wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

The burning of a Quran at a Florida church has set off a wave of violence in Afghanistan. Thousands of protesters mobbed the United Nations building in Mazar-i-Sharif on Friday. Seven U.N. workers were murdered, and protests against the United States raged in Kandahar over the weekend, killing dozens. President Obama and General David Petraeus condemned the Florida pastor’s actions. Including the U.N. workers, 24 people have died since protests began last Friday.

Syria is the latest in a list of countries like Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, as disenfranchised citizens in that country have gone to the streets in recent weeks, to protest President Bashar al-Assad's eleven-year reign. The protests have been met with violence; dozens have been reportedly killed by security forces. In response to the protests, the government has repeatedly suggested it may lift the country's emergency law — which allows the leadership to arrest without cause or warrant among other powers — as a concession to protesters. But many are already calling it a bluff. 

With support from coalition forces in the air, Libyan rebel forces have been able to recapture recent losses and are pushing towards Col. Moammar Gadhafi's strongholds. However, the U.S. is committed to passing responsibility on and Defense Secretary Robert Gates told NBC's "Meet the Press," "beginning this week or within the next week or so, we will begin to diminish the commitment of resources that we have committed to this." Marcus Mabry, editor-at-large of the International Herald Tribune, looks at how the impact of a U.S. drawdown could impact the situation in Libya.

When a Libyan woman burst into the Tripoli hotel where foreign journalists convened, her story of rape at the hands of Gadhafi's militia men was heard around the world. Correspondent for The New York Times David Kirkpatrick was there. Her story is that she was abducted and tortured, but government officials are saying that she’s a prostitute with a long criminal record. She was beaten and dragged away by security officials. David Kirkpatrick says that Libyan officials had said that reporters would be able to talk to her again, but that this is unlikely. 

Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya: Friend or foe? That question is getting harder to answer, as crackdowns on protests in the Middle East by U.S. allied governments blur the lines. Just in December, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Bahrain for its progress on the road to democracy. Today, the State Department reaped criticism for their weak stance against the police violence that has left at least six dead. But how will the U.S. realign itself, should Shiite protestors topple the government in Bahrain — a strategic partner that guarantees military access to the region? And what about Yemen, an ally against terrorist forces in the region? What will the new U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East look like after the wave of change is over?

Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, deputy national security advisor to the Clinton administration, former UN Ambassador, and president of the Connect U.S. Fund, joins us to talk about the U.S. response to democratic movements beyond Egypt.

→ Read a Recap and Join the Discussion at It's A Free Country

When news broke that Mubarak was stepping down, Takeaway listeners responded. Lindsay Knapp wrote to us: 

When I said this morning that Egypt was having a 1776 moment, I had no idea how true it would be! 18 days of protest have changed a nation — congratulations to all the people of Egypt, and welcome to democracy.

This week, Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defense for much of the George W. Bush administration, released his memoir, "Known and Unknown." The former Secretary of Defense is known for his phrasing and we take a listen back to his language, and his unapologetic legacy.

Rachel Martin, national security correspondent for NPR, discusses Washington's reaction to the unfolding events in Egypt. 

→ Read More and Join the Conversation at It's A Free Country

As Washington prepares for a visit from Chinese President Hu Jintao this week, we take a look at what lies ahead in the shifting relationship between superpowers. Should we fear the "waking dragon"? We're joined by Gideon Rachman, chief foreign-affairs commentator for the Financial Times and author of "Zero-Sum Future: American Power in an Age of Anxiety," and Simon Tay, was an Asia Society 2009 Bernard Schwartz Fellow and is Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. He is also the author of "Asia Alone: The Dangerous Post-Crisis Divide from America."

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that 60 percent of Americans say the Afghanistan war is "not worth fighting." This is a record low in public support of the war. Mary Galeti, the wife of Afghanistan veteran First Lieutenant Russell Galeti, and Gideon Rose, editor of Foreign Affairs and author of "How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle," describe their observations of public opinion, and what it might mean for the Obama administration's efforts in Afghanistan going forward.

George Packer, staff writer for The New Yorker, discusses what we've learned about U.S. foreign policy from WikiLeaks and this morning's arrest of Julian Assange.

Robert Baer, a former CIA officer and intelligence columnist for TIME.com, talks about the new batch of Wikileaks documents and some of their implications.

Bob Woodward, associate editor at The Washington Post and the author of Obama's Wars, talks about his behind-the-scenes exploration of Obama's policy in Afghanistan.

20 million people have been affected by the floods in Pakistan in the past three weeks, in what some say is the worst natural catastrophe in recent history. However, even with the United Nations calling for $459 million for immediate relief efforts, aid assistance is still only trickling in. Whether it is "compassion fatigue," lack of funds or a distrust in the Pakistani government's transparency – the real question is, will a failure to act now have greater foreign policy implications for the future stability of the region?

In March, a South Korean warship was torpedoed, killing 46 sailors and sinking the vessel. Recent evidence strongly implicates North Korea as the most likely power responsible for the attack, though Pyonyang denies any involvement. Now, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has said his country will boost its defense, sever all trade with North Korea and deny North Korean merchant ships access to their sea lanes. The U.S. has backed the South Korean stance. 

But this is not the first time North Korea has taken a hostile maritime policy, nor is this the most explicit act of aggression by Pyongyang.

The New York Times national security correspondent Mark Mazzetti explains that, despite thorny issues of legality, the U.S. is still dependent on a network of spies and independent contractors to accomplish its foreign policy goals in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Two years after a contested and hot-spirited primary campaign, Barack Obama's strongest rival has morphed into a great ally as the president and the secretary of state find their footing on the international stage. It took some time for Hillary Clinton to find her voice in the Obama administration, but is now a strong member of the team.