Podcasts about gulf affairs

Israel's right to self-defense and security, governance in Gaza, the Iranian regime and its network of terror, the Jewish state's relationship with Arab countries in the Gulf, and much more were among the topics of discussion at an AJC-convened panel discussion at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Listen to an excerpt of the panel, moderated by AJC's Chief Policy Officer and the head of AJC's Center for a New Middle East, Jason Isaacson, along with policy experts Dr. Ken Weinstein, Kirsten Fontenrose, and Rich Goldberg. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. AJC is a nonpartisan, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. AJC does not endorse or oppose political parties or candidates. Episode Lineup:  (0:40) Jason Isaacson, Ken Weinstein, Kirsten Fontenrose, Rich Goldberg Show Notes: Watch: Israel and the Path to Peace - AJC at the Republican National Convention Listen – People of the Pod: Europe at the Ballot Box: Insights and Impact on Jewish Communities and Beyond Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Transcript of Panel with Jason Isaacson, Ken Weinstein, Kirsten Fontenrose, and Rich Goldberg: Manya Brachear Pashman:  America's political parties are kicking off the 2024 convention season, starting this week with the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. AJC was on the sidelines of the RNC, with a live program titled Israel and the Path to Peace, moderated by AJC's chief policy officer, Jason Isaacson. Jason is also the head of AJC's recently launched Center for A New Middle East.  Joining Jason was Dr. Ken Weinstein, former longtime CEO of the Hudson Institute and the Walter P. Stern Distinguished Fellow at Hudson;  Kirsten Fontenrose, the President of Red Six Solutions and Senior Director of Gulf Affairs in the National Security Council under President Trump; and Rich Goldberg, Senior Adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Director of Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the National Security Council, under President Trump.  Just a reminder: AJC is a 501(c)3 nonpartisan organization and neither supports nor opposes candidates for elective office. A similar program will be offered at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this summer. Now onto today's episode: an excerpt from AJC's convention program. Jason Isaacson:   Let me begin by reading to you a couple of passages from the Republican platform, which was adopted yesterday at the Republican National Convention. This is what it said about Israel. Quote, We will stand with Israel and seek peace in the Middle East, we will rebuild our alliance network in the region to ensure a future of peace, stability and prosperity. And then there was, as you may recall, for the Republican platform, his list of 20 promises. And it's described as 20 promises that we will accomplish very quickly when we win the White House and Republican majorities in the House and Senate.  And number eight, on that list of 20 promises is the following, quote: restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East. So let's drill down with our panelists on those two statements in January 2025. That's more than six months away. It may be that the Israel Hamas war will be won over by them, and perhaps whatever conflict is so close to boiling over between Israel and Hezbollah, that that might not any longer be the case, might have boiled over, might be a thing of the past.  But let's say for the sake of argument, that hostilities are in fact, continuing, and let's assume that the Republican Party is victorious this fall. What are you expecting the Trump administration to do to, quote restore peace in the Middle East and to accomplish that, quote, very quickly. And let me begin Kirsten, with you. Kirsten Fontenrose:   Great, thanks so much for having us. All of us like to nerd out about these kinds of topics all the time when we're just grateful that there are other people who are as interested. What I expect to see in America is a revived peace plan. So you all remember the deal of the century, the vision for peace, we will see that come back. If there's a second Trump administration. Not in isolation, it will be part of a larger context.  That will also include assurances about Israel security and governance for Gaza and the like. Why have we not seen this yet? Because no one's asked the Trump team. But that will come back and you will see that. There's an expectation, whether it's naive or not, which we'll see, that there will be a greater receptiveness among the Palestinian population for an economic plan that offers improvements in livelihood after this conflict.  