Podcast appearances and mentions of nicholas heras

Iran's Theatrical Response to the Israeli Strike and the Fear of Netanyahu Escalating | Finally the Architect of the Far-Right Takeover of the US Judiciary | An Assessment of the Trump vs Biden Records of Achievement backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

In this episode of the New Lines Institute's Contours podcast series, host Nicholas Heras is joined by three outstanding experts, Leyla Latypova, Misha Yakovlev, and Jeff Hawn, to discuss the state of Russian civil society and the civil resistance movement against the Putin-led Russian government. The discussion focuses on the current, contentious, and potentially regime-destabilizing dynamic between the Putin's regime and Russia's ethnic and religious minority populations. They also explore how the Russian state targets civil rights – including LGBTQ rights – and how the Putin-led government might remodel its security apparatus in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In this episode of the New Lines Institute's Contours podcast series, host Nicholas Heras is joined by two leading experts on the Indian Subcontinent, Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali and Suchitra Vijayan , to analyze the dangerous emerging dynamics on the Indian subcontinent, especially inside India and in the contentious relationship between India and Pakistan. The discussion covers Vijayan's critically acclaimed book, Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India , and assesses how the tortured history of the subcontinent continues to drive India and Pakistan to instability and conflict. The panel also discusses how the United States can approach its policy toward the subcontinent, with a special focus on how the growing Indian-American community is shaping U.S.-India policy in an era of great-power competition.

In this segment of the Contours podcast series, Nicholas Heras is joined by two leading experts on the Indian Subcontinent and climate change – Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali and Dr. Saleem Ali – to discuss the geopolitics of climate change in India, Pakistan, and South Asia overall. The discussion then dives into the key findings from Dr. Saleem Ali's forthcoming book, Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life (Oxford University Press, 2022) on how the local, regional, and global effects of climate change are impacting human societies. They also highlight what policy actions the United States can take to help mitigate the prospect of climate-induced state collapse, conflict, and other trans-national threats to human security on the Indian Subcontinent.

In this episode of the Contours podcast series, Nicholas Heras discusses the tumultuous state of Pakistan with two globally recognized experts on the country: Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali and Raza Rumi Ahmad. They discuss the social and political fallout from the removal of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the geopolitical ramifications of Khan's ongoing effort to weaponize anti-Americanism. The experts also offer a path forward for an uncertain U.S. policy approach to Pakistan and India, and to meet the rising tide of Chinese power on the Indian subcontinent.

Amid Growing Outrage Over Police Inaction as Kids Were Slaughtered, What Might The Senate Do About Guns? | Biden Decides Not to Send Offensive Weapons Systems to Ukraine | The E.U. Will Block Most Russian Oil Imports by the End of the Year backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

In this segment of the Contours podcast series, Nicholas Heras is joined by Eugene Chausovsky, Senior Analyst at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy and a globally recognized expert on Russia, the post-Soviet states, and Eurasia, to discuss Russia's potential emerging strategy to annex breakaway territories in several post-Soviet states. The discussion dives into the implications of Chausovsky's most recent essay in Foreign Policy, “Russia May Be Ready to Annex Breakaway Territories,” and what the U.S. policy response should be to countering Russia's annexation approach. Heras and Chausovsky also debate whether Ukraine can accept former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's assertion that Ukraine should give up some of its territory to Russia in exchange for long-term peace.

In this episode of the Contours podcast series, Nicholas Heras is joined by two noted scholars and globally-recognized experts on religious authoritarianism on the Indian Subcontinent: Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali and Shweta Krishnan. These experts discuss the history of religious nationalism on the Indian Subcontinent since the end of British colonialism and the partition of India and Pakistan, the development of religious political mass movements in India and Pakistan, and how elites in both countries are seeking to harness such movements now. They also examine the domestic pressures inside India and Pakistan that could lead to public demand in both countries for a religious conflict that would have grave humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.

