I could smell the acrid soot a block away. The library at the University of Mosul, among the finest in the Middle East, once had a million books, historic maps, and old manuscripts. Some dated back centuries, even a millennium, Mohammed Jasim, the library’s director, told me. Among its prize acquisitions was a Quran from the ninth century, although the library also housed thousands of twenty-first-century volumes on science, philosophy, law, world history, literature, and the arts.

Omar Samad, Senior Central Asia Fellow at the International Security Program at the New America Foundation and former Afghan ambassador to Canada and France, and Scott Worden, Afghanistan & Central Asia Programs Director at the United States Institute of Peace, discuss with host Carol Castiel who is behind the recent violence in Afghanistan and the future US role in the country.

Garrett Nada spoke to Dotun Adebayo at BBC 5 Up All Night regarding the recent terror attack in Iran.

The Institute of Peace, an independent institute founded by Congress in 1984, traces its roots back to the UCC — particularly the former members and pastors of Rock Spring UCC in Arlington, Va. UCC leaders believe a move to shutter the USIP would be short-sighted, should Congress authorize it in a spending bill.

Religion

Accounts then quickly diverged over just who was responsible for the terrorist rampage. The Islamic State claimed credit for its first-ever attack in Iran. Soon after the attacks, ISIS released a twenty-four-second video through its Amaq news agency, which showed a rifle-toting gunman in parliament, standing over a bloodied body. The attacker invoked terms used in ISIS propaganda about the group’s ability to survive in the Middle East even as it loses its caliphate in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

Andrew Wilder spoke to SiriusXM POTUS Ch. 124 about recent events in Afghanistan. Wilder explained the necessity for brokering a political solution with the Taliban and providing more U.S. troops for training Afghan National Security Forces to defeat terrorist organization like ISIS and al-Qaeda.

In a recent talk, Nancy Lindborg, president of the United States Institute of Peace, said it is “blindingly clear that we need to think more about getting ahead of the conflict curve if we hope to address rising humanitarian and security challenges, so we’re not reacting after people’s lives have been torn apart.”