Fault Lines

Latest Episodes:

Episode 209: The New Peace Club Apr 19, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Brazilian President Lula’s recent visit to Beijing and Russian Minister Sergei Lavror's visit to Brazil, and the feather ruffling all of this has caused. When meeting with China’s Xi Jinping, Lula suggested that both Ukraine and Russia were responsible for the conflict, as well as called for China’s territorial integrity to be respected with regards to Taiwan.

What do we make of Brazil’s many diplomatic overtures? Is Brazil’s “peace club” actually going to increase its international standing? What should the U.S. do stop Lula from cozying up to China and Russia?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://apnews.com/article/brazil-russia-lula-lavrov-putin-42c7c46fa629d98b2029aa1ff44a89b6

https://www.reuters.com/world/china-brazil-reset-ties-with-tech-environment-accords-agree-ukraine-2023-04-14/

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 208: Civil War in Sudan? Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss violence that broke out in Sudan over the weekend. Forces loyal to Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan are battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – who has also has ties to Russian military forces, including the Wagner Group.

Are there U.S. interests at stake? What should the U.S. response be? Should the U.S. be worried about Sudanese ties to China and Russia?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/16/1170289462/sudans-army-and-rsf-are-doing-battle-leaving-56-civilians-dead

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/16/africa/sudan-military-clashes-explained-intl/index.html

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 207: Spying Amongst Friends Apr 14, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the cache of leaked documents that revealed a range of highly classified information from the U.S. government, including that we spied extensively on our allies, including nations like South Korea and Israel.

Are world leaders surprised by intel found in the latest leaks? Should we continue or refrain from ally surveillance? How do we prevent more intel leaks in the future?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-us-leaked-documents-yoon-biden-5d88d7c6624865ca5d5b361ed8ce0d26

https://time.com/6269905/us-pentagon-leaked-documents-south-korea/

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 206: Macron Unscripted Apr 12, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beijing last week and the interview he gave to reporters during his flight home. In the interview, Macron emphasized the concept of European “strategic autonomy" and punted on the topic of Taiwan.

Does Macron speak for other European leaders? Did Macron just make Biden’s job of maintaining support to Ukraine harder? How happy did Macron's interview make the CCP?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/11/macron-taiwan-china/

https://www.politico.eu/article/china-skeptic-mps-emmanuel-macron-speak-europe/

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 205: Classified Document Discord Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the treasure trove of classified documents from the U.S. Government that was first posted on the computer gamer site, “Discord,” and which has now been shared on other platforms, including Twitter, that contains sensitive information about the war in Ukraine, the internal deliberations of the Israeli intelligence service, the activities of the Wagner Group in Africa, and more.

Is there a pattern in these leaks of classified information? Was there a political motive in this case? What can the U.S. government do to reduce leaks?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-pushes-to-assess-damage-from-leaked-classified-files-464e64a4?mod=hp_lead_pos2

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/08/intelligence-leak-documents-ukraine-pentagon/

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 204: Chip Wars Heat Up in China Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the Chinese government’s recent announcement that it would conduct a “cybersecurity review” of Micron Technology, a leading U.S.-based memory chip maker, ostensibly to ensure that its computer infrastructure supply chain was protected against foreign threats.

How is this going to affect trade between China and the U.S.? Does the Fault Lines crew think this is a move by China to prove they can play the trade restrictions game? How far are the U.S. and China going to go in targeting each other's key industries and companies?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/business/micron-china-investigation.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/micron-gets-caught-in-u-s-china-crossfire-86f73a10

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 203: Saudi’s Broken Nuclear Light Switch Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Saudi Arabia’s continued push and look to the U.S. for help developing a nuclear energy program even as they resist U.S. conditions for support. However, while Saudi Arabia has been trying to renew talks with the U.S., Saudi officials are also exploring options to work with other countries, including China and Russia.

What does the Fault Lines crew think of Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions? Do we believe that they have nuclear weapons ambitions? Do we think that Saudi Arabia will really turn to China to fulfill its nuclear ambitions if the U.S. doesn’t support?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/01/us/politics/saudi-arabia-nuclear-biden-administration.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/18/iran-has-an-obligation-to-give-up-its-nuclear-program-saudi-minister.html

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 202: AUMF: Repealing from the Middle East? Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the Senate’s recent vote to repeal two Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs). One, from 1991, authorized the original Persian Gulf War to push Iraq out of Kuwait. The second, from 2002, authorized the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq over weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

Are either of the 1991 or 2002 AUMFs still necessary? Does this impact the President's ability to act? Does the vote represent a Congressional willingness for U.S. pullback from the Middle East?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-war-aumf-senate-vote-repeal-authorization-for-use-of-military-force/

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/29/politics/senate-vote-aumf/index.html

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 201: Nukes in Belarus: Return of The 80s? Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia would be placing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a neighboring country and ally of Russia.

Is there anything the U.S. should do about the Russian deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus? Will Putin’s nuclear weapons storage facility even come to fruition? Or is this another stunt by Putin to attempt to divide allies?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65077687

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/25/world/russia-putin-nuclear-weapons-belarus-intl-hnk/index.html

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 200: The Week-long Bandaid Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

Today, on the 200th episode of Fault Lines, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Vice President Kamala Harris’s week-long tour of Africa – visiting Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia. Harris is the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit Africa so far.

What do we think African leaders make of VP Harris’s visit? Do African leaders think that they can remain neutral in the growing U.S.-China geopolitical divide? What can the U.S. do to strengthen ties on the continent?

Hear our experts debate these issues and more in less than 10 minutes on our latest episode of Fault Lines!

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these articles that our experts used to frame our discussion:

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-vice-president-harris-announce-139-mln-aid-ghana-2024-2023-03-27/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65062976

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@jamil_n_jaffer

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

And don’t forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.