Putin's Strategy to Weaponize Refugees | The Fascist Autocrat and Leader of the Global Far-right is Trying to Restore Soviet Power in a Fascist Form | As Ukrainians Suffer the GOP Blames it all on Biden's Alleged "Weakness" backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

In the first Contours podcast of 2022, Nicholas Heras is joined by war reporter Jake Hanrahan to discuss the future of conflict and the breakdown of the post-World War II global system. Hanrahan is the founder of Popular Front, a disruptive media organization that seeks to provide nuanced, gritty, and deeply human reporting on under-covered conflicts in the world. Heras and Hanrahan engaged in a wide-ranging conversation on the current state of underreported conflicts around the globe, war reporting in the age of social media, growing authoritarianism in the West, and the future of the Western-led, rules-based international order.

In this episode of the New Lines Institute's Contours podcast series, widely respected academic Dr. Dana El Kurd sits down with Rasha Al Aqeedi and Nicholas Heras to discuss her groundbreaking research on an emerging generation of Palestinian civil society and political activists. Dr. El Kurd provides a deep dive on her innovative work on the ground in Palestine, her assessment on what the future might hold for Palestinian activism, and whether there is way forward for the Palestinian people to achieve their human dignity in the face of oppression from both the Palestinian Authority and Israel. She is the author of the highly regarded two-part New Lines Institute series on this subject, “The Strengthening of Palestinian Civil Society Activism.”

In this episode of the Newlines Institute's Contours podcast series, Lebanon and Levant geopolitics expert Anthony Elghossain, also a contributing editor at Newlines Magazine, chats with Nicholas Heras about the recent Beirut clashes and their potential implications for Lebanon. Elghossain channels his extensive experience as a researcher in Lebanon to provide a nuanced forecast on Lebanon's evolving security dynamics and the impact on the fragile Lebanese state as it continues its collapse.

In this episode of the Newlines Institute's Contours podcast series, geopolitical analysts and Russia experts Jeff Hawn and Sim Tack join the Newlines Institute's Caroline Rose and Nicholas Heras to break down the future of Russia after the country's September 2021 parliamentary elections. The discussion includes a detailed assessment of the U.S. and European policy approach to Russia and recommendations for those approaches moving forward. In particular, Hawn, Tack, Rose, and Heras wrestle with the basic but important question of whether the Biden team needs to think more creatively while developing its policy on Russia.

In this episode of “Roamings and Reflections,” humanitarian assistance and international development expert Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff joins host Nicholas Heras to recount the massive effort to evacuate Afghans as the Taliban seized Kabul. Ghosh-Siminoff provides an account of one of the most unique civil society efforts in U.S. history as America's “forever war” in Afghanistan came to a chaotic end.

In this emergency edition of the Newlines Institute's Contours podcast, Contours host Nicholas Heras talks through the short-term scenarios in Afghanistan and the geopolitical maneuvers to follow now that the Taliban stands triumphant in Kabul with Kamran Bokhari, Rasha Al Aqeedi, and Caroline Rose. Kamran Bokhari is a globally recognized expert on Afghanistan and the Director for Analytical Development at the Newlines Institute. Rasha Al Aqeedi is the Senior Analyst and Program Head for Nonstate Actors at the Newlines Institute who has been closely following the Taliban's transition from nonstate authority to a state. Caroline Rose is the Senior Analyst and Program Head for Power Vacuums who has been gaming the geopolitical scenarios in Asia in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In this inaugural episode of the “Roamings and Reflections” series within the Newlines Institute Contours podcast, Newlines Institute Nonresident Fellow Eugene Chausovsky discusses his recent trip to Ukraine and Azerbaijan with Contours host Nicholas Heras. Chausovsky traveled to these countries to investigate the linkages between energy, infrastructure, security, and trade that are driving geopolitics in Eurasia. What he found was a striking similarity in the challenges and opportunities presented to the decision makers in Kyiv and Baku as they chart their next moves in a changing global system. The Roamings and Reflections series will highlight trips to the field – domestic and foreign – made by Newlines Institute team members, drawing out their timely, relevant, and actionable findings that are important to policy and geopolitics.

