Matthew Hoh discusses the extraordinary difficulties in resolving the complex political and ethnic tensions in Afghanistan, something that the U.S. military has been trying to do for going on 20 years. Hoh says that during his time there he saw lots of practices by the Kabul government that clearly weren’t any better than tribal or Taliban rule, like bribery, extrajudicial killings, and women treated as second-class citizens. It’s no wonder that the Afghan people, particularly Pashtuns, are...

Scott talks to Tara Copp about her research on cancer rates among military veterans, particularly air force pilots, whose powerful radar systems may be a contributing factor to multiple types of cancers. Copp reminds us that causality is very difficult to establish in complex studies like this, but wants to lay out the astounding numbers of servicemen and women who are contracting and dying from cancer at young ages, many of whom have been exposed to probable carcinogens like depleted uranium...

Ali Latifi talks about his reporting on the drone war in Afghanistan, the most drone-bombed country in the world. He tells us one of the most troubling facts about America’s drone campaigns: that almost everyone who is killed in a drone strike gets labeled an “enemy combatant” by default, and the only way to change that label is by an American investigation after the fact, which rarely happens. This would even include journalists like Latifi, who holds a U.S. passport, when he puts himself at...

Scott interviews Elizabeth Murray about the supposed chemical attack in Douma, Syria in 2017, which was used to justify an immediate bombing campaign by the U.S. and its allies. A thorough investigation was only conducted months later, and the reports of this investigation were not released until 2019. Murray and her colleagues, along with a group of OPCW whistleblowers, have recently pointed out all the problems with the claims about this supposed chemical attack. During her career in...

Dan McKnight of BringOurTroopsHome.US comes on the show to announce his organization’s upcoming event, in which hundreds of veterans of the terror wars will be gathering in Washington D.C. next week to take the antiwar message to our political leaders. The event will feature keynote speeches from high-profile officers now involved in the antiwar movement, and then attendees will go meet with their congressmen. Anyone who wants to join can find out more at...

Ramzy Baroud discusses the often-forgotten Palestinian Christian minority, which faces all the same problems at the hands of their Israeli occupiers that the Palestinian Muslims do. People in the U.S. are often surprised to learn how many Christians there are in Palestine, but Baroud reminds us that this is the oldest Christian region in the world, and once had a huge population of practicing Christians. Today that population is dwindling as they are either forced out of their land, or leave...

Scott interviews Jordan Smith about the case of Rodney Reed, a Texas death row inmate convicted in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. For years there has been criticism of the investigation and trial of Reed, including allegations of mishandling of evidence, lack of DNA testing, and possible deliberate police cover-ups, all of which have become all too familiar in recent years. Today a growing movement that includes celebrity actors and musicians is calling for a reexamination of Reed’s case...

Sheldon Richman shares some of the real history of the Zionist movement, described in his new book, Coming to Palestine. Richman reminds us that this history started long before the Second World War, and was originally not a refugee movement at all. It was simply a project to try to get all Jews worldwide to reconstitute their historical and biblical homeland in Palestine. Given that Jews all over the world had already established homes in other countries for generations, it’s understandable...

Trevor Timm talks about the inhumane and potentially life-threatening conditions Julian Assange is being held in as he awaits trial for violations of the Espionage Act. Apart from his treatment, which a UN representative has said is akin to psychological torture, the legality of the charges under international law are highly questionable, since Assange is not a U.S. citizen, but is being prosecuted under an American law. Timm warns that this indictment sets up an incredibly dangerous standard...

Scott talks to Elijah Magnier about what’s going on in Syria, with Russian troops now helping to mediate between Syria and Turkey, and where President Trump has announced his intention to seize formerly ISIS-controlled oil fields for America. Scott and Magnier agree that this move is surely illegal, and that it doesn’t even make much economic sense. Magnier also discusses Lebanon, where widespread civil unrest has failed to result in any actual political change as yet. Elijah Magnier is...

Jason Ditz talks about President Trump’s announcement that he wants American oil companies to take control of the oil fields in eastern Syria, which, beyond the troubling legality of such a move, implies that the U.S. might have to leave troops in Syria indefinitely. This is a rather dramatic turnaround from Trump’s apparent desire to get out of the war in Syria, as seemed to be the point behind the recent withdrawal from the northeast. Ditz also talks about the protests against Prime Minister...

Dan Cohen discusses what he calls one of the greatest scandals in modern American history, America’s role in helping start the Syrian civil war. Under President Obama, says Cohen, the CIA started funding and arming the “moderate rebels,” who actually were mostly members of Al-Qaeda and its  offshoots. Cohen explains the various name changes that these jihadist groups have undergone, which have allowed the media and the public to pretend that America’s new alliance with these extremists...

Jon Schwarz gives us a brief history of America’s many betrayals of the Kurds since the end of World War I. In a recent article for The Intercept he describes at least eight separate times the U.S. government has used Kurdish fighters to its own advantage and then later allowed, or even encouraged, other countries to turn on them while America pulls its support. Although he thinks President Trump’s betrayal of our Kurdish allies this time around is bad, just like all the other times, he...

Kieren McCarthy discusses the recent revelation that the FBI has access to the NSA’s national security database, and has queried it tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of times. The database, gathered under special surveillance powers by the NSA and CIA, is not supposed to be accessible by other law enforcement agencies, except under special cases of investigating foreigners for purposes of national security. But it turns out that regular FBI agents have in fact been using it to gather...

Trevor Aaronson discusses some of the FBI’s egregious abuses of its power over American citizens, most recently brought to light by their use of an informant to investigate a law-abiding militia group in California for years. Although the FBI claims to be concerned with acts of violence alone, and not ideology, cases like this are clear examples of their willingness to go after people only for their views, and despite the absence of any wrongdoing whatsoever. Most of the supposedly foiled...