What Iran and China stand to gain from an Iraq AUMF repeal
On Thursday, the Senate began to re-evaluate one of the most
controversial episodes in American history: the Iraq war.
After a generation of use and abuse, Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer is calling a vote to repeal the Iraq AUMF, or authorization for
the use of military force, which has been a key underpinning for
America’s so-called “forever wars” in the Middle East.
But Stephen Hadley, the man who was the architect of many of the
national security policies that the Iraq AUMF enabled, has something to
say before Congress votes. Hadley was President George W. Bush’s
national security advisor from 2005 to 2009 and was Dick Cheney’s guy at
the negotiating table with Russia during the George H.W. Bush
administration. Now, he has just published a book called Hand-Off: The
Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama that chronicles 20
years of war and politics in America.
On this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Playbook co-author Ryan
Lizza speaks with the former Bush adviser about what we stand to lose if
Congress is sloppy about repealing the Iraq war AUMF, what Bush got
right and wrong on China, how Joe Biden’s foreign policy echoes Bush’s
Freedom Agenda, and how President Biden can learn from Bush’s successes
and failures dealing with Vladimir Putin.
Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Stephen Hadley is the former National Security Advisor for President
George W. Bush.
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.
3/17/2023
32:43
AI is advancing faster than Congress. Here’s why that’s a bug
Last November, when the artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT
launched, an old science fiction question suddenly became very real: How
long until the machines are smarter than the humans?
It marked the beginning of a new era in technology – one that has
enormous implications for the economy and the nation’s politics. On the
Hill, members of Congress suddenly needed answers about the coming
disruption. The expert they turned to for those was a video game
developer from Southern California, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.).
Obernolte is, according to his peers, the guy you need to know on AI. He
has a masters in the field and owns a very successful video game
company. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, he tells Playbook’s Ryan
Lizza the truth about this powerful new technology and what it means to
Washington, D.C.; from AI’s regulatory forecast to what – if anything –
Congress can do to soften a potential white collar job apocalypse that
its widespread adoption might bring.
Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Rep. Jay Obernolte is the congressman for California's 23rd district.
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.
3/10/2023
28:53
Finnish Ambassador: Here’s the right way to poke the Russian bear
The war in Ukraine is just over one year old. There is widespread talk
of a major spring offensive from both sides. War in Europe, once
unthinkable, is now the new normal. But for one nation on Russia’s
northern border, this feels like deja vu.
Like Ukraine, Finland knows what it’s like to share a long border with
Russia. The Finns have had Vladimir Putin as a neighbor, and they’ve
been performing the same delicate dance of decoupling under his very
watchful eye.
Before his posting to Washington, Mikko Hautala was Finland’s ambassador
to Russia, where he met Vladimir Putin more times than he can count.
Hautala occupied his post in Moscow during the critical years following
Putin’s first invasion of Ukraine.
Since the war began, he’s become well known as the person to talk to to
understand Putin, Russia and the conflict in Ukraine.
On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host Ryan Lizza talks with
Hautala about what Americans don’t understand about the Russian leader,
the implications of the growing alliance between China and Russia,
Finland’s accession to NATO, and why he believes the West needs to
massively ramp up its industrial capability if it wants Ukraine to
survive.
Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Mikko Hautala is Finland's ambassador to the U.S.
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a senior editor for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.
3/3/2023
35:28
How to investigate the president, his predecessor & keep your job
Until last month, Anthony Coley was Director of Public Affairs at the
Justice Department and a Senior Adviser to Attorney General Merrick
Garland.
Coley was in the middle of some of the most extraordinary episodes at
DOJ over the last two years:
The appointment of two special counsels investigating one current and
one former president.
Responding to the drama around the investigation of the president’s
son.
Taking incoming from right-wing pundits saying Garland was protecting
President Biden and left-wing pundits saying the attorney general was
protecting former president Trump.
And occasionally grappling with perhaps the most difficult dilemma that
any government official faces: what do you do when you disagree with the
boss?
In his first interview since leaving Merrick Garland’s side, Coley joins
Playbook Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza from his home on Capitol Hill to
discuss how the Justice Department separates law from politics, why two
special counsels might just take the pressure off Garland, and much,
much more.
Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Anthony Coley is the former director of public affairs at the Department
of Justice
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a senior editor for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.
2/24/2023
44:21
What experts get wrong about Nikki Haley’s run
Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, and President Donald
Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, is running for president. But
not everyone on the right is impressed.
In a brutal Valentine’s Day editorial, The Wall Street Journal said that
there is “no clear rationale for her candidacy.” Over at The New York
Times, the paper assembled 10 pundits to assess Haley’s candidacy, and
the majority opinion was that she shouldn’t be taken very seriously.
On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Rob Godfrey, a senior aide and
spokesman for Haley when she was governor, and a longtime ally to her
successor, Henry McMaster, shares why the critics may be wrong. Godfrey
discusses Haley’s career of defying expectations, her record as
governor, South Carolina’s uniquely influential role in American
politics, and invites host Ryan Lizza to come visit.
Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Rob Godfrey is the former senior aide to Nikki Haley.
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a senior editor for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.