Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Peter Ford, former British Ambassador to Syria, and by Mark Sleboda, international affairs and security analyst.A high profile meetings between Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad in Russia today, followed by a phone conversation between Putin and Donald Trump, has raised hopes that the bloody civil war may be approaching an end. After so much suffering, can there be a negotiated peace?A rare leaked State Department internal dissent memo slams the Trump administration for shielding allies from sanctions related to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act. Does the U.S. government really turn a blind eye to the use of child soldiers? And does this practice extend beyond the current administration? Jim Jatras, former U.S. diplomat and political analyst, joins the show. Charlie Rose has been dropped by CBS and PBS following revelations about years of sexual harassment and assault as it becomes even clearer that abuse by powerful men is