Americans For Prosperity and Concerned Veterans of America had me out to give a talk to a committee of the Montana State Senate in Helena on Tuesday. Here is some of the audio. The first 15 minutes or so about how the corruption of the military industrial complex and the boom and bust caused by the pro-empire easy money policy is pushing American liberals toward socialism are unfortunately not included.
Daniel Davis talks about the need to fully withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. He traces the history of terrible decision-making there since 2003, which has encumbered America in an unwinnable war for almost two decades. Worse, we can't leave. Thanks to political pressure that threatens to blame any president for the temporary chaos that would result from a U.S. absence, no one seems willing to make the effort to pull troops out once and for all. Instead, says Davis, the U.S. will probably leave a small force in Iraq indefinitely, which does nothing to advance American interests, and only leaves...
Scott interviews Dave DeCamp about President Biden's Russia policy. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Biden notably called Putin a "killer;" his administration has also increased sanctions against Russia and instituted some export restrictions in response to its treatment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In response to these incidents, Russia has recalled its ambassador to the U.S. DeCamp points out that Biden's foreign policy isn't turning out to be all that different than Trump's—he has just managed to appoint people who are more popular with the political establishment, and...
Scott Paul discusses the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, especially in the formerly small town of Marib, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Yemenis who have fled there are now at risk of being caught up in another bloody battleground. Paul stresses that the greatest threats to civilian life during the war in Yemen have always been economic, rather than directly as a result of violent conflict. Before the war, Yemen was already a poor country that relied heavily on imports for basic necessities like food and medicine; thanks to the Saudi blockade, these goods have become...
Execute him, really.
Daryl Kimball talks about the need to limit the creation and proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world. Today, says Kimball, the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction: a $200 billion plan is in the works to update and expand America's nuclear arsenal, even though, according to Kimball and all reasonable observers, we already have way more nukes than anyone needs. Most disinterested experts agree that a small arsenal is more than enough to deter other nuclear-armed countries, and that the kind of stockpiles the U.S. and Russia have don't make anybody any safer. In fact, it greatly...
Scott talks to Brian McGlinchey about the realities of America's economic sanctions, which many believe are a more humane alternative to outright war. But this couldn't be further from the truth. McGlinchey reminds us that in essence, sanctions mean denying basic goods to a country's civilians in the hope that their government will give in to our demands. This isn't substantially different from terrorism, which by definition involves acts of violence against civilians for political purposes. Even the supposed exceptions for things like humanitarian aid often don't pan out in reality, since...
Gareth Porter talks about the U.S. military's efforts to sabotage any attempt at leaving Afghanistan. The deal negotiated by the Trump administration made both the conditions and deadlines for withdrawal clear—but almost immediately, the military began claiming that the Taliban was somehow in violation of the agreement, and that America had to stay. Sadly very few people in power are willing to drastically change the situation in Afghanistan, and it looks increasingly likely that the Biden administration will simply try to stay the course. Discussed on the show: "How the US military...
