Islamic militants are slowly gaining more control of Iraq.
The group known as the Islamic State is asserting its will in the northern part of the country. It has made Mosul its de facto capital, and has driven thousands of Christians out of the city.
But the battle is not just sectarian, it is political.
The U.S. has been unsuccessful in its push for the Shiite majority to be more inclusive toward Sunnis and Kurds, and some say a one-state solution cannot work.
Host Frank Stasio talks with BBC correspondent Jiyar Gol about the latest from Baghdad. He also talks with North Carolina veterans Matt Victoriano and Lewis Hendricks. Victoriano has launched an effort to help extract his interpreter, Mikey, from Iraq to the U.S.
They also talk with Bruce Jentleson, political science and public policy professor at Duke University.