SE Cupp's Weekend Warriors

The latest outrage stemming from the Syrian civil war: Thousands of refugees have gathered at Turkey's northern border with Greece after Turkey backed out of a deal to limit migrants entering Europe. Greece has refused to open its border, leading to clashes with security forces, as some refugees to try to make the dangerous cross on water. It's a policy disagreement in the headlines and in the government buildings... but on the ground level, this isn't just political bickering and a war of words. It's another humanitarian nightmare, where innocent people who have nothing to do with the fighting are being used as bargaining chips. CNN National Security Analyst Samantha Vinograd joins SE to discuss how the situation is spiraling out of control.

Hours after the World Health Organization announced Wuhan Coronavirus cases stabilized, China revealed a massive one-day spike in deaths and infections. This isn't an episode about how the outbreak occurred or is spreading. Instead, we're looking at how China's secretive response to the crisis and US-China trade tensions will affect the global effort to contain the virus, and what this all means for Chinese President Xi Jinping's hold on power. SE Cupp takes a deep-dive with Gordon Chang, Author of "The Coming Collapse of China."

When a US drone strike killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, it didn't just reverberate in Iran. It was supposed to be a huge blow to Syria's authoritarian leader Bashar al-Assad, his biggest international ally and the leader of Iran's proxy militias waging a reign of terror in Syria now gone. And yet this week, a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive aimed at the country's last rebel-held stronghold has forced more than half a million people -- 80 percent of them women and children-- to flee their homes since December. Washington Post Foreign Policy columnist and CNN Political Analyst Josh Rogin joins SE to discuss when the atrocities will end and whether this crisis can be solved politically.

The Olympics are usually a nice respite from political drama, but this year's Tokyo Summer Games are already courting political controversy. The International Olympic Committee announced strict guidelines limiting the types of political protests athletes are allowed to make- the rules include no kneeling, no political signs or armbands, and no disrupting of the medal ceremonies. But is it even possible, let alone practical, to take politics out of sports? CNN Sports Analyst and USA Today Sports Columnist Christine Brennan, who has covered the last 18 Olympics and will be in Tokyo this summer, joins SE Cupp to discuss.

Cooler heads prevailed in the faceoff between the US and Iran, for now. But both countries still have forces fighting in a hot war in Iraq, so there's no separating the Iran tensions from the decade-and-a-half conflict in Iraq. Iraqi parliament voted to expel US troops from the country following the Soleimani strike, and Trump campaigned on getting America out of Iraq. So what should our role be in the Iraq War, and how will rising tensions with Iran factor into the future of Iraq? Joining SE Cupp with analysis and historical context on this fragile and complicated geopolitical moment is CNN Military and Diplomatic Analyst, retired Rear Admiral John Kirby.

A massive, bombshell investigation this week by the Washington Post found that top US officials have been misleading the public about the Afghanistan War since the earliest days of the conflict. Meanwhile in Iraq, a government crackdown has left hundreds of civilians dead. So we have two countries on similarly doomed paths, teetering on the edge of failed state status following open-ended American military intervention-what now? SE Cupp is joined by former CIA counter-terrorism officer Dan Gabriel, he's the director of "Mosul".

Venice has been suffering from flooding for decades, if not centuries. However, this time it's different. A torrential rain dump created the worst flooding in the Italian city since 1966 and rising water is raising concern for the city's architecture and threatening the livelihood of its citizens. CNN's Scott McLean joins SE Cupp to discuss his experience visiting Venice during the flooding and if anything preventative can be done.

Discussions about the Syrian conflict tend to focus on the global implications, but today's episode focuses on one woman's story. The winner of Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival, "For Sama," follows Waad al-Kateab, a young woman who fell in love and had her daughter in the middle of a civil war. She tells SE Cupp about living in a city under siege, why she decided to stay, and what she wants everyone to know about the Syrian civil war.

