Reese Erlich, author of Inside Syria, discusses his article on the myths about Obama's latest war in Syria and Iraq.

Mitchell Prothero, a McClatchy Foreign Staff journalist, discusses the allegations that US air strikes in Syria targeted a French agent who defected to al Qaida; and why Turkey and Saudi Arabia aren't helping to fight the Islamic State.

Eric Margolis, an internationally syndicated columnist and author, discusses the crisis in the "Hermit Kingdom" of North Korea; the Hong Kong protests; and why the Obama administration still hasn't put together a coherent policy on Iraq and Syria.

Thomas Harrington, author of Livin' La Vida Barroca, discusses the US's role in Israel-Palestine politics and why nobody is even pretending a 2-state solution is possible anymore.

Jonathan Landay, a McClatchy Foreign Staff journalist, discusses his article "'Boots in the air': U.S. helicopters return to combat in Iraq for first time."

Tom Engelhardt, author of Shadow Government, discusses why the enormous US intelligence apparatus is rewarded for its repeated failures.

Trita Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council, discusses why he's pessimistic about an Iran nuclear deal being finalized this year; and how to weaken the Islamic State by targeting their recruitment efforts.

Musa al-Gharbi, a research fellow at the Southwest Initiative for the Study of Middle East Conflicts, discusses his article "By hyping ISIL threat, US is falling into group's trap;" and why most Sunnis fighting for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi are motivated by political, not religious, concerns.