In this special Newlines Institute Contours podcast, Iraq experts Rasha Al-Aqeedi, Caroline Rose, and Contours host Nicholas Heras discuss Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's visit to Washington to meet President Joe Biden and what al-Kadhimi's trip means for the dynamics inside Iraq and for U.S policy on Iraq. Al-Aqeedi, Rose, and Heras give al-Kadhimi a grade for his term as prime minister to date and forecast what to expect next in Iraq. Rasha Al-Aqeedi is the Senior Analyst and Program Head for the Nonstate Actors Program, Caroline Rose is the Senior Analyst and Program Head for Power Vacuums, and Nicholas Heras is the Senior Analyst and Program Head for State Resilience and Fragility, at the Newlines Institute. All three have written extensively on dynamics inside of Iraq, U.S. policy on Iraq, and the geopolitical impact of events in Iraq in the Middle East and beyond the region.

This Newlines Institute Contours podcast assesses state resilience and fragility in Jordan and the future of the U.S.-Jordanian relationship. Newlines Institute Senior Analyst and Contours host Nicholas Heras sits down with Suha Ma'ayeh, Rana Sweis, and Dr. Curtis R. Ryan to discuss why King Abdullah II's upcoming visit to the White House to meet President Joe Biden is such a high-stakes meeting for the future of Middle East stability and security. Suha Ma'ayeh is a Jordanian freelance journalist and researcher based in Amman. She has written extensively on domestic politics, Arab spring protests, foreign affairs, terrorism, elections, and corruption, including the crisis in southern Syria and the influx of refugees, for the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, and Foreign Affairs. Rana Sweis is a Jordanian journalist and researcher covering political, social and refugee issues in the Middle East, most often for The New York Times, and the founder and managing director of Wishbox Media. She is the author of “Voice of Jordan,” a book that tells the story of Jordan through the lives of ordinary people, including an Iraqi political cartoonist, a Syrian refugee, a female parliamentarian and others. Dr. Curtis R. Ryan is a Professor of Political Science at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. He has written extensively on Jordan's domestic and international politics and is the author of three books on Jordan, most recently, “Jordan and the Arab Uprisings: Regime Survival and Politics Beyond the State.”

This Newlines Institute Contours podcast assesses state resilience and fragility in Egypt and the future of the Egyptian state using one of the best books on this subject, “Coups and Revolutions: Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi ,” by Dr. Amy Austin Holmes. Newlines Institute Senior Analyst and Contours host Nicholas Heras sits down with Dr. Holmes and another highly regarded Egypt expert, Mohamed Soltan, to discuss the Egyptian state's response to the three mass uprisings it faced since 2011 and how the Abdel Fattah al-Sisi-led government could adapt to numerous pressures on Egypt's stability. Dr. Amy Austin Holmes is currently a Public Policy Fellow at the Wilson Center. Previously she served, for more than 10 years, as a tenured Associate Professor at the American University in Cairo, where she lived through the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak and al-Sisi's subsequent rise to power. Mohamed Soltan is a human rights policy advocate and founder of The Freedom Initiative, a leading rights organization dedicated to the release of political prisoners in the Arab World. In 2013, Mohamed was shot and detained amid a violent crackdown on dissent following Egypt's military coup. He began an open-ended hunger strike to protest his unjust imprisonment and inhumane detention conditions, which ultimately lasted 489 days. The Obama Administration, urged by bipartisan members of Congress and international civil society, intervened at the highest levels to facilitate his release in May 2015.

This Newlines Institute Contours podcast examines dynamics in Iran to watch now that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's protégé Ebrahim Raisi has been elected president. In this episode, Newlines Institute Senior Analyst and Contours host Nicholas Heras sits down with three noted Iran experts: Professor Neda Bolourchi, associate director of and faculty member in the Middle Eastern Studies Program at Rutgers University-New Brunswick; Amir Toumaj, a research and policy analyst at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and co-founder of Resistance Axis Monitor; and Dr. Kamran Bokhari, the Newlines Institute's director of Analytical Development.

This Newlines Institute Contours podcast presents a deep dive into U.S. President Joe Biden's inaugural visit to Europe, his administration's commitment to collective defense, and the fragile trajectory of U.S.-Russian relations ahead of the June 16 Geneva summit between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In this episode, Newlines Institute Senior Analyst and Contours host, Nicholas Heras, sits down with four special guests: Jim Townsend, Jr., an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security's Transatlantic Security Program and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy; Rachel Rizzo, the Director of Programs at the Truman Center and Truman National Security Project; Dr. Ariel Cohen, a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Founding Principal of International Market Analysis, Ltd; and Caroline Rose, a Senior Analyst and Head of Newlines Institute's Power Vacuums Program.

