Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters,

and today we'll look into a number of stories and issues in the news. We'll begin with resignations of career prosecutors at the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division

over its ridiculously unqualified leaders' decision to go after the wife of the victim of the ICE murder in Minneapolis

while exonerating the shooter.

Joining us is Emmanuel Mollion, who is an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota,

where his research and writing focuses on the roles that police and other state security actors play

in producing social, political and legal regimes of domination and subordination.

He taught previously at the UCLA School of Law and served as a Liberty and National Security Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, where his work centered on addressing white

nationalist domestic terrorism, hate crime policy, and the surveillance and policing of black

Muslim communities.

Then we'll examine whether Trump is repeating Obama's mistake of declaring a red line in

Syria then backing away from it as Trump threatens to strike Iran if it kills demonstrators,

which the regime is doing now as thousands are killed and Trump has not come to the Iranian

people's rescue as promised.

Joining us is Ray Taked, a senior fellow formed Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

He is also a professor at the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University and recently held the post as senior advisor to the special advisor for the Gulf and Southwest Asia at the U.S. Department of State.

His latest books include The Guardians of the Revolution, Iran's approach to the world,

and the last Shah, America, Iran and the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty.

And he has an article at the Wall Street Journal we will discuss,

Don't Repeat Obama's Mistake in Iran.

Then finally, we'll speak with Mark Fitzpatrick, an associate fellow for strategy technology

and arms control, and former executive director of the Washington-based America's Office

...