This week on Bombshell, special guest Elizabeth Rosenberg explains the art of unmaking the Iran deal and the consequences of the Trump administration's Iran 'strategy.' Foreign relations are keeping us busy with a tinderbox in Kirkuk at the worst possible time, and a new lens on the Pentagon's under-scrutinized advise and assist efforts in Africa that resulted in four soldier's killed in an ambush this month. Mattis and the White House are sending mixed signals on transparency and democratic accountability on the Hill and in the press (what else is new?). Erin, Radha, and Loren are as usual looking out for budget deals, new and potentially harmful MAVNI guidelines, and Trump appointees. And yeah. Us too.

Episode Reading: 

• Radha Iyengar and Rebecca Friedman Lissner, “Iran, Terrorism, and Nonproliferation After the Nuclear Deal,” War on the Rocks
• Angela Dewan, “Why Turkey-US tensions have come to a boil,” CNN
• “Iraq conflict: Peshmerga 'deadline to leave Kirkuk' passes,” BBC
• “Iraqi, Kurd forces in Kirkuk standoff as tensions rise,” Al Jazeera
• Colin Cookman, “Pakistan-Afghanistan Update: Canadian-American Couple Freed After 5 Years Captivity; UN Release Civilian Casualty Update,” Colin Cookman
• Sarah Polley, “The Men You Meet Making Movies,” New York Times
• Ilan Goldenberg and Elizabeth Rosenberg, “If Trump Won't Certify the Iran Deal, He Should Do This Instead,” Foreign Policy
• Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Eric Schmitt, “Niger Attack Lays Bare U.S. Troops Long Wait for Medical Help in Africa,” New York Times
• Phillip Carter, “Questionable Calls," Slate

This week, the Bombshell squad goes shoulder to shoulder into the fray of referenda for the Iraqi Kurds and the Catalans in Spain, alongside a recap of the German general election.  Like many women have before us, we ask "Why Chad?" and explore the merits of the new Trump travel ban. We wonder if it was painful for Secretary Tillerson to get cut off at the knees over North Korea, and contemplate the interagency fun of  the Puerto Rico relief efforts.  Finally, we spend some quality time pondering the existential crises brought on by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's Vietnam documentary on PBS - and also our love of Ross Poldark.

Episode Reading:

• Lauren Frayer, “Violence Breaks Out During Catalan Independence Referendum,” NPR 
• Lauren Theisen, “Barcelona Play In An Empty Stadium After Attempted Independence Vote,” Deadspin
• Julie Smith, “Merkel Will Spend the Next Four Years Battle Forces at Home,” Foreign Policy
• Kevin Sieff, “Why did the U.S. travel ban add counterterrorism partner Chad? No one seems quite sure,” Washington Post
• Helene Cooper, Michael D. Shear and Dionne Searcey. “Chad’s Inclusion in Travel Ban Could Jeopardize American Interests, Officials Say,” New York Times
• Charlie Savage and Eric Schmidt, “Trump poised to drop some limits on drone strikes and commando raids,” New York Times
• Dana Milbank, “Donald Trump's Dog,” Washington Post
• Malcolm Gladwell, "Saigon, 1965” (Episode 2), The Revisionist History Podcast 
• Alyssa Rosenberg, “Ken Burns’s American War,” Washington Post
• Nicole Cliffe, ”Poldark Season-Premiere Recap: Sunrise, Sunset,” Vulture