Dr. Richard Haass Talks Trump, Obama

Dr. Richard Haass is in his thirteenth year as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource to help people better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

In 2013, he served as the chair of the multi-party negotiations in Northern Ireland that provided the foundation for the 2014 Stormont House Agreement. For his efforts to promote peace and conflict resolution, he received the 2013 Tipperary International Peace Award.

From January 2001 to June 2003, Dr. Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he was a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Dr. Haass also served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process. In recognition of his service, he received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award.

Dr. Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Dr. Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Previously, he served in the Departments of State (1981-85) and Defense (1979-80) and was a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate.

Dr. Haass also was vice president and director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, the Sol M. Linowitz visiting professor of international studies at Hamilton College, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. A Rhodes scholar, Dr. Haass holds a BA from Oberlin College and Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University. He has also received numerous honorary degrees.

Dr. Haass is the author or editor of twelve books on American foreign policy and one book on management. His most recent books are Foreign Policy Begins at Home: The Case for Putting America’s House in Order, and War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars.

Dr. Richard Haass was born in Brooklyn, New York and lives in New York City.

KT McFarland on Obama Overseas

KT McFarland discussed President Obama’s visit to Vietnam and Hiroshima. McFarland said it’s about time we repaired our relationship with Vietnam, but she’s not so thrilled about the President visiting Hiroshima, as it puts America on the defensive.

Kathleen Troia “KT” McFarland is FOX News’ National Security Analyst and appears regularly on FOX News and FOX Business News. She is also the host of FOXNews.com’s DEFCON 3, one of the Internet’s most watched national security shows. Ms. McFarland writes a column for FOX FORUM, and records a weekly video blog for FOXnews.com, DEFCON 3 by KT. She is also the national security commentator for several radio programs on FOX, ABC, WMAL and WVOX.

 

Ms. McFarland held national security posts in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan Administrations: as an aide to Dr. Henry Kissinger on the NSC Staff (1970-76); member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Staff (1981); Senior Speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and later the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (PA) and Pentagon Spokesman (1981-84). Ms. McFarland received the Defense Department’s highest civilian award for her work in the Reagan Administration (1985). She ran as a Republican candidate for the US Senate from New York (2006).

 

Ms. McFarland is a graduate of George Washington University (BA), Oxford University (BA, MA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD program, all but dissertation) with concentrations on nuclear weapons, China and the Soviet Union. She received Graduate Fellowships from the Ford Foundation, Institute for the Study of World Politics, and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (Hubert Humphrey Fellowship).

 

She is a board member of The Jamestown Foundation, the Off the Record Lecture Series, a Distinguished Advisor to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is married to Alan Roberts McFarland and the mother/stepmother of five.

"Bernie & Sid"

Bernie & Sid talked about the Billboard Music Awards, both agreeing that Madonna and Stevie Wonders’ tribute to Prince was brutal. Bernie took it a step further and said that Joan Hamburg and Tony Powell could’ve put on a better performance.

Bernard J. McGuirk is the executive producer of the Imus in the Morning radio program. He was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York, where he worked in his younger years as a taxi driver.

Sid Rosenberg is a radio personality and the former morning host of WMEN-640 AM.  Rosenberg is known for his controversial and sarcastic humor as a host on many radio stations including, WAXY "790 The Ticket" in Miami, where he hosted his own morning show.  He originally was paired with O.J. McDuffie, formerly a wide receiver with the Miami Dolphins; McDuffie resigned his position with the station in the summer of 2006.

Rosenberg's self-given jokingly middle name "Arthur" is a reference to former baseball player Dave Kingman. When Hall of Fame sportscaster Bob Murphy gave the lineups for the New York Mets, he would always give Kingman's name as "David Arthur Kingman"; Rosenberg continues this running gag on the Sports Guys by using Arthur as everybody's middle name.

His radio career started in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he hosted the syndicated sports radio program The Drive on Sports Fan Radio Network in the late 1990s, after starting as an Internet broadcast. In 2000, he moved to New York City to co-host WNEW-FM's turbulent morning show, the Sports Guys. A year later, he joined the Imus in the Morning program. He shared the sports broadcasting duties with Warner Wolf before becoming the full-time sports reporter. He engaged in heated half-mock, half-serious disputes with the other members of the Imus cast, leading for example to an actual boxing bout with producer Bernard McGuirk.  Several months after joining the Imus show, he became the co-host of the midday show on Imus' flagship station, WFAN. Here, his strong knowledge of sports and distinctive, high-pitched Brooklyn accent served him well. He would hold both broadcasting positions until 2005. For several years, he also hosted the radio pre-game shows for New York Giants home games.

Tom Friedman Talks Trump

Thomas L. Friedman became The New York Times’ foreign affairs Op-Ed columnist in 1995. He joined the paper in 1981, after which he served as the Beirut bureau chief in 1982, Jerusalem bureau chief in 1984, and then in Washington as the diplomatic correspondent in 1989, and later the White House correspondent and economic correspondent.

Mr. Friedman was awarded the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting (from Lebanon) and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting (from Israel). He also won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

Mr. Friedman is the author of “From Beirut to Jerusalem,” which won the National Book Award in 1989. He has written several other books, including “Hot, Flat and Crowded,” an international best seller.

Born in Minneapolis, Mr. Friedman received a B.A. degree in Mediterranean studies from Brandeis University in 1975. In 1978 he received a master’s in modern Middle East studies from Oxford. His column appears every Sunday and Wednesday.

Congressman Peter King

Rep. King touched on Obama lifting the U.S. arms ban on Vietnam, saying if the overall strategy is to have leverage against China, then it makes sense. King also discussed Trump’s plan with China, and said he needs to make his policies more coherent.

Congressman Peter T. King, a Republican, is serving his twelfth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, being reelected in November 2014 with 68.5% of the vote - the highest margin of any Congressional candidate on Long Island.

 Rep. King is a member of the Homeland Security Committee and Chairman of the Sub-Committee on [Counterterrorism and Intelligence]. He also serves on the Financial Services Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Congressman King, who previously served as Chairman of the Committee in 2005-2006 and again in 2011-2012, has been a leader in the ongoing effort to have Homeland Security funding based on threat analysis and is a strong supporter of the war against international terrorism, both at home and abroad. As Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, he stood up to the pressure from special interest groups and the media to hold a series of hearings on Islamic radicalization. Chairman King led the fight to continue funding to the Secure the Cities Program to protect the New York-Long Island region from nuclear dirty bomb attacks.

During his years in Congress, Rep. King has attained a reputation for being well-informed and independent. Following the ravages of Superstorm Sandy, Rep. King led the successful fight in Congress to obtain $60.4 billion in emergency funding for the victims of the storm. Even Newsday has admitted that Congressman King is a "stand-up guy who isn’t shy about tangling with the powerful, even those in his own party. King has become a national figure who delivers for the region and his district."

Rep. King is a strong supporter of law enforcement, our military and has fought hard to bring veterans’ benefits into the 21st century. Congressman King is also a strong supporter of funding to combat deadly illnesses such as breast cancer and prostate cancer. He has also received the AARP's Legislative Leadership Award for combating elder abuse and exploitation.

Prior to serving in Congress, Pete King was elected to three terms as the Comptroller of Nassau County. Before serving in county government, Rep. King had extensive experience as a practicing attorney and civic leader. He began his political career in November 1977 by winning election to the Hempstead Town Council. Rep. King is also a member of the Knights of Columbus, Knights of Pythias, AMVETS and the Fighting 69th Veterans Corps.