U.S. foreign policy: Yemen, al Qaeda and Russia

Guests:  Gregory Johnsen and Matthew Rojansky

Over the past several years the U.S. has been engaged in an intense counterterrorism effort in Yemen to destroy al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Despite countless drone attacks, AQAP has grown and is considered to be the most dangerous branch of the organization. Most recently, fears of a terror plot forced the closure of U.S. embassies and missions in the region. In the first half of the hour we’ll talk to Yemen expert GREGORY JOHNSEN about the effectiveness of the U.S. strategy to control Al Qaeda militants in Yemen. Then, we turn our attention to another part of the world – Russia. Concern about the granting temporary asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden as well as differences regarding missile defense, trade policies, human rights and American adoptions of Russian children forced the President to cancel a September summit between the two countries. We’ve asked MATTHEW ROJANSKY from the Wilson Center to share his perspectives on the chilled relationship.