Progressive Commentary Hour – 02.21.18

 What has changed in Syria and Yemen since Trump came to power… an insider reporters look on the ground Vanessa Beeley is a British investigative journalist who has focused on the conflicts in the middle east – particularly in Syria, Gaza and Yeme. She is an associate editor of 21st Century Wire and was member of a peace finding mission to Syria and …

The Gary Null Show – 02.14.18

Conditions in Syrian and American and Israeli attacks on Assad’s forces Vanessa Beeley is a British investigative journalist who has focused on the conflicts in the middle east – particularly in Syria, Gaza and Yeme. She is an associate editor of 21st Century Wire and was member of a peace finding mission to Syria and organized by the US Peace Council.  Vanessa was in Aleppo …

Meditations and Molotovs – 07.03.17

 On today’s program, Vince features Part 1 of Adam Curtis’ documentary series, “The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom?” Individual freedom is the dream of our age. It’s what our leaders promise to give us, it defines how we think of ourselves and, repeatedly, we have gone to war to impose freedom around the world. But if you …

Nadia Zahel – Given Away as a Child Bride, Afghan Woman Describes 24 Years of Abuse

Spogmai was just 12 years old when she was separated from her parents and handed over to another family. But this was no ordinary arranged marriage. Instead, she was given to a man more than three times her age in order to settle a family feud. Her voice trembles as she recalls the day she entered a form of slavery. …

Ayaz Gul – Officials Count Around 30,000 War Dead in Afghanistan This Year

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN —  Hostilities in Afghanistan have left around 30,000 people dead and as many wounded, mostly insurgents, according to the latest official estimates. As of Sunday, counter-insurgency operations conducted by Afghan police and military forces around the country had left more than 18,500 “enemy” fighters dead and wounded 12,000 more, according to defense and interior ministry officials. Mohammad Radmanesh, …

PEPE ESCOBAR – Afghanistan; It’s the Heroin, Stupid

Here we go again. In yet another Pentagon precision strike, a residential building in Achin district of Nangarhar province was hit as a crowd welcomed home a tribal leader returning from the Hajj. At least 13 civilians were turned into «collateral damage». The Pentagon of course does not «discuss the details of counter-terror operations», but it’s «currently reviewing all materials …

Mohammad Javad Zarif: Let Us Rid the World of Wahhabism

Tehran — Public relations firms with no qualms about taking tainted petrodollars are experiencing a bonanza. Their latest project has been to persuade us that the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, is no more. As a Nusra spokesman toldCNN, the rebranded rebel group, supposedly separated from its parent terrorist organization, has become “moderate.” Thus is fanaticism from the Dark Ages …

Brown University – War deaths reach 173,000 in Afghanistan, Pakistan

The combined, cumulative death toll of war in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2001 is 173,000, with 183,000 others seriously injured, according to a new study. The Costs of War, based at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, released the data on the human costs of a decade and a half of war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The …

Is Leaked Cable Greasing Skids for Clinton’s Next Regime Change Disaster?

An internal cable signed by more than 50 State Department officials objecting to the Obama administration’s policy on Syria is particularly worrisome, according to experts, given Hillary Clinton’s hawkish foreign policy positions and her stated plan to escalate President Barack Obama’s war in Syria if elected.The cable itself was leaked to major news outlets, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, both of which carried …

Tom Engelhardt – Been There, Done That

With General John Campbell’s tour of duty in Afghanistan finished, a new commander has taken over.  Admittedly, things did not go well during Campbell’s year and a half heading up the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) there, but that’s par for the course.  In late 2015, while he was in the saddle, the Talibantook the provincial capital of Kunduz, the first …