Target USA Podcast by WTOP

Retired General Ben Hodges, former Commander of U.S. Army Europe, says the U.S. military activity off Venezuela is repeating one of the most dangerous mistakes of Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan: no clear strategy, no defined end state, and questionable legality. And the consequences, he argues, extend far beyond any single operation, putting U.S. troops, alliances, and global credibility at risk....

Former U.S. Army Europe commander General Ben Hodges delivers a blunt assessment of America’s shifting military posture and the risks it carries. He raises urgent questions about the legality of recent U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels, the absence of clear rules of engagement, and the strategic vacuum surrounding U.S. actions from the Western Hemisphere to Ukraine. He addresses the...

This episode pulls back the curtain on daily life inside a country under siege. From a darkened apartment in Kyiv, Ukrainian Member of Parliament and mother Halyna Yanchenko describes nights without electricity, heat, water, or internet. Elevators stop. Food cannot be cooked. Homes go cold. This is not a war fought only on front lines or maps. It is a deliberate campaign aimed at civilians, famili...

As Russia intensifies its campaign, Ukraine faces another threat from within: systemic corruption undermining its own war effort. In this episode, Kurt Volker, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Special Envoy to Ukraine, and Distinguished Fellow at CEPA explains how corruption is weakening Western support. It's also complicating battlefield decisions and giving Moscow strategic breathing room. A...

An Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. Counterterrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler says this may be more than a mental health case. He warns extremist networks in Taliban-run Afghanistan now reach directly into Afghan diaspora communities online. The attacker’s travel, target selection, and ambush tactics match modern lone-actor terror patterns. Schindler says soci...

Today on Target USA, a story that cuts straight to the core of military culture, extremism, and truth. The U.S. Coast Guard, under intense public pressure, has reversed course on a deeply controversial policy shift. A draft manual, first uncovered by  The Washington Post , appeared to downgrade the swastika and the noose, two of the most violent, hate-laden symbols in American and w...

Grenada is facing one of the most consequential national security decisions in its modern history, after the United States quietly requested permission to install a radar system and station military personnel on the island as it pursues action against Venezuela. Veteran Grenadian journalist Linda Straker breaks down the mystery behind the U.S. request, the growing anxiety on the island,...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to send troops or cut aid to Nigeria has triggered a diplomatic and security storm across Africa. In this episode, we speak with humanitarian journalist Usman Abba Zanna from Maiduguri, who explains how Trump’s words could inflame tensions, embolden extremists, and reshape Nigeria’s ties to the West. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privac...

In this gripping conversation, Belarusian legal expert and exiled journalist Natalia Belikova explains how disinformation in Belarus isn’t just a tactic; it’s the regime’s operating system. She describes how the Lukashenko government has built an alternative reality, where familiar words like “democracy,” “elections,” and “human rights” are redefined to serve state power. In a sometimes emotional...

When President Trump agreed to meet Vladimir Putin in Budapest, it looked like a potential breakthrough. Instead, it became a masterclass in manipulation. Within 24 hours, the Kremlin pulled the plug — and the world saw how quickly leverage can shift. In this episode, Ambassador Kurt Volker, former US Special Envoy to Ukraine and current Distinguished Fellow at the Center for European Policy analy...

After twenty years of covering the U.S. military, I turned in my Pentagon press credential today. But that’s all that changes; My commitment to covering the men and women of the U.S. military and the institution they serve remains exactly the same. Let me explain. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

We go deep inside the mind of one of Ukraine’s most unflinching voices—two-time former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The man who stood at the helm during the nation’s darkest hour after Russia’s first invasion in 2014 returns with a stark warning and a message of resilience. In this powerful conversation, Yatsenyuk, now Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, dissects Vladimir Putin’s endgam...

Investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov has tracked the rise of Putin’s propaganda machine from the inside; and paid the price in exile. In this gripping conversation, he connects the dots between Russia’s early media crackdowns and the chilling parallels unfolding in the United States today. From late-night comedy to Pentagon press restrictions, Soldatov explains how free speech erodes step by s...