If there is a marginalized Hamas, there'll be more movement in this space for reviving these kinds of ideas. So we will definitely see a revived peace plan, you won't see less attention on this issue, you'll see very top level attention on the issue. You're also going to see, I think gloves off with the Houthis in the Red Sea. The US military has been very careful to make sure that all of our strikes so far had been from a defensive perspective. But you will see, I believe, because the world has not criticized any of these strikes, I think you're gonna see more latitude there. More room for movement for preemptive striking, for instance, because the perception is that for the whole world, this shipping interception problem is just out of hand. So I think we'll see more latitude there. And we'll see gloves come off a bit there.  And then I think you're gonna see some tough talk, frankly, with Prime Minister Netanyahu. President Trump has watched the US be yanked around a bit by the current Israeli government.  And I think you're going to see less tolerance for that recognition that Israel is a sovereign country, but more of an attempt to say the US is the superpower here, and we will be leading the ideas from hence. If we're expected to play a role, we will be leading in that role. What you will see, however, will be interesting to watch as there is division among Trump advisors about a two state solution. So you'll see that be debated out. Jason Isaacson:   Thank you for that. Ken, let me ask you, restoring peace in the Middle East and Europe and doing it very quickly, you've had a very broad focus on a whole range of foreign policy issues at the Hudson Institute and before and since. Tell me how you see that playing out under a second Trump administration? Ken Weinstein:   I'd say first of all, I think President Trump came to the conclusion early on, in his first term, he came in remember, talking about the deal of the century with you know, this peace agreement, he was booed at the Republican Jewish Committees event when he was a candidate.  And he quickly came into office and understood he could not trust Mahmoud Abbas, because of the incitement to terror by the Palestinian Authority and the tensions that were given out, and the pay for slay efforts that the Palestinian Authority has. Whereby people who kill Jews, kill Americans, were getting Palestinian Authority pensions in prisons, for their families and the like.  And so, Trump quickly came to understand that the challenge in the peace process wasn't bringing Israel and the Palestinians together, it was that the peace process itself was misconstrued. The peace process was being used by Middle Eastern governments, in particular, the Iranians, but also the Palestinians as a means to put leverage on Israel, exercise leverage on Israel, by a bunch of people who wanted to see the end of Israel's existence. And Trump quickly reversed that equation.  He understood that the best way to move forward was to remove items from the table such as moving the embassy to Jerusalem, which didn't have any of the backlash that John Kerry and others predicted would happen. And he quickly understood the best way to move things forward was to put pressure on the Palestinians.  Trump's a real estate guy. And so he understands leverage, he understands how to put pressure forth, and how to deter. I think we're going to see much more of that moving forward. We're not going to have a vice president of the United States who's going to get up and say, the Israelis can't evacuate Rafah, it's going to lead to 10s of 1000s of deaths.  And here I actually disagree slightly, I think Trump will actually give the Israelis the latitude they need to finish the mission, which is to destroy Hamas, and eventually bring about a transformation in Gaza, with the assistance of the Saudis. Who were absolutely critical in de-radicalizing Gaza, they have done it successfully themselves, as has the UAE. And so I think we're going to look much more at a regional approach on these issues. Obviously, Iran is going to be, to borrow a term from Joe Biden, President Biden, in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, as they were before. You're gonna see massive sanctions again, we're gonna get them, we're gonna enforce those sanctions. And Rich can talk to this stuff far more deeply than I ever could.  And you're gonna have the Iranians on the run so that they don't feel that they can work with Hamas or work with Hezbollah, to do more damage to Israel. And already we're seeing a deterrent effect on the Northern Front. And also with regard to Hamas.  Because with regard to Hamas, we see that the fear of a Trump administration is leading to a greater willingness to negotiate with Israel. And on the northern front, I think it's less likely that the Israelis will take dramatic action before the US election, knowing that they will not be reined in by an administration that is somehow searching for a delusion of peace with Hezbollah and with Lebanon. Jason Isaacson:   What about peace in Europe? Is is that something that you see, that you can envision under a Trump administration? Ken Weinstein:   First, let me say something with regard to Europe and the Middle East. I think that the Trump administration, the Trump team has been infuriated by this notion of enforcing this ridiculous ICC policy with regard to Israel and those who threatened to arrest Netanyahu. I think you're going to see in places particularly, I can just think of the kinds of actions they'll take in Germany.  