Fault Lines

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss reports stemming from recent intelligence leaks which point to the threats Chad, an important security partner to the U.S., is facing. Documents describe efforts by Russia’s Wagner Group to recruit rebels from Chad and establish a training site for fighters in the neighboring Central African Republic as part of an evolving plot to topple the Chadian government.How widespread and dangerous is the Wagner Group’s presence on the African continent? How can the U.S. counter Wagner activity on the African continent? Does the Fault Lines crew foresee strikes on Wagner?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/23/wagner-russia-africa-leaked-documents/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-intelligence-points-to-wagner-plot-against-key-western-ally-in-africa-29867547  Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the Washington Post’s story that Ukraine was planning attacks against Russian forces in Syria. According to documents in the Jack Teixeira leak, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency was considering multiple ways to attack Russian forces in Syria, particularly focused on the Wagner Group, Russia’s mercenary company.Is the Teixeira leak more damaging than we originally assessed? Could expanding the battlefield be beneficial to Ukraine? Should the Biden Administration be more concerned about information security?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/20/russia-ukraine-war-syria-attacks/ https://news.usni.org/2023/04/17/feds-investigating-former-sailor-behind-pro-russian-donbass-devushka-accounts Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s surprise visit to Kiev. During Secretary General Stoltenberg’s visit, he said, “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” his strongest statement about the relationship between Ukraine and NATO since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began nearly 14 months ago.What does the Fault Lines crew think will be Ukraine’s fate with NATO? Will the U.S. partake in a collective defense commitment for Ukraine? Should wartime support to Ukraine and NATO membership be kept separate?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-defence-minister-now-is-not-time-discuss-ukraine-nato-membership-2023-04-20/ https://www.newsweek.com/nato-should-beg-ukraine-join-russia-war-diplomat-1795075 Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Brazilian President Lula’s recent visit to Beijing and Russian Minister Sergei Lavror's visit to Brazil, and the feather ruffling all of this has caused. When meeting with China’s Xi Jinping, Lula suggested that both Ukraine and Russia were responsible for the conflict, as well as called for China’s territorial integrity to be respected with regards to Taiwan.What do we make of Brazil’s many diplomatic overtures? Is Brazil’s “peace club” actually going to increase its international standing? What should the U.S. do stop Lula from cozying up to China and Russia?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://apnews.com/article/brazil-russia-lula-lavrov-putin-42c7c46fa629d98b2029aa1ff44a89b6 https://www.reuters.com/world/china-brazil-reset-ties-with-tech-environment-accords-agree-ukraine-2023-04-14/ Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss violence that broke out in Sudan over the weekend. Forces loyal to Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan are battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – who has also has ties to Russian military forces, including the Wagner Group.Are there U.S. interests at stake? What should the U.S. response be? Should the U.S. be worried about Sudanese ties to China and Russia?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://www.npr.org/2023/04/16/1170289462/sudans-army-and-rsf-are-doing-battle-leaving-56-civilians-dead https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/16/africa/sudan-military-clashes-explained-intl/index.html Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the cache of leaked documents that revealed a range of highly classified information from the U.S. government, including that we spied extensively on our allies, including nations like South Korea and Israel.Are world leaders surprised by intel found in the latest leaks? Should we continue or refrain from ally surveillance? How do we prevent more intel leaks in the future?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-us-leaked-documents-yoon-biden-5d88d7c6624865ca5d5b361ed8ce0d26 https://time.com/6269905/us-pentagon-leaked-documents-south-korea/ Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beijing last week and the interview he gave to reporters during his flight home. In the interview, Macron emphasized the concept of European “strategic autonomy" and punted on the topic of Taiwan.Does Macron speak for other European leaders? Did Macron just make Biden’s job of maintaining support to Ukraine harder? How happy did Macron's interview make the CCP?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/11/macron-taiwan-china/ https://www.politico.eu/article/china-skeptic-mps-emmanuel-macron-speak-europe/ Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the treasure trove of classified documents from the U.S. Government that was first posted on the computer gamer site, “Discord,” and which has now been shared on other platforms, including Twitter, that contains sensitive information about the war in Ukraine, the internal deliberations of the Israeli intelligence service, the activities of the Wagner Group in Africa, and more.Is there a pattern in these leaks of classified information? Was there a political motive in this case? What can the U.S. government do to reduce leaks?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-pushes-to-assess-damage-from-leaked-classified-files-464e64a4?mod=hp_lead_pos2 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/08/intelligence-leak-documents-ukraine-pentagon/ Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the Chinese government’s recent announcement that it would conduct a “cybersecurity review” of Micron Technology, a leading U.S.-based memory chip maker, ostensibly to ensure that its computer infrastructure supply chain was protected against foreign threats.How is this going to affect trade between China and the U.S.? Does the Fault Lines crew think this is a move by China to prove they can play the trade restrictions game? How far are the U.S. and China going to go in targeting each other's key industries and companies?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/business/micron-china-investigation.html https://www.wsj.com/articles/micron-gets-caught-in-u-s-china-crossfire-86f73a10 Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Saudi Arabia’s continued push and look to the U.S. for help developing a nuclear energy program even as they resist U.S. conditions for support. However, while Saudi Arabia has been trying to renew talks with the U.S., Saudi officials are also exploring options to work with other countries, including China and Russia.What does the Fault Lines crew think of Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions? Do we believe that they have nuclear weapons ambitions? Do we think that Saudi Arabia will really turn to China to fulfill its nuclear ambitions if the U.S. doesn’t support?Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/01/us/politics/saudi-arabia-nuclear-biden-administration.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/18/iran-has-an-obligation-to-give-up-its-nuclear-program-saudi-minister.html Follow our experts on Twitter:@NotTVJessJones@lestermunson@jamil_n_jafferLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.