American Influence

American Influence Podcast: Haiti in crisis

By Matthew Bell ⋅ January 17, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This episode of The World’s American Influence podcast takes a look at the response to the earthquake in Haiti. The BBC’s Andy Gallacher gives an account from the ground. The World’s Katy Clark talks with some Haitian Americans in Boston. And correspondent Amy Bracken has a reporter’s notebook. Download MP3

War costs for Afghanistan; Helmand dam project halted; CIA “black sites” in Lithuania

By Matthew Bell ⋅ December 23, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This episode of The World’s American Influence podcast gets into the costs of the war in Afghanistan; the background to a huge reconstruction project that’s been in hold, the Kajakai dam in Helmand province, Afghanistan; and finally, Lithuania comes clean on the two CIA-run “black sites” that were located outside the capital, Vilnius. Download MP3

Podcast: New Peace Lobby for Israel

By Matthew Bell ⋅ October 30, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

On this week’s American Influence podcast, J Street has its coming out party in Washington. The new pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby group creates a stir. And US-funded Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. Join The World’s Matthew Bell for his weekly in-depth look at US foreign policy and its effects across the globe. Download MP3

Pakistan’s reluctant war on terrorism

By Matthew Bell ⋅ October 12, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

South Asia expert Christine Fair on Pakistan’s “partial war against terrorism.” Insurgent groups in Pakistan with ties to Al Qaeda and the Taliban are a threat to the government of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and a huge problem for Washington.Download MP3

Mideast photo-op, Israeli settlements and West Bank economy

By Matthew Bell ⋅ October 1, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Matthew Bell reports from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Nablus in this episode of The World’s American Influence podcast. Extended interview with Ha’aretz political columnist Akiva Eldar, author of Lords of the Land.
Download MP3

Missile defense, Iran, Israel-Palestinian talks and Sept. 11th

By Matthew Bell ⋅ September 18, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hillary Clinton makes the administration’s case for missile defense, engaging Iran and pushing for talks between Israel and the Palestinians. It’s early days, but how far has President Obama gone to transform US foreign since the Bush era. Robert Kagan and Marc Lynch give their takes on the anniversary of September 11th.
Download MP3

Tough Choices for US in Afghanistan

By Matthew Bell ⋅ September 4, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

President Obama faces tough choices in Afghanistan. Things are not going well for the US-led mission there. There’s either a long, hard an expensive slog ahead. Or a pull-back that comes with its own risks.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3

Alleged abuse of CIA interrogations: what to do about it?

By Matthew Bell ⋅ August 31, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Seeking accountability on detainee abuse. Where should the Obama administration go with the allegations of CIA torture? It’s a huge legal, moral and political challenge for a president who says he wants to move on.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3

Obama’s Middle East gambit and the US-Israeli rift over settlements

By Matthew Bell ⋅ July 30, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3

Barack Obama wants to revive the long-stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab states. But the US and Israel have yet to resolve a disagreement over the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. How big is the US-Israeli rift? And is Team Obama’s agenda for Mideast peace already in jeopardy?

Last Baghdad patrol; “The Gamble”; the challenge from Iran

By Matthew Bell ⋅ July 10, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

amazon_thegamble1-150x150 On patrol in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood; author Tom Ricks on US troops pulling out of Iraqi cities; and Karim Sadjadpour on the challenge posed by Iran.

>>>Listen to the podcast

Golan Heights, Israel, Syria and the US

By Matthew Bell ⋅ July 9, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

The Israeli-controlled Golan Heights is a peaceful place, but it’s also considered by most of the world to be occupied territory. Some experts say the Obama administration should help bring about a peace deal between Israel and Syria – and one that involves returning the Golan to Syrian control. But few people in the region think a breakthrough will be quick or easy. Listen

A Successor to Kim Jong-il?, and Two American Journalists on Trial in the DPRK

By Clark Boyd ⋅ June 4, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Kim Jong un? On this week’s podcast, we focus exclusively on North Korea. There are signs that Kim Jong-il may be paving the way for his third son, Kim Jong-un, to take over power. Also, we hear about two American journalists set to go on trial in Pyongyang for entering North Korea illegally. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in a North Korean prison, then this is the podcast for you. We speak with a former US Navy Officer who spent more than 11 months in one after the ship he was on was captured in 1968. Read more…