From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Military escalation, without diplomacy.

Hello again, I'm on all mean, this is to the point.

President Trump wants the Pentagon to fight to win, and battlefield commanders now make decisions

that used to come from the Obama White House. There's been increased action in Yemen, Syria, and

Iraq, and a dramatic rise in civilian casualties, providing fodder for Islamic State propaganda.

What's missing is diplomacy and political planning for what to do when the wars are over.

But even Trump's critics say Obama didn't have any end games either.

We'll hear about America's increased involvement in murky wars where victory might be possible, but not sustainable.

Later on today's talking point, Democrats say there's more at stake than one new justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. First, here's the news.

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Hello again. I'm Armin Alney, back with To the Point. President Trump welcomed Egypt's President Abdul Fata al-Sisi to the White House today. Just one of the changes in America's approach to the Middle East since Barack Obama left office.

We'll hit about that and the escalation of warfare as well as increased civilian casualties.

Today's talking point, the Senate Judiciary Committee today took up the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to

the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Democrats now have the votes for a filibuster when it gets to the Senate

floor. We'll hear what might happen next to the court and to the Senate.

First is news update. A shrapnel-filled explosive device blew a hole in a commuter train this

afternoon in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city. At least 11 people were killed,

and a second device was discovered on another train, unexploded. David David Philippoff is Moscow Bureau Chief of the Washington Post.

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