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Around The Empire

Around the Empire podcast explores the massive apparatus of the American Empire. In-depth interviews, discussions. Hosted by Joanne Leon.
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Now displaying: August, 2021

Around the Empire podcast explores the massive apparatus of the American Empire. In-depth interviews, discussions. Hosted by Joanne Leon.

Aug 31, 2021

Ep 234 Afghanistan War: The Big Lie feat Matthew Hoh

Guest: Matthew Hoh. Hosts: Joanne Leon and Dan Wright. A wide ranging discussion about the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the response to losing the war, the media coverage over the past 20 years and the bad actors we were allied with throughout the war but now upon leaving, the outrage and sudden concern for the Afghan people. Over the years, so many lies were told that the whole war seems like a big lie. We also talk about why the evacuation went so badly, the national security council, the British freak out and more. In a bonus segment we talk about the opium trade in Afghanistan and the Taliban pledge to shut it down.

Matthew Hoh is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC and a member of the Eisenhower Network. He’s a disabled veteran, a former US Marine Corps officer and Department of Defense and State Department official. Matthew was in the Iraq War with the Marines and in both Afghanistan and Iraq with State Department teams. He is on the Boards and Advisory Boards of a number of organizations including Expose Facts, Institute for Public Accuracy and Veterans For Peace. He writes and speaks regularly on issues of war and peace, has appeared on numerous media networks and his work has been published by a wide array of online and print media

FOLLOW Matthew on Twitter @MatthewPHoh and Facebook. Find his recent writings at CounterPunch, antiwar.com and on his website https://matthewhoh.com

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon and @DanSWright.  Join us on TELEGRAM https://t.me/AroundtheEmpire

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Recorded on August 26, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. What critics of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan get wrong, Matthew Hoh, CNN
  2. “I Was Living Like Scarface”: The Ludicrous Costs of the War in Afghanistan Revealed in New Documents, Testimonies, MintPress News, Alan MacLeod
  3. Around the Empire: Ep 154 Afghanistan Papers and the Culture of Lying feat Matthew Hoh
Aug 27, 2021

Ep 233 Hold the Generals Accountable This Time feat Ray McGovern

Guest: Ray McGovern. Hosts: Joanne Leon and Kelley Lane. We talk about Ray’s recent article calling for military generals to be held accountable this time, for this 20-year March of Folly called the War in Afghanistan. If they are not held accountable, there will be still worse to come.  In a bonus episode, we talk about Biden’s battle with the media, the intelligence complex and the whole “MICIMATT” (an acronym that Ray has coined for the Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think-Tank complex, the same complex that worked so hard to put him in the White House. 

Ray McGovern is a retired CIA analyst who served as Chief of the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch and preparer/briefer of the President’s Daily Brief. Prior to that he served as an infantry/intelligence officer in the 1960’s. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), an activist, a prolific writer and a frequent guest on various media outlets.  

FOLLOW Ray on Twitter @raymcgovern, find his website at https://raymcgovern.com

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on Rokfin rokfin.com/aroundtheempire, Patreon patreon.com/aroundtheempire, Paypal paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod, YouTube youtube.com/aroundtheempire, Spotify, iTunes, iHeart, Google Podcasts

FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  Join us on TELEGRAM https://t.me/AroundtheEmpire

Find everything on http://aroundtheempire.com  and linktr.ee/aroundtheempire

Recorded on August 23, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Hold the Generals Accountable This Time, Ray McGovern
  2. Welcome to Vietnam, Mr. President, Ray McGovern
  3. $10,000 Invested in Defense Stocks When Afghanistan War Began Now Worth Almost $100,000, Jon Schwarz
  4. Book: The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, Barbara W. Tuchman

 

Aug 15, 2021

Ep 232 The Escalation Ladder With China feat Connor Freeman

Guest: Connor Freeman. We talk about the escalation ladder of hostilities with China and how it developed under the last four presidents and how we seem to climb further up that ladder every day. 

In a long bonus episode we talk about the fall of Saigon moment in Afghanistan, playing out right now. We recorded this episode less than 48 hours ago but things are changing so rapidly that I added an update at the end of the bonus episode. 

