David Vine, associate professor of anthropology at American University in Washington, D.C., discusses how the US's "empire of bases," spread across at least 147 countries, are being used by special operations forces to enforce and maintain hegemony across the Middle East and Africa.

Kelley Vlahos, a Washington, D.C.-based freelance reporter and contributing editor for The American Conservative, discusses the wasted billions of dollars the US has spent training Afghanistan's security forces, and why they still aren't capable of fighting the Taliban on their own.

Barry Lando, author of Web of Deceit: The History of Western Complicity in Iraq, from Churchill to Kennedy to George W. Bush, discusses the stupid decisions made before, during and after the first Gulf War (1991) and how they started the US on the path toward the current Global War on Terror.

Gareth Porter, author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, discusses Iran's fulfillment of its obligations under the nuclear agreement (JCPOA), and why it won't blunt the US's belligerent Middle East foreign policy.

Jason Leopold, author of News Junkie, discusses Italy's prosecution (in absentia) of CIA officers involved in the 2003 rendition of Abu Omar to Egypt where he was tortured; and why former CIA counter-terrorism officer Sabrina De Sousa is the only one to face imprisonment thus far.