All of the taxpayer-funded security assistance — including US troops, arms and advisors — given to African countries in the name of "counterterrorism" over the last 20 years has only resulted in more coups, more violence, and more terrorists. This week we talk to Elizabeth Shackelford, a former career diplomat with the U.S. State Department and author of The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age, about why. She also explains how this is a microcosm of the failed Global War on Terror writ large. In the intro segment, Dan and Kelley talk about the recent protests in Kazakhstan and how the Blob (including the mainstream media) rushed to make it "all about Russia."

More from Shackelford:

Democracy had a rough year in 2021. But don't give up -- Chicago Tribune (paywall) -- Dec. 31, 2021

For the American Public, Military Conflict Is the New Normal (with Dina Smeltz) -- The Hill -- Oct. 18, 2021 

I Know Firsthand How Ugly a Wartime Evacuation Really Is -- Politico -- Sept. 4, 2021

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