BROADCASTS.com

This week Erin, Loren, and Radha reunite after a midwinter break to talk pandemics. They then turn to the Afghanistan \u201cpeace\u201d deal, Israeli elections (third time\u2019s the charm?), and recent developments in Syria. As always, there\u2019s plenty of White House mayhem with a new chief of staff, and vacancies as far as the eye can see in Pentagon civilian leadership. Thankfully, Hilary Mantel books and Love is Blind provide a pop culture escape to soothe (or at least distract) the soul.

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Links

Coronavirus

• Matthew Herper, \u201cSusan Desmond-Hellmann: The Coronavirus is Alarming. Here\u2019s Why You Should Not Panic,\u201d\xa0Stat, March 6, 2020
• \u201cCovid-19 is Now In 50 Countries, and Things Will Get Worse,\u201d\xa0The Economist, February 2020

Afghanistan

• Diaa Hadid and Scott Neuman, \u201cUS, Afghanistan and Taliban Announce 7-Day Reduction in Violence,\u201d\xa0NPR Morning Edition, February 21, 2020
• Shereen Qazi, \u201cWill the Ghani-Abdullah Rivalry Undermine Afghan Peace Process?\u201d\xa0Aljazeera, March 9, 2020
• Kathy Gilsinan, \u201cThe US Once Wanted Peace in Afghanistan,\u201d\xa0Atlantic, February 29, 2020
• David E. Sanger, Eric Schmitt, and Thomas Gibbons-Neff, \u201cA Secret Accord With the Taliban: When and How the US Would Leave Afghanistan,\u201d\xa0New York Times, March 8, 2020
• Susannah George, \u201cThrown Under the Bus: Some Afghans View US-Taliban Peace Deal with Mix of Disbelief and Anger,\u201d\xa0Washington Post, March 7, 2020
• Courtney Kube, Ken Dilanian, and Dan De Luce, \u201cUS Has Persuasive Intel Taliban Do Not Intend to Abide by Terms of Peal Deal, Officials Say,\u201d\xa0NBC New, March 6, 2020
• Elizabeth Threlkeld, \u201cReading Between the Lines of Afghan Agreement,\u201d\xa0Lawfare, March 8, 2020

Pop Culture

• Randy Shilts,\xa0And the Band Played On, (St. Martin\u2019s Griffin, 2007)
• Wolf Hall,\xa0PBS

Syria

• Jen Kirby, \u201cTurkey and Russia Reached a Ceasefire in Syria. Will it Hold?\u201d\xa0Vox, March 6, 2020
• \u201cWater Cannon and Tear Gas at Turkish-Greek Border,\u201d\xa0BBC, March 7, 2020

OSD

• Lara Seligman and Daniel Lippman, \u201cCivilian Vacancies at Trump\u2019s Pentagon Hit New High,\u201d\xa0Politico, March 6, 2020