Russia is turning up the pressure on NATO’s doorstep. Estonia says three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets stormed into its airspace over the Gulf of Finland, lingering for twelve minutes in what Tallinn calls a  “brazen and deliberate”  violation. It’s the fourth breach this year, but the first involving multiple high-performance fighters—and NATO isn’t brushing it off, especially not Estonia...

In this episode we look at how Immigration and Customs Enforcement is believed to have access to Graphite—powerful spyware capable of silently hacking smartphones and reading encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Signal. At issue is what Graphite can do, the legal red lines it risks crossing, and what it means for civil liberties inside the U.S. if you carry a phone. Joining us are Eric O'Neill, a form...

Are two headline-grabbing incidents—the overnight Russian drone incursion into Poland and the explosion of eight Polish gas tankers on a train in Lithuania—part of the same campaign? Dr. Artis Pabriks thinks so. The former Latvian Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister, now chairman of the Northern Defence Policy Centre, joins us to explain why he believes the events are con...

On this episode we’ve got two big stories. First, we continue our Greenland story. Denmark says covert influence operations aren’t just the work of Russia or China anymore—they’re happening inside the Western alliance. Investigators there allege Americans tied to Donald Trump tried to stir separatist sentiment in Greenland. Now we're hearing there are people from another country involved in this....

Denmark has done something almost unheard of: it hauled in the top U.S. diplomat in Copenhagen to demand answers—after uncovering evidence that people tied directly to Donald Trump have been running secret influence operations in Greenland. The allegation? That these operatives tried to stir up a movement in Greenland—a territory of Denmark—to break away and open the door to U.S. control. Danish o...

In this episode, the Trump–Putin summit in Alaska—three hours of high-stakes talks that produced no ceasefire, no sanctions relief, and no concrete deal. We hear President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in their own words. Then break down the much-talked-about event with members of Parliament from Ukraine Ivanna Kympush-Tsintsadse and Halyna Yanchenko. See Privacy Policy at https://art19....

A major geopolitical summit is coming up in Alaska this week between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with top European leaders to send a strong message to them—Ukraine's map will not be redrawn at a meeting that doesn't include them. On this episode, Trump explains his thinking, experts discuss Putin's objective, and a Ukrain...

Former Latvian Defense Minister Dr. Artis Pabriks joins us with a stark warning: the West still misunderstands Russia’s long-term ambitions—and its slow, fragmented response to the war in Ukraine is already reshaping Europe’s future. From Belarus’s silent absorption to NATO’s fragile cohesion, Pabriks argues the stakes couldn’t be higher. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califor...

In a seismic allegation, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard claims former President Barack Obama “led a coup attempt” against Donald Trump—accusing him of directing the intelligence community to fabricate the Russia collusion narrative to overturn the 2016 election. In this episode, we scrutinize Gabbard’s charge against the historical record, including testimony from former DNI James...

In this explosive episode, we dive into Chinese Espionage: Operations and Tactics —a chilling exposé by Nicholas Eftimiades, a 35-year veteran of the CIA, DIA, and State Department. Eftimiades pulls back the curtain on China’s massive, evolving spy machine—revealing how Beijing is quietly infiltrating America’s power grids, research labs and even targeting young U.S. military personnel online. It’...

A high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence officer is assassinated in broad daylight—five shots, close range, in the middle of Kyiv. Within hours, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) launches a manhunt. Days later, they kill two suspects tied not only to Russia’s FSB but also to a U.S.-founded extremist group now operating from inside Russia. In this episode, Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, Sr. Director at the...

 Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker didn’t mince words—Putin has effectively given U.S. Presient Donald Trump “the middle finger,” rejecting every offer of peace Trump has put on the table. From lifting sanctions to restoring Russia’s global status, Trump tried to cut a deal. But Putin isn’t interested. He’s doubling down—escalating attacks on Ukraine, brushing off diplomacy, and chas...