Ep 57 2016 Election Intelligence Ops & Investigations feat Garland Nixon

Joanne talks with political analyst and Progressive Independent Garland Nixon about investigations and intelligence operations concerning the 2016 election. We also talk about the recently published Inspector General report on the Clinton email “MidYear Exam” investigation.

Garland is the co-host of the daily radio show “Fault Lines” and host of the weekly radio show “News Views With Garland Nixon”. He is also has a background in law enforcement and investigations. Follow him @Garland Nixon.

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Recorded on June 20, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Ep 56 Politics in Iraq and the Battle for Southwest Syria feat Elijah Magnier

Elijah Magnier returns to the show to talk about politics in post-ISIS Iraq, the results of the recent election, and the mission to select a new prime minister and cabinet. Elijah and Joanne also talk about the latest developments in Syria as the battle for the southwest Syria begins.

Elijah is a veteran war correspondent, a terrorism/counterterrorism analyst specializing in the Europe and the Middle East, especially Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Libya. He recently left Iraq and is speaking to us today from Lebanon.

Follow Elijah at @ejmalrai and find his work at ejmagnier.com

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Recorded on May 31, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Qassam Soleimani and Donald Trump Agree on Al-Abadi as Prime Minister Despite Ameri and Maliki’s Discontent, Elijah Magnier
  2. South Syria to Return Within the Control of Damascus: With or Without a Russian-Israeli Deal, Elijah Magnier
  3. The Iraqi Elections: Implications For Regional Politics, Shireen Hunter, LobeLog

Ep 55 Imperial War, Gulf State Rivalry, Resources and Resistance in Yemen feat Isa Blumi

Joanne interviews Dr. Isa Blumi, an historian, an author and an Associate Professor at Stockholm University. His recent book Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World tells the story of the wars in Yemen but also “ultimately tells an even larger story of today’s political economy of global capitalism, development, and the war on terror as disparate actors intersect in Arabia.”

Dr. Blumi gives us a deeper understanding of the war in Yemen in a way that is compelling, fascinating, tragic, and largely untold in the western world. Yemen’s people have a long history of resistance. The war in Yemen is an imperial war for resources and dominance and also a hidden war between Gulf state rivals. The latest escalation of the war has been fueled by Saudi Arabia’s now urgent need for finance and resources.

Follow @IsaBlumi and find his latest book at UCPress.edu.

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Recorded on May 10, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World, Isa Blumi, UC Press
  2. A History of the Colonial War in Yemen and the US Involvement, KPFA

Ep 54 Crossfire Hurricane

Dan and Joanne analyze the New York Times exposure of Operation Crossfire Hurricane and commentary by the authors. We examine the damning claims by pro-Trump media and we also talk about Daily Caller’s revelation of the identity of the alleged FBI informant in the Trump campaign.

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Recorded on May 17, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation, Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Nicholas Fandos, New York Times
  2. EXCLUSIVE: Cambridge Prof With CIA, MI6 Ties Met With Trump Adviser During Campaign, Beyond, Chuck Ross, Daily Caller

Ep 53 Iran Conflict & Transatlantic Crisis (preview)

In this bonus episode (a bonus episode for patrons, 30 minute preview free to the public), Dan and Joanne talk about the growing conflict with Iran, the impact of Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal and the severe escalation in the Syrian war that began just hours after that withdrawal.

Listen to the full episode.

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Recorded on May 11, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

Time for Europe to Join the Resistance, Spiegel, by Klaus Brinkbäumer

Ep 52 FBI Crisis

Dan and Joanne talk about the FBI in crisis, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, the Mueller investigation, and the abuse of power.  We also discuss the strange political bedfellows the crisis has created

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Recorded on May 5, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. The FBI Is in Crisis. It’s Worse Than You Think, TIME, Eric Lichtblau
  2. Rod Rosenstein is not above the law, The Hill, Mark Penn
  3. Mueller, FBI face crisis in public confidence, The Hill, Mark Penn
  4. Comey’s last stand for the deep state, The Hill, Mark Penn

Ep 51 Roundtable: Macron’s Prodigious Plan for the Middle East

We hold a roundtable discussion with Joanne Leon, Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter about French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the White House and Congress where he presented a prodigious plan for the Middle East that includes a harsher set of terms for the Iran deal, containment of Iran and Western dominance in the Middle East.