The death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi is a national security success. But, in usual Trump fashion, details of the raid were embellished by the President. He also exposed sensitive information and ISIS has already announced their new leader. SE Cupp is joined by CNN Military & Diplomatic Analyst, Rear Admiral John Kirby (Ret.), to discuss what happens next, the difference between how Obama & Trump handled their ISIS missions, and the global politics in play.

Turkey and the US iron out a temporary ceasefire to pause the Turkish incursion into Northern Syria, an agreement which Turkey's Foreign Minister insists "is not a ceasefire." Turkey says they got everything they wanted in the deal, and a senior US official tells CNN "This is essentially the US validating what Turkey did and allowing them to annex a portion of Syria and displace the Kurdish population." SE Cupp and CNN Global Affairs Analyst Max Boot discuss the ramifications of Trump's foreign policy blunder.

President Trump has opened the floodgates in Northern Syria, pulling out the only protection Kurdish fighters there could count on to keep Turkey at bay. Turkey has already taken advantage of it with a huge operation in the region, leading 60,000 civilians to flee. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are outraged by the decision, the Pentagon and State Department advised against it. There is no end in sight for the conflict in Syria, and this gives ISIS room to rise again. These facts leave more questions than answers. SE Cupp is joined by Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin & the Syrian American Council's Bassam Rifai to discuss the political, military and humanitarian fallout.

It's the second week of an impeachment inquiry, and Trump has asked a second foreign country to investigate the Bidens - this time it's not an ally, it's communist China, in broad daylight. CNN National Security Analyst Sam Vinograd sums it up: "China is already attacking our elections, President Trump asked them to keep doing it." So what does this all of this mean for US foreign policy and diplomatic relations going forward? Sam and SE break it down.

Tensions with Iran are boiling over following the attack on Saudi oil refineries. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has warned that US military strikes will lead to "all-out war," while Trump has said America is "locked and loaded" but expressed his desire to avoid conflict. So is this a crisis that the US can clean up? And should the response to an attack on Saudi oil be handled by the Saudis? Former CIA operative and CNN Intelligence and Security Analyst Robert Baer sits down with S.E. to discuss America's role in all this, the risks of inaction, and the risks of war.

In August 2014, ISIS invaded northern Iraq and massacred 10,000 Yazidi people, mostly men and boys over age 12. They kidnapped thousands of women and children, enslaved roughly 7,000 people and displaced over 400,000 to camps. Five years after the genocide, about 350,000 are still in camps, and an estimated 3,000 women and children are still missing. International human rights lawyer and advocate Philippa Greer joins SE to discuss the surviving Yazidi community's plea for justice and accountability, and what the international community can do to help.

"The last time I saw my family was in 2015. The last time I talked to them, I can't even remember. It's been years." From subjecting his family in Turkey to raids and trials to forcing him to cancel his youth basketball camps in the US, Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter talks to SE about how the Erdogan regime has tried to silence him, and why he refuses to stop criticizing the repressive Turkish leader.

Dan Coats is out as the Director of National Intelligence and there are real questions about the credibility & reasoning behind Trump's replacement choice, GOP Rep. John Ratcliffe. CNN Counterterrorism analyst Philip Mudd joins SE to talk about the DNI nomination and IC morale under Trump, plus he discusses his new book, "Black Site: The CIA in the Post-9/11 World"

Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin this week exposed a stunning, preventable humanitarian crisis happening in US-controlled territory in Syria. He joins SE to explain why thousands of Syrians are facing starvation, and why "one tweet, one snap of the finger, would allow the US military to do what they do all over the world, which is save people's lives."

The UK Ambassador to the US resigns after secret cables in which he described President Trump as "incompetent" and "inept" leaked to the Daily Mail. There's speculation that the leak was a politically motivated act by someone in London aiming to open up the post for an outspoken pro-Brexit official - and a source tells CNN the incident has already led to a "chilling effect" among the diplomatic community. CNN Political Commentator Doug Heye joins SE to discuss what this means for America's alliances and for the US-UK relationship in this perilous moment.

