Fault Lines

Latest Episodes:

Episode 199: Fighting in Syria! Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Today, Jess, Les, and special guest host Morgan Viña, NSI Fellow and former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Ambassador at the UN, discuss the self-detonating drone that struck a U.S. facility in northeast Syria and killed an American military contractor, as well as injured five U.S. troops and a second contractor. In retaliation, U.S. F-15 fighter jets from al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar struck locations near Deir el-Zour, targeting the Iran-backed militias believed responsible for the attack.

Was the U.S. response to the attack by Iran-backed militias appropriate? Should the U.S. keep forces in Syria? How can the U.S. reach a higher level of deterrence to prevent these attacks?

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/national-security/2023/03/24/biden-iran-airstrikes-syria/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-contractor-killed-service-members-wounded-suicide-drone-syria-rcna76453

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@morganlroach

@lestermunson

@jamil_n_jaffer

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Episode 198: Doubling Down on No Limits Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

Today, Jess, Jamil, and special guest host Morgan Viña, NSI Fellow and former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Ambassador at the UN, discuss Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The autocratic leaders met to reaffirm and expand upon the key tenets of their “no limits” partnership.

What, if anything, can the U.S. do to break up this partnership? Should the Russia threat and China threat be viewed as one and the same? How will China’s and Russia’s increasing partnership impact the U.S. 2024 presidential election?

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.cnn.com/2023/03/22/europe/china-xi-russia-putin-talks-five-takeaways-intl-hnk-mic/index.html

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/22/1165066688/xi-jinping-putin-talks-china-russia-ukraine

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@morganlroach

@jamil_n_jaffer

@lestermunson

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

Episode 197: Neighborly Election Meddling Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Today, Jess is joined by special guest hosts NSI Fellow Morgan Viña and NSI Senior Fellow Andy Keiser to discuss the leaked reports from Canadian intelligence sources that detail alleged attempts by China to interfere in the last two federal Canadian elections.

Why should Americans care about election interference happening in our neighbor to the north? Will we see a hardening in Canada’s China policy? Does the Fault Lines crew think we’ll see Canada becoming more active in the national security arena?

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/canada-shifts-on-china-to-build-credibility-with-allies-11672339249

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/06/china-canada-election-interference-trudeau-00085751

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@morganlroach

@andykeiser

@jamil_n_jaffer

@lestermunson

Like what we're doing here?

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

Episode 196: I(don’t)C Putin’s Arrest Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Today, Jess is joined by special guest hosts NSI Fellow Morgan Viña and NSI Senior Fellow Andy Keiser to discuss how the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, alleging that the Kremlin is responsible for war crimes, including the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.

How do these ICC charges affect the Kremlin’s global movements? Will the ICC’s arrest warrants actually deter world leaders from interacting with a wanted man? Does the Fault Lines crew think that this is just a “PR move” from the ICC’s point of view?

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-64992727

https://apnews.com/article/icc-putin-war-crimes-ukraine-9857eb68d827340394960eccf0589253

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@NotTVJessJones

@morganlroach

@andykeiser

@jamil_n_jaffer

@lestermunson

Like what we're doing here?

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

Episode 195: TikTok Don’t Stop? Mar 17, 2023

Show notes

Today, Jess, Jamil, and special guest host Morgan Viña, NSI Fellow and JINSA’s Vice President of Government Affairs, discuss how the Biden Administration and Congress is tackling TikTok, the highly popular Chinese-owned social media app.

What are the national security concerns revolving around TikTok? Is the White House on the brink of banning the app? Does the one-third of the U.S. population using TikTok understand its risks?

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/politics/2023/01/31/what-tiktok-ceo-will-face-when-he-testifies-congress/

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/senators-urge-cfius-to-wrap-up-tiktok-probe-with-strict-restrictions.html

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@jamil_n_jaffer

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@morganlroach

@jinsadc

Like what we're doing here?

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

Episode 194: Dunkin' Drones Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jamil, and special guest host Morgan Viña, NSI Fellow and JINSA’s Vice President of Government Affairs, discuss the recent collision between two Russian fighter jets and a U.S. drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, forcing the U.S. to bring the MQ-9 Reaper drone down in international water and intentionally ditch the drone in the ocean.

How should the U.S. respond to this incident? Should there be serious consequences for Russia causing damage to U.S. military equipment? Does the Fault Lines crew agree with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent comments about U.S. involvement in Ukraine?

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.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/russian-jet-harasses-collides-us-reaper-drone-black-sea-rcna74910

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/us/politics/russia-us-drone-black-sea.html

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@jamil_n_jaffer

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@morganlroach

@jinsadc

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

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

Episode 193: China Brokers Peace! Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jamil, and special guest host Morgan Viña, NSI Fellow and JINSA’s Vice President of Government Affairs, discuss China’s recent “diplomatic breakthrough” with Iran and Saudi Arabia. The two Middle Eastern, oil-producing nations will ostensibly resume diplomatic relations under an agreement facilitated by the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.

Is it a good thing that China is brokering peace deals? Does the Fault Lines crew think China’s diplomatic efforts are likely to fail? What does this development say about the Biden administration’s approach to global challenges, particularly in 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.nytimes.com/2023/03/11/us/politics/saudi-arabia-iran-china-biden.html

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-saudi-arabia-agree-resume-ties-re-open-embassies-iranian-state-media-2023-03-10/

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@jamil_n_jaffer

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@morganlroach

@jinsadc

Like what we're doing here?

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.

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

Episode 192: Global Threats: What’s Real and What’s Not Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the release of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s 2023 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA), a yearly report that lays out what the IC thinks are the critical challenges facing our nation in the year ahead.

What are the major differences between the ODNI’s 2022 ATA and 2023 ATA? Does the ODNI’s ATA contain any surprises? Does the Fault Lines crew think the ODNI’s ATA report is too politicized?

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.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ATA-2023-Unclassified-Report.pdf

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-worldwide-threats-hearing/

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.

Episode 191: Kidnapping Aftermath: A Militarized Mexico? Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss the kidnapping and deaths of Americans who crossed the U.S./Mexico border on Friday and, who, within hours, were abducted by gunmen. Two of them were killed before the two others were rescued Tuesday.

Is a more militarized presence and a stricter travel advisory necessary in the aftermath of this kidnapping? Should cartels be labeled as terrorist organizations? How will this impact U.S./Mexico border relations moving forward?

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/2023/03/07/world/americas/americans-kidnapped-mexico.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tamaulipas-governor-says-two-of-four-americans-kidnapped-in-matamoros-found-dead-e2bcce49

https://thehill.com/policy/international/3887479-graham-says-he-will-introduce-bill-to-set-the-stage-for-us-to-use-military-force-in-mexico/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-us-must-defeat-mexicos-drug-cartels-narco-terrorism-amlo-el-chapo-crenshaw-military-law-enforcement-b8fac731

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.

Episode 190: Havana Syndrome: More than Coincidence? Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

Today, Les, Jess, and Jamil discuss Havana Syndrome, a mysterious ailment that has caused dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, cognitive difficulties and memory loss among U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers. Last week, after a years-long assessment, a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded that it is very ‘unlikely’ that people experiencing symptoms were targeted and sickened by a clandestine enemy.

How worried should American officials be of Havana Syndrome reports after the IC’s recent conclusions? Is the U.S. doing enough to investigate Havana Syndrome cases and provide support to those who suffer from it? Does the Fault Lines crew believe that all these reported cases are just coincidences?

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://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3879732-us-intelligence-says-havana-syndrome-unlikely-caused-by-foreign-adversary/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/01/havana-syndrome-intelligence-report-weapon/

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.