Episodes
Thursday Nov 17, 2011
John Weisman, Bill Roggio, Shaun Waterman
Thursday Nov 17, 2011
Thursday Nov 17, 2011
What does the death of Osama bin Laden mean for politics here in the United States and for our relations abroad? Author John Weisman begins today’s show by discussing his new novel, “Kill Bin Laden: A Novel Based on True Events”. Weisman combines fiction and hard evidence to create a story that delves into the process which resulted in bin Laden’s death while providing an emotional account that will win the hearts of readers. Weisman made sure he was cleared to use the information from the operation’s official manuscript. This ensures no one who was involved will be endangered and avoids adding more spin to the story than the White House has already contributed.
Today’s show concludes with Bill Roggio, managing editor of The Long War Journal, who addresses how the bin Laden raid and subsequent discussions have affected our relationship with Pakistan and our overall ability to operate in the AfPak theater. Roggio believes this event has further eroded our relations with Pakistan and particularly our ability to gain valuable intelligence from the Pakistanis. The resulting Obama administration policies have been counterproductive, resulting in more collateral damage and negative Pakistani public opinion of the United States. We must reevaluate our relationship with Pakistan if we hope to continue successful operation in this theater.
Jim and Shaun Waterman of the Washington Times investigate the possibility of the Mexican drug cartels obtaining heavy weaponry in order to launch attacks on American buildings in Mexico City. Shaun explains that a federal informant in Chicago was approached by members of the Sinaloa Cartel in order to procure heavy weapons from American servicemen returning from Afghanistan which would be used to attack embassies, consulates and American businesses in Mexico City. Although this tactic is far-fetched because servicemen do not bring those types of weapons home, just the thought that this is something the cartels want to pursue is disturbing enough. Has the War on Drugs taken a new and more deadly turn? What are the prospects of the cartels teaming up with terrorists to form an “unholy alliance?”