September 9, 2013 | KCRW 89.9 FM - Southern California

To The Point

Presidents Obama and Putin shook hands as Obama arrived in Russia for the G20 summit today, but that's apparently as close as they're going to get. Russia's grant of asylum to Edward Snowden, the leaker of American secrets, has dramatized the increasing gulf between the two countries. Obama says he's decided on military action in Syria, while Putin's opposed, while neither side has gone public with the evidence needed to make its case. Whatever happened to Obama's “reset” of relations with Russia?  Are the differences between the two countries irreconcilable? Will Obama gain the backing of other nations while he's in Russia? Should he have stayed home to persuade Congress and the American people?

Listen to the program here.

Issues:

Russia Syria