Insurgency brings criticism for Iraqi al-Maliki, UN World Refugee day, and Global Activism

President Obama is weighing the U.S. response to the growing insurgency in Iraq. Powerful critics, both in Washington and the Arab States, say they want Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to step aside for the sake of peace. Reports have unidentified sources at the White House stating that al-Maliki is not the person who can unify the warring factions. These officials, and Arab diplomats, want al-Maliki’s resignation as a precondition to U.S. airstrikes against Sunni insurgents, along with a political transition to a new government that would include, Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties. We’ll talk about the political upheaval and President Obama's statement this morning with Helena Cobban, a Middle East analyst and publisher of the blog, Just World News.
Then, June 20th is the United Nations' official World Refugee Day. There are more than 43.7 million displaced persons around the world. According the the UN's website, "World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations to honor the courade, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence." Melineh Kano, executive director of Refugee One, joins us to discuss her experience as a refugee from Iran and ways Chicagoans can help.
And, After graduating from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, Tricia Martinez came to believe that, “policy solutions are not driven by potential impact for the individual or the ability to influence large-scale chande, rather they are driven by political agendas.” She wanted to take a different approach to solving some of the world’s biggest humanitarian problems. For Global Activism, Martinez will tell us about her new collaborative project called “Basic Transfer”. It’s a “hybrid social venture with a mission to lift women around the world out of poverty through cash transfers.”

(photo: In this file photo taken Saturday, July 27, 2013, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks during the 32nd anniversary of the foundation of the Badr Organization in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File))