Posts In Category

War

Soldiers react to an explosion in a desert environment.
PodcastTrumpWarWomen

Could Trump get something right? Retired US Army officer and prolific writer of military policy analysis Danny Sjursen compares how the brass In Washington sees Afghanistan versus the  empirical knowledge from people on the ground. The commanders see Afghanistan as

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Split image of a man in a MAGA hat and a historical black-and-white photo of a Japanese man.
Civil LibertiesFascism on the RiseHistory That Matters NowPodcastTrumpWar

Trump is not the first. Author of many history books Adam Hochschild writes: “The last time we had anything similar from Washington was almost exactly 100 years ago and it, too, involved a flood of angry rhetoric and a fear

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Military drone flying over mountains at sunset.
Fascism on the RiseMiddle East NewsMilitary and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

Of course Iran shot down a US spy drone. Any country would do the same. And Trump’s intention for greater tension is achieved. On this segment, legal scholar Marjorie Cohn argues that Iran had a legal right to shoot down

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Map showing southern Iraq and southwestern Iran with key cities and borders.
Military and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

Many Iranians are more west-friendly than others in the Middle East, yet we demonize them the most. Retired US Army Major Danny Sjursen has the inside scoop on American military policy toward Iran and here talks about those realities: The

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A tank made from rolled US dollar bills.
CultureFiscal PolicyMilitary and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

Sure there’s the $750 billion Pentagon budget for FY 2020. But real military spending is nearly twice that. There are many opaque agencies which are secretive in their use of other taxpayer money, according to our guest William Hartung Director

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A man with white hair and beard surrounded by security personnel.
Civil LibertiesJusticeMilitary and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

Applying the standard of  “clear and present danger,” which is more of a threat; an anti-free press government or leakers? What is the state of our old First Amendment regarding Wikileaks? When Assange published the data leaks from Bradley Manning

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A swirling vortex made entirely of US dollar bills.
International NewsMilitary and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

Always out of the headlines, on purpose, America’s military footprint truly spands the globe. And how well is our nearly 18 year old “war on terror” going? Is it working? After what she calls a “research odyssey” Stephanie Savell of

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A warship firing its guns over the ocean.
International NewsMilitary and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

It’s not a shooting war. Not yet anyway. But already begun is a 21st century version of war. And the fate of the earth is at stake. As both the US and China pour hundreds of billions into this intense

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Military vehicles firing multiple missiles over water.
CultureMilitary and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

Announced with boundless optimism in 1941, “the American Century” is nearing its end. Since WWII, America has taken over from Britain as the leading empire.  So what caused our decline, what must we learn, and what about America may survive

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Protesters hold signs demanding U.S. hands off Venezuela near the White House.
International NewsJusticePodcastRacismTrumpWar

If you thought something was fishy about what we’re being told about Venezuela you were right. The scene of blocked humanitarian aid at the bridge? Well the bridge has never opened. Our guest Alliance for Global Justice’s Chuck Kaufman goes

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Vibrant mural of a muscular man with intense expression and a dynamic background.
FreedomJusticePodcastProtests & ResistanceWar

Gandhi and Nehru took their inspiration from the Irish, people like Arthur Griffith. Who? Though violence gets all the headlines, rendering the powerful suddenly powerless though noncooperation is by far the most effective tactic. Our guest Professor David C. Cochran

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Soldiers waving as they disembark from an airplane on a runway.
Military and Defence PolicyPodcastTrumpWar

Had Obama announced pull back of troops from Syria and Afghanistan, our guest Major Danny Sjursen says there’d probably be a ticker tape parade. But because of our reactive hatred for all things Trump, a bizarre thing happened: Democrats opposed

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Curving asphalt road with double white lines beside a green field under a clear sky.
Civil LibertiesPodcastWar

Success came Tuesday November 6th. It was indeed a blue wave. Now what? On the first half of the show, NH Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley (who ran for national party chair) looks at what was learned, how progressives can

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Soldiers attending wounded comrades during wartime.
Civil LibertiesHistory That Matters NowPodcastTrumpWar

The shooting in the first world war finally ended 100 years ago November 11. But did the war ever really end? Was anything resolved? So much of today’s world, from the mess of the Middle East to the power of

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A boy with a bandaged head in a hospital room with patients in beds.
International NewsMiddle East NewsMilitary and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