The struggle to succeed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is growing intense. Its outcome will have significant consequences for Iran, the Middle East, and the US. Khamenei’s health has been failing for years, and his retirement or passing seems increasingly imminent. Current indicators suggest that his successor will be more hardline and less willing or able to rein in the aggressive instincts of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. In this episode of Overwatch, Nicholas Heras, Director of Government Relations at ISW, and Nicholas Carl, the Iran Team Lead at the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, discuss the leading candidates to succeed Khamenei, their policy views on engaging with the United States and the West, and how the process of picking the next Supreme Leader could affect US policy on Iran.

AEI's Fred Kagan and Nick Carl appear on the Institute for the Study of War's podcast, https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly91bmRlcnN0YW5kaW5nd2FyLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz/episode/M2YzMGRkNzktYjUxNC00OTk3LTgzMjUtYzlkZDQ0MzI1MDUw?hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwiS_J-R59DuAhXOGVkFHSRsCXoQieUEegQIBhAF&ep=6 (Overwatch), to discuss Iran's presidential election. The results of the Iranian presidential election in June 2021 will determine whether Iran shifts toward greater cooperation or increasing conflict with the United States. This uncertainty comes as the Biden administration is trying to reboot diplomacy with Iran using an ambitious agenda that goes beyond nuclear nonproliferation to include thorny issues such as the Iranian ballistic missile program and Iran's activities in the Middle East. In this episode of Overwatch, Nicholas Heras, Director of Government Relations at ISW, is joined by Frederick Kagan, Director of the Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute, and Nicholas Carl, the Iran Team Lead at CTP, to discuss nuances in Iran's upcoming presidential cycle that will have a significant impact on what the Biden administration can expect to achieve diplomatically with Iran.

The results of the Iranian presidential election in June 2021 will determine whether Iran shifts toward greater cooperation or increasing conflict with the United States. This uncertainty comes as the Biden administration is trying to reboot diplomacy with Iran using an ambitious agenda that goes beyond nuclear nonproliferation to include thorny issues such as the Iranian ballistic missile program and Iran's activities in the Middle East. In this episode of Overwatch, Nicholas Heras, Director of Government Relations at ISW, is joined by Frederick Kagan, Director of the Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute, and Nicholas Carl, the Iran Team Lead at CTP, to discuss nuances in Iran's upcoming presidential cycle that will have a significant impact on what the Biden administration can expect to achieve diplomatically with Iran.

Tensions between the United States and Iran are high as a transition in administrations has happened in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden and his top national security advisers want to get back into the nuclear deal with Iran and make it stronger if Iran is willing to get back into compliance with the terms of the deal. In this episode of Overwatch, Nicholas Heras, Director of Government Relations at ISW, and Frederick Kagan, Director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, discuss what we can expect in the looming delicate diplomatic dance between the United States and Iran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was in Washington this week for high-level bilateral meetings known as the US-Iraqi Strategic Dialogue. Kadhimi has been hard-charging toward reforms in Iraq that would combat Iranian influence and prevent the country from collapse, but these efforts will be undermined by Trump's call to leave Iraq soon.  In this episode of Overwatch, Nicholas Heras and Katherine Lawlor discuss Kadhimi’s position, the future of Iraq, and whether he remains a viable US partner.

Al Qaeda-linked groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Hurras al Din clashed in late June and early July and remain at odds as defections prompted by the former’s increasingly pro-Turkish posture continue. Al Qaeda is backing fighters from a diverse set of groups and HTS has likely secured Turkish support, making the persistence of a Salafi-jihadist haven in Syria very likely. In this episode of Overwatch, Nicholas Heras and Isabel Ivanescu discuss the causes and implications of the recent infighting.

Iran’s proxies are again escalating against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. Kata'ib Hezbollah fired rockets at a U.S. base in Taji, north of Baghdad, on March 11, triggering an immediate U.S. reprisal. Today, another rocket attack targeted the Taji base. In this Overwatch Crisis Brief recorded on March 13, ISW’s Iraq experts Nicholas Heras, Katherine Lawlor, and Brandon Wallace discuss the implications for the U.S.-led coalition’s relationship with Iraqi security forces and the increasing cooperation between Iran’s proxy groups.

