Sojourner Truth Radio

For over 19 years, the United States has been occupying the nation of Afghanistan and waging war against its people. On October 7, 2001, the U.S. government invaded Afghanistan, claiming it was a so-called war on terror. This took place just a few weeks after the horrendous September 11 attacks across the East Coast, in which thousands of innocent people died. George W. Bush launched a military offensive against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Not only did this offensive kill innocent Afghans, including women and children. It has also festered into becoming an almost two-decade-long occupation and war.

The United States, the most powerful country on the planet, has been bombing, droning and occupying Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on the planet. Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed and injured. Furthermore, since the start of war in 2001 through mid-2019, nearly 2,400 U.S. servicemembers have died, according to The Washington Post. The total military expenditure in Afghanistan from October 2001 until September 2019 was $778 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. This is enough money to feed, clothe, house and educate all poor and low-income people in the United States, who are well over 140 million strong. Many veterans are also facing PTSD and other serious medical conditions while receiving little to no help from Washington. The war on Afghanistan has been brutal for people both at home and abroad.

Today, we bring you audio from a recent webinar entitled, Ending the War On Afghanistan. The webinar was hosted by World Beyond War, RootsAction.org, NYC Veterans For Peace, and Middle East Crisis Response. It was moderated by Ann Wright and features presentations by Kathy Kelly, Matthew Hoh, Rory Fanning, Danny Sjursen and Arash Azizzada. Kathy Kelly has been a founder of Voices in the Wilderness, coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, and member of World BEYOND Wars Advisory Board.

Matthew Hoh has been a Senior Fellow with the Center For International Policy since 2010. Rory Fanning went through two deployments to Afghanistan with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion, and became one of the first U.S. Army Rangers to resist the Iraq war and the Global War on Terror. Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army officer, contributing editor at Antiwar.com, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, and director of the Eisenhower Media Network. Arash Azizzada is a filmmaker, journalist, and community organizer currently living in Washington, D.C.

For over 19 years, the United States has been occupying the nation of Afghanistan and waging war against its people. On October 7, 2001, the U.S. government invaded Afghanistan, claiming it was a so-called war on terror. This took place just a few weeks after the horrendous September 11 attacks across the East Coast, in which thousands of innocent people died. George W. Bush launched a military offensive against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Not only did this offensive kill innocent Afghans, including women and children. It has also festered into becoming an almost two-decade-long occupation and war.

The United States, the most powerful country on the planet, has been bombing, droning and occupying Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on the planet. Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed and injured. Furthermore, since the start of war in 2001 through mid-2019, nearly 2,400 U.S. servicemembers have died, according to The Washington Post. The total military expenditure in Afghanistan from October 2001 until September 2019 was $778 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. This is enough money to feed, clothe, house and educate all poor and low-income people in the United States, who are well over 140 million strong. Many veterans are also facing PTSD and other serious medical conditions while receiving little to no help from Washington. The war on Afghanistan has been brutal for people both at home and abroad.

Today, we bring you audio from a recent webinar entitled, Ending the War On Afghanistan. The webinar was hosted by World Beyond War, RootsAction.org, NYC Veterans For Peace, and Middle East Crisis Response. It was moderated by Ann Wright and features presentations by Kathy Kelly, Matthew Hoh, Rory Fanning, Danny Sjursen and Arash Azizzada. Kathy Kelly has been a founder of Voices in the Wilderness, coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, and member of World BEYOND Wars Advisory Board.

Matthew Hoh has been a Senior Fellow with the Center For International Policy since 2010. Rory Fanning went through two deployments to Afghanistan with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion, and became one of the first U.S. Army Rangers to resist the Iraq war and the Global War on Terror. Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army officer, contributing editor at Antiwar.com, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, and director of the Eisenhower Media Network. Arash Azizzada is a filmmaker, journalist, and community organizer currently living in Washington, D.C.

