out to Be America Alone," New Yorker Neil Irwin, "What Is the Trade Deficit?" New York Times Kai Ryssdal, "How U.S. trade policy has changed over 30 years," Marketplace Heather Long, "There are 'nuggets of truth' to what Trump says about trade," Washington Post Robbie Gramer, Pompeo's Pledge to Lift Hiring Freeze at State Department Hits Big Snag, Foreign Policy Casualty Records, Department of Defense "Syria: Raqqa in ruins and civilians devastated after US-led 'war of annihilation,'" Amnesty International Helene Cooper, "U.S. Strikes Killed Nearly 500 Civilians in 2017, Pentagon Says," New York Times Sundar Pichai, "AI at Google: our principles," Google Kate Conger, "Google Backtracks, Says Its AI Will Not Be Used for Weapons or Surveillance," Gizmodo

This week we ask Emma Ashford to reveal the mysteries of Trump's Middle East policy. Then Loren, Radha, and Erin dive into the recent trade dramas before pondering whether the summit with North Korea is best understood as a Rom-Com or Telenovela. Colombian elections, change of command in Afghanistan, and the toxic culture within ICE round out the conversation before we escape to the wonders of pop-culture. Emma Ashford and John Glaser, "Unforced Error: The Risks of Confrontation with Iran," CATO Institute Emma Ashford, "Unbalanced Rethinking America's Commitment to the Middle East," Strategy Studies Quarterly Trevor Thrall and Emma Ashford, "Power Problems," CATO Institute Runrig, Loch Lomond "Colombians vote for new president with peace deal, economy at stake," Reuters Camila Zuluaga, "Colombia, trapped between extremes," Washington Post Ana Swanson, "Trump Administration Plans to Revive ZTE, Prompting Backlash," New York Times Shawn Donnan, "Trump car tariffs highlight threat of retaliatory trade war," Financial Times Jonathan Landay and Rupam Jain, "U.S. sanctions on Iran threaten vital Afghanistan trade project," Reuters Jeremy Diamond, "Peter Navarro and Steven Mnuchin feuded at Beijing trade talks," CNN Daniel W. Drezner, "Targeted Sanctions in a World of Global Finance," Research on Economic Sanctions Kanga Kong, "Budding Moon-Kim Bromance Poses Risk to Trump Pressure Campaign," Bloomberg Laura Rosenberger, "Kim Jong Un is better off now than he was before Trump agreed to a summit," Washington Post Ilan Goldenberg, "Trump Has No Idea How Diplomatic Deals Work," Foreign Policy Patrick M. Cronin and Abigail Grace, "Trump Leaves the Door Open for Another North Korea Summit," CNAS Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman, and David D. Kirkpatrick, "Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election," New York Times Dara Lind, "Trump's DHS is using an extremely dubious statistic to justify splitting up families at the border," Vox Dara Lind, Tweet (25 May 2018) Lizzie Plaugic, "Amazon is adapting William Gibson's The Peripheral into a TV series," Verge

This week the Bombshell crew does something different. After a crazy few days in the national security world, we break down the good, the bad, and the pop-culture remedies. From Spain to Iran, to Iraq and Lebanon, to Niger and back home to the Haspel hearings and aviation mishaps we ask ourselves: what are we doing here? Also, Arnie Hammer discovered Iran-Contra and we rank order our favorite Chrises. Revolutions Podcast Fundraiser "Spain's ETA Basque terrorists disband," Economist Richard Nephew and Ilan Goldenberg, "Here's What to Expect Now That Trump Has Withdrawn From the Iran Nuclear Deal," Foreign Policy Colin H. Kahl and Vipin Narang, "Trump thinks his North Korea strategy will work on Iran. He's wrong on both." Washington Post Armie Hammer Tweet, May 7, 2018 Alice Hunt Friend, "The Accompany They Keep: What Niger Tells Us About Accompany Missions, Combat, and Operations Other Than War," War on the Rocks Paul Szoldra, "Military Leaders Sent Them On A Hasty, Ill-Planned Mission—And Are Now Blaming Them," Task & Purpose Mieke Eoyang, "The CIA Needs an Independent Thinker—Not a Gina Haspel," Atlantic Sophie Gilbert, "Jack Melrose Is a Lacerating Tour de Force," Atlantic Michael Barbaro, "Listen to 'The Daily': Gina Haspel and the Shadow of Torture," New York Times