I think you can expect individual sanctions on the people who were behind Nord Stream as a sign to not dare mess with Netanyahu, period. And you'll see other actions like that. I know the Spanish ambassadors here with regard to Spain with that we will be taking numbers, as Nikki Haley did so effectively at the UN, and as the Biden team does not.  So with regard to Europe. Look, I think the situation with regard to Ukraine, as President Trump understands it, I think, Trump, you have to understand he comes to this. He's not a policy person. He thinks that policy people like the three of us, four us up here, we lack creativity, we have a sense the policy options run from the letter L or P to the letter Q or R. And in fact, for Trump, they run from A to Z. And so that meant fire and fury in Pyongyang, but it meant eventually potentially beachfront condominiums in North Korea and an economic vitality to North Korea, if it gave up its nuclear program. With regard to Iran, it was maximum pressure, but it was the new Iran deal that got rid of the nuclear program that got rid of the missile program that got rid of regional activities, and that internally reshaped Iran, and led to a new relationship with Iran, with not only the region but the rest of the world. And with China, it was massive tariffs on China, but a new trade deal in the phase one that was gonna get rid of intellectual property stuff, which was at the core of what President Trump saw correctly as the engine of the Chinese economy, and the engine of the China 2025 program. So I'd say with regard to Ukraine, the President is looking at options that will, as he himself has said, he would tell the, you know, the Ukrainians on day one, you've got to, you know, we've got to end the fighting, you would tell Putin, if you don't end the fighting, we're gonna arm the shit out of Ukraine, pardon my French, as he said something along those lines. And I think what we'll see at the end of the day, is a massive program to guarantee Ukrainian security, that is going to take massive security guarantees. But the Europeans are going to have to step up and step up in a very serious way. And we've seen since the announcement of the JD Vance nomination are ready to reaction in Europe, the Europeans, you know, have to understand they're not gonna be able to backchannel they're not going to be able to figure out some way out of this. They're gonna have to be big providers of security guarantees, we will do the same for the Ukrainians as well, but Europe has to take up a big portion of it. And Trump does not, he is not Joe Biden, he's not going to cut and run, as in Afghanistan, he doesn't want to be humiliated on the stage, he understands deterrence, he's going to send a very clear signal to the Russians, as he did to the Taliban. When they were talking about when they were negotiating with the Taliban, Trump was on a video call once with the Taliban leader, and said, I want to make this very clear, you're not to strike at any of our people. And if you do, and hit the button on Play, and he showed a video of I think, the Taliban leader's kid leaving their house to say we're watching you every moment, and we will take care of you. And  there'll be some kind of a version of that with regard to Putin, that's going to be very clear. He was very blunt with Putin behind closed doors, from the White House in particular. And I think there was a good reason why Putin didn't go into Ukraine during Trump's term. And so I think that there's going to be some kind of a square in the circle solution that's going to have to come together. And I've been telling European foreign and defense ministers for the last few months, think about this now, how to do it, how to implement it.  Jason Isaacson:   Ken, thank you so much. Rich, let me turn to you. We've been talking about Iran, and you are an expert on Iran. It happened for years. I didn't see a reference to Iran and the Republican platform. But of course, we know, former President Trump's record on Iran. And Ken has been talking about that. Should he return to the White House next January, what do you foresee on this front to return to maximum pressure, or something more kinetic? And what is your sense of our regional strategic partners priorities? Are our friends in the Gulf hoping for a decisive showdown with Iran? Or are they sufficiently risk averse that they prefer a less confrontational approach? What do you think? Rich Goldberg:   I think if you look at the top lines, right, and you compare the policy, the recipe, if you will, under the Trump administration: maximum pressure on Iran, maximum support for Israel gets you peace, gets you deterrence. And when you flip the narrative and you go to maximum deference to Iran and pressure on Israel, you get conflict in the Middle East. It's not disconnected from what Ken's just talking about in other regions of the world as well, whether in Europe, whether you're in the Indo-Pacific. This comes down to the ability to restore American deterrence. And then you have options. There are a lot of genies that are out