Author: Conflicts of Interest

On Conflicts of Interest #113, Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter cover the ceasefire deal reached between the Israeli government and armed groups in Gaza. The agreement has held over several days and appears to have brought the eruption of violence to an end. All said and done, at least 248 Palestinians and 12 Israelis were killed throughout 11 days of fighting, which flattened residential areas across Gaza and saw thousands of rockets fired into Israeli cities. Under tight blockade, Gaza now returns to its status as the world’s largest open-air prison as Tel Aviv continues to expand Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank.

US lawmakers have introduced a series of bills looking to repeal several Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs) still on the books, including those passed in 1957, 1991 and 2002. While a promising development, the much more open-ended 2001 AUMF – which has been invoked for Terror War military action in at least 14 countries – has been left out of the recent push to rescind the authorizations.

Yemen’s Houthis have maintained their offensive into Marib province, the last major piece of territory in the country’s north controlled by the Saudi-backed government. Though fighting has reached a stalemate, the Biden administration continues to place all blame on the Houthis for the ongoing violence, ignoring their pleas to end their support for a Saudi blockade on Yemen’s ports.

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On Conflicts of Interest #110, Will Porter and Kyle Anzalone update the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces targeted a number of civilian structures in recent days, including the crowded al-Shati refugee camp – one of the most densely populated places on Earth – killing 10 people, eight of them children. Al-Jalaa Tower, a high-rise building containing offices for the Associated Press and a number of other major media outlets, was also brought down by IDF strikes, making it even harder for the international press to report from the ground in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

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From Conflicts of Interest with Kyle Anzalone:

Dave DeCamp, News Editor at Antiwar.com, returns to Conflicts of Interest to discuss Biden’s foreign policy through his first 100 days in office. As a candidate, Biden pledged to end the forever wars and scale back tensions with Iran. While he has reduced some US support for the Saudi-US war in Yemen, Biden has continued to provide Riyadh with the support needed to wage its lethal bombing campaign. In Afghanistan, Biden announced the withdrawal of US forces, though statements from administration officials reveal plans to continue the war through less transparent methods.

On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to save his former boss’s agreement with Iran. As president, he has dragged his feet and refused to undo Trump’s disastrous policies. Biden has kept his pledge for an aggressive China policy, however, increasing hostile US war games in the South China Sea and American support for Taiwan. Dave warns this path could lead to war.

On COI #103, Kyle Anzalone discusses America’s overextended empire. The Coast Guard just deployed the USCGS Hamilton to the Black Sea. A US Navy ship fired warning shots at Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf. China reports US operations in its territorial waters have increased since Biden took office. The US has a warship trailing a Chinese aircraft carrier group that is doing military drills.

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For the 100th episode of Conflicts of Interest, Scott Horton of Antiwar.com joined Kyle and Will to discuss Joe Biden’s declared plan for a full withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11. Scott also gives his read on mounting tensions in Ukraine, where the government has threatened a new offensive on separatist elements in the eastern Donbas region, risking a wider conflict that pulls in Moscow and Washington.

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