Fault Lines

Today, Morgan, Jess, Les, and Jeffrey discuss the short-lived attempt by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to impose martial law on South Korea. Yoon ordered martial law Tuesday evening without warning in a speech where he vowed to eliminate “anti-state” forces. Mass protests quickly formed outside South Korea’s National Assembly where members voted to block martial law. Yoon’s Cabinet then lif...

Today, Les, Martha, Morgan, and Jeffrey discuss the recent fall of the Syrian city of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, to Al-Qaeda-linked rebel forces, reawakening the long-dormant civil war that began during the Arab Spring in 2011. Syrian and allied Russian forces have responded by launching a series of airstrikes on Aleppo and Idlib, where the rebel forces have been based.  Who exactly...

Today, Jess, Morgan, Amy, and Matt discuss Salt Typhoon, a hacking group closely linked to China’s Ministry of State Security, that infiltrated U.S. telecommunications networks as part of a sophisticated cyber-espionage campaign. On Friday, telecom executives were summoned to the White House where U.S. national security and intel officials told industry leaders they needed to help prevent Chinese...

Today, Morgan, Martha, Jeffrey, and first-time guest, Algene Sajery, discuss the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and deceased Hamas terrorist Mohammed Deif for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The decision by the ICC to issue these warrants has divided the...

Today, Martha, Jess, Andy, and Jeffrey discuss the sentencing of 45 pro-democracy activists to four to ten-year prison sentences by the Hong Kong government under the Beijing-induced national security law. This is the largest usage of the law since it was enacted in 2020 to suppress a once-thriving pro-democracy movement. This sentencing comes amidst a three-day Global Financial Leaders’ Investmen...

Today, Jess, Matt, Jeffrey, and first-time guest, Marc Raimondi, discuss President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia. This comes amidst Russia reinforcing its forces with thousands of North Korean troops with the goal of reclaiming territory lost to Ukraine’s Kursk offensive.  How have the redlines by the Biden Administration impact...

Today, Jess, Morgan, Martha, and Matt discuss this week’s COP29, an annual climate summit where world leaders, policymakers, business executives, and others meet to discuss global emissions reduction goals, and how to finance climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, especially in the developing world. This year’s summit was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, and notable heads of state not in attendance i...

Today, Les, Martha, Morgan, and Jess discuss president-elect Donald Trump’s picks for national security and foreign policy positions in the coming administration. The least surprising of which have been Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) being floated as a strong contender for Secretary of State, Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL-6) being announced as Trump’s National Security Advisor, and Representative El...

Today, Martha, Morgan, Bishop, and Jeffrey discuss the collapse of Germany’s ruling coalition, the Traffic Light coalition, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party, fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democratic Party over disagreements in economic policy causing them to withdraw. This has led Germany to have a minority government with Chancellor Scholz...

Today, Morgan, Martha, Les, and Amy discuss the results of the 2024 presidential election and its implications for U.S. national security. Early Wednesday morning, former President Donald Trump became President-elect of the United States winning over 270 electoral votes. Alongside winning the presidency, the Republican party won a majority in the Senate and the House is still too close to call. Di...

Today, Martha, Les, Jess, and Jeffrey dive into the issue of election interference by malign actors on the eve of the 2024 Presidential election. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, recently assured voters that “election infrastructure has never been more secure.” Yet, U.S. officials have flagged two fake videos circulating online and publicly identified...

Today, Les, Martha, Morgan, and Jeffrey discuss recent Chinese diplomatic maneuvering.  Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve a long-standing border dispute that has led to violent clashes and it set to meet with new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba before Ishiba meets with the U.S. President. Alongside these meetings, China has lodged its...

Today, Jess, Morgan, Bishop, and Jeffrey discuss Georgia’s recent parliamentary election that saw the pro-Russian ruling party Georgian Dream come out on top and keep its majority. However, Georgia’s pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili stated that she did not recognize the results of the election, that the country fell victim to a “Russian special operation,” and protests have seized Tbilsi...