Investigating the Investigators is a Putin Tactic and the Hallmark of a Banana Republic; The Death of the Head of ISIS; The Status of the Impeachment Inquiry backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

A fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Nicholas Heras is a prominent expert on Syria.In today’s podcast, @NicholasAHeras unpacked discussions surrounding the safe zone in northeast Syria, as well as the U.S. military’s red lines regarding the zone for Washington Hatti.

Another Cowardly Retreat by Trump After a Call from the NRA; The Democrats Should Be at Least as Radical as FDR; The Pentagon's IG Cautions Trump to Not Let ISIS Rebuild in Syria backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

What are the roots and ramifications of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran? Is Washington goading Iran into conflict or is Iran inciting the United States? Host Carol Castiel talks with Ambassador Gerald Feierstein, former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, now Vice President at the Middle East Institute (MEI), and Nicholas Heras, Senior Fellow in the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), about the dangers of miscalculation and prospects for a diplomatic off-ramp leading to negotiations rather than confrontation.

This week the ladies dive into the recent Iran drama with Ariane Tabatabai. Next, they revisit some recent election results before turning to whirlwind trade developments, as talks with China fall apart and new restrictions are levied against Huawei. White House Mayhem never disappoints, and the ladies sound off on the moral and strategic bankruptcy of pardoning war criminals. Pop-culture brings us home.   Links Elections Damien Cave, "Australia Elections Results: Prime Minister Scott Morrison Seizes a Stunning Win," New York Times, May 18, 2019 Hywel Griffith and Jay Savage, "Scott Morrison: How Australia's PM Built a 'Miracle' Election Win," BBC, May 19, 2019 Douglas Schorzman and Kai Schultz, "Polls Are Closed in India's Election: What Happens Next?" New York Times, May 19, 2019 Trade Brendan Murray, "Tariff Man Trump Just Had Himself a Week. Here's a Recap," Bloomberg, May 19, 2019 China Chris Buckley and Keith Bradsher, "How Xi's Last-Minute Switch on U.S.-China Trade Deal Upended It," New York Times, May 16, 2019 Eamon Barrett, "China is Running Out of U.S. Good to Tariff, Has Other Trade War Weapons to Unleash," Fortune, May 18, 2019 Michael Schuman, "To China, Alls' Fair in. Love and Trade Wars," Atlantic, May 18, 2019 Julia Horowitz, " Huawei Takes the U.S.-China Trade War to a Dangerous New Level," CNN, May 16, 2019 Mexico – Canada Kayla Tausche and Jacob Pramuk, "US Reaches Deal to Lift Steel and Aluminum Tariffs on Canada and Mexico," CNBC, May 17, 2019 Iran "Iran Nuclear Deal: Tehran May Increase Uranium Enrichment," BBC, May 08, 2019 Becca Wasser and Ariane Tabatabai, Washington Post, "Irans Network of Fighters in the Middle East Aren't Always Loyal to Iran," May 21, 2019 Eric Brewer, Elisa Catalano Ewers, Ilan Goldenberg, Peter Harrell, Nicholas Heras, Elisabeth Rosenberg, and Ariane Tabatabai, "A Realistic Path for Progress on Iran," CNAS, January 29, 2019 Ariane Tabatabai, "Can Anyone Save the Iran Nuclear Deal?" New York Times, May 10, 2019 Huawei Frank Bajak and Tali Arbel, "Huawei Hit by US Export Controls, Potential Important Ban," AP News, May 16, 2019 Emily Feng, "S. Move to Isolate Huawei Sends Ripples Through Global Supply Chain," NPR, May 16, 2019 Emily Stewart, "The US Government's Ongoing Battle With Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei, Explained," Vox, May 21, 2019 War Crimes Dave Philipps, "Trump May Be Preparing Pardons for Servicemen Accused of War Crimes," New York Times, May 18, 2019   Produced by Tre Hester