For over 19 years, the United States has been occupying the nation of Afghanistan and waging war against its people. On October 7, 2001, the U.S. government invaded Afghanistan, claiming it was a so-called war on terror. This took place just a few weeks after the horrendous September 11 attacks across the East Coast, in which thousands of innocent people died. George W. Bush launched a military offensive against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Not only did this offensive kill innocent Afghans, including women and children. It has also festered into becoming an almost two-decade-long occupation and war.

The United States, the most powerful country on the planet, has been bombing, droning and occupying Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on the planet. Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed and injured. Furthermore, since the start of war in 2001 through mid-2019, nearly 2,400 U.S. servicemembers have died, according to The Washington Post. The total military expenditure in Afghanistan from October 2001 until September 2019 was $778 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. This is enough money to feed, clothe, house and educate all poor and low-income people in the United States, who are well over 140 million strong. Many veterans are also facing PTSD and other serious medical conditions while receiving little to no help from Washington. The war on Afghanistan has been brutal for people both at home and abroad.

Today, we bring you audio from a recent webinar entitled, Ending the War On Afghanistan. The webinar was hosted by World Beyond War, RootsAction.org, NYC Veterans For Peace, and Middle East Crisis Response. It was moderated by Ann Wright and features presentations by Kathy Kelly, Matthew Hoh, Rory Fanning, Danny Sjursen and Arash Azizzada. Kathy Kelly has been a founder of Voices in the Wilderness, coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, and member of World BEYOND Wars Advisory Board.

Matthew Hoh has been a Senior Fellow with the Center For International Policy since 2010. Rory Fanning went through two deployments to Afghanistan with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion, and became one of the first U.S. Army Rangers to resist the Iraq war and the Global War on Terror. Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army officer, contributing editor at Antiwar.com, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, and director of the Eisenhower Media Network. Arash Azizzada is a filmmaker, journalist, and community organizer currently living in Washington, D.C.

For over 19 years, the United States has been occupying the nation of Afghanistan and waging war against its people. On October 7, 2001, the U.S. government invaded Afghanistan, claiming it was a so-called war on terror. This took place just a few weeks after the horrendous September 11 attacks across the East Coast, in which thousands of innocent people died. George W. Bush launched a military offensive against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Not only did this offensive kill innocent Afghans, including women and children. It has also festered into becoming an almost two-decade-long occupation and war.

The United States, the most powerful country on the planet, has been bombing, droning and occupying Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on the planet. Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed and injured. Furthermore, since the start of war in 2001 through mid-2019, nearly 2,400 U.S. servicemembers have died, according to The Washington Post. The total military expenditure in Afghanistan from October 2001 until September 2019 was $778 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. This is enough money to feed, clothe, house and educate all poor and low-income people in the United States, who are well over 140 million strong. Many veterans are also facing PTSD and other serious medical conditions while receiving little to no help from Washington. The war on Afghanistan has been brutal for people both at home and abroad.

Today, we bring you audio from a recent webinar entitled, Ending the War On Afghanistan. The webinar was hosted by World Beyond War, RootsAction.org, NYC Veterans For Peace, and Middle East Crisis Response. It was moderated by Ann Wright and features presentations by Kathy Kelly, Matthew Hoh, Rory Fanning, Danny Sjursen and Arash Azizzada. Kathy Kelly has been a founder of Voices in the Wilderness, coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, and member of World BEYOND Wars Advisory Board.

Matthew Hoh has been a Senior Fellow with the Center For International Policy since 2010. Rory Fanning went through two deployments to Afghanistan with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion, and became one of the first U.S. Army Rangers to resist the Iraq war and the Global War on Terror. Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army officer, contributing editor at Antiwar.com, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, and director of the Eisenhower Media Network. Arash Azizzada is a filmmaker, journalist, and community organizer currently living in Washington, D.C.