Today, Martha, Jess, Morgan, and Les discuss Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Iran in response to Iran's October 1st launch of over 200 ballistic missiles targeting Israel. The targets of Israel’s retaliatory strike included Russian-supplied air defenses and military infrastructure, including a secretive military base that has been linked to Tehran’s nuclear weapons program and another base tied to...

Today, Les, Martha, Jeffrey, and Andy discuss reports that there’s evidence North Korea has dispatched 3,000 troops to Russia in a potential escalation of the nearly 3-year-old war with Ukraine. They also discuss a Wall Street Journal exclusive report that Russia through its intermediary Iran gave targeting information to Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been targeting and disrupting commercial shi...

Today, Morgan, Martha, Jess, and Les discuss the ongoing 16th annual BRICS summit hosted in Kazan, Russia. The three-day summit welcomes its newest members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as well as the UN Secretary-General. The Kremlin touted the summit as “the largest foreign policy event ever held” by Russia. How concerned should the United States and our allies and partners...

Today, Jess, Les, Amy, and Jeffrey discuss two pivotal elections that took place Sunday in Moldova. The first was the Presidential election, where current pro-western President Maia Sandu won the first round but did not win an outright majority, setting the stage for a run-off election with a pro-Russian candidate. The second vote was on a referendum enshrining EU accession into the Moldovan const...

Today, Martha, Les, Jess, and Bishop discuss the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces killed Sinwar during a strike in Gaza, Israel’s government confirmed Thursday night. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu did not indicate that Sinwar’s killing signaled the climax of Israel’s assault on Gaz...

Today, Les, Jess, Martha, and Jeffrey discuss Israel’s response, or lack thereof, to Iran’s missile attack earlier this October. The Biden Administration believes it has won assurances from Israel that it will not hit Iranian nuclear or oil sites as it looks to strike back against Iran. However, the Biden Administration recently demanded that Israel take steps in the next month to improve the huma...

Today, Jess, Jeffrey, Martha, and Morgan discuss increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula as North Korea has accused South Korea of flying drones and dropping anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang.  North Korea threatened to respond with force and says its front-line army units are ready to launch strikes on South Korea if the drone flights continue. Are these claims saber-r...

Today, Morgan, Matt, Amy, and Jeffrey discuss the historic handover of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Backed by the White House, the United Kingdom agreed to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands after 13 rounds of negotiations over the former African colony. Importantly, the UK will retain control of the UK-US Diego Garcia military base for an initial period of 99 years. However...

Today, Jess, Martha, Morgan, and Les discuss MI5’s latest threat report, in which the UK’s spy chief outlined that Britain is facing a “staggering rise” in attempts at assassination, sabotage, and other crimes on UK soil by Russia and Iran, as the two states recruit criminals to “do their dirty work,” amid a rise in terrorist threats to the European continent by a resurgent ISIS and Al-Qaeda.&nbsp...

Today, Les, Martha, and Morgan discuss last week’s assault by the Chinese Coast Guard assault on 10 Vietnamese fishermen near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Three of the fishermen suffered broken limbs and the rest sustained other injuries, their fishing gear was damaged, and about 4 tons of their catch were sized by the Chinese.   How does this incident impact the...

Today, Jess, Martha, Morgan, and Les discuss Japan’s new Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, a 67-year-old Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) backbencher, who has grand ideas for Japanese foreign policy including establishing an Asian NATO to deter China, joint management of U.S. bases in Japan, and the United States sharing their nuclear deterrence with Japan.  What does Ishiba and his foreign polic...

Today, Les, Morgan, Jeffrey, and Bishop discuss Tuesday’s missile strikes by Iran against Israel where at least 180 missiles were fired into Israel in what is said to be a retaliation for a series of devastating blows Israel has landed in recent weeks against Hezbollah and other Iranian proxy forces in the Middle East.  What happens next? What is the Biden administration’s policy in this conf...