This week Tamara Cofman Wittes joins the Bombshell ladies to discuss the fallout of the Khashoggi assassination and the future of US-Saudi relations. We get further bogged down in Afghanistan and try to understand the migrant caravan moving north from Central America. Then Radha tries to cheer us up by explaining the intricacies of the Universal Postal Union. For icing on the cake, we dive deep into the INF treaty and wonder if the Defense Department really being asked to cut its budget. Saudi Emma Ashford, "The U.S.-Saudi alliance was in trouble long before Jamal Khashoggi's death," War on the Rocks Keeping up Foreign Relations Caravan Delphine Schrank, "Thousands of caravan migrants take shelter in southern Mexico," Reuters Afghanistan Dan Lamothe, "U.S. general wounded in attack in Afghanistan," Washington Post Thomas Ruttig, "The Killing of Razeq: Removing the Taleban's strongest foe in Kandahar, an indirect hit at elections," Afghanistan Analysts Network Ashley Jackson, "The Taliban Just Won a Key Battle for Afghanistan's Future," Foreign Policy Matthieu Aikins, "The Master of Spin Boldak," Harper's Maija Liuhto, "Regional leaders are defying Afghanistan's president. The latest is a police chief who was once a close U.S. ally," LA Times It's Aghast Jen Kirby, "Here's why Trump threatened to pull out of a 144-year-old postal treaty," Vox Daniel W. Drezner, "The Trump administration's brinkmanship with *checks notes* the Universal Postal Union," Washington Post White House Mayhem INF Treaty Amy F. Woolf, "Russian Compliance with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty: Background and Issues for Congress," Congressional Research Service Jacob Heim, "Missiles for Asia? The Need for Operational Analysis of U.S. Theater Ballistic Missiles in the Pacific," RAND Julian Borger and Martin Pengelly, "Trump says US will withdraw from nuclear arms treaty with Russia," Guardian Steven Pifer, "The Trump administration is preparing a major mistake on the INF Treaty," Brookings Budget Aaron Mehta, "Trump appears to call for defense spending cuts," Defense News Pop-Culture Caroline Hallemann, "Everything We Know About the New Masterpiece PBS Adaptation of Les Miserables," Town & Country "Death Comes to Pemberley," PBS

This week, Loren, Radha, and Erin are reunited to discuss such cheery topics as political assassinations and sexual violence (albeit in the form of Nobel Prizes awarded to combat it). Radha dives deep on NAFTA 2.0, and we work our way through the crazy Chinese hacked hardware story. Rounding out White House Mayhem, John Bolton is back and joins the president and vice president in making blustery foreign policy speeches. And Erin demands answers on Banksy's newest prank. New WOTR podcast: Melanie Marlowe, Bryan McGrath, and Christopher Preble, "Net Assessment," War on the Rocks KUFR Nobel prize Emily Sullivan, "Nobel Peace Prize Goes To Denis Mukwege And Nadia Murad For Fighting Sexual Violence," NPR Saudi-Turkey "Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey says journalist was murdered in Saudi consulate," BBC Karim Fahim, "Turkey concludes Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed by 'murder' team, sources say," Washington Post Trade Heather Long, "U.S., Canada and Mexico just reached a sweeping new NAFTA deal. Here's what's in it." Washington Post Jacob M. Schlesinger and Josh Zumbrun, "Trump Aims to Model New Trade Deals on Revised Nafta," Wall Street Journal Phil Levy, "Trump Faces A Car Conundrum On NAFTA Deal," Forbes Jeff Daniels, "New NAFTA falls short of 'more ambitious goals' for agribusiness, says CoBank report," CNBC Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley, "The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies," Bloomberg James Cook, "Apple and Amazon deny report that Chinese 'spy' chips were used to infiltrate their networks," Telegraph Ian Bogost, "The Chinese Motherboard Hack Is a Crisis, Even If It Didn't Really Happen," Atlantic WH Mayhem Jane Perlez, "Pence's China Speech Seen as Portent of 'New Cold War,'" New York Times Van Jackson, "Competition with China Isn't a Strategy," War on the Rocks David M. Herszenhorn, "Rebuking Trump, major powers reaffirm Iran nuclear deal," Politico Lara Seligman, "Bolton Puts Mattis in a Tight Spot on Syria," Foreign Policy Jarrett Blanc, "Here's Why World Leaders Are Laughing at Trump," Politico Pop-Culture Allison Quinn, "Banksy Painting Self-Destructs Seconds After Being Sold for $1.4 Million at Auction," Daily Beast