Iran shoots down a US military drone a week after the Trump administration blamed Tehran for an attack on two energy tankers, escalating tensions between the two countries. If there's a central theme in this ongoing confrontation, it's bluffs and mixed messages from both sides. CNN National Security Analyst Sam Vinograd joins SE Cupp to wade through the bluster and determine whether the situation can be de-escalated.

"What Assad is doing is he's creating a blueprint for dictators all over the world in order to create havoc... and operating with impunity." The Syrian American Council's Bassam Rifai joins SE to discuss the ongoing genocide and refugee crisis in Syria, Russia and Iran's malign actions in the country, and the world's seemingly indifferent response.

"National security should be front and center in this campaign because it's the best way to take on Donald Trump." Democratic Congressman and presidential candidate Seth Moulton explains why he thinks 2020 Democrats need to hit Trump on foreign policy, calling the President "a weak commander in chief." Moulton also gives SE his plans to confront Russian election interference, North Korean aggression, the crisis in Syria, and more, and discusses how his combat tours in Iraq shape his foreign policy approach.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won his record-breaking fifth term in dramatic fashion-how much of an impact did President Trump's aggressive pro-Israel moves in the home stretch of the campaign have on the outcome? And what does this mean for peace between Israel and Palestine, and the Trump-Netanyahu relationship going forward? SE is joined by CNN's Oren Liebermann from Jerusalem.

While both sides are fighting over what will be redacted, what qualifies as obstruction, what meets the level of criminal liability, and who will get subpoenaed -- they're both glossing over one of the most important conclusions from the probe -- that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. After all, that's what started this whole mess. Former FBI Counterintelligence Operative Eric O'Neill joins SE to discuss Russia's election interference and whether America is ready to fend off further efforts in 2020.

Time is running out for British PM Theresa May to iron out a Brexit deal with Parliament. SE Cupp and Doug Heye break down her ongoing battle with lawmakers, why Putin is loving the drama, the risks of America meddling in the politics of an ally, and the "hard leave" worst-case scenario.

Russia boasts about new "hypersonic" weapons that could thwart US missile defenses, as Putin withdraws from the INF treaty. CNN National Security Analyst Samantha Vinograd joins SE to discuss the politics behind Russia's announcement, how worried we should be about these new weapons, and whether Russia has a technological advantage over the US.

Is the current standoff between India and Pakistan the closest the world has come to a nuclear conflict since the Cuban Missile Crisis? SE is joined by USIP's Moeed Yusuf, Author of "Brokering Peace in Nuclear Environments," to analyze the long-standing tensions and current conflict over the disputed Kashmir state, and they discuss whether there's a role for the Trump administration to play to de-escalate the conflict and how upcoming regional elections are making a messy situation even messier.

Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad has led a campaign of carnage against hundreds of thousands of his own people, deploying chemical attacks and other atrocities while much of the world looks the other way. SE Cupp is joined by CNN Political Analyst & Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, who shares the heartbreaking story of one Syrian prisoner, setting the horrific scene of how the war started and what-if anything-can stop it.

Rep. Ilhan Omar is a rising star in the Democratic party, but does her vocal and frequent criticism of Israel cross the line into anti-Semtism? And what does that mean for the so-called party of diversity? Jewish News Syndicate's Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Tobin joins SE to discuss it all.

Years of conflict have left Syrian cities in ruins, and while the images evoke tragedy for most, for President Bashar al Assad they represent opportunity. With the help of private investors and businesses, he hopes to turn the rubble into luxury real estate developments, but the EU has implemented sanctions to stop him. The Washington Post's Louisa Loveluck joins SE from Beirut for more on Assad's plan to rebuild through war profiteering.