This week the ladies dive into the recent Iran drama with Ariane Tabatabai. Next, they revisit some recent election results before turning to whirlwind trade developments, as talks with China fall apart and new restrictions are levied against Huawei. White House Mayhem never disappoints, and the ladies sound off on the moral and strategic bankruptcy of pardoning war criminals. Pop-culture brings us home.   Links Elections Damien Cave, "Australia Elections Results: Prime Minister Scott Morrison Seizes a Stunning Win," New York Times, May 18, 2019 Hywel Griffith and Jay Savage, "Scott Morrison: How Australia's PM Built a 'Miracle' Election Win," BBC, May 19, 2019 Douglas Schorzman and Kai Schultz, "Polls Are Closed in India's Election: What Happens Next?" New York Times, May 19, 2019 Trade Brendan Murray, "Tariff Man Trump Just Had Himself a Week. Here's a Recap," Bloomberg, May 19, 2019 China Chris Buckley and Keith Bradsher, "How Xi's Last-Minute Switch on U.S.-China Trade Deal Upended It," New York Times, May 16, 2019 Eamon Barrett, "China is Running Out of U.S. Good to Tariff, Has Other Trade War Weapons to Unleash," Fortune, May 18, 2019 Michael Schuman, "To China, Alls' Fair in. Love and Trade Wars," Atlantic, May 18, 2019 Julia Horowitz, " Huawei Takes the U.S.-China Trade War to a Dangerous New Level," CNN, May 16, 2019 Mexico – Canada Kayla Tausche and Jacob Pramuk, "US Reaches Deal to Lift Steel and Aluminum Tariffs on Canada and Mexico," CNBC, May 17, 2019 Iran "Iran Nuclear Deal: Tehran May Increase Uranium Enrichment," BBC, May 08, 2019 Becca Wasser and Ariane Tabatabai, Washington Post, "Irans Network of Fighters in the Middle East Aren't Always Loyal to Iran," May 21, 2019 Eric Brewer, Elisa Catalano Ewers, Ilan Goldenberg, Peter Harrell, Nicholas Heras, Elisabeth Rosenberg, and Ariane Tabatabai, "A Realistic Path for Progress on Iran," CNAS, January 29, 2019 Ariane Tabatabai, "Can Anyone Save the Iran Nuclear Deal?" New York Times, May 10, 2019 Huawei Frank Bajak and Tali Arbel, "Huawei Hit by US Export Controls, Potential Important Ban," AP News, May 16, 2019 Emily Feng, "S. Move to Isolate Huawei Sends Ripples Through Global Supply Chain," NPR, May 16, 2019 Emily Stewart, "The US Government's Ongoing Battle With Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei, Explained," Vox, May 21, 2019 War Crimes Dave Philipps, "Trump May Be Preparing Pardons for Servicemen Accused of War Crimes," New York Times, May 18, 2019   Produced by Tre Hester

The Assad regime has been in power in Syria since 1970. For many analysts, the Syrian state could not exist without the regime, and the regime could not exist without the leadership of the Assad family. However, there still is a debate whether an alternative power to the Assad family could run the Syrian state, in a hypothetical transition period from Bashar al-Assad's rule. Alexander Bick, Research Scholar at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Faysal Itani, a nonresident senior fellow with the Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council, and Kaleigh Thomas, the Research Associate for the Middle East Security Program at CNAS, join Nicholas Heras to discuss.