In 2019, directors Clement and Sophie Guerra produced an award-winning documentary entitled, The Condor and the Eagle. The film documents the stories of four well-known Indigenous environmental spokespeople who are at the forefront of a perspective shift in the identity of their people, from forgotten voices to powerful and influential leaders. They have struggled with feelings of isolation their entire lives and are now discovering the power of their shared voices to bring change to the entire world. When revered Native elder Casey Camp-Horinek traveled to New York in 2014 to lead the People's Climate March, she was met with overwhelming support from the people of her sister nations in North and South America. With the continuous expansion of pipeline projects throughout the Americas, these Indigenous women and men represent the last remaining landholders who refuse to sacrifice their territories to transnational oil companies.

Their unification in New York first and later in Paris are among many similar and burgeoning initiatives, mostly led by Indigenous women, that have inspired people around the world to rise for the protection of the earth and give life to the climate justice movement. Filmed in the verdant jungles of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon, First Nations communities in Canada and Native tribes in Oklahoma, viewers are able to capture the extraordinary beauty in the places, faces and cultures of Indigenous people. The Indigenous heartfelt pursuit for self-discovery, self- reclamation, and a way of life, is chronicled in the film as they build alliances around the world. The film also sheds light on the role of Indigenous peoples on the frontlines of struggles to defend the earth from extractivism and environmental devastation.

Today, we bring you audio from a recent panel discussion and Q&A about The Condor and the Eagle hosted by the Indigenous Environmental Network. The Indigenous Environmental Network is a network of indigenous, grassroots environmental justice activists, primarily based in the United States. During todays program, you will hear presentations delivered by Casey Camp-Horinek and Tom Goldtooth. Casey Camp-Horinek is one of the protagonists of the film, The Condor and the Eagle. She is the hereditary drum keeper of the womens scout dance society of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma. Tom Goldtooth is the executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network and has been awarded with recognition of his achievements throughout the past 40 years as an activist for social change and indigenous-based just transition within the Indigenous and environmental and climate justice movements. The discussion was moderated by Liana Lopez.

In 2019, directors Clement and Sophie Guerra produced an award-winning documentary entitled, The Condor and the Eagle. The film documents the stories of four well-known Indigenous environmental spokespeople who are at the forefront of a perspective shift in the identity of their people, from forgotten voices to powerful and influential leaders. They have struggled with feelings of isolation their entire lives and are now discovering the power of their shared voices to bring change to the entire world. When revered Native elder Casey Camp-Horinek traveled to New York in 2014 to lead the People's Climate March, she was met with overwhelming support from the people of her sister nations in North and South America. With the continuous expansion of pipeline projects throughout the Americas, these Indigenous women and men represent the last remaining landholders who refuse to sacrifice their territories to transnational oil companies.

Their unification in New York first and later in Paris are among many similar and burgeoning initiatives, mostly led by Indigenous women, that have inspired people around the world to rise for the protection of the earth and give life to the climate justice movement. Filmed in the verdant jungles of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon, First Nations communities in Canada and Native tribes in Oklahoma, viewers are able to capture the extraordinary beauty in the places, faces and cultures of Indigenous people. The Indigenous heartfelt pursuit for self-discovery, self- reclamation, and a way of life, is chronicled in the film as they build alliances around the world. The film also sheds light on the role of Indigenous peoples on the frontlines of struggles to defend the earth from extractivism and environmental devastation.

Today, we bring you audio from a recent panel discussion and Q&A about The Condor and the Eagle hosted by the Indigenous Environmental Network. The Indigenous Environmental Network is a network of indigenous, grassroots environmental justice activists, primarily based in the United States. During todays program, you will hear presentations delivered by Casey Camp-Horinek and Tom Goldtooth. Casey Camp-Horinek is one of the protagonists of the film, The Condor and the Eagle. She is the hereditary drum keeper of the womens scout dance society of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma. Tom Goldtooth is the executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network and has been awarded with recognition of his achievements throughout the past 40 years as an activist for social change and indigenous-based just transition within the Indigenous and environmental and climate justice movements. The discussion was moderated by Liana Lopez.