of the bottle due to the last three and a half years. Iran today and its nuclear program is at the one yard line of nuclear weapons thresholds. They were not there four years ago. In fact, after the killing of Soleimani, in early 2020, the rest of the year the Iranians never escalated the nuclear program again. They waited until January of 2021. And that's when they started jumping to 20% high enriched uranium. And then they saw nothing's happening to us. So they went to 60% high enriched uranium. They started installing all the advanced centrifuges, they've advanced, so far accelerated to this incredible capacity to produce a dozen nuclear weapons in just a couple of months if they so chose. Plus Intel now coming in that the administration is trying to downplay work on weaponization. There's a lot of genies out of the bottle here that Donald Trump's going to have to try to put back into the bottle.  And that will not be easy. But the formula remains correct. Restore deterrence, have maximum pressure and isolation on the Iranian regime and provide support to your allies. Now, the Gulf Arabs, by the way, the Saudis, the Emiratis, they've made some strategic decisions due to the policies that they saw, sustained by Joe Biden. They've cut deals with the Iranians and sort of cut their own JCPOA. with Iran with the Houthis. I'm not sure they're going to be on board for what's coming next. And they need to make some preparations for the return of a Trump administration and hawkishness towards Tehran and understand that we also won't tolerate them hedging with the Chinese. Now, that comes from the fact that America is hedging on them.  And so there's going to be a lot of parts that have to come together like a puzzle, to try to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, actual restored turns and regain that peace through strength in the region. This is true in the Middle East. It's true in Europe, and it's true in the Indo Pacific. So what is deterrence? I think that's a major question. What is deterrence? Made up of two big things, capacity and will. Joe Biden and Donald Trump both have capacity. They were the commander in chief at some point of the most powerful military on Earth. Nobody doubts that you have capacity when you are the president of the United States. But our enemies do doubt the will. And they test the will early on.  Every single administration gets tested, whether it's China, whether it's Putin, whether it's Iran, they get tested. At some point, Donald Trump got tested by the Iranians and Soleimani is dead. And that changed a lot of things in the world. And over the course of time, the unpredictability, the some of the craziness of the media went hysterical over the red button with Kim Jong Un did get the attention of people like Vladimir Putin. The Taliban tested Joe Biden, and he failed the test. And Kabul fell. And then Ukraine was invaded. And then now in China, they're expanding and starting to harass and actually attack in some ways, the Philippines and Taiwan.  And what are we seeing? Nothing. So, the minute Donald Trump becomes president, when I hear Trump say, just my election is going to start bringing about a change on the Ukraine front, a change in the world. You might have laughed at that.  I think after Saturday, you're not laughing anymore. A picture that if you're Xi Jinping, the Ayatollah, Putin, Kim Jong Un, looking at that on your desk every day of Donald Trump with his fist in the air blood dripping, right after being shot, saying fight. You're not questioning will. And that will be, I think, the big game changer.  Now, they might still test it. And there's a Chinese proverb, which is, you have to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. And I think President Trump might have to kill a chicken. He'd have to pick the chicken wisely. I think it might be the Houthis. That makes no sense to me. There is a national interest, there's a strategic importance to it. And it will game change how you're trying to get the Gulf Arabs back on side, see that we are committed to the security in the Gulf in the broader Middle East, it will send a major signal to Tehran, and it'll be part of that pivot back to maximum pressure on Iran and maximum support for Israel.  Jason Isaacson:   Rich, thank you. But before I turn back to the Abraham Accords, let me ask you, what's your sense of the Saudi and UAE and Bahraini overtures to Iran? Are they just seeking some kind of stability, some kind of channel, but it doesn't have a whole lot of meaning, or what's your sense and how should the US respond? Rich? Rich Goldberg:   I think there is meaning to it. I think that Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia has changed his strategic calculus over the last three years. I think that there was a game changing moment for him when the Houthis were raining down missiles, next to a Formula One race he was hosting out in Jeddah. And you're talking about major investors, world leaders, important people all driving into a race course already there. And you're seeing a ballistic missile explode within your line of sight. And the United States does nothing.  