Bombing a school bus that killed 44 children in Yemen was almost two months ago! We Americans have had so many other distractions since then. But the marriage of commerce and war continues largely unnoticed. The military contractors learned that

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A sleek supersonic aircraft flying above the clouds against a deep blue sky.
Fiscal PolicyPodcastWar

With near consensus from both sides of the aisle, congress just rubber-stamped a nearly three quarters of a trillion dollar spending plan for defense contractors. There is no limit on what we will spend on weapons, according to today’s guest

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A soldier in combat gear holding a rifle with a flag in the background.
PodcastWar

If we’re spending billions on a defense system that actually makes us more vulnerable,maybe it’s time to reconsider. According to today’s guest Foreign Policy in Focus columnist Conn Hallinan, NATO has gone from serving as a bulwark against the Soviet

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Five children posing outdoors, dressed in vintage western-style clothing.
CulturePodcastProtests & ResistanceWar

Donald Trump won a lot of support from conservative Americans who agreed our endless wars are nothing but a big waste. Of course he flipped positions since then but renowned professor Andrew Bacevich observes that there is still anger at

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A man passionately speaking into a vintage microphone indoors.
PodcastProtests & ResistanceWar

Is it treasonous to urge resistance to a war once America is in it? Most Americans opposed our entry into the First World War but once Wilson sent our men, some argued it was no longer OK to urge resistance.

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A tilted statue of a man reaching out, set against a mosque backdrop.
National PolicyPodcastWar

We all hate it when other countries meddle with our elections. Yet we do it more than any other. And it never works. From Iran in 1953 to Iraq in 2003, the US has employed a policy of regime change.

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Macron and Trump standing together outside with Macron giving thumbs up.
EconomyPodcastSocialismTrumpWar

The mainstream left of Europe has largely collapsed. Their national economies are trapped by the European Union. The eloquent English speaking Emmanuel Macron, president of France for just a year, on his April trip to Washington, displayed a public “bromance”

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Donald Trump pointing in front of a tax form and calculator.
PodcastTrumpWar

It’s the same only worse. Much worse. While the Trump/Ryan tax law won’t really hit until next April, there is no question the beneficiaries are those at the very top of the wealth pyramid. Regular income earners will be subsidizing

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A smiling man in a suit and tie against a gray background.
PodcastTrumpWar

He’s brought back hostages from North Korea, Cuba,Iraq  and Sudan. He was governor of New Mexico, US ambassador the UN. He won my vote for president in 2008. Bill Richardson’s record is exceedingly impressive. On the first half, Governor Richardson

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A large explosion with thick smoke rising over a cityscape.
Israel & PalestinePodcastTrumpWar

Americans are just beginning to learn about our deadly role for the Saudi war in Yemen. For many decades and many presidents, the Saudi royal family has held great sway in Washington. Today the famine and cholera outbreak in Yemen,

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Satellite image showing the Korean Peninsula and surrounding seas.
PodcastTrumpWar

Because of factors beyond his control, Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong-Un may actually succeed. The new leadership of China, and especially of South Korea, have much to gain from fostering a real peace between North and South. And despite the

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Map depicting African countries with various striped patterns indicating different zones or statuses.
PodcastTrumpWar

We don’t even know we’re being kept in the dark. America’s wars are everywhere. With the mainstream news focus on all Trump all the time, major stories affecting us all get virtually no attention. Did you know, for example, that

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A man points at a wall labeled 'Truth About Vietnam'.
PodcastWar

The military brass sees new wars as a way to finally do what we should have done in Vietnam, and that is: Win. Guest on this show is Major Danny Sjursen, a U.S. Army strategist and former history instructor at

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Military jet dropping multiple bombs over mountainous terrain.
PodcastTrumpWar

Since September 11, American citizens have yearned for safety and security from further attacks. But instead of reducing violence and terrorism, there’s no question our policy has been very effective at sowing chaos everywhere. Our policies actually serve to recruit

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Detailed schematic of a space shuttle's interior and exterior components.
GunsPodcastTrumpWar

What actually works to make us safer? Much of recent military policy has actually worked to strengthen our 21st century enemies. Why is it that the defense industry is so effective at convincing members of both parties that we really

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Engraved words on a stone wall emphasizing freedoms.
PodcastWar

What works to shore up America’s strength in the world: pure military domination or using a Roosevelt idea: The Four Freedoms, including freedom from want? In this 2012 discussion with Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow David Woolner, then-candidates Obama and Romney

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