Hello and welcome to the intelligence on Economist Radio.

I'm your host, Ed McBride, filling in for Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Guinea-Bissau is close to both South America and Europe, which makes it a tempting waystation

for drug smugglers. We look at how a flood of drug money has turned the small African country

into one of a new generation of narco states. And Silicon Valley has been trying to shed its

reputation for sexism,

but it still shows a marked gender bias,

not just in the people it hires,

but also in the products it sells. First up, though, President Trump's relationship with the military has had its ups and downs.

He has hero worshiped the top brass.

My generals are going to keep us so safe.

They're going to have a lot of problems the other side.

And bestowed high office on serving and retired generals.

We are going to appoint Mad Dog Madness as our secretary of defense.

But he has also made abrupt decisions which have undermined those generals and the military

more broadly.

James Mattis left his post after Mr. Trump announced plans at the end of last year to pull

all troops out of Syria, leaving America's Kurdish allies exposed.

And we have won against ISIS. We've beaten them and we've beaten them badly.

We've taken back the land. And now it's time for our troops to come back home.

Mr. Mattis wrote in his resignation letter that the American military could not fulfill its mission

...