MARINA OTTAWAY ON IRAQ

Host Carol Castiel and Dakhil Shammo, broadcaster with VOA’s Kurdish Service, speak with Marina Ottaway, a Senior Scholar with the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, about the growing sectarian tensions that threaten the territorial integrity of Iraq, 10 years after the US-led invasion was supposed to have ushered in stability and democracy.

PETER EICHSTAEDT ON AFGHANISTAN<br><br> Host Carol Castiel and Chief of VOA’s Dari Service Akmal Dawi speak with former Afghanistan country director of the Institute of War and Peace Reporting, Peter Eichstaedt, about his new book, “Above the Din of War: Afghans Speak About Their Lives, Their Country, and Their Future – and Why America Should Listen.”

MWANGI KIMENYI, DIRECTOR OF THE AFRICA GROWTH INITIATIVE, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION<br><br> Host Carol Castiel and Host of Africa 54, Vincent Makori, speak with Dr. Kimenyi about the aftermath of the Kenyan election as Uhuro Kenyatta, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court, is sworn in as President. Kimenyi tells Carol and Vincent that the vote represented, in part, a repudiation of the ICC. But he also believes that Kenyatta and his deputy, Ruto, no matter how controversial internationally due to ICC indictments, have a legitimate mandate to govern. Kimenyi discusses the challenges that face Kenyatta and how he is likely to interact with the United States and other western nations, many of whom had hoped his challenger, Raila Odinga, would win the election. Kimenya also offers thoughts about China’s push into Africa.

AMBASSADOR FREDERIC HOF, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL<br><br> Host Carol Castiel and VOA broadcaster Pamela Dockins speak with Ambassador Frederic Hof, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Ambassador Hof, who was the Obama administration’s special advisor for the Syrian transition in 2012, recommends that the United States and its allies support the mainstream Syrian opposition in establishing a legitimate functioning government on liberated Syrian soil. He explains that this will require a “paradigm shift” on the part of the US government but says the consequences of not doing so might mean even greater sectarian chaos and a failed state in the heart of the volatile Middle East.

PETER EISNER ON POPE FRANCIS<br><br> Host Carol Castiel and VOA’s Latin American Division broadcaster Ramon Taylor talk with author of the recently published book “The Pope’s Last Crusade,” and long-time foreign-correspondent and Latin American Bureau chief Peter Eisner, about how the first pontiff from Latin America might tackle the many challenges facing the Catholic Church in the years to come.

VICKI HUDDLESTON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO MALI<br><br> Host Carol Castiel and VOA French to Africa broadcaster Idriss Fall speak with the former top envoy to Mali about the continuing turmoil in the divided nation and what concrete steps must be taken by a variety of actors from the UN to Algeria to the African Union to the United States to prevent Mali from becoming a breeding ground for al-Qaeda and criminal networks.

AL-MONITOR'S EDITOR ANDREW PARASILITI<br><br> Host Carol Castiel and Negar Mohammadi an anchor with VOA’s Persian News Network speak with Andrew Parasiliti, the editor of al-Monitor.com, and former advisor to US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, about the new media website al Monitor.com, the ten-year anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, Iran’s role in the region, the conflict in Syria, and regional expectations for President Obama’s upcoming trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories.