Claim OwnershipTarget USA Podcast by WTOP
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Whether its terrorists, anarchists, cyber criminals or nation states, America has a target on its back. WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green investigates the threats facing the U.S., the people behind them, the agencies fighting them and their impact on Americans.
515 Episodes
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The transatlantic alliance is facing its most serious test in decades. President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to assert control over Greenland—combined with mounting pressure tactics against U.S. allies—has accelerated a quiet but consequential shift in Europe’s strategic thinking.In this episode, Ambassador Daniel Fried, Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former senior U.S. diplomat deeply involved in NATO and European security policy, joins us to discuss how harsh rhetoric and failed coercion fractured long-standing assumptions about American leadership.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
After a blistering speech that lasted more than an hour, which centered around the US taking Greenland, President Donald announced that a deal had been made. Listen to an excerpt of his speech and hear Ambassador Kurt Volker, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, explain what happened.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Former Greenland finance minister Maliina Abelsen delivers a blunt warning about President Donald Trump’s renewed talk of “taking” Greenland. This episode examines how power politics, symbolism, and messaging are colliding with international law, alliance norms, and Arctic security—and why Greenlanders see the rhetoric as a threat, not protection.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As U.S. military actions stretch from Venezuela to the North Atlantic, allies and adversaries are reassessing what American power now means. This episode, featuring retired General Ben Hodges and Ambassador Kurt Volker, examines the seizures, the rhetoric, and the growing concern in Europe that long-standing rules are giving way to something more dangerous—and more unpredictable.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Retired General Ben Hodges, former Commander of U.S. Army Europe, says the U.S. military activity off Venezuela is repeating one of the most dangerous mistakes of Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan: no clear strategy, no defined end state, and questionable legality. And the consequences, he argues, extend far beyond any single operation, putting U.S. troops, alliances, and global credibility at risk.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Former U.S. Army Europe commander General Ben Hodges delivers a blunt assessment of America’s shifting military posture and the risks it carries. He raises urgent questions about the legality of recent U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels, the absence of clear rules of engagement, and the strategic vacuum surrounding U.S. actions from the Western Hemisphere to Ukraine. He addresses these issues in Part One of Unchecked Force. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This episode pulls back the curtain on daily life inside a country under siege. From a darkened apartment in Kyiv, Ukrainian Member of Parliament and mother Halyna Yanchenko describes nights without electricity, heat, water, or internet. Elevators stop. Food cannot be cooked. Homes go cold. This is not a war fought only on front lines or maps. It is a deliberate campaign aimed at civilians, families, and children, designed to exhaust, frighten, and break a society from the inside out. In her own words, Yanchenko explains what it means to raise children in darkness, and why Ukraine says this is not just war, but an attempt to erase civilian life itself.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As Russia intensifies its campaign, Ukraine faces another threat from within: systemic corruption undermining its own war effort. In this episode, Kurt Volker, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Special Envoy to Ukraine, and Distinguished Fellow at CEPA explains how corruption is weakening Western support. It's also complicating battlefield decisions and giving Moscow strategic breathing room. A hard look at Ukraine’s internal battle and what must change for Kyiv to win the external one.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
An Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. Counterterrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler says this may be more than a mental health case. He warns extremist networks in Taliban-run Afghanistan now reach directly into Afghan diaspora communities online. The attacker’s travel, target selection, and ambush tactics match modern lone-actor terror patterns. Schindler says social media platforms—not law enforcement—hold the real early-warning data. A close look at a threat environment turning darker in the U.S.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Today on Target USA, a story that cuts straight to the core of military culture, extremism, and truth. The U.S. Coast Guard, under intense public pressure, has reversed course on a deeply controversial policy shift. A draft manual, first uncovered by The Washington Post, appeared to downgrade the swastika and the noose, two of the most violent, hate-laden symbols in American and world history, from outright banned imagery to merely “potentially divisive.”The backlash from veterans, lawmakers, and civil-rights groups was immediate and fierce. Now the Coast Guard says it never changed its stance. But the documents tell a different story. Coast Guard and Navy veteran Lene Mees De Tricht joins us on this. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Grenada is facing one of the most consequential national security decisions in its modern history, after the United States quietly requested permission to install a radar system and station military personnel on the island as it pursues action against Venezuela. Veteran Grenadian journalist Linda Straker breaks down the mystery behind the U.S. request, the growing anxiety on the island, and the high-stakes diplomatic trap Grenada now finds itself in. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to send troops or cut aid to Nigeria has triggered a diplomatic and security storm across Africa. In this episode, we speak with humanitarian journalist Usman Abba Zanna from Maiduguri, who explains how Trump’s words could inflame tensions, embolden extremists, and reshape Nigeria’s ties to the West.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this gripping conversation, Belarusian legal expert and exiled journalist Natalia Belikova explains how disinformation in Belarus isn’t just a tactic; it’s the regime’s operating system.She describes how the Lukashenko government has built an alternative reality, where familiar words like “democracy,” “elections,” and “human rights” are redefined to serve state power. In a sometimes emotional interview, Natalia shares what it’s like to be exiled from your home, to lose colleagues to prison, and to raise children abroad while fighting to preserve your national identity. She also issues a warning to Western democracies. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When President Trump agreed to meet Vladimir Putin in Budapest, it looked like a potential breakthrough. Instead, it became a masterclass in manipulation. Within 24 hours, the Kremlin pulled the plug — and the world saw how quickly leverage can shift. In this episode, Ambassador Kurt Volker, former US Special Envoy to Ukraine and current Distinguished Fellow at the Center for European Policy analysis unpacks how Putin’s “summit offer” was never about peace talks, but about power, humiliation, and control — and what it reveals about the fragile state of U.S.–Russia diplomacy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
After twenty years of covering the U.S. military, I turned in my Pentagon press credential today. But that’s all that changes; My commitment to covering the men and women of the U.S. military and the institution they serve remains exactly the same. Let me explain.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
We go deep inside the mind of one of Ukraine’s most unflinching voices—two-time former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The man who stood at the helm during the nation’s darkest hour after Russia’s first invasion in 2014 returns with a stark warning and a message of resilience. In this powerful conversation, Yatsenyuk, now Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, dissects Vladimir Putin’s endgame, the limits of Western resolve, and what it truly means to fight for democracy when your nation’s survival hangs in the balance. From the corridors of Kyiv to the frontlines of the disinformation war, his words cut through the noise—revealing what Ukraine needs most and what the world stands to lose if it turns away.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov has tracked the rise of Putin’s propaganda machine from the inside; and paid the price in exile. In this gripping conversation, he connects the dots between Russia’s early media crackdowns and the chilling parallels unfolding in the United States today. From late-night comedy to Pentagon press restrictions, Soldatov explains how free speech erodes step by step; and what Americans must do to fight back. This episode is both a history lesson and a warning: freedom of expression isn’t lost overnight; it’s chipped away until silence becomes the norm.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Russia is turning up the pressure on NATO’s doorstep. Estonia says three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets stormed into its airspace over the Gulf of Finland, lingering for twelve minutes in what Tallinn calls a “brazen and deliberate” violation. It’s the fourth breach this year, but the first involving multiple high-performance fighters—and NATO isn’t brushing it off, especially not Estonia. Krisjan Prikk, Estonia's ambassador to the U.S., explains what happened and the consequences.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode we look at how Immigration and Customs Enforcement is believed to have access to Graphite—powerful spyware capable of silently hacking smartphones and reading encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Signal. At issue is what Graphite can do, the legal red lines it risks crossing, and what it means for civil liberties inside the U.S. if you carry a phone. Joining us are Eric O'Neill, a former FBI counterintelligence operative, author, and current national security strategist with Nexasure, and Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions and former White House Chief Information Officer.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
1Are two headline-grabbing incidents—the overnight Russian drone incursion into Poland and the explosion of eight Polish gas tankers on a train in Lithuania—part of the same campaign? Dr. Artis Pabriks thinks so. The former Latvian Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister, now chairman of the Northern Defence Policy Centre, joins us to explain why he believes the events are connected and why he holds Russia responsible. He also lays out what NATO can do next.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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this is 90% a good podcast. be aware Jay is a lefty and trump hater to the core. He will at any chance throw miss with/WITHOUT FACTS. OTHER than that it's informative