Ep 230EXTRA Relentless Regime Change Operations in Cuba feat Margaret Kimberley

Ep 230EXTRA Relentless Regime Change Operations in Cuba

LISTEN ON PATREON, WATCH/LISTEN ON ROKFIN

Guest: Margaret Kimberley. We talk about the recent assassination and leadership change in Haiti and the campaign for US military intervention. The details of the assassination are important but the fundamental issue is the undermining of Haiti’s sovereignty and who is really dominating and determining the rulership of the country.

From Black Alliance for Peace:

Who rules Haiti? Certainly, neither the Haitian people nor Haitian civil society. Instead, in the two weeks since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, the absence of Haitian sovereignty and the hollow nature of Haitian independence has been cynically exposed. 

“A rogue’s gallery of international actors—supposed “friends” of Haiti—have intervened in the republic’s internal political affairs, handpicking the face of Haiti’s government, while determining who best can serve Haiti’s imperial masters,” says Jemima Pierre, Haiti/Americas Coordinator for the Black Alliance for Peace.” 

In a bonus segment, we talk about the relentless regime change operations in Cuba and the current events happening there, from a perspective of self determination for a decades long target of imperial powers. 

Continue reading “Ep 230EXTRA Relentless Regime Change Operations in Cuba feat Margaret Kimberley”

Ep 230 Who Rules Haiti? Undermining Haiti’s Sovereignty feat Margaret Kimberley

Ep 230 Who Rules Haiti? Undermining Haiti’s Sovereignty feat Margaret

Guest: Margaret Kimberley. We talk about the recent assassination and leadership change in Haiti and the campaign for US military intervention. The details of the assassination are important but the fundamental issue is the undermining of Haiti’s sovereignty and who is really dominating and determining the rulership of the country.

From Black Alliance for Peace:

Who rules Haiti? Certainly, neither the Haitian people nor Haitian civil society. Instead, in the two weeks since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, the absence of Haitian sovereignty and the hollow nature of Haitian independence has been cynically exposed. 

“A rogue’s gallery of international actors—supposed “friends” of Haiti—have intervened in the republic’s internal political affairs, handpicking the face of Haiti’s government, while determining who best can serve Haiti’s imperial masters,” says Jemima Pierre, Haiti/Americas Coordinator for the Black Alliance for Peace.” 

Continue reading “Ep 230 Who Rules Haiti? Undermining Haiti’s Sovereignty feat Margaret Kimberley”

Ep 176 Financial Crisis in Lebanon feat Ehsani

Ep 176 Financial Crisis in Lebanon feat Ehsani

Guest: Ehsani. We talk about the financial crisis in Lebanon that has been building for years and the structural problems in Lebanon’s economy and banking system that has been in place since the 1990’s. The Beirut explosion and widespread damage brought the broader crisis to a head and exposed how the system is broken. We also talk about the political issues, protests and external interference. There is a bonus question for patrons at the end of the interview on possible solutions for the crisis in Lebanon and whether this is a push for regime change and which external forces are behind it. 

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Ep 176EXTRA Financial Crisis & Solutions in Lebanon feat Ehsani

Ep 176EXTRA Financial Crisis & Solutions in Lebanon feat Ehsani

LISTEN ON PATREON

Guest: Ehsani. We talk about the financial crisis in Lebanon that has been building for years and the structural problems in Lebanon’s economy and banking system that has been in place since the 1990’s. The Beirut explosion and widespread damage brought the broader crisis to a head and exposed how the system is broken. We also talk about the political issues, protests and external interference. This is a bonus question for patrons at the end of the interview on possible solutions for the crisis in Lebanon and whether this is a push for regime change and which external forces are behind it.

Continue reading “Ep 176EXTRA Financial Crisis & Solutions in Lebanon feat Ehsani”

Ep 156 Western Denial About Syria feat Régis Le Sommier

Ep 157 Western Denial About Syria feat Regis LeSommier

Guest: Régis Le Sommier. We discuss the fact that the United States and its western allies are in denial about having lost the war in Syria. Calls to reboot that war are unrealistic and against the wishes of the majority of Syrian people who are living in government controlled areas, still suffering under sanctions and whose voices are rarely heard in western media. The sanctions are being used in an effort to keep options open for regime change and to deny the Assad government the opportunity to rebuild and stabilize the country. Western leaders and media are also in denial about the nature and objectives of the people who control the opposition held areas. Régis brings us insights from Syria having spent time on the ground there in both government and opposition controlled areas. 

Continue reading “Ep 156 Western Denial About Syria feat Régis Le Sommier”

Ep 142 Regime Change Resistance: OAS, Bolivia, Dominica feat Jeb Sprague

Ep 142 Regime Change Resistance: OAS Bolivia Dominica feat Jeb Sprague

Guest: Jeb Sprague. We discuss how regime change projects seem to be on overdrive right now, the key role played by the Organization of American States (OAS) in regime change operations in Latin American and Caribbean states (former colonial states). Recently in the Commonwealth of Dominica (an island country in the West Indies), there was a successful resistance to regime change. In Bolivia, there was strong resistance as well, but the coup plotters succeeded. Jeb’s research and reporting on the role of Bolivia’s top police and military brass in planning and executing the coup shows that it was a long term project with training at the School of the Americas. 