And then Abu Dhabi comes under attack by the Houthis, and the United States does nothing. And they're saying, Wow, they're just at the table trying to give the Iranians whatever they can, they've taken the Houthis off the terror list. They're not defending us anymore. They've pulled the missile defense augmentation that Trump put in, in 2019-2020. And they're still trying to get this nuclear deal done.  What are we doing here? Why are we just waiting around for Godot? Why are we exposed? We should cut a deal here. And why if the United States can hedge on us, can't we hedge on them, and they start cozying up to the Chinese and doing things that we probably don't like very much I need to put an end to. So I think it's very real. These channels are real. They're in a hedge. I think it's taken a while for others that are far more suspicious of Iran, like Bahrain to get on board this strategy. But everybody sort of signed up to this. There's a normalization process with Assad that I think is partially connected to it as well. All of that's going to have to change. You have Donald Trump is back in office. And I don't know that they appreciate that very much. Jason Isaacson:   There's also a recollection of the Trump administration in this reaction or non reaction to this Iranian attack on Saudi Aramco facilities. So it's been a mixed bag. But But first, let me let me let me turn back to you. And we were talking about the Abraham accords before. That was a great foreign policy access success of the last months of the Trump administration, first of the UAE, then Bahrain and then with different terminology, but Morocco and Sudan. As you know, the Biden administration has been vigorously pursuing an effort to normalize Saudi relations with Israel, and objective that was also very much a part of the Trump administration's vision. What are your perspectives on the likelihood of that kind of a deal being closed in the last months of the current Biden administration, if they do move forward on such a deal with the Republicans getting the Senate joined with Democrats in the Senate to support such a deal before the election? Or perhaps in a lame duck session after the election?   Kirsten Fontenrose:   Well that's the big question. So I think if you have a deal that includes normalization with Israel, Saudi us still includes normalization with Israel, it has a shot of getting through, but the closer we get to the election, the smaller that shot gets, because the more Republicans Congress will want to hold out to grant that foreign policy when to potential Republican administration.  But if you have a deal that is being discussed now, as a Plan B, that is just a US-Saudi deal, without normalization. And this is because of the Israeli government's decision, perhaps not to grant that the Saudis are fully on board, you won't get it through, there's just not enough in it. For the US. There are lots of questions about why we'd be granting Saudi assistance with civilian nuclear technology. And a security guarantee, when we're not really getting much out of it. There's nothing in this deal in terms of concrete asks on the relationship with China. And we can really go quite far in blocking Chinese influence in the Gulf by just improving our own foreign military sales process. We don't need to grant security guarantees, the Israeli Saudi relationship is so close right now. It's normalization and everything but public statement and name and that public statement name is important for the follow on effects you have around the world globally and with other Muslim populations.  But in terms of their coordination, they're in a pretty good place. So we're not in some sort of crisis rush to make sure this happens in the next few months, unless you're the Biden team. And you're desperate for a foreign policy win, because your promises on other foreign policy fronts have not borne out.  So I think you will still see this continue, though we have doubled down on the Saudi discussion, if there is a second Trump administration. But you will not see this granting of a deal to Saudi Arabia, even though they are a phenomenal partner. And we are quite close, without more concrete asks that benefit U.S. goals as well. It's not the opinion that just having Saudi on side with nothing we've actually signed them up to, would they grant overflight rights, if things came down with Iran.  We need to make those more specific before we would do something that would require commitment of troops, large resources, equipment, perhaps to the detriment of other partners, we would be able to send those same troops and equipment. So I don't think we're going to see it in the last months of this administration. Manya Brachear Pashman: To hear the rest of the panel, head to the link in our show notes. Another reminder that AJC is a nonpartisan organization and will be at the DNC next month in Chicago. We hope to see some of you there.  Next week on People of the Pod, tune in for our sit down with two Jewish Olympians before they head to Paris for the Summer Olympic Games.