This week on bombshell Erin and Radha drink at Kori Schake's favorite bar in the world. Joined by Amelia Egghart, they discuss why climate change is still a thing and the (lack of) process in national security issues from Syria to Korea. They also remind us why you shouldn't start a land or trade war in Asia. And of course all the White House mayhem that's fit to print. Did we mention the guest was a chicken? Venezuela https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/08/world/americas/donald-trump-venezuela-military-coup.html https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-venezuela/us-preparing-actions-in-coming-days-against-venezuela-pompeo-to-fox-news-idUSKCN1M12RF China https://www.npr.org/2018/09/21/650554494/china-fires-back-against-u-s-sanctions-for-purchases-of-russian-weapons https://thehill.com/policy/finance/407871-5-things-to-know-about-trumps-escalating-trade-war-with-china Israel/Russia https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-russia-syria/israel-showed-russia-proof-syria-to-blame-for-downed-plane-israeli-military-idUSKCN1M11HL https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-to-study-israeli-data-related-to-downed-plane/4578956.html Climate https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/trump-environmental-policies-rollbacks/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-climatechange/governments-not-on-track-to-cap-temperatures-at-below-2-degrees-u-n-idUSKCN1LI03S

The Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC, hosted Loren and Radha this week for a live show. Lara Seligman of Foreign Policy and Valerie Insinna of Defense News joined the Bombshell crew to discuss defense journalism in the Trump administration, what it's like to cover a 17 year old war, and the most mayhem of mayhem weeks the White House has had in the last year. To listen to the audience Q&A for this episode, sign up for the War Hall at https://warontherocks.com/subscribe

Erin, Radha, and Loren head back to school from summer break, with smiling and shining faces. This week they catch up on some extensive Kabul mayhem, covering recent Taliban forays into Afghan-government controlled cities, the state of possible negotiations among both parties, and how this fits into new changes on command at ISAF and CENTCOM. Revisiting a topic that's come up since the first episode of Bombshell, the ladies check in on U.S. support to the coalition campaign in Yemen and recent USG and Congressional frustrations with civilian casualties in the region - are we any closer to the end of our rope in enabling Saudi operations there or business as usual? And the enormous growth Chinese harassment of Uighurs in Xinjiang combined with the technological prowess of the Chinese surveillance state has a terrible alchemy that other autocratic states may find attractive. Radha continues her trade segment "It's Aghast" and talks through the current shenanigans with Mexico and Canada as well as a rapid rundown of our many trade tax tools! After some White House mayhem where it's clear that process is still our valentine we delight and quibble over the new Jack Ryan series. Keeping up Foreign Relations Afghanistan https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/analysis-gen-nicholson-says-us-strategy-in-afghanistan-is-working-despite-the-facts.php http://time.com/longform/ghazni-fight-taliban/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-politics-security/rows-resignations-underscore-afghanistans-security-crisis-idUSKCN1LI0CN Yemen https://twitter.com/Brian_Castner/status/1031961797249646592 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45257631 https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/20/politics/yemeni-bombmaker-dead/index.html https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/yemen-saudi-airstrike-school-bus/567799/ China https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/31/asia/china-xinjiang-uyghur-intl/index.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/former-inmates-of-chinas-muslim-re-education-camps-tell-of-brainwashing-torture/2018/05/16/32b330e8-5850-11e8-8b92-45fdd7aaef3c_story.html?utm_term=.0b9c4d3c852f https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/china-surveillance-technology-muslims/567443/ https://www.npr.org/2018/08/31/643736351/u-n-urges-china-to-stop-detaining-uighurs-political-reeducation-centers-reported It's Aghast China tariffs https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2018/08/23/china-trade-war-update-preparing-for-trump-vs-xi/#6bdc310814a0 https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-china-tariff-second-list-of-goods-products-worth-16-billion-2018-8 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/08/24/china-trade/?utm_term=.256b6f1a0647 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-tariffs/trump-ready-to-ratchet-up-china-trade-war-with-more-tariffs-report-idUSKCN1LF2BP NAFTA https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/nafta-canada-trump-trudeau-twitter-1.4807836 https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/naftas-economic-impact https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/i-was-all-set-to-terminate-inside-trumps-sudden-shift-on-nafta/2017/04/27/0452a3fa-2b65-11e7-b605-33413c691853_story.html?utm_term=.8873dabcb477 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-trump/trump-says-mexico-trade-deal-near-nafta-hurdles-seen-easing-idUSKCN1LA0H0 https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-mexico-close-to-resolving-issues-holding-up-nafta-talks-1535214739 https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/09/01/trumps-playing-tough-with-canadians-he-needs-them/?utm_term=.724c9007d666 White House Mayhem https://www.vox.com/2018/8/28/17790546/north-korea-trump-pompeo-letter-trip https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mccains-funeral-was-a-melancholy-last-hurrah-for-whats-been-lost-in-trump-era/2018/09/01/156784c6-ad46-11e8-b1da-ff7faa680710_story.html?utm_term=.2369d4ecda58 Pop Culture http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/jack-ryan-amazon-review.html