In 2019, directors Clement and Sophie Guerra produced an award-winning documentary entitled, The Condor and the Eagle. The film documents the stories of four well-known Indigenous environmental spokespeople who are at the forefront of a perspective shift in the identity of their people, from forgotten voices to powerful and influential leaders. They have struggled with feelings of isolation their entire lives and are now discovering the power of their shared voices to bring change to the entire world. When revered Native elder Casey Camp-Horinek traveled to New York in 2014 to lead the People's Climate March, she was met with overwhelming support from the people of her sister nations in North and South America. With the continuous expansion of pipeline projects throughout the Americas, these Indigenous women and men represent the last remaining landholders who refuse to sacrifice their territories to transnational oil companies.

Their unification in New York first and later in Paris are among many similar and burgeoning initiatives, mostly led by Indigenous women, that have inspired people around the world to rise for the protection of the earth and give life to the climate justice movement. Filmed in the verdant jungles of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon, First Nations communities in Canada and Native tribes in Oklahoma, viewers are able to capture the extraordinary beauty in the places, faces and cultures of Indigenous people. The Indigenous heartfelt pursuit for self-discovery, self- reclamation, and a way of life, is chronicled in the film as they build alliances around the world. The film also sheds light on the role of Indigenous peoples on the frontlines of struggles to defend the earth from extractivism and environmental devastation.

Today, we bring you audio from a recent panel discussion and Q&A about The Condor and the Eagle hosted by the Indigenous Environmental Network. The Indigenous Environmental Network is a network of indigenous, grassroots environmental justice activists, primarily based in the United States. During todays program, you will hear presentations delivered by Casey Camp-Horinek and Tom Goldtooth. Casey Camp-Horinek is one of the protagonists of the film, The Condor and the Eagle. She is the hereditary drum keeper of the womens scout dance society of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma. Tom Goldtooth is the executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network and has been awarded with recognition of his achievements throughout the past 40 years as an activist for social change and indigenous-based just transition within the Indigenous and environmental and climate justice movements. The discussion was moderated by Liana Lopez.

In 2019, directors Clement and Sophie Guerra produced an award-winning documentary entitled, The Condor and the Eagle. The film documents the stories of four well-known Indigenous environmental spokespeople who are at the forefront of a perspective shift in the identity of their people, from forgotten voices to powerful and influential leaders. They have struggled with feelings of isolation their entire lives and are now discovering the power of their shared voices to bring change to the entire world. When revered Native elder Casey Camp-Horinek traveled to New York in 2014 to lead the People's Climate March, she was met with overwhelming support from the people of her sister nations in North and South America. With the continuous expansion of pipeline projects throughout the Americas, these Indigenous women and men represent the last remaining landholders who refuse to sacrifice their territories to transnational oil companies.

Their unification in New York first and later in Paris are among many similar and burgeoning initiatives, mostly led by Indigenous women, that have inspired people around the world to rise for the protection of the earth and give life to the climate justice movement. Filmed in the verdant jungles of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon, First Nations communities in Canada and Native tribes in Oklahoma, viewers are able to capture the extraordinary beauty in the places, faces and cultures of Indigenous people. The Indigenous heartfelt pursuit for self-discovery, self- reclamation, and a way of life, is chronicled in the film as they build alliances around the world. The film also sheds light on the role of Indigenous peoples on the frontlines of struggles to defend the earth from extractivism and environmental devastation.

Today, we bring you audio from a recent panel discussion and Q&A about The Condor and the Eagle hosted by the Indigenous Environmental Network. The Indigenous Environmental Network is a network of indigenous, grassroots environmental justice activists, primarily based in the United States. During todays program, you will hear presentations delivered by Casey Camp-Horinek and Tom Goldtooth. Casey Camp-Horinek is one of the protagonists of the film, The Condor and the Eagle. She is the hereditary drum keeper of the womens scout dance society of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma. Tom Goldtooth is the executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network and has been awarded with recognition of his achievements throughout the past 40 years as an activist for social change and indigenous-based just transition within the Indigenous and environmental and climate justice movements. The discussion was moderated by Liana Lopez.