The ladies of Bombshell take on proteins and Afghanistan policy all in one segment with special guest Frances Brown. Across the pond, Brexit is going nowhere fast and NATO is celebrating a grand birthday while the American president is questioning whether he wants to keep paying dues.  In It’s Aghast, 5G is fast, the future, and not so much fun for American competitiveness. And in White House mayhem, the Congress mustered up some war powers energy to get the US out of the military operations in Yemen that the administration claims we aren’t in, while the president visited the border just defenestrating his Homeland Security Secretary.   Links Huawei/5G Ahiza Garcia, "Verizon Launches First 5G Phone You Can Use on a 5G Network in US," CNN, April 3, 2019 Milo Medin and Gilman Louie, "The 5G Ecosystem: Risks and Opportunities for DOD," Defense Innovation Board, April 2019 Zak Doffman, "Huawei May Have Claimed 5G Victory Over the US But Is Now In A Street Fight," Forbes, April 5, 2019 Keith Johnson and Elias Groll, "The Improbable Rise of Huawei," Foreign Policy, April 3, 2019 Saudi Human Rights Vivian Yee and David Kirkpatrick, "Saudis Escalate Crackdown on Dissent, Arresting Nine and Risking US Ire," New York Times, April 5, 2019 Alex Ward, "Saudi Arabia Is Detaining American Activists 6 Months After Khashoggi's Murder," Vox, April 5, 2019 ALQST, Tweets, April 4, 2019 Joyce Lee and Dalton Bennett, "The Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi," Washington Post, April 1, 2019 Brexit Heather Stewart and Daniel Boffey, "Hopes of Brexit Progress Fade as Labour Says May Has Failed to Compromise," Guardian, April 5, 2019 Afghanistan Fahim Abed, "Taliban Attack Kills Dozens in Afghanistan Despite U.S. Efforts in Peace Talks," New York Times, April 4, 2019 Barbara Walter, "Hoping That Peace Comes to Afghanistan? Dream On," Washington Post, January 30, 2019 Mexico Border Molly O'Toole, Noah Bierman, and Eli Stokols, "As Trump Threatens to Close Border, Experts Warn of Billions in Economic Damage," Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2019 Maegan Vazquez, "Trump Heads to US-Mexico Border After a Week of Confusing Threats," CNN, April 6, 2019 NATO Karen Donfried, "3 Ways Europe Is Looking At A Fray NATO," Defense One, April 2, 2019 Rachel Rizzo and Carrie Cordero, "Bolstering Congressional Support for NATO," CNAS, March 20, 2019 Yemen Elisa Catalano Ewers and Nicholas Heras, "Congressional Action on Yemen Isn't Only About Yemen," CNAS, February 27, 2019   Produced by Tre Hester 

The ladies of Bombshell take on proteins and Afghanistan policy all in one segment with special guest Frances Brown. Across the pond, Brexit is going nowhere fast and NATO is celebrating a grand birthday while the American president is questioning whether he wants to keep paying dues.  In It’s Aghast, 5G is fast, the future, and not so much fun for American competitiveness. And in White House mayhem, the Congress mustered up some war powers energy to get the US out of the military operations in Yemen that the administration claims we aren’t in, while the president visited the border just defenestrating his Homeland Security Secretary.   Links Huawei/5G Ahiza Garcia, "Verizon Launches First 5G Phone You Can Use on a 5G Network in US," CNN, April 3, 2019 Milo Medin and Gilman Louie, "The 5G Ecosystem: Risks and Opportunities for DOD," Defense Innovation Board, April 2019 Zak Doffman, "Huawei May Have Claimed 5G Victory Over the US But Is Now In A Street Fight," Forbes, April 5, 2019 Keith Johnson and Elias Groll, "The Improbable Rise of Huawei," Foreign Policy, April 3, 2019 Saudi Human Rights Vivian Yee and David Kirkpatrick, "Saudis Escalate Crackdown on Dissent, Arresting Nine and Risking US Ire," New York Times, April 5, 2019 Alex Ward, "Saudi Arabia Is Detaining American Activists 6 Months After Khashoggi's Murder," Vox, April 5, 2019 ALQST, Tweets, April 4, 2019 Joyce Lee and Dalton Bennett, "The Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi," Washington Post, April 1, 2019 Brexit Heather Stewart and Daniel Boffey, "Hopes of Brexit Progress Fade as Labour Says May Has Failed to Compromise," Guardian, April 5, 2019 Afghanistan Fahim Abed, "Taliban Attack Kills Dozens in Afghanistan Despite U.S. Efforts in Peace Talks," New York Times, April 4, 2019 Barbara Walter, "Hoping That Peace Comes to Afghanistan? Dream On," Washington Post, January 30, 2019 Mexico Border Molly O'Toole, Noah Bierman, and Eli Stokols, "As Trump Threatens to Close Border, Experts Warn of Billions in Economic Damage," Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2019 Maegan Vazquez, "Trump Heads to US-Mexico Border After a Week of Confusing Threats," CNN, April 6, 2019 NATO Karen Donfried, "3 Ways Europe Is Looking At A Fray NATO," Defense One, April 2, 2019 Rachel Rizzo and Carrie Cordero, "Bolstering Congressional Support for NATO," CNAS, March 20, 2019 Yemen Elisa Catalano Ewers and Nicholas Heras, "Congressional Action on Yemen Isn't Only About Yemen," CNAS, February 27, 2019   Produced by Tre Hester 

