3/18/21 Brian McGlinchey on the Brutal Realities of Economic Sanctions

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...

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3/18/21 Gareth Porter on the Military’s Efforts to Subvert the Afghan Peace Deal

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...

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3/9/21 Martin Smith on Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham Leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani

Scott talks to documentary producer Martin Smith about the subject of his newest project, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Smith considers Jolani and his fighters to be something of a separate group from al Qaeda and ISIS who should be treated as such—but Scott challenges him with the fact that Jolani, a sworn follower of Ayman al-Zawahiri, is just as guilty of terrorism and war crimes as any al Qaeda leader. Throughout the war in Syria, many in the U.S. have tried to portray Jolani and his fighters as "moderate rebels," whom we can support in order to overthrow the Assad...

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3/12/21 Danny Sjursen on the Biden Administration’s Afghanistan Plan

Scott talks to Danny Sjursen about the leaked Biden administration plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The document evidently represents the Biden administration's new take on the deal reached with the Taliban during the Trump administration, which laid out a May 1st deadline for withdrawal. But Sjursen stresses that this plan isn't really new—in fact, there's nothing "new" to be done or said about Afghanistan at all. The Kabul government simply doesn't have widespread control over the country, and the Taliban are in a position of relative strength. Nothing America can do,...

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