In understanding further the nature of violent extremism Nancy Lindborg, United States Institute of Peace (USIP) president, said, "Violent extremism in today’s globalized and technology-driven world is not confined by borders. While the dynamics around groups such as ISIS, Boko Haram, al-Shabab and the Taliban are interrelated and certainly influenced by geopolitics, the reasons these groups emerged and the reasons individuals join their campaigns are complex, distinct, and locally unique. Recently, the tragedies in Brussels, Paris and Turkey demonstrate the global reach of violent extremists." (April 12, 2016)

As Iraqi security forces push ISIS out of each village or city, peacemakers establish mechanisms of reconciliation. But they say too few lessons have been learned by politicians about inclusive rule and compromise.

The current spasm of international terrorism, an age-old tactic of warfare, is often traced to a bomb mailed from New York by the anti-Castro group El Poder Cubano, or Cuban Power, that exploded in a Havana post office, on January 9, 1968. Five people were seriously injured. Since then, almost four hundred thousand people have died in terrorist attacks worldwide, on airplanes and trains, in shopping malls, schools, embassies, cinemas, apartment blocks, government offices, and businesses, according to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. The deadliest remains the 9/11 attack, sixteen years ago this week, which killed almost three thousand people—and in turn triggered a war that has become America’s longest.

“Her body was frail, but her spirit and passion for her work was alive and well,” said Andrew Wilder, vice president of Asia programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, who visited her at Kabul’s Amiri hospital Friday. He said she spent much of their conversation insisting that he tour the university center while in Kabul. “It is a very fitting legacy to her and her husband,” Wilder said. “It was her pride and joy.”

"The warring parties continue to believe they can win militarily and the international community has taken no meaningful action to take the military option off the table. It's therefore a context where there's no incentive for political compromise," said Payton Knopf, coordinator of the South Sudan senior working group at the U.S. Institute of Peace. That has emboldened South Sudan's government, he said, and until the international community changes its balance of power "I'm very skeptical that the war will end."

After returning from a recent visit to Iraq, Sarhang Hamasaeed spoke to SIRIUSXM POTUS Ch. 124 about the current situation on the ground and the work USIP is doing to hold reconciliation dialogues. He explained some of the key issues for the country’s stability including tensions between the Shia militia presence in Sunni areas, revenge violence, and the upcoming Kurdish referendum.

We’ll also have the latest on the refugee crisis in Myanmar as more than 140,000 Rohingya Muslims flee the country under treacherous conditions. Ambassador Derek Mitchell, Senior adviser to the Asia Program at the U.S. Institute of Peace; served as U.S. ambassador to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar from 2012 – 2016.

"I think that they will be extremely cautious," said Jonas Claes, a senior program officer at the United States Institute of Peace. He said he anticipates "a lot more neutral and bland statements." Aly Verjee, an expert at the United States Institute of Peace, cited a disputed 2011 gubernatorial election in South Kordofan, Sudan, which triggered deadly conflict, as "one of the most egregious examples" of the failure of international observers. In that case, he said, observers prematurely endorsed the poll despite evidence of irregularities. However, Verjee described much of the criticism of Kenya's election observers as unfair, noting that respected missions urged Odinga to take his complaints to court even though his supporters initially said they would not. Election observers, Verjee said, "are not forensic investigators, nor police, nor should anyone expect them to be."