David Sanger

A rogue US Army staff sergeant has been accused of killing 16 villagers in Kandahar, Afghanistan early Sunday morning. The soldier reportedly went from house to house shooting victims which include nine children and three women. The soldier, who acted alone, is in custody at a NATO base in Afghanistan. After weeks of violence due to American soldiers burning the Koran, many fear the repercussions this shooting will have with the position of the Taliban and US-Afghan relations.

As the Republican Presidential candidates fight for the GOP nomination, President Obama is getting slammed on all sides. While voters consistently say that the economy is the most important issue in this election, the Republican candidates are particularly critical of President Obama’s foreign policy. Both Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney criticized President Obama for his stance on Iran's nuclear capabilities at the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) Conference earlier this week. Santorum was particularly critical of the President for apologizing for the Koran burnings in Afghanistan last month. 

Recap from It's a Free Country.

Welcome to Politics Bites, where every afternoon at It's A Free Country, we bring you the unmissable quotes from the morning's political conversations on WNYC. Today on the Brian Lehrer Show, David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent at the New York Times and contributor to WNYC, talked about President Obama's press conference and how the U.S. plans to confront Iran.

At this weekend's conference of the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee, President Barack Obama reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Israel's security. During his remarks to the pro-Israel lobbying group, the President restated that, with regards to ensuring Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon, all options are on the table. The President also said sanctions and diplomacy should be given a chance before further action is taken. Later today, the President will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting will be the latest installment in what has been an uneasy relationship between the two leaders.

David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent at the New York Times and contributor to WNYC, discusses the Obama doctrine--and how it applies to Syria, Iran, and Israel. 

After nine long years in Iraq and an ongoing, tenuous drawdown in Afghanistan, few politicians on either side of the aisle want to get involved in another war. These days, many inside and outside of the Beltway feel that the best way to deal with international conflicts is merely to provide the "seed money": given enough time and arms, the Syrians can oust Bashar al-Assad on their own; Israel can stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The Takeaway devoted a full hour this morning to the ongoing situation in Syria. With reports from the ground, a history of the country from David Sanger, Russia's influence in the region, a take from the pro-democracy movement in the U.S., and even the pro-Assad outlook on conflict. The following is our full first hour of coverage in its entirety.

David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times and contributor to WQXR's The Washington Report, explores the history of Syria from the Ottoman Empire to the present day dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. At a time where civilians are under attack by Assad's oppressive regime, Sanger explains the president's rise to power and his family's 40-year reign. He goes in-depth about the complicated relationship with Israel and Syria's ties to Hezbollah.

David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times and a contributor to WNYC, talks about the situation in Syria.  

Over the weekend, China and Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would've allowed action to be taken against Bashar al-Assad's regime. The U.S. has closed their embassy in Syria, and has begun discussing imposing sanctions. But more pressingly, unlike the intervention in Libya, there seems to be little that the international community can do to protect civilians.

A number of political analysts have noted that President Obama has been far more successful in the foreign policy arena than domestically. But the President who managed to find Osama Bin Laden still faces a tough re-election battle this year. David Sanger, Chief Washington correspondent for our partner The New York Times, and contributor to WQXR's The Washington Report gives his thoughts on the foreign policy points made during last night's state of the union address.