While the ladies of Bombshell will talk with just about anyone, should the U.S. government? Bombshell dives into President Trump's proclivity for theatrical political summits with adversaries, following up on current efforts in Afghanistan, North Korea, and Iran. Radha introduces a new segment on trade: It's Aghast! And the National Defense Authorization Act is a 2500 page gold mine of wonky policy fun. Keeping up Foreign Relations North Korea "North Korea continuing nuclear programme - UN report," BBC News Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick, "U.S. spy agencies: North Korea is working on new missiles," Washington Post Uri Friedman, "Two Ways to Read the Newest Intelligence on North Korea," Atlantic Pakistan Elections Colin Cookman, "A Tilted Playing Field: What Pakistan's Electoral Shifts Could Mean for Imran Khan's Government," War on the Rocks Alyssa Ayres, "Election 2018: So Far, No Cause for Celebration," Council on Foreign Relations Afghanistan Strategy Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Helene Cooper, "Newest U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan Mirrors Past Plans for Retreat," New York Times Spencer Ackerman, "Inside the Secret Taliban Talks to End America's Longest War," Daily Beast Idrees Ali, "Exclusive: After discouraging year, U.S. officials expect review of Afghan Strategy," Reuters It's Aghast Jack Ewing, "Europe Feels the Squeeze of the Trump Trade Tariffs," New York Times Shawn Donnan, "Trump's hopes for EU trade deal hampered by agriculture," Financial Times Doug Palmer, "US sides with Russia in WTO national security case against Ukraine," Politico White House Mayhem NDAA Mark Cancian, "What Really Matters In The Defense Authorization Act & What Didn't Get Done," Breaking Defense Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould, "Senate moves to empower Pentagon's policy chief as enforcer," Defense News Office of Management and Budget, "Follow-on to Statement of Administration Policy," Executive Office of the President Leo Shane III and Tara Copp, "Pentagon braces for massive change to officer promotions," Military Times Tom Vanden Brook, "Generals and admirals caught in sex scandals could lose clearances under defense funding bill," USA Today Space Force Marcus Weisgerber, "Exclusive: Pentagon To Start Creating Space Force -- Even Before Congress Approves It," Defense One Paul Scharre, "The US Military Should Not Be Doubling Down on Space," Defense One

Alina Polyakova of Brookings joins the Bombshell crew to dive into the fallout from the Helsinki Summit. Radha furthers our education on tariffs, er trade taxes, as the great trade war of 2018 slouches toward chaos. Meanwhile, Teresa May's Brexit woes continue as she mucks around with Northern Ireland. And despite Secretary Pompeo's personal attention, President Trump is catching on to the fact that Singapore did not set up the greatest of deals with North Korea. In White House mayhem Trump's NSC is trying desperately to stay out of his line of sight as they manage crises he won't like - like the reemergence of ISIS in Iraq. Plus, Supergirl and puppies, airplane movies, Bombshell books, early gray fudge, and rose all day. Helsinki Fallout Alina Polyakova and Benjamin Haddad, "Europe in the New Era of Great Power Competition," Foreign Affairs Alina Polyakova, "Trump Has Trapped Himself Into Cracking Down on Russia," Atlantic Alina Polyakova, "Putin didn't have to push the Kremlin's narrative. Trump did it for him." Washington Post Julia Ioffe, "The surreal world," Washington Post All the Tariffs Louis Nelson, Victoria Guida, Adam Behsudi, "Trump threatens tariffs on all $500 billion worth of Chinese imports," Politico "The world trading system is under attack," Economist Hersh Shefrin, "Playing Trade War Chicken," Forbes Ana Swanson, "Republicans Bow to White House on Chinese Telecom Firm ZTE," New York Times Merrit Kennedy, "In Face Of Protectionism, EU And Japan Sign Huge Open-Trade Deal," NPR Raymond Colitt, Patrick Gillespie, Carolynn Look, "World Economic Leaders Condemn President Trump's Twitter Trade Rants at G-20 Summit," Time/Bloomberg Megan Cassella, "Trump's new midterm threat: A trade war smacking voters," Politico John Bowden, "Mnuchin: US open to removing Russian aluminum producer from sanctions list," Hill Brexit "The Great British Venn Diagram," QNTM Henry Farrell, "Theresa May's Brexit speech may break the Northern Ireland peace process," Washington Post "Brexit: May calls for EU to 'evolve' position on 'unworkable' backstop," Irish Times North Korea John Hudson, Josh Dawsey, Carol D. Leonnig, "In private, Trump vents frustration over lack of progress on North Korea," Washington Post Christopher Dickey, "Kim's Still Got His Nukes, and Hasn't Returned Our Heroes," Daily Beast ISIS Liz Sly and Mustafa Salim, "ISIS is making a comeback in Iraq just months after Baghdad declared victory," Washington Post Weekend Edition Saturday, "The Current State of ISIS," NPR Louisa Loveluck, "Syrian army raises flag above city considered as birthplace of uprising against Assad," Washington Post