In 1979, the people of Nicaragua overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. The Somoza family dictatorship ruled Nicaragua from 1937 until 1979, when the Sandinista National Liberation Front liberated the country from their rule. Upon taking power, the Sandinistas vowed to free their country from the grip of U.S. hegemony and prioritize the needs of poor people ahead of foreign corporations. Since then, the people of Nicaragua have faced constant attacks from war hawks in Washington. This, in an effort to topple the democratically-elected Sandinista government and impose a pro-U.S. government.

During the 1980s, the U.S. armed and trained counter-revolutionary forces, known as the contras, in neighboring Honduras. Not only did the contras kill supporters of the Sandinistas and carry out terrorist attacks in Nicaragua. They also helped to smuggle drugs from South America into the United States, destroying Black and Brown communities at home. Although the Sandinistas lost an election in 1990 that temporarily removed them from power, they eventually came back in 2006 after another democratic election. Since 2006, the United States has continued to attempt to destabilize and overthrow the Sandinista government.

This time, however, instead of using brute force and armed drug gangs, they are using soft power and Western-aligned organizations that claim to promote human rights. Millions of U.S. government and corporate dollars are spent on three Nicaraguan organizations, and Amnesty International and other global organizations produce unbalanced and unsubstantiated reports which malign Nicaragua. These reports portray Nicaragua as a country that needs to be saved from alleged human rights abuses committed by the government. However, as you will see, many of these reports are far from the truth and have more sinister intentions.

Today on Sojourner Truth, we bring you audio from a recent webinar entitled, How U.S. Unconventional Warfare in Nicaragua Utilizes Human Rights Organizations. The webinar, hosted by the Alliance for Global Justice, examines the role played by international and local human rights organizations within U.S.-supported destabilization efforts in Nicaragua. During todays program, you will hear presentations delivered by Camilo Mejia and John Perry. Camilo Mejia is a Nicaraguan analyst and writer residing in the U.S. who is a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. John Perry is a long-time investigator, writer and resident of Nicaragua.

In 1979, the people of Nicaragua overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. The Somoza family dictatorship ruled Nicaragua from 1937 until 1979, when the Sandinista National Liberation Front liberated the country from their rule. Upon taking power, the Sandinistas vowed to free their country from the grip of U.S. hegemony and prioritize the needs of poor people ahead of foreign corporations. Since then, the people of Nicaragua have faced constant attacks from war hawks in Washington. This, in an effort to topple the democratically-elected Sandinista government and impose a pro-U.S. government.

During the 1980s, the U.S. armed and trained counter-revolutionary forces, known as the contras, in neighboring Honduras. Not only did the contras kill supporters of the Sandinistas and carry out terrorist attacks in Nicaragua. They also helped to smuggle drugs from South America into the United States, destroying Black and Brown communities at home. Although the Sandinistas lost an election in 1990 that temporarily removed them from power, they eventually came back in 2006 after another democratic election. Since 2006, the United States has continued to attempt to destabilize and overthrow the Sandinista government.

This time, however, instead of using brute force and armed drug gangs, they are using soft power and Western-aligned organizations that claim to promote human rights. Millions of U.S. government and corporate dollars are spent on three Nicaraguan organizations, and Amnesty International and other global organizations produce unbalanced and unsubstantiated reports which malign Nicaragua. These reports portray Nicaragua as a country that needs to be saved from alleged human rights abuses committed by the government. However, as you will see, many of these reports are far from the truth and have more sinister intentions.

Today on Sojourner Truth, we bring you audio from a recent webinar entitled, How U.S. Unconventional Warfare in Nicaragua Utilizes Human Rights Organizations. The webinar, hosted by the Alliance for Global Justice, examines the role played by international and local human rights organizations within U.S.-supported destabilization efforts in Nicaragua. During todays program, you will hear presentations delivered by Camilo Mejia and John Perry. Camilo Mejia is a Nicaraguan analyst and writer residing in the U.S. who is a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. John Perry is a long-time investigator, writer and resident of Nicaragua.