Kyle Anzalone is the host of the Foreign Policy Focus podcast and the editor-in-chief of ImmersionNews.com. He also writes the Daily News Roundup at Libertarian Institute.

Will Porter is a freelance journalist with a focus on US foreign policy and conflicts abroad. His work can be found at the Libertarian Institute, Antiwar.com and Consortium News

Support Kyle at  https://www.patreon.com/ForeignPolicyFocus. Support Will at patreon.com/WKPJournalist.

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Recorded on April 28, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Ep 50 Bush DOJ Official: Deep State is Real

Dan and Joanne discuss Jack Goldsmith’s essay, “The ‘deep state’ is real. But are its leaks against Trump justified?”

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Recorded on April 24, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. “The ‘deep state’ is real. But are its leaks against Trump justified?”, Jack Goldsmith, The Guardian
  2. “‘Can It Happen Here? Authoritarianism in America’”, Jack Goldsmith, Lawfare (article, book announcement)
  3. “Can It Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America”, Cass Sunstein (book)

Ep 49 Leaving Syria feat. Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, USA, Ret.

Joanne talks with Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, USA, Ret.about his recent article, “President Trump is right: Withdrawing from Syria strengthens US security,” and about the current precarious situation where Trump has changed his mind and is signalling an imminent attack on Syria and Russia, using an alleged chemical weapons attack in Ghouta as justification.

Col. Davis served for 21 years, including four combat deployments. He retired from the Army in 2015 and is now a Foreign Policy/Defense Analyst and a senior fellow for Defense Priorities. His areas of expertise are American foreign policy, Middle East policy, Asia policy, grand strategy, international relations, international security, and counterinsurgency.

In 2012, he wrote a classified whistleblower report for Congress about the war in Afghanistan and released an unclassified version to the public. Col Davis regularly appears on news shows and is published in national and international publications.

Follow Col. Davis on Twitter at @DanielLDavis1

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Recorded on April 11, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. President Trump is right: Withdrawing from Syria strengthens US security, Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, USA, Ret., CNBC
  2. Truth, lies and Afghanistan, Armed Forces Journal (2012), Daniel L, Davis
  3. Fools Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan, Scott Horton

Ep 48 Dispatch From Damascus: Syrian War Big Picture & Power Players feat Elijah Magnier


 

Joanne talks with veteran war correspondent Elijah Magnier, from Damascus, about recent developments in Syria and his recent three-part article about the big picture and power players in the Syrian war. We also talk about the new crowd-funded book that he is writing on the history of Hezbollah.

Elijah is a journalist and a senior political risk analyst with over 32 years experience covering Europe and the Middle East.

Follow Elijah at @ejmalrai and find his work (in multiple languages) at ejmagnier.com

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Recorded on April 2, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. “Will America Accept its Defeat or Will it Challenge the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon (Part 1)”, Elijah Magnier
  2. “Will America Accept its Defeat or Will it Challenge the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon (Part 2)”, Elijah Magnier
  3. “Will America Accept its Defeat or Will it Challenge the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon (Part 3)”, Elijah Magnier

Ep 46 Trump’s War Cabinet feat Tom Luongo

Joanne talks with economist and writer Tom Luongo about Trump’s cabinet shuffle and the possibility that it is part of a Middle East grand bargain, as Alastair Crooke recently wrote about in the online journal, Strategic Culture.

Tom is former research chemist and staunch libertarian, Tom currently publishes his blog, Gold Goats ‘n Guns along with a monthly investment newsletter focused on geopolitics, commodities and cryptocurrencies. He is a regular contributor at Russia Insider and Seeking Alpha. His work is also featured regularly on sites like Zerohedge, Lewrockwell.com and Investing.com.

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Follow Tom Luongo @TFL1728. Find his work on YouTube and at Steemit.com/@goldgoatsnguns.

