Target USA Podcast by WTOP

Target USA host JJ Green discussed the arrested of Julian Assange and explains what led up to it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, commanding general of U.S. Army Africa, breaks down Exercise African Lion 2019, which took place in Morocco. He discusses what happened, why it was important and what it means for the future of the U.S. military, and its military partners in Africa and beyond. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not...

Terrorism experts Tricia Bacon, Douglas Wise and Bruce Alexander join us to lay out their views on terror groups, tactics and the future of terrorism. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Philip Mudd was the deputy director of the FBI’s National Security Division. He was appointed to that position by Robert Mueller. In this episode, he talks about Mueller's report and how to deal with Moscow in the future. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

It's been five years since Russian annexed Ukrainian territory. Now Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze tells Target USA they're about to do it again. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In a world that seems to be careening out of control, what keeps the intelligence official whose job it is to provide the U.S. government with "decision advantage" up at night? You might be surprised by his answer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un are meeting for the second time to try to put an end to North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Former Special Envoy Joseph Detrani and the Nuclear Threat Initiative's Richard Johnson -- who've both worked on shutting down North Korea's nuclear program -- join us to tell us what needs to be done. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...

More than 600 high-level international decision makers from politics, business, academia and civil society along with throngs of media gathered in Munich for what was arguably the most important gathering in the 55-year history of the Munich Security Conference. But instead of harmony, conflict was center stage. NATO, defense cooperation, Russian aggression, cyber and climate change were just some...

On Feb. 7 Robert Cardillo retired as director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. But, the day before he did that, he sat down with Target USA for a final time. And something he said was quite troubling -- true, but troubling. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

On Feb. 1, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the U.S. was going to withdraw from the historic Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), negotiated in 1987 by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. This came after years of discussions, technical meetings and intelligence sharing by U.S. officials to show the Putin regime that it was breaking the rules...

Paul Whelan is an American who was arrested on Dec. 28 in Moscow. The Russian government says he was caught red-handed committing espionage. But they've never said what he was doing -- except that he received a USB flash drive from someone in a hotel that allegedly contained classified information. And what's worse for the family is that the Kremlin is denying him the ability to get the help he ne...

Nancy McNamara is assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. We continue the conversation we started with her in Episode 150. But in addition to the challenging work the FBI faces, its employees now have to face it all with no pay checks. The stark and grim reality of the impact of the federal government shutdown on U.S. national security and FBI employees is presented in a c...

On Dec. 28, former U.S. Marine and citizen of the U.S. citizen Paul Whelan disappeared in Russia. Since then, his story has captivated the world. Three days later he turned up in a Russian prison, arrested for allegedly committing espionage. What was he doing there? What’s the basis for the charges? Is he a "pawn" in a political tug of war between the U.S. and Russia? In an extensive interview, Ta...

Russian and Chinese espionage operations are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the international headaches the FBI has to deal with. The Washington Field Office of the FBI is in the eye of those storms and many others, from violent crime to terrorism and the opioid crisis. Nancy McNamara, assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office, sits down with Target USA for an exten...

Russia's trolls, Kremlin linked assassinations, spies in the U.S., North Korea's missiles, the Skripal poisonings and the 25th anniversary of the World Trade Center bombing were all stories that dominated our coverage in 2018. And as we look back, we’ll review those stories and others that made big headlines this year. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice a...

Melvyn Levitsky is a retired State Department foreign service officer. He served, among other posts, as the U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria from 1984 to 1987, and as the political officer at the US Embassy in Moscow from 1972 to 1975. During those years he curated an astounding amount of intelligence about Soviet government oppression, corruption and other activities. Curiously, as Vladimir Putin's "r...

Africa has a serious terrorism problem from the Islamic State group, al-Qaida, al-Shabab, Boko Haram and numerous other small groups that seek constantly to take advantage of the instability on the continent. The U.S. has for many years sought to help African nations develop their own capacities to better secure themselves. But longstanding problems reaching back to Africa's colonial era, when the...

George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States, passed away on Nov., 30, 2018 at the age of 94. He lived a big life. He was a naval war hero, Congressman, UN Ambassador, Ambassador to China, director of the CIA, Vice President, President, global statesman and a very kind person. He accomplished a lot. His friends and family say he was smart, fearless and funny, but, perhaps, h...

The Kremlin is believed to have as many as 75,000 informants in London alone. They are allegedly being handled by hundreds of Russian spies inside the United Kingdom. Dr. Andrew Foxhall breaks down the numbers in a new report from the Henry Jackson Society. In the U.S., Russia has been dramatically increasing its spy population, as well. Former CIA officer John Sipher paints a picture of the Kreml...

Our series, Assassins Incorporated: The Kremlin's Secret Squad of Killers, featured four episodes about people who were murdered, were victims of attempted murders or were the family members of those targeted -- all incidents that were allegedly connected to the Kremlin. The objective was to take a closer look at what appeared to be network of people and organizations that were active in locations...

Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko spoke out against the Kremlin and, like many others, was marked for death. But he managed to elude and expose those who sought to kill him. He faked his own death. In this episode, an exclusive interview, he details how it all happened, moment by moment. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do...

In 2016, Mike Flynn burst on the national stage with his famous "lock her up" comments at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, in reference to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. He eventually became President Donald Trump's national security adviser but was fired 24 days into the job after suspicions about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other R...

On this program Marina Litvinenko, widow of Alexander Litvinenko, tells the difficult story of the moment she learned he was poisoned, his brave battle before he died and her ongoing fight for justice. On this episode, she warns U.S. law enforcement officials about Russia's assassins. Previously on episode 141, we told you the story of Paul Joyal, who was shot in his driveway in Adelphi, Maryland...

Previously on episode 140, we started our series, "Assassins Incorporated: The Kremlin's secret squad of killers," by presenting our investigation, which began in March 2016. The objective was then -- and is now -- to use the stories and words of victims to illustrate that the many suspicious and, in some cases, "accidental" deaths of Russians and others were more than just suspicious and accident...