Continue reading “Ep 142 Regime Change Resistance: OAS, Bolivia, Dominica feat Jeb Sprague”

Ep 136 Coup in Bolivia feat Ben Norton

Ep 136 Coup in Bolivia feat Ben Norton

Guest: Ben Norton. We discuss the coup in Bolivia where the recently reelected president, Evo Morales, was forced to step down by the military leaders and later flee to Mexico. An extreme right-wing opposition and fascist paramilitary then moved in to take control. Ben explains some of the groups and individuals involved in the coup and the support and involvement of other Latin American countries and the United States. 

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Ep 127 Iraq Protests, US-Iran War, Regime Change feat Elijah Magnier

Ep 127 Iraq Protests, US-Iran War, Regime Change feat Elijah Magnier

Guest: Elijah Magnier. We discuss the uprising and protests across Iraq that turned violent this week, with over a hundred deaths and thousands of injuries. 

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Ep 96 Using Venezuela to Suppress Populism & Anti-Imperialism feat Alan MacLeod

Alan McLeod has done extensive analysis on the past two decades of media coverage on Venezuela, since the election of Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian revolution. He joins us today from Scotland to share some of that analysis and one particularly interesting observation. Corporate media has used Venezuela, “consistently demonized and misrepresented in the US press,” to pressure left-leaning political movements conform with and even promote aggressive American foreign policy.

We look at the current case of Bernie Sanders and his positions on regime change in Venezuela to illustrate this process of policing narratives and manufacturing consent for meddling and aggression.  We also talk about how regime change operations against countries with strong socialist policies are driven not just by the pursuit of domination and resources. They’re also used to manipulate politics at home: to suppress anti-imperialist dissent and to subvert the rise of left-oriented populist movements.

Ep96 Using Venezuela to Suppress Anti-Imperialism & Populism feat Alan MacLeod
Continue reading “Ep 96 Using Venezuela to Suppress Populism & Anti-Imperialism feat Alan MacLeod”

Ep 94 How Regime Change Wars Are Born feat Sharmine Narwani

Sharmine Narwani joins us today to talk about how western regime change wars are born and raised. She offers some of her research and analysis on Middle East wars, particularly the war in Syria as a comparison to what we are seeing in Venezuela today and with a special focus on how it all starts with a carefully crafted narrative.

Ep94 How Regime Change Wars Are Born feat Sharmine Narwani
Continue reading “Ep 94 How Regime Change Wars Are Born feat Sharmine Narwani”

Ep 90 American Coup Playbook in Venezuela feat Ted Snider

Columnist and analyst Ted Snider joins us to talk about patterns in US foreign policy and history as it relates to American coup attempts in Venezuela. We discuss the well established history of American backed coups in Venezuela and how democratic nationalist leaders like Maduro are not tolerated because they’re too difficult to subjugate.

Ted provides some detail about Juan Guaidó and his extreme opposition party and the role that resources and oil play in these regime change operations. We also explain our objections to the way that many people frame their opposition to the coup in that they ultimately help the advance the regime change narrative by structuring their argument as follows: “Maduro is a bad dictator but coups are bad too”.

Ep 90 American coup playbook in Venezuela feat Ted Snider
Continue reading “Ep 90 American Coup Playbook in Venezuela feat Ted Snider”

Ep 89 The Real Story of Venezuelan Elections feat Dan Kovalik

Dan Kovalik joins us today to talk about the situation in Venezuela. US officials and almost all media outlets have made claims about the illegitimacy of the Venezuelan presidential election last May, using that claim to recognize a little known opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as the new interim president, replacing President Nicolás Maduro. Dan begs to differ with that characterization, having witnessed that election process, up close, while he was on the ground in Venezuela as an election monitor. He shares that experience with us today and many other insights on the country, the region, and the media coverage and politics of it here in the United States.

Ep89 Real Story on Venezuelan Elections feat Dan Kovalik
Continue reading “Ep 89 The Real Story of Venezuelan Elections feat Dan Kovalik”

Ep 86 Misunderstanding Regime Change in Iran feat Neda Bolourchi

Dr. Neda Bolourchi joins us for a discussion of several major issues around Iran — involvement in Syria, the complicated alliance with Russia and their decentralized power structure. We also focus on the Green Revolution, the MEK and especially the misplaced expectations from some factions in the American foreign policy establishment that Iran’s people, especially their minority communities, will bring about the regime change that their adversaries desire.

Ep86 Misunderstanding Regime Change in Iran feat Neda Bolourchi
Continue reading “Ep 86 Misunderstanding Regime Change in Iran feat Neda Bolourchi”

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