Fault Lines

Today, Les, Jess, and special guest host and NSI Senior Fellow, Morgan Vina, discuss the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan last week. During the meeting, the Biden Administration agreed to not oppose the transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine and to help train Ukrainian pilots. President Biden also called for “de-risking” the US-China economic relationship rather than “de-coupling” the world’s two bigge...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss how the progressive Move Forward Party in Thailand, led by 42-year-old Harvard-and-MIT-educated business executive Pita Limjaroenrat, gained over 150 seats in the lower house of Thailand’s bicameral parliament. How will the political landscape of Thailand continue to change? How will Thailand balance its relationship with the U.S. and its willingness to also wor...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest by almost 100 paramilitary forces on charges of corruption. The Pakistani Supreme Court subsequently declared Mr. Khan’s arrest unlawful but said he should remain for now at a police guest house under court supervision. He was then granted bail and released from police custody.   Does the Fault Lines...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss yesterday’s vote in Turkey, which will result in a runoff vote on May 28 between President Erdogan and his chief rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as neither candidate received over 50% of the vote. If Kilicdaroglu wins, which would end Erdogan’s 20-year rule, he indicated that he will seek better ties with the United States and the West. Do we expect that bilateral re...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss yesterday’s announcement from the US Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, that the South African government had provided arms and ammunition to Russia in its over a year-long war against Ukraine. Should the White House be making this announcement instead of the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa? Why is the South African government supporting Russia? Should...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil, in a Fault Lines-first, resume their debate from Monday about the Biden Doctrine that stemmed from a Fareed Zakaria’s Washington Post op-ed, which laid out concerns about NSA Jake Sullivan's ongoing statements that claim, in order to remain competitive with China and protect US national security and economic interests, the US Government needs to take a more active role...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss an op-ed by Fareed Zakaria that appeared in the Washington Post this weekend. Zakaria dives into his concerns centered on the "Biden Doctrine," and the use of industrial policy to further U.S. government goals. What does the Fault Lines crew think of the doctrine?  Is America trying to emulate China’s economic model and if so, why?  How can America bot...

Today, Les, Jess, and special guest host and NSI Senior Fellow Morgan Viña discuss the alleged intercepted drone attacks that occurred over the Kremlin. Russia accused Ukraine of trying to assassinate President Putin, though Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time of the explosions, and Kyiv has denied any involvement. Yesterday, Russia blamed the U.S. for the attack on the Kremlin and said that...

Today, Les, Jamil, and special guest host and NSI Senior Fellow Morgan Viña discuss how a dozen gang members were lynched by ordinary Haitians who were fed up with the gangland violence that has engulfed their country. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an international peacekeeping force, saying that the violence is comparable to countries in armed conflict.  Why is Preside...

Today, Les, Jamil, and special guest host and NSI Senior Fellow Morgan Viña discuss how ten-thousand Americans citizens and green card holders—many of them dual-U.S. and Sudanese nationals—are currently stuck in the middle of Sudan’s growing civil war with limited routes for escape. What should the U.S. government be doing now about Americans still stranded in Sudan? Why have the Europeans and int...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss this week’s meeting between President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, during which President Biden promised to include South Korea more substantially in strategic planning in the event of a nuclear conflict with North Korea. What are the consequences of abandoning the notion of a “denuclearized” Korean peninsula? How much of this announcement was...

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....

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 or...

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? Wil...

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. W...

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 t...

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 lea...

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? Ho...

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 Af...

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...

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 Saud...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the Senate’s recent vote to repeal two Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs). One, from 1991, authorized the original Persian Gulf War to push Iraq out of Kuwait. The second, from 2002, authorized the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. Are either of the 1991 or 2002 AUMFs still necessary? Does this i...

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia would be placing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a neighboring country and ally of Russia. Is there anything the U.S. should do about the Russian deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus? Will Putin’s nuclear weapons storage facility even come to fruition? Or is this another stunt by Putin to attem...

Today, on the 200th episode of Fault Lines, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Vice President Kamala Harris’s week-long tour of Africa – visiting Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia. Harris is the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit Africa so far. What do we think African leaders make of VP Harris’s visit? Do African leaders think that they can remain neutral in the growing U.S.-China geopoli...

Today, Jess, Les, and special guest host Morgan Viña, NSI Fellow and former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Ambassador at the UN, discuss the self-detonating drone that struck a U.S. facility in northeast Syria and killed an American military contractor, as well as injured five U.S. troops and a second contractor. In retaliation, U.S. F-15 fighter jets from al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar struck locations n...