Fault Lines

Fault Lines welcomes Jamil N. Jaffer, the Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute, as we reflect on the past four years of NSI. How did NSI begin? What can work in the non-partisan realm teach us? Where will the efforts of the National Security Institute be in the next four years? These questions and more are answered on this week’s episode of Fault Lines. If you like wha...

On this special 100th episode of Fault Lines, Jamil Jaffer, Carmen Medina, Lester Munson and Sarah Stewart look forward to what the future of national security may hold. What type of challenges will China pose to the United States? Should the U.S. come to Taiwan’s aid if China were to invade? Is political polarization the biggest challenge policymakers will face in the next five years? These quest...

Fault Lines welcomes Dr. Christopher Ford, author of the recent NSI paper " Principled Conservatism in America’s Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy ", and former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, Distinguished Fellow and President Emerita at the Wilson Center, and author of the book, "Insanity Defense: Why Our Failure to Confront Hard National Security Problems Makes Us Less Safe," to discuss the i...

This week, Les, Jamil, Sarah, and Matthew turn their focus on Biden's China policy. How is President Biden faring so far? Are China’s environmental sins becoming leverage for relief on other issues, including the crackdowns in Xinjiang and Hong Kong? What should we make of the AUKUS pact and China's reaction? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines. If you like what we're...

Fault Lines welcomes Congressman Seth Moulton, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, to recount his recent trip to Afghanistan and the growing concerns around Afghan refugees. What should Congress be doing about Afghanistan? How can we, as individuals, help with rescue efforts? Should we be concerned about terror groups using Afghanistan as a launch site? These questions and more are covered in...

We are entering the third week after the Taliban took Kabul, and Loren, Jamil, Rob, and Les discuss implications of the withdrawal. What lessons have we learned in the last three weeks? Twenty years on, what lessons and reflections do we have of 9/11? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines. If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines....

Fault Lines welcomes Ryan Browne, former CNN correspondent at the Pentagon, to continue NSI’s discussion on Afghanistan. What does the future hold for individuals on the ground in Afghanistan following the withdrawal? Will we continue to see efforts from “Digital Dunkirk”-style groups? What kind of internal struggles may the Taliban experience as they begin attempting to function as a government?...

All eyes are on Afghanistan, and Les, Jamil, Mike, and special guest Ryan Browne discuss the events that have unfolded in the last week on the ground. Has enough been done to get Americans and our allies out of a war zone? Should we extend our presence past August 31st? How well did the Biden administration handle the withdrawal? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines. If...

Fault Lines welcomes Caleb McCarry, former Cuba Transition Coordinator during the Bush administration, a senior official at the Development Finance Corporation in the Trump administration, and a Senior Adviser to both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. What does it mean for U.S. interests when there is such turmoil in Haiti? What, if anything, should th...

On this special episode of Fault Lines, host Jamil N. Jaffer discusses the national security implications of the fall of Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban with Jennifer Cafarella, NSI Visiting Fellow and Research Director at the Institute for the Study of War; Matthew Heiman, NSI Senior Fellow and Director of Strategy and Chairman, Cyber & Privacy Working Group at the Regulatory Transpar...

The Olympics came to a close this past week, and all eyes are on Beijing in 2022. Loren, Jamil, Rob, and Les discuss the political highlights of the Tokyo games and what it would take for the U.S. to take a stand in 2022. What lessons have we learned in Tokyo? Should we be linking international sporting events like the Olympics to global politics? Has Russia skirted their ban by being ab...

Fault Lines welcomes Dr. Christopher Ford, NSI Advisory Board member and Former Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation. Dr. Ford recently wrote a paper for NSI titled Principled Conservatism in America’s Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy . What are the core tenets of principled conservatism in national security and foreign policy? What does a principled cons...

Cuba is currently experiencing its largest anti-government demonstrations since 1994, fueled by disdain for the authoritarian government, widespread poverty, and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Les, Mike, Grant, and first time guests Fred Turner, former Chief of Staff to Bob Menendez, and Carrie Filipetti, Executive Director of the Vandenberg Coalition, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for...