This week we do our best impersonation of the Georgetown set recording from 1789 and lamenting the world gone to hell. We break down Pompeo's trip to North Korea, Theresa May's Brexit woes, and the NATO summit which has already been overrun by chaos Muppets. With so much White House mayhem, we focus on Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin, and Radha gets on her soapbox about MAVNI and suitability screenings. Need a pop-culture escape? We suggest Crazy Rich Asians and Sharp Objects. Dahlia Lithwick, "Chaos Theory," Slate Daniel Russel, "The Singapore Honeymoon Is Over," Foreign Policy Jane Vaynman and Vipin Narang, "There are signs North Korea is still working on its nuclear program. Here's why 'denuclearization' is so problematic." Washington Post Nick Wadhams, "Inside Pompeo's Fraught North Korea Trip," Bloomberg Alex Hunt and Brian Wheeler, "Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU," BBC Silvia Amaro, "There's now a real chance the UK won't get a Brexit deal—here's what that means for markets," CNBC John Cassidy, "Boris Johnson's resignation can't disguise the harsh reality of Brexit," New Yorker Robert Hutton, "U.K. Labour Open to Brexit Referendum If May's Deal Fails," Bloomberg Mark Newton, Rachel Rizzo, Julianne Smith, and Jim Townsend, "More Than Burden Sharing," CNAS Kathleen Hicks, "Press Briefing: Allied and Partner Contributions to NATO: Redefining Security Investment," CSIS Heather Hurlburt, "Even the Best-Case Scenario for What Trump Does at the NATO Summit Is Pretty Grim," New York Magazine Victoria Newland, "In Two Summits, a Moment of Truth for Trump," New York Times Tara Copp, "Here's the bottom line on the future of MAVNI: Many foreign-born recruits may soon be out," Military Times Jeff Schogol and Adam Linehan, "No, President Trump Is Not Purging The Military Of Immigrants," Task & Purpose Beth J. Asch, Jennie W. Wegner, Troy D. Smith, "The Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Program," RAND Ben Mathis-Lilley, "The Pentagon Says It's Not Purging Immigrant Recruits, but Some Evidence Says Otherwise," Slate Alex Ward, "Why Trump may not be to blame for immigrants being booted from the military," Vox Alex Horton, "ICE is moving to deport a veteran after Mattis assured that would not happen," Washington Post

Bombshell goes international! Loren warily crosses the border to visit Stefanie von Hlatky, Stephanie Carvin, and Elaine Bunn for a special Canadian episode at the Kingston Conference on International Security. The ladies give deterrence a playlist and it's own film series, then dive deeper into what deterrence means to the public and How to Teach Your President About Deterrence. And since deterrence is above all a human interaction, we discuss that elephant in the room: what it means to be a woman in the field.

In the most ambitious crossover event since that one time on TGIF, Bombshell joins Rational Security for a very special joint episode. Radha, Erin, Loren, Shane, and Susan take on our hellscape of a government's evolving policy on family separation; Radha as a Real Life Economist schools us on the not-so-cleansing fire of the latest trade wars, and, of course we go full blast on Space Force. You knew it was coming. It's real. And it's spectacular.