Foreign Policy Focus

On FPF #504, I discuss Israel's plan to move forward with annexing portions of the West Bank. Israel's plan is to annex up to 30% - of the most valuable land - this summer. The annexation will cause Palestinian towns within the West Bank to be disconnected from each other. The annexation plan loosely follows Trump's Deal of the Century. However, the deal calls for Israel to halt settlement expansion during annexation, and Netanyahu has made it clear he intends to continue with expansion. The Palestinians are considering several options, including declaring a state.

Links

• Max Blumenthal - US police train in Israel
• Jordan Smith - Less than lethal weapons

We discuss Danny's experience on the ground at the protests in Kansas City and the broader protest movement, whether this is an insurrection, the idea of calling in the military to act as a police force or worse, and the parallels between current policing practices and counterinsurgency missions.

Major Danny Sjursen is a retired US Army strategist, West Point grad and former history instructor at West Point. He served tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War titled: Ghostriders of Baghdad. His articles are published by numerous media outlets: antiwar.com, The American Conservative, Truthdig, TomDispatch and others.

Joanne Leon is the host of the Around the Empire podcast.

Links

• Dispatches From Kansas City: The 'Insurrection' That Wasn't (May 30-31, 2020), Danny Sjursen
• Do Police Face Less Discipline Than U.S. Soldiers?, Danny Sjursen
• Military Officers And Vets Uncomfortable With Trump's Domestic 'Battlespace', Mark Perry
• Book: Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge, Danny Sjursen
• Book: Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War, Danny Sjursen

On FPF #502, Will Porter returns to the show to discuss ongoing George Floyd protests. Will and Kyle break down some of the worst examples of police brutality. Will explains that the protests are now in 100s of American cities and have even spread to Europe. The protest movement is generally about Black Likes Matter, and a popular call is to defund the police.

In Minneapolis, the protests demanded the mayor disband the police department. The mayor refused, but now a veto-proof majority of the city council has a plan to eliminate the police department. Will and Kyle talk about why the people are demanding the plan and how it can be beneficial.

Links

• Trevor Timm - Police abuse journalists
• Over 400 example of police brutality

On FPF #501, I invited great friends of the show Joanne Leon and Will Porter to come on and chat about some of the most important topics covered in the first 500 episodes of the show. We talk about some of the most important narratives the establishment media has gotten wrong, but we got right in our shows and writings.

Joanne Leon is the host of the Around the Empire podcast.

Will Porter is a staff writer at RT. He has articles published at Antiwar.com, Libertarian Institute, and Consortium News.

Scott Horton returns to Foreign Policy Focus for the 500th episode. Scott talks about the lessons and themes of Star Wars. He explains how the failures of the Jedi led to the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. The saga is a warning to Americans about the dangers of empire and endless war. Scott also weighs in on the protests/riots and the destruction of police property.

Scott Horton is the host of the Scott Horton Show and the author of Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. He is the Editorial Director of Antiwar.com and the Managing Director of The Libertarian Institute.

Links

• Scott Horton - Star Wars and the American Empire

On FPF #499, Will Porter returns to the show to cover the ongoing protests, riots, and police brutality. The protests started after a police officer slowly murdered George Floyd, while three other helped and watched. The protesters demanded charges for the officers. Police responded to the protests by cracking down on the protests. Some of the protesters started looting and setting buildings on fire. Police have become even more violent, often directing their rage towards small, female peaceful protesters. Will and Kyle discuss the actions of everyone and the need for real criminal justice reform.

On FPF #498. I discuss Trump's foreign policy strategy of using sanctions to deal with any international issue. Trump has sanctioned several countries, including Russia, China, Iraq, Lebanon, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar. For others - North Korea, Venezuela, and Iran - he has not limited the sanctions to individuals or industries, but rather imposes an economic war on the entire population of the country. Trump's sanctions have actually harmed the president's foreign policy, as the sanctions interfere with his ability to engage the countries diplomatically.

Links

• Kevin R. Brock on the FBI and Flynn
• Shippers and insurers say Trump's sanction are too difficult to abide by

On FPF #497, I discuss the developing story of a Ukrainian judge ruling Joe Biden is to be named in a criminal probe from his time as Vice President. The criminal probe is looking into the firing of former-Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin. Biden has publically bragged about leveraging a $1 billion IMF Loan to get Ukraine to fire Shokin. At the time of Shokin's firing, he was investigating a Ukrainian gas company that had his son, Hunter Biden, on their board.

Links

• Joe Lauria - Biden to be named in a criminal probe

Will Porter returns to the show to discuss the US announcing that it plans to spend China and Russia into oblivion in a new arms race. In recent years the US has been working towards a new Cold War. Will explains how the announcement ties with Trump's foreign policy of shifting focus to great power competition. Will and Kyle talk about how the new arms race will hurt Americans.

Links

• Doug Bandow - Memorial Day
• Danny Sjursen - Memorial Day
• Kelley Vlahos - Weapons

On FPF #495, I discuss the US leaving the Open Skies Treaty. The treaty allows for member states to conduct surveillance flights over each other. The treaty is key to keeping countries informed about each other's military capabilities. Without the treaty in place, war hawks will likely exploit the lack of intelligence and claim Russia is building up its military capabilities. Those hawks will then argue for more weapons to be built bu companies that pay them and their think tanks.

Links

• Pensacola terror attack
• Pompeo's case for cold war