Ep 228EXTRA Destabilization of Central Asia After Afghanistan Withdrawal? feat Scott Horton

Ep 228EXTRA Destabilization of Central Asia After Afghanistan Withdrawal? feat Scott Horton

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Guest: Scott Horton. We talk about the war in Afghanistan, a landlocked country with rough terrain and the diverse groups of people who live there. We talk about the reasons why we lost that war and have to withdraw. We also discuss the news and footage from the withdrawal in progress and the reactions to the various factions who support and oppose that, and the dishonesty and hypocrisy that happen when people try to justify long wars and occupations like this one. In this bonus episode, we discuss the possibility for destabilization of Central Asia after NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, the impact and involvement of China, Russia and Iran, and how things are likely to play out. 

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Ep 228 Leaving Afghanistan feat Scott Horton

Ep 228 Leaving Afghanistan feat Scott Horton

Guest: Scott Horton. We talk about the war in Afghanistan, a landlocked country with rough terrain and the diverse groups of people who live there. We talk about the reasons why we lost and are leaving Afghanistan. We also discuss the news and footage from the withdrawal in progress and the reactions to the various factions who support and oppose that, and the dishonesty and hypocrisy that happen when people try to justify long wars and occupations like this one. In a bonus episode, we discuss the possibility for destabilization of the entire region around Afghanistan, the impact and involvement of China, Russia and Iran, and how things are likely to play out. 

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Ep 211 Third Parties, War, Elections & Lockdowns feat Angela McArdle

Ep 211EXTRA Censorship & Lockdowns, Modern Day Gulags? feat Angela McArdle

Guest: Angela McArdle. Co-hosts Joanne Leon, Kelley Lane and Kyle Anzalone. This is a swapcast for the Around the Empire podcast and the Conflicts of Interest show. It’s a broad discussion about war and foreign policy, interventionism, elections and the handling of the pandemic with lockdowns and other restrictions and its impact on the lives of Americans, the economy and our rights. There is a bonus episode questioning whether censorship and lockdowns can be compared to a modern day gulag. 

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Ep 206 New Boss Same As the Old Boss? (Swapcast)

Ep 206 New Boss Same As the Old Boss? (Swapcast)

Swapcast: Kyle Anzalone from Conflicts of Interest and Joanne Leon from Around the Empire. Is the new boss the same as the old boss? We compare the Biden foreign policy to the Trump, Obama and Bush administrations, analyze press conference and announcements from NATO’s Jen Stoltenberg about expanding the number of troops and area of operation in Iraq and freezing any withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and more. 

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Ep 185 Patriotic Dissent feat Danny Sjursen

Ep 185 Patriotic Dissent feat Danny Sjursen

Guest: Danny Sjursen. We talk about his new book Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War. We talk about the ways that Danny has broken down, categorized and explained the various forms of patriotism and dissent that he sees. He also talks about his own personal evolution in his views of these things. He gives some examples of people in American history who dissented and why that gives him cause for some optimism. One of the people who urged Danny to write this book, Robert Scheer, said: “Sjursen calls for a critical exploration of our allegiances, and suggests a path to a new, more complex notion of patriotism. Equal parts somber and idealistic, this is a story about what it means to be an American in the midst of perpetual war, and what the future of patriotism might look like.” There is an extra bonus segment for patrons: Ep 185EXTRA 9/11 in 2020. 

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Ep 185EXTRA 9/11 in 2020 feat Danny Sjursen

Ep 185EXTRA 9/11 in 2020 feat Danny Sjursen

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Guest: Danny Sjursen. We talk about his new book Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War. We talk about the ways that Danny has broken down, categorized and explained the various forms of patriotism and dissent that he sees. He also talks about his own personal evolution in his views of these things. He gives some examples of people in American history who dissented and why that gives him cause for some optimism. One of the people who urged Danny to write this book, Robert Scheer, said: “Sjursen calls for a critical exploration of our allegiances, and suggests a path to a new, more complex notion of patriotism. Equal parts somber and idealistic, this is a story about what it means to be an American in the midst of perpetual war, and what the future of patriotism might look like.” This is an extra bonus segment for patrons: Ep 185EXTRA 9/11 in 2020. 

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Ep 162 China Hawks Exploit Pandemic feat Dave DeCamp

Ep 162 China Hawks Exploit Pandemic feat Dave DeCamp

Guest: Dave DeCamp. We talk about the way that China hawks are exploiting the pandemic and global crisis to influence the opinion of a fearful public. There are legitimate issues with China but some of the same bad actors who were involved in the post 9/11 push for war in the Middle East and others seem to be using this crisis to advance their own great power competition agenda, for political and financial reasons and for the evergreen goal of preserving the empire. If there was ever a time to avoid conflict, it’s now, while the country is in pretty dire straits. Big crises can result in big changes and profiteers who don’t have our best interests at heart know that better than anyone. Dave has written two articles on the topic, filled with great examples and context and we talk about those today. 

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Ep 149 US vs Iran Conflicts feat Danny Sjursen

Ep 149 US vs Iran Conflicts feat Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.)

Guest: Maj. Danny Sjursen, US Army (ret.) We talk about two articles that Danny wrote about US vs Iran conflicts over the last seven decades and what he calls a “timeline of provocations and retaliations”. Also we talk about Iran’s history of relative restraint. 

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Ep 107 Last War-ism, Cold War Military-Industrial Complex feat Dave Foster

Guest: Dave Foster. We discuss the evolution of the military-industrial complex, Cold War weapons systems and “last war-ism.”

Ep 107 Last War-ism Cold War Military-Industrial Complex feat Dave Foster
Continue reading “Ep 107 Last War-ism, Cold War Military-Industrial Complex feat Dave Foster”

Ep 106 Bolton-Pompeo Axis feat Patrick Lawrence

Guest: Patrick Lawrence. We discuss President Trump’s relationship with his chosen cabinet hawks, Mike Pompeo and John Bolton and what Lawrence sees as a foreign policy coup by the Bolton-Pompeo axis.

Ep 106 Bolton-Pompeo Axis feat Patrick Lawrence
Continue reading “Ep 106 Bolton-Pompeo Axis feat Patrick Lawrence”

Ep 80 The Permanent War Complex feat Gareth Porter

Joanne Leon and investigative journalist and historian Gareth Porter discuss “The Permanent War Complex” and how it developed in stages to the point where we have defense and intelligence mega-contractors helping to drive perpetual wars around the globe. Eisenhower’s nightmare has now come true. We also talk about recent machinations in the case of Julian Assange and Wikileaks.

Ep80 Permanent War Complex feat Gareth Porter


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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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Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire Donations: aroundtheempire.com

Find all of our work at our website aroundtheempire.com

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Follow Dan & Joanne: @USEmpireShow,  @joanneleon

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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

We are independent media and we rely on your contributions.

Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire Donations: aroundtheempire.com

Find all of our work at our website aroundtheempire.com

Follow @aroundtheempire

Follow Dan & Joanne: @USEmpireShow,  @joanneleon

Please subscribe/follow us on iTunes, YouTube, Facebook.

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