On COI #130, Dave DeCamp – news editor at Antiwar.com – returns to the show to discuss Biden’s disorganized Russia and Afghanistan policies. After a somewhat successful summit with Putin, the Biden administration followed up by threatening sanctions and violating Russian territorial waters. In Afghanistan, US officials say the withdrawal is mere days away from completion – however, 1,000 troops will remain in the country. Dave breaks down the chaotic Afghan War policy.
On COI #128, Kyle and Will break down reports indicating that four of the Saudis behind the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi received paramilitary training in the United States. The training, which took place between 2014 and 2019, was authorized by the State Department.
The Biden administration has confirmed that it will not end the American military occupation of Syria, with State Department officials saying the troops will remain in the country to “defeat” the Islamic State. While the group is now more of a low-level insurgency than a multi-national caliphate, it continues to offer a perpetual justification to keep US troops in Syria, where they are embedded with Kurdish proxy forces.
Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer convicted for the murder of George Floyd, has been sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. Kyle and Will break down the sentencing, the potential for appeal and the public reaction to Chauvin’s punishment.
On COI #126 Brian Saady, author and host of the Rackets podcast, comes on the show to explain how the ‘war on drugs’ is a deadly foreign policy. Brian breaks down the countries most impacted by the drug war: Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Honduras. Each country plays a critical war in the multi-billion dollar cocaine market. Brian explains how the American anti-drug efforts in these countries increase violence and death.
On COI #125, Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter explain recent efforts in Congress to repeal the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), which gave legal authority for the US invasion of Iraq. Kyle argues that while the 2002 authorization has been invoked a few times since the invasion, it’s really the 2001 AUMF that’s allowed the War on Terror to continue. Far less attention has been paid to the broader 2001 authorities, however.
Israel briefly renewed airstrikes on the Gaza Strip last week, after Palestinians sent incendiary balloons into Israeli cities. The exchange followed clashes that sparked during a controversial ‘Flag March’ through Jerusalem, arranged by Israeli nationalist groups last week. The two sides are now attempting to deescalate, as a new coalition government in Israel cuts its teeth on its first bout of conflict with the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
General Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, made uncharacteristically reasonable comments about China and Taiwan during a recent congressional hearing. Despite near-constant warnings about an imminent Chinese invasion from lawmakers and military officials, Milley downplayed those concerns, questioning whether Beijing has any intention or interest in taking over the island.
Scott Spaulding, host of ‘Why I am Antiwar’ and an Afghan War vet, returns to the show to discuss the withdrawal from Afghanistan. As thousands of troops and contractors make their exit, Scott gives his unique perspective on what the pullout will mean for the Afghan people. Scott and Kyle break down how the withdrawal has progressed and how the conflict is evolving. Scott explains how the geopolitics of Central Asia will make it difficult for the US to carry out major operations in Afghanistan after ending its longest war.
On COI #123, Maj. Danny Sjursen returns to the show to discuss Daniel Ellsburg, the coup in Mali, and the potential for another war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This week marked the 50th anniversary since the NYT began publishing the Pentagon Papers, leaked by the heroic Ellsberg in 1971. In the past month, Ellsberg released another document outlining US plans to nuke China in the late 1950s. With the release, Ellsberg challenged the government to indict him under the Espionage Act, risking spending his remaining years behind bars for a chance to challenge the World War I-era law.
In Mali, a military leader has carried out a coup for the second time in a year, the indirect result of ongoing intervention by France and the US in Africa’s Sahel region. Danny explains how a plague of coups has ravaged Africa since AFRICOM was founded in 2008.
Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are heating up again. In late 2020, fighting broke out between the two former Soviet Republics. Danny recaps what happened during the last round of hostilities and how it set the stage for a renewed conflict in 2021. Danny argues the once-frozen war has been removed from the freezer and that violence will continue to erupt as the sides fight for territory.
