Around The Empire

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On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview Syria expert Professor Joshua Landis on the battle for the Syrian city of Raqqa and the various competing forces in the Syrian Civil War.

Professor Landis discusses the difficulty the United States has in deciding who to work with once ISIS is driven out of its claimed capital of Raqqa. While, in theory, the Assad government is the only government recognized under international law, it appears unlikely that the U.S. will assist that government in reasserting jurisdiction.

Other factions in the Syrian Civil War on better terms with the U.S., such as Turkey and the Kurds, have their own designs for the city.

Such complexities mirror the larger struggle on how to govern Syria itself. Landis details a current plan to break up Syria into five statelets including; a Kurdish state (Rojava), Idlib state (currently run by Al Qaeda), Assad governed state, a southern state run by Jordanian militias backed by Israel, and a Euphrates valley state of Sunni Arab tribes.

Opposed to this structure are both the Kurds and the Assad government, who do not want a Sunni state backed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the other gulf states within Syria.

Landis believes Assad, backed by Iran and Russia, will ultimately prevail with a carve-out for the Kurds, who will continue to have U.S. backing.

Follow Josh on Twitter @Joshua_Landis

If you want to support the show and receive access to bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month.

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview journalist Antony Loewenstein about his new book and upcoming film Disaster Capitalism. Loewenstein has traveled to the U.S., Britain, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Australia to research how multinational corporations exploit disasters for profit.

The discussion starts with a focus on recent decisions by the Trump Administration to increase use of private prisons and detention centers. Loewenstein details how companies profit from this approach both in the United States and around the world, and the role such companies play in expanding the surveillance and incarceration state.

Loewenstein also explains the complicated role of non-government organizations (NGOs) in international development and disaster capitalism. Using the failures of NGOs in Haiti as a starting point, he explains the conflicting incentives NGOs have that often lead to them failing to make a positive impact despite ample resources.

Follow Antony on Twitter @antloewenstein

If you want to support the show and receive access to bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month.

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview journalist Antony Loewenstein about his new book and upcoming film Disaster Capitalism. Loewenstein has traveled to the U.S., Britain, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Australia to research how multinational corporations exploit disasters for profit.

The discussion starts with a focus on recent decisions by the Trump Administration to increase use of private prisons and detention centers. Loewenstein details how companies profit from this approach both in the United States and around the world, and the role such companies play in expanding the surveillance and incarceration state.

Loewenstein also explains the complicated role of non-government organizations (NGOs) in international development and disaster capitalism. Using the failures of NGOs in Haiti as a starting point, he explains the conflicting incentives NGOs have that often lead to them failing to make a positive impact despite ample resources.

Follow Antony on Twitter @antloewenstein

If you want to support the show and receive access to bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month.

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview journalist Kenneth Lipp about the sprawling national security and incarceration state President Donald Trump inherited when he took office.

Lipp has written extensively on the role that private firms play in assisting government surveillance programs and broke news on Project Hemisphere—a service offered by AT&T that allows law enforcement to access the communications giant's massive database for theoretically lawful investigations.

Part of the agreement for law enforcement to use Hemisphere is non-disclosure, which arguably necessitates the need for parallel construction, or using illegal information to investigate a target, then using that information to construct a legal way that information could have been obtained.

If that sounds like a great tool for an authoritarian regime to destroy political dissidents with, that's because it is.

Follow Ken on Twitter @KennethLipp

If you want to support the show and receive access to bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month.

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview journalist Kenneth Lipp about the sprawling national security and incarceration state President Donald Trump inherited when he took office.

Lipp has written extensively on the role that private firms play in assisting government surveillance programs and broke news on Project Hemisphere—a service offered by AT&T that allows law enforcement to access the communications giant's massive database for theoretically lawful investigations.

Part of the agreement for law enforcement to use Hemisphere is non-disclosure, which arguably necessitates the need for parallel construction, or using illegal information to investigate a target, then using that information to construct a legal way that information could have been obtained.

If that sounds like a great tool for an authoritarian regime to destroy political dissidents with, that's because it is.

Follow Ken on Twitter @KennethLipp

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview filmmaker Robbie Martin about the future of the neoconservatives now that the candidate they lined up against, Donald Trump, has become president.

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview filmmaker Robbie Martin about the future of the neoconservatives now that the candidate they lined up against, Donald Trump, has become president.

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou about the ongoing tensions between the CIA and President Donald Trump as well as his recent article about abolishing the CIA.

Kiriakou explains how the CIA works in both theory and practice, and that the agency's duties could be better accomplished by the State Department and the Pentagon. The State Department can do the analytical functions of the CIA, while the Defense Department's already existing human intelligence operations can recruit and run spies around the world.

The discussion also includes Kiriakou's detailed knowledge of John Brennan and the reforms he made to the CIA under President Barack Obama, and what Trump might do to purge the CIA of Brennan's influence.

Follow John on Twitter @JohnKiriakou

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou about the ongoing tensions between the CIA and President Donald Trump as well as his recent article about abolishing the CIA.

Kiriakou explains how the CIA works in both theory and practice, and that the agency's duties could be better accomplished by the State Department and the Pentagon. The State Department can do the analytical functions of the CIA, while the Defense Department's already existing human intelligence operations can recruit and run spies around the world.

The discussion also includes Kiriakou's detailed knowledge of John Brennan and the reforms he made to the CIA under President Barack Obama, and what Trump might do to purge the CIA of Brennan's influence.

Follow John on Twitter @JohnKiriakou

If you want to support the show and receive access to bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month.

On this episode of Around The Empire, Dan and Joanne interview journalist David Chibo about his recent article on the deep state in the United States for Unz Review.

Chibo offers a comprehensive and holistic perspective for understanding the hidden forces influencing the U.S. government by synthesizing theories from seven different intellectuals to finally arrive at a "theory of everything." Using the famous Indian story of the Blind Men and the Elephant, Chibo shows that each intellectual was seeing only one part of the overall picture, but when combined, the full animal comes into view.

The discussion includes both an overview of Chibo's article as well as discussion of current events related to what appears to be a power struggle between President-elect Donald Trump and forces within the U.S. intelligence community.

Follow Dave on Twitter @DChibo