Fault Lines welcomes Dmitri Alperovitch, NSI Advisory Board member, Executive Chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, and Co-Founder of CrowdStrike.  How should America respond to Chinese aggression in cyberspace? Does cyber insurance exacerbate cyber ransomware attacks? What should we be worried about next?  Dmitri and host Lester Munson, answer these questions and many more on this w...

Haiti is thrown into chaos after an assassination, John Kerry is in Russia talking about the Climate, and the Afghanistan withdrawal is going more rapidly than anyone anticipated. Les, Rob, Jamil, Grant and returning guest Amira Valliani discuss how the United States should approach each these precarious situations. How should America think about stabilization efforts in Haiti? Is Climate Change n...

Fault Lines welcomes Dan Currell, NSI Visiting Fellow and former Deputy Under Secretary and Senior Advisor at the Department of Education. Dan recently wrote a backgrounder for NSI titled  China’s Influence in U.S. Higher Education  as well as a number of opinion pieces for NSI’s blog  The SCIF . How is China censoring speech in the United States? How big is China's influence in U.S...

Iran "elected" a hardliner President and the United States bombed Iran backed militias in Iraq and Syria. Les, Mike, Jodi, and first time guest Martha Miller, NSI Visiting Fellow and former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush discuss how these events will impact the larger effort to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and how President Biden has done in democracy promotion around t...

Fault Lines welcomes Zach Graves, NSI Visiting Fellow, Head of Policy at the Lincoln Network, and author of the latest NSI Law and Policy Paper Understanding the Techlash: Implications for U.S. Innovation Policy .  What is the Techlash? What should we make of the recent bills introduced on these issues? What does Section 230 have to do with any of this?  Zach and host Les Munson, answer...

President Biden travels to Europe on his first foreign trip as President, but, before he left, he released a memo raising corruption to a national security concern.  Les, Jamil, Loren, and Rob discuss what we can expect Biden will take away from european adventure and what a corruption focused foreign policy looks like.  Can Biden get Europe to live up to their NATO commitments? What can...

Fault Lines welcomes FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to discuss the national security work the FCC is doing.  What is the FCC's role in pushing back against the threat posed by China? What is the FCC doing on O-Ran? How will competition with China impact technology policy in the next five years?  Commissioner Carr and guest host Megan Brown, answer these questions and many more on this wee...

Belarus forced a RyanAir flight to land in Minsk in order to take opposition journalist Roman Protasevich into custody. Les, Jodi, Mike, and first time guest Scott Cullinane, NSI Visiting Fellow and Executive Director of the US-Europe Alliance, discuss how the United States should respond to Belarus and the next steps in the fight against COVID-19. Are sanctions enough to get Belarusian President...

Fault Lines welcomes Sada Cumber, NSI Advisory Board Member first-ever Special Envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. What role does soft power play in the Middle East? What can America do to protect Muslims in Myanmar and China? Why are Saudi Arabia and Iran meeting secretly? Sada and Fault Lines Host Les Munson, answer these questions and many more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

The violence in Israel continues unabated. Fault Lines welcomes Simone Ledeen, NSI Visiting Fellow and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, to discuss the causes of this latest flare up, how other actors in the region are responding, and what role of the United States should play with Fault Lines Host Les Munson. &...

Fault Lines welcomes Ambassador Cindy Courville, first Ambassador to the African Union, for a conversation about some key issues happening on the continent. How should policymakers frame their thinking about African Affairs? How should America be involved in Northern Mozambique? What role should America play in preventing human rights atrocities in Ethiopia? All these questions...

On Armenian Remembrance Day, President Biden acknowledged the genocide of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman authorities beginning in 1915.  Jodi, Jamil, Les, Grant, and first time guest Max Hoffman, Director of National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, discuss the impact of this acknowledgement on U.S.-Turkish relations and the ten year anniversary of the...