On this week's episode of "Security Mom," Juliette Kayyem sits down with Dr. Jessica Stern. She's spent a career in government and academia as a thought leader, advisor and author of books that look at the world of terror, including her most recent book ISIS.

"...[T]he Arctic Council agreed to let nations that, at last look at the map, are not located anywhere near the Arctic, join as observers. It may seem a diplomatic nicety, but it is the recognition that the Arctic Council nations no longer have a monopoly on the region. China, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Singapore are on a hunt for more energy and have their eyes on the waning polar ice caps."

"By eliminating the automatic refugee status granted to Cubans if they somehow reach US soil, we would stop tempting them to take to the seas in rickety boats and inner tubes on which many lose their lives. We would also put the whole world on equal footing, determining which refugees are allowed to stay not by whether we like (or don't like) their country's leadership, but whether they have valid reasons to stay, including a fear of political reprisals. It is time we end a Cuba policy that has sowed ill will among our southern neighbors and non-Cuban immigrant populations in the United States."

"The Benghazi attacks, she said, were likely the beginning of another wave of Al Qaeda-inspired violence: smaller but still deadly. The end of totalitarian governments will lead to more disruption, ideological fervor, and black-market weapons trading. It is the undeniable consequence of regime change, whether it comes from an invasion (Iraq), a limited intervention (Libya), a nudge (Egypt), or a hands-off policy (Syria) on America's part."

"The idea that high-level officials, like Roberts or Hagel, merely administer rules set forth by others is a fiction. The secretary of defense has an incredibly powerful position. Indeed, it was the triumph of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's ideology over other alternatives that led to the mess Obama inherited four years ago. Hagel, presumably, has a different approach to matching operational capacity with policy decisions. That is why Obama picked him in the first place."

"...[I]t is painfully clear that this is a simple hostage story. It includes the fate of 46 children who had already been placed in loving homes in the United States but will now remain in Russia. The Russian orphans are being held, serving as a human shield, because the Russians want to prevent other countries from following the United States in cracking down on human rights abuses under Putin's regime."

"Enter John Kerry, whose status as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee made him a possible broker of compromise. While promoters of the Magnitsky bill refused to backtrack on their principles, opponents argued that Russian and US relations are too consequential to be defined by the death of a single lawyer. With these dueling priorities, months passed. But the legislative process can be cunning and capable. The Magnitsky bill was linked to something that would make the Russians happy: normalized trade status."

"Russia's move this week to take advantage of the melting ice in international waters was predictable. But this groundbreaking event was largely ignored because of the controversy in Washington over who said what, and whether their words might affect their ability to become secretary of state."

"The movement of people, including through immigration rules, is a powerful force compelling many foreign policy changes. Cuba's reforms will increase the ties between the nations; American constituencies tied to the past will be left fighting a relic. It is simply no longer a question of whether the United States is willing to assess its Cuba strategy, just when."

"But Romney's late pivot to a kinder/gentler candidate bumped up against his record of statements; his performance seemed more passive than pacifist. Once Romney took hawk-talk off the table, he just couldn't separate himself from Obama."