FULL INTERVIEW WITH NICHOLAS HERAS OF CNAS (Subject matter expert for Episode 2 "Guilty Until Proven Innocent". This is the full WebEx audio interview with Nicholas Heras of Center for a New American Security in Washington D.C. Nicholas discusses the key differences between U.S. and Euro migration and refugee flows and details the security vetting process for refugees coming to the U.S. He also explains the multilayered components that affect national security but are not covered as much in the press. Nicholas Heras is an international expert on national security and the analysis of complex conflicts and security issues in the greater Middle East and North Africa, including Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan as well as Turkey and the Gulf. He has provided expert analysis for the National Intelligence Council, National Security Council, US Central Command, US Special Operations Command, the US State Department’s Policy Planning staff, and US Naval War College - Center for Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups. He is also a frequent commentator to the national and international media -- appearing on National Public Radio, Public Radio International, the BBC World Service, CBS Nightly News, Fox News, Al-Jazeera. He is often quoted in The Washington Post, The WSJ, CNN.com, The Associated Press, The Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek, USA Today, Voice of America, US News and World Report, Foreign Policy and many more. Nicholas works as Middle East Security Fellow at the Center for a New American Security specializing in the Middle East Security Program and he is also a Senior Analyst for the Jamestown Foundation. He is the author of "From the Bottom Up: A Strategy for US Military Support for Syria’s Armed Opposition" and has co-authored and authored numerous scholarly articles.

Follow the refugee journey of Sarah Al-Kayali as she and her family flee sectarian militia threats and bombings in Baghdad Iraq before coming to the U.S. Then, national security expert Nicholas Heras of Center for a New American Security discusses the security vetting of refugees. The full version of his interview can be heard here: http://smu.edu/humanrights/ Please enjoy this episode of In Their Own Voices. ________________________________________________ SPONSORSHIP: Funding for this podcast is provided by Southern Methodist University's Embrey Human Rights Program via their Community Outreach Fellowship. Their website is: www.smu.edu/Dedman/Academics/In…s/EmbreyHumanRights MEDIA INQUIRIES: For media inquiries, please contact tiffany@hrtsmedia.com. HOST: This podcast is hosted by Human Rights Media at: www.hrtsmedia.com and can be found on iTunes, Stitcher, and TuneIn as well as on most podcast aggregators. New episodes are released monthly through May 2018. Many thanks to the dedicated staff who work tirelessly to help produce this series and make it possible. And for each refugee and expert guest, thank you for your honesty and vulnerability to bring your stories and reliable data to the public. CREDITS: Tiffany Jelke, Producer & Host • SMU Community Outreach Fellow • Michelle Lara, Production Assisant Allison Plake, Audio Production Intern Kade Peacock, Sound Technician Dr. Bradley Klein, Associate Director of SMU's Embrey Human Rights Program is the mentor on this project.

Middle East experts Dr. Colin Kahl, Ilan Goldenberg, and Nicholas Heras discuss their report on a strategy for ending the Syrian Civil War. Hosted by Neal Urwitz.

Nicholas Heras, Bacevich Fellow at CNAS, discusses the U.S. military role in Libya and local partner forces in the fight against ISIS. Hosted by Neal Urwitz.

CNAS Middle East experts Ilan Goldenberg and Nicholas Heras discuss U.S. missiles strikes on Syria and its implications.

State Secretary Tillerson will host 68 foreign ministers and senior leaders of the Global Coalition, the first meeting of the global coalition working to defeat ISIS. Meanwhile, President Trump recently announced plans to slash the State Department's budget. CNAS Middle East policy experts Ilan Goldenberg and Nicholas Heras explore how the United States should continue the fight against ISIS and ensure long-term stability in the region. Hosted by Neal Urwitz.

CNAS Bacevich Fellow Nicholas Heras discusses a new report, authored by a group of rising experts, on combating Al-Qaeda in Syria. Hosted by JaRel Clay.

Nicholas Heras, research associate with the Middle East Security Program, discusses U.S. troops in Syria.