Find all of our work at our website aroundtheempire.com

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Recorded on March 27, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Is the North Korea Deal a Stalking Horse for Trump’s Mid-East Makeover? Alastair Crooke, Strategic Culture
  2. Neoconning the Trump White House, Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, American Conservative

Ep 45: Ghouta, Afrin and Eastern Syria feat. Ehsani

Syrian analyst Ehsani returns to the show to talk about the latest developments in the Syrian war, with a focus on escalations in Eastern Ghouta, Afrin and Eastern Syria. Ehsani also shares his observations from a recent trip to Aleppo. This is a two-part interview originally recorded on March 8th. Due to delays in publishing and rapid developments in those regions, a second part was added on March 27th with updates on the situation.

Ehsani is a Syrian American originally from Aleppo. You can find his social media analysis and discussion about Syria on Twitter at @ehsani22. He has also written for the Syria Comment blog under the pseudonym, “Ehsani”.  

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Recorded on March 8 and March 27, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. “US Mulls Action as Pro-Syria Forces Mass Nearby,” Jason Ditz, Antiwar.com
  2. “Erdoğan accuses US of planning to form ‘terror army’ in Syria,” The Guardian
  3. “Trapped in Eastern Ghouta,” Patrick Cockburn, Counterpunch
  4. “Which rebel groups are fighting in Syria’s eastern Ghouta?” Wesley Dockery, Deutsche Welle
  5. “Nearly 6,800 militants, families leave E. Ghouta, head to Idlib” – Russian military, RT
  6. “Turkish, FSA forces close in on Tel Rifaat town in northern Syria,” Hurriyet
  7. “In face of Ghouta defeat, Syrian rebels blame each other,” Reuters
  8. “Turkey Seizes Full Control Over Syria’s Afrin District,” Antiwar.com

Ep 44 Mueller Unites American War Party

Dan and Joanne talk about the Mueller’s indictment of Russian internet trolls for defrauding the United States and meddling in the 2016 election by placing ads on social media (most of which ran after the election itself). While the indictments themselves seem absurd, they did bring about a significant change. Both the establishment Left and Right are now more united against Russia and around the War Party.  

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Recorded on February 23, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Mueller Indictments, (via NPR)
  2. “Hyping the Mueller Indictment,” Aaron Mate, The Nation
  3. “Russian Espionage, or Clickbait?” Aaron Mate, Max Blumenthal, The Real News
  4. “A So-Called Expert’s Uneasy Dive Into the Trump-Russia Frenzy,” Adrian Chen, NewYorker
  5. “Is Donald Trump a Traitor?” James Risen, The Intercept
  6. “Confessions of a Russiagate Skeptic,” Blake Hounshell, Politico Magazine
  7. “Ex-NSA Hackers Worry China And Russia Will Try to Arrest Them,” Lorenzo Franceschi Bicchierai, Motherboard

Quote Montage:  Rod Rosenstein, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Joy Reid, Bernie Sanders, Thomas Friedman, Lawrence O’Donnell, Max Boot, Jerry Nadler, Laura Ingraham, James Woolsey, Jimmy Dore, Adrian Chen, Max Blumenthal

 

Ep 43 MemoGate

Dan and Joanne talk about the lead up to and the release of the House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes’ memo on the abuse of the FISA court related to Russiagate.

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Recorded on February 2, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. “Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation”, House Intelligence Committee
  2. “Read the Nunes Memo, Annotated,” Charlie Savage, New York Times

Quote Montage:

Donnie Deutsch, John Heilman, Chuck Shumer, Cory Booker, Adam Schiff, Tucker Carlson, Devin Nunes, Joe DiGenova, Donald Trump

Ep 42 Tillerson’s Way Forward on Syria

Dan and Joanne talk about Rex Tillerson’s unveiling of the Trump administration’s new Syria policy via a Stanford University speech and interview with Condoleeza Rice. The policy is named “The Way Forward” but ironically it seems more like a regression to the Bush/Cheney neoconservative foreign policy for the Middle East.  

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Recorded on January 23, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. State Dept. marketing video: “The Way Forward on Syria”
  2. Press Briefing Jan. 18, State Dept.
  3. Tillerson “Remarks on the Way Forward for the United States in Syria”, Hoover Institution/Stanford University (transcripts and videos)
  4. Follow up Tillerson interview with Condoleeza Rice, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
  5. “Tillerson tells the truth about Syria,” Washington Post Editorial Board
  6. “A New Decision To Go To War In Syria,” Paul PIllar, LobeLog