On COI #179, Kyle Anzalone refutes Max Boot’s recent Washington Post op-ed arguing against boycotting Israel. In the article, Boot admits that the reason we must reject BDS is that the movement calls for a “right of return” for Palestinian refugees. He admits that Palestinians cannot live in their homeland because that would make Israel a majority Palestinian state. Boot concludes his article by cowardly suggesting that people who oppose Israel only do so because they harbor a hatred for Jews.
Kyle breaks down Joe Biden’s gaffe at his town hall with Anderson Cooper. Biden said the US was committed to militarily defending Taiwan. However, the decades-long US policy – and US law – says that the US takes a position of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan’s defense. The White House then walked back Biden’s blunder saying US policy towards Taiwan remains unchanged. While the Biden statement was undiplomatic, it is representative of the increasing US aggression towards China.
On COI #178, Alan MacLeod – writer at FAIR and Mint Press News – joins Kyle Anzalone to discuss the facts and fictions of direct energy weapons and Havana Syndrome. Starting in 2016, Americans at the US Embassy in Cuba reported feeling headaches, nausea and brain fog. The Trump administration encouraged everyone at the embassy to report when they were not generally feeling well. A rash of cases of various symptoms were then lumped into a novel ailment, the so-called ‘Havana Syndrome.’ However, the “illness” still has no identified cause and its alleged symptoms vary wildly from person-to-person.
Nonetheless, the lack of any scientific or medical evidence has not stopped the US government and media from claiming the ‘syndrome’ is a result of attacks directed by China, Russia or another American ‘adversary.’ Now, the number of Havana Syndrome cases has topped 200, with some patients even retiring due to the supposedly debilitating effects of the illness. The corporate press has rolled this narrative into Russiagate as well, claiming Trump’s CIA downplayed the Havana Syndrome simply to maintain relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Alan points out that while the Havana Syndrome is a fiction, the US government is, in fact, working to develop directed energy weapons. Alan explains how they are currently used on the battlefield, and how the tech might evolve in the future. ‘
On Conflicts of Interest #177, the great Scott Horton returns to the show to discuss the true legacy of Colin Powell, who served in many high-level roles during his long career in government. Scott breaks down Powell’s infamous UN speech that swayed millions of Americans to support the Iraq War. However, Powell’s bloody legacy stretches far beyond the 2003 invasion, all the way back to the Vietnam War. Scott explains Powell was wrongly lauded as a successful military leader and then used his faux reputation to sell the American people on war.
Scott also discusses his take on his debate with Bill Kristol at the Soho Forum.
On COI #176, Kyle Anzalone discusses the so-called “Havana Syndrome.” Since 2017, the supposed ailment – which has so far not been proven to exist as its own discrete illness – has been invoked repeatedly by deep state and corporate media pundits to demonize US “adversaries.” The Havana Syndrome has no known cause, and its alleged symptoms range from migraines, dizziness, nausea and vertigo, among other symptoms common to countless other existing diseases and disorders. Initially, the Trump administration used the issue to roll back Obama’s diplomatic gains with Cuba. As scientists increasingly suggested the Havana Syndrome could be psychosomatic – or largely a psychological problem rather than physical disease – the MSM spun the Trump administration’s lack of interest by tying the narrative into the broader Russiagate craze. Now, the deep state and corporate press are deploying the unproven theory again to demonize Russia and China, suggesting they are somehow behind the mysterious syndrome.
Kyle breaks down recent news about Facebook after the Intercept released the social media giant’s ‘blacklist,’ which includes some 4,000 groups and individuals deemed “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations” on the platform. Among the blacklisted figures were politicians, writers and various other people of influence. The list helps explain how Facebook suppresses independent reporting on the empire, ensuring certain voices are never heard while elevating others as go-to ‘experts.’
Kyle updates recent missile tests by North Korea. As with many previous launches by Pyongyang, the corporate media treated the test-fire as an act of aggression and allowed subsequent coverage to retain the same framing. Washington’s regular joint war games Seoul – effectively simulating an invasion of the north – as well as its own periodic weapons tests are seldom mentioned in mainstream coverage.
Kyle argues that the US should meet North Korea’s missile tests with diplomacy, noting that South Korean President Moon Jae-in – a vocal proponent for improved inter-Korean ties – is giving Biden an ideal opportunity as he continues to push for an official end to the Korean War, which is formally still underway despite an armistice pact signed in 1953.
On COI #175, Kyle Anzalone breaks down Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meetings with the Israeli and Emirati foreign ministers. In the meeting, Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid threatened Iran. Tehran has signaled that it is willing to return to JCPOA talks, and the threats are sure to deter Iran’s openness to dialogue. Blinken suggested the US should encourage more deals like the Abraham Accords to create a pact between Israel and Palestine. However, the Abraham Accords were not peace deals, but rather US payoffs to Muslim states to end their objection to Israel’s apartheid against the Palestinians.
Kyle discusses Congress considering a bill that transfers legislative war powers to the president. The proposed law would allow the president to determine if the US was to go to war with China over Taiwan. The bill is based on a false understanding of US foreign policy and military strategy.
Kyle updates US intervention in the Horn of Africa. Tigrayan forces in Ethiopia recently claimed the central government opened a new offensive. In response, the US is considering sanctions against Ethiopia. Biden has also invited the head of neighboring Kenya to the White House. President Kenyatta’s visit came as the World Court decided on a major territorial dispute with Somalia, with the judges largely ruling in favor of Mogadishu.
On COI #173, Dave DeCamp – News Editor at Antiwar.com – returns to the show to discuss recent news about China and Iran. Upon taking office, Biden had a golden opportunity to undo a key Trump blunder and return to the Iran nuclear agreement. However, Biden delayed action and is now struggling to make any progress with a new president in Tehran. Israel also remains a perpetual thorn in the side of diplomacy in the region, Dave and Kyle Anzalone explain.
The US continues to use Taiwan to provoke China. Washington’s increased diplomatic ties with the island, as well as weapons sales, have pushed the two even further from Beijing’s decades-old ‘One China’ policy. The US is also increasing its military presence in the region with the ‘AUKUS’ agreement with the UK and Australia, a pact designed to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.