Connor Freeman is a writer at the Libertarian Institute, primarily covering foreign policy. He has been featured at Antiwar.com and Counterpunch and the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. He is a frequent guest on the Conflicts of Interest podcast.

FOLLOW Connor at @FreemansMind96 and find his work at The Libetarian Institute, Antiwar.com, The Ron Paul Institute and other media outlets.

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on Rokfin rokfin.com/aroundtheempire, Patreon patreon.com/aroundtheempire, Paypal paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod, YouTube youtube.com/aroundtheempire, Spotify, iTunes, iHeart, Google Podcasts

FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on August 12, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

Next on the Agenda: War With China, Connor Freeman



Aug 12, 2021

Ep 231 Hybrid Warfare and Cyberdiplomacy feat Jon Lancelot

Guest: Jon Lancelot. Hosts: Joanne Leon, Kelley Lane. A wide ranging discussion on hybrid warfare, cybersecurity, cyberdiplomacy, democracy, technocracy and more. In a bonus segment we talk about creeping fascism and what went wrong with the progressive movement. 

Jonathan Lancelot is a cybersecurity analyst at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and principal policy analyst for the OSET Institute focused on election cybersecurity in the context of national security. He has a Master of Diplomacy with a focus on cyber-diplomacy and has been published in several journals. He also has an extensive technical background in computer science and has worked for Apple, the U.S. Senate and the US Department of Defense.  

FOLLOW Jon on Twitter at @lancelotpolitic

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on Rokfin rokfin.com/aroundtheempire, Patreon patreon.com/aroundtheempire, Paypal paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod, YouTube youtube.com/aroundtheempire, Spotify, iTunes, iHeart, Google Podcasts

FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on July 21, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

  1. Human Crisis in Mozambique in the age of Cyber-Diplomacy, Jonathan Lancelot, Small Wars Journal
  2. Russia Today, Cyberterrorists Tomorrow: U.S. Failure to Prepare Democracy for Cyberspace, Jonathan F. Lancelot, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law
  3. Cyber-diplomacy: cyberwarfare and the rules of engagement, Jonathan F. Lancelot, Journal of Cyber Security Technology

 

Aug 2, 2021

Ep 230 Who Rules Haiti? Undermining Haiti’s Sovereignty feat Margaret Kimberley

Guest: Margaret Kimberley. We talk about the recent assassination and leadership change in Haiti and the campaign for US military intervention. The details of the assassination are important but the fundamental issue is the undermining of Haiti’s sovereignty and who is really dominating and determining the rulership of the country.

From Black Alliance for Peace:

Who rules Haiti? Certainly, neither the Haitian people nor Haitian civil society. Instead, in the two weeks since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, the absence of Haitian sovereignty and the hollow nature of Haitian independence has been cynically exposed. 

“A rogue’s gallery of international actors—supposed “friends” of Haiti—have intervened in the republic’s internal political affairs, handpicking the face of Haiti’s government, while determining who best can serve Haiti’s imperial masters,” says Jemima Pierre, Haiti/Americas Coordinator for the Black Alliance for Peace.” 

In a bonus segment, we talk about the relentless regime change operations in Cuba and the current events happening there, from a perspective of self determination for a decades long target of imperial powers. 

Margaret Kimberley is the author of the book Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents and she’s the co-founder, editor and senior columnist for Black Agenda Report (BAR). She also writes on her own FreedomRider blog and is a member of the Coordinating Committee at Black Alliance for Peace. 

FOLLOW Margaret on Twitter @freedomrideblog  Find her work at the Black Agenda Report and at her FreedomRider blog. 

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on Rokfin rokfin.com/aroundtheempire, Patreon patreon.com/aroundtheempire, Paypal paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod, YouTube youtube.com/aroundtheempire, Spotify, iTunes, iHeart, Google Podcasts

FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon

Reference Links:

  1. Black Alliance for Peace - Haiti section
  2. Black Alliance for Peace July 19 Twitter thread on Haiti
  3. Who Rules Haiti? Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Undermining of Haitian National Sovereignty
  4. Black Agenda Report - Haiti section

 

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