Foreign Policy Focus

On FPF #215, Will Porter returns to the show to cover the impacts of our foreign policy on veterans of the wars. Will give the numbers of vets committing suicide and some of the causes of those suicides. Will discusses Peter Van Buren's explanation for moral injury. Will and Kyle discuss the glorification of the US military and Independence Day.

Will Porter is a journalist who writes on US foreign policy and Mid East affairs. Will's work can be found at AntiWar.com, Consortium News, and The Libertarian institute. 

Links

At War With Ourselves - Will Porter 

Hooper's War - Peter Van Buren 

Dangerous History - BT

On FPF #214, I breakdown Saudi's misleading explanation for their bombing of a Doctors Without Borders cholera treatment facility in Yemen. Saudi Arabia attempted to use an email from a low-level DWB official to claim DWB was at fault for the bombing. However, the facility was marked, and DWB informed Saudi Arabia 12 times about the location of the facility. 

I also discuss John Bolton setting up a summit between Trump and Putin. I explain the status of the US/Russian relationship and what could come out of these talks. I also update North Korean denuclearization and Turkey. 

Links

FPF #177 - Will Porter discusses John Bolton

On FPF #213, Joanne Leon and Dan Wright join the show for the third in a three-part series covering the many claims that Russia colluded with the Trump campaign to win the 2016 election. In part three, Joanne and Dan break down the FBI IG report on the Hillary email investigation. They explain the biased activities of the FBI. We give our final thoughts on Russiagate and how all the current evidence fails to prove the claims of Russiagate. 

Joanne Leon and Dan Wright are the cohosts of the Around the Empire podcast. 

Links

AroundtheEmpire.com

Around the Empire #57 - Garland Nixon

Around the Empire #54 - Crossfire Hurrican 

Aaron Mate - No proof of collusion 

On FPF #212, Joanne Leon and Dan Wright join the show for the second in a three-part series covering the many claims that Russia colluded with the Trump campaign to win the 2016 election. In part two, Joanne and Dan break down the FBI Crossfire Hurricane investigation. They explain how the FBI spied on and attempted to put informants into the Trump campaign. We also discuss the role of Carter Page, Peter Strzok, and John Brennan. 

Joanne Leon and Dan Wright are the cohosts of the Around the Empire podcast. 

Links

AroundtheEmpire.com

Around the Empire #57 - Garland Nixon

Around the Empire #54 - Crossfire Hurrican 

Aaron Mate - No proof of collusion 

On FPF #211, Joanne Leon and Dan Wright join the show for the first in a three-part series covering the many claims that Russia colluded with the Trump campaign to win the 2016 election. In part one, Joanne and Dan break down the indictments of Flynn, Manafort/Gates, Papadopoulos, and Internet Research Agency. They explain how every indictment is unrelated to the 2016 claims of Russiagate and in some cases work to disprove the Russia collusion claims. We also discuss the Trump Tower meeting and the role of Fusion GPS's Steele dossier. 

Joanne Leon and Dan Wright are the cohosts of the Around the Empire podcast. 

Links

AroundtheEmpire.com

Around the Empire #57 - Garland Nixon

Around the Empire #54 - Crossfire Hurrican 

Aaron Mate - No proof of collusion 

Moon of Alabama - Internet Research Agency 

On FPF #210, I discuss a brief ceasefire in Afghanistan. The ceasefire held for three days at the end of the Islamic holy month. After the ceasefire expired, fighting resumed with the Taliban killing as many as 50 Afghan soldiers. 

I address the massive Department of Defense. The DoD will grow as Trump announced the creation of the Space Force. Amazon is a front-runner for getting a $10 billion contract to provide cloud services to the Pentagon. The Pentagon has expanded and is carrying out more offensives in cyber warfare. 

Links

FPF #209 - Killing Yemen

FPF #207 - Understanding Colombia with Brian Saady

Vets for Peace - Palestine 

On FPF#209, I recap the Yemeni Civil War. The war has raged since the Saudi-led coalition began its bombing campaign in 2015. The war has devastated the people of Yemen and sparked the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. The people of Yemen are subject to a blockade that prevents food, fuel, medicine, and even journalists from entering the country. The blockade is supplemented by an indiscriminate air war on Yemen’s civilian infrastructure. I break down the humanitarian crisis, the critical US role in the war, and the ongoing catastrophic attack on Hodeida.

Links

Scott Horton Show - Eric Eikenberry 

FPF - Will Porter on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen

On FPF #208, Marko Marjanovic joins the show to discuss the failures of Stalin's centrally planned military leading up to WWII. The failures amount to the USSR having the most losses on one side of a war. While the Red Army had the equipment and technology to defend against the German invasion, poor strategic decision making allowed the Germans to have early success on the battlefield. Marko and Kyle discuss how the centrally planned military created the environment where the USSR took devastating losses during 1941. 

In the show, we discuss Marko's article Stalin Gifted Hitler Victory in 1941 and it Cost Millions of Russian Lives. Marko is the deputy editor at Russia-Insider.com. His website is CheckPointAsia.Net.

On FPF #208, Marko Manjanovic joins the show to discuss the failures of Stalin's centrally planned military leading up to WWII. The failures amount to the USSR having the most losses on one side of a war. While the Red Army had the equipment and technology to defend against the German invasion, poor strategic decision making allowed the Germans to have early success on the battlefield. Marko and Kyle discuss how the centrally planned military created the environment where the USSR took devastating losses during 1941. 

In the show, we discuss Marko's article Stalin Gifted Hitler Victory in 1941 and it Cost Millions of Russian Lives. Marko is the deputy editor at Russia-Insider.com. His website is CheckPointAsia.Net.

On FPF #207, Brian Saady returns to the show to help us understand Colombia. The Colombian government is in the process a peace process to end a decades-long war with the FARC and is in the middle of a presidential election. The first round of voting has narrowed the field, and a new president will be elected Sunday. Brian explains the history of the conflict with the FARC, the role of the US in the civil war, and the current peace agreement. Brian gives his analysis of what the outcome of the election will have on peace in Colombia. 

Brian Saady is the author of Rackets and the host of Rackets Podcast. Brian's books and podcast can be found at his website BrianSaady.com. His articles have been published at AntiWar.com and The American Conservative. 

Links

• FPF #133 - The Drug War guest Brian Saady
• ColombiaReports.com
• InSight Crime 
• Americans Quarterly 
• Why We Hate FARC and Not the Paramilitaries
• A Familiar Pattern of Violence Could Threaten Colombia's Peace Process
• What Trump's Warning Really Means for Colombia
• Trump Pressures Colombia to Reinstate Arial Spraying
• Colombia Arrests FARC Leader on Drug Trafficking Charges