Weeks after Trump announced he plans to pull US troops out of Syria, saying ISIS was defeated, the terror group claims responsibility for a suicide bombing there that killed 4 Americans. CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward is on the ground in Syria to give SE perspective from the frontlines, and Ret. Col. Cedric Leighton joins for expert analysis on what happens next.

The Trump Administration remains relatively silent on the arrest of US citizen Paul Whelan on espionage charges in Russia, while the Kremlin is tight-lipped about any evidence they have. CNN Global Affairs analyst Max Boot joins SE and explains why he thinks it's a "purely political arrest" with the possible endgame of a prisoner swap for alleged Russian spy Maria Butina.

Is the DoD doing enough to harness Silicon Valley's most advanced technologies? Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey explains why he thinks the US military needs to bet big on small start-ups, or risks falling behind countries like Russia and China.

The UK voted in favor of Brexit back in 2016, but where does it stand now? SE and CNN political commentator Doug Heye sort through the mess that is Britain's plan to leave the EU, including Theresa May's victory in the "no-confidence" vote this week and the chances of the EU and UK striking a deal in time for the March deadline.

Raed Fares, a prominent activist who ran one of the only independent radio stations in Syria's last opposition stronghold of Idlib, was gunned down in a targeted attack on November 23 along with his colleague Hamoud Juneid. SE speaks to his friend Bassam Rifai, the director of public affairs at SCM Medical, an NGO that provides medical and humanitarian aid to refugees, about the impact of Fares' death on the Assad opposition, and how to make sense of the seemingly intractable conflict there.

Former "Fox & Friends" host and current State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert is rumored to be Nikki Haley's replacement as the US Ambassador to the UN. Nauert has proven herself in her current role, but UN observers say she'd be the least qualified American ever to fill that post. Tom Nichols, professor and author of "The Death of Expertise," joins SE for the discussion on Nauert and Trump's focus on "loyalty and presentability on television" for his key appointments.

The global rise of anti-Semitism came into stark relief when a white supremacist killed 11 Jews at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt joins SE to talk about the "disturbing" trends in America and abroad, how the political atmosphere has contributed to this, and how to combat hate. Then, CNN National Security Analyst Samantha Vinograd discusses the normalization of anti-Semitic rhetoric in American politics and on social media.

Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept joins SE to discuss Brazil's far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro - who is expected to win Sunday's runoff election - and why his "Trump of the Tropics" nickname isn't accurate.

Max Boot joins SE Cupp to discuss the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, calling President Trump's response thus far "embarrassing and pathetic." On a related note, they talk about Max's new book, "The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right"

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi vanished a week ago after walking into the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey. Was the former Saudi royal insider and current critic of the regime kidnapped? Murdered? And was the Saudi Arabian government behind it? SE unpacks the mystery as well as the responses from Congress and the White House, with CNN National Security Analyst Samantha Vinograd.

Social media behavior - even yours - is already influencing what happens on the battlefield. SE is joined by Peter Singer, co-author of "LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media," who explains how "your attention is a target in this, and your clicks help decide which side wins out." They discuss social media's effects on warfare now, and where we go from here.

SE Cupp speaks with CNN Senior International Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh about America's military support of Saudi Arabia in its conflict with Yemen, including billions in arms sales despite the high civilian casualty rate and a worsening humanitarian crisis. Then she's joined by Samantha Nutt, bestselling author and founder of War Child Canada and War Child USA, about what the West is getting right and wrong when it comes to refugee crises worldwide.

SE speaks to House Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger about John Kerry's meeting with Iranian officials. "Disgusting and unprecedented," says Kinzinger. Plus, Kinzinger on the former Secretary of State's rumored 2020 run: It would solidify the Democratic Party "as the party of people that have been."

Each week, SE and a rotating cast of experts discuss and debate the most pressing foreign policy issues facing the US. From the crisis in Syria to North Korea's nuclear weapons and Russian election meddling, Weekend Warriors keeps listeners on top of the world.