In this episode of RANE's Essential Geopolitics podcast, The talk turns to recent Houthi attacks against Abu Dhabi. Middle East and North Africa analyst at RANE, Ryan Bohl, says the attacks could provoke a cycle that undermines the United Arab Emirates' reputation as a peaceful business hub and, if they continue, jeopardize Iran nuclear talks or relations between the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Stay on point with geopolitical events and analysis of the Middle East. Subscribe to RANE Worldview today! Right now we're offering a special price for subscriptions: 1 $ dollar for 4 weeks. Click here to subscribe: https://cloud.subscribe.stratfor.com/worldview

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Kristin Wood was at CIA HQ on the morning of 9/11. Phil Mudd was at the National Security Council. Kristin was a PDB briefer for the VP's National Security Advisor. Phil was Director for Gulf Affairs. They would go on to work counterterrorism together. Kristen has a Wheaton Terrier. Phil has a farm. For the rest, it's best if you hear Kristin and Phil.  “… knowing that every day, you had to deliver relevant information to the nation's leaders, it is a feeling of enormous responsibility that all of the 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of intelligence officers who have done amazing work, you want to represent it faithfully.”   I just I didn't want to be alone. I didn't know what was going on. So I stayed at a friend's house, maybe a mile or two from my house just watching through the downing of the Towers. And at that point, I said, I'm going home. My only other memories are realizing I couldn't go to the White House. 

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Vijay Prashad, the Director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, the author of “The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution,” and his most recent publication is “Red Star Over the Third World.”Economies around the world are taking an unprecedented hit from the coronavirus pandemic. And third world economies are particularly hard hit. In many cases, poor countries turn to the International Monetary Fund for assistance. But the IMF, along with the World Bank, usually impose crushing austerity measures on weak economies, making it even tougher for them to rebound. That’s happening right now--in the midst of the pandemic. The FBI, in a recent court filing, has accidentally revealed the name of an official in the Saudi Embassy in Washington who allegedly dealt directly with the 9/11 hijackers. Saudi Islamic Affairs attache Musaed al-Jarrah, who went on to serve in Morocco and Malaysia, met personally with two middlemen to provide funds and an apartment for the hijackers when they were in Los Angeles. The FBI, including former directors Robert Mueller and James Comey, worked for years to keep the name a secret. Ali al-Ahmed, the Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show. Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu wants the annexation to move forward before US elections because he has the support of the Trump Administration and the US evangelical movement. Meanwhile, three United Nations officials are calling on Israel to release Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. Those children are at a much higher risk of coronavirus infection, which is sweeping through prisons in the country. Tamara Nassar, associate editor of Electronic Intifada, joins the show. Brazil yesterday suffered its deadliest day yet from the coronavirus, with 881 confirmed deaths in 24 hours and nearly 178,000 confirmed cases. President Jair Bolsonaro has been criticized heavily for not taking the disease seriously as it sweeps through poor neighborhoods, prisons, and, scientists worry, through the indigenous population. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro is under increasing political pressure because of multiple corruption cases against friends, political supporters, and family members. Aline Piva, a journalist and a member of Brazilians for Democracy and Social Justice, joins Brian and John. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.”Open impeachment hearings start in the US House of Representatives in the inquiry into President Trump next week. The House Democrats likely have the majority they need to impeach Trump, but will that help their cause in the end? The trial for Roger Stone, President Trump’s advisor, is on its third day. Stone, a self described “dirty trickster,” is being charged with obstructing the Mueller investigation. What actually happened? Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at www.rall.com, joins the show. Two former employees of social media giant Twitter have been arrested. The ex-employees are accused of spying for the Saudi government, using their access to the company’s data to gather information on dissidents. Brian and John speak with Ali al-Ahmed, the Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs. Chinese and US negotiators appear to be within reach of an agreement that would result in the reduction of tariffs and lead to a final resolution to the trade war. But lingering doubts remain as officials from both sides scramble to find a suitable location for the “phase one” deal to be signed. Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, joins the show. A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues. The Democratic primary is heating up as the leading candidates sharpen their attacks ahead of the first primaries and party elites frantically search for an adequate pro-establishment candidate. And on the Republican side, ousted former Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he will run for his old Senate seat in Alabama. Jacqueline Luqman, the editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, whose livestream is on Facebook and Youtube every week, joins the show.Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN) joins the show.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia blame Iran for the missile and drone attacks on two massive oil processing facilities in the Kingdom.  Is war inevitable? The Crisis Next Door host Jason Brooks talks about that prospect with Retired Ambassador Gerald Feierstein, Director of Gulf Affairs and Government Relations at the Middle East Institute, and Ambassador to Yemen from 2010 to 2013.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran.The US and UK are asking their European allies to participate in a program whereby allied navies would escort western tankers through the Straits of Hormuz. The Iranian government condemned the idea as provocative and Oman, the country which usually mediates between the US and Iran, said that it is in touch with both sides. Germany has said it has no concrete plans to join the effort. Democratic presidential candidates will debate again tonight and tomorrow in Detroit. The event will be hosted by CNN. The second-tier candidates will likely try to break out of the pack on the issues of healthcare, student debt, and social justice, with pundits watching Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, and Julian Castro most closely. Bob Schlehuber, a Sputnik News analyst and the producer of the Sputnik News show By Any Means Necessary, which airs on 105.5 FM and 1390 AM in the Washington DC area from 2:00-4:00 pm every day, joins the show. The Senate yesterday failed to override the president’s veto of a bipartisan measure that would have suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates because of the war in Yemen and the Saudi murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoqgi. All five freshman Democrats with CIA experience in the House voted with the President. Meanwhile, a Saudi attack on a market in Yemen has reportedly killed 13 civilians and Khalid Shaikh Muhammad, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, said that he would be willing to help 9/11 families in their lawsuits against the Saudi government if that US government abandons plans to execute him. Brian and John speak with Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs. A new report released by the United Nations shows that 1,366 civilians have been killed and another 2,446 have been wounded in Afghanistan so far in the first half of this year. That is a 27 percent decline from last year’s record numbers. 52 percent of the casualties were caused by the Taliban, ISIS, and affiliated groups, 28 percent by Improvised Explosive Devices, and 14 percent by allied airstrikes. Afghan leaders vowed to reduce civilian casualties at talks in Doha earlier this month, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the administration aims to withdraw U.S. forces from the country before the 2020 election. Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of the peace group Code Pink, joins the show. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today reaffirmed his commitment to having no checks or impediments of any kind at the Irish border once the UK leaves the European Union. He added that his government is committed to the Belfast Agreement and will not hinder cross-border movement. But a leaked recording of Johnson speaking recently to a group called the Institute of Directors, shows that he simply does not understand the details of the border issue. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins Brian and John. Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.Today’s regular segment that airs every Tuesday is called Women & Society. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly, Karla Reyes, managing editor of the women’s magazine Breaking the Chains, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dennis Bernstein., an author, poet, activist, and co-host of the political news show Flashpoints on Pacifica Radio, and Jackie Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, whose livestream is on every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook. The funeral of former president George H. W. Bush was held this morning at Washington’s National Cathedral with three former presidents and three former first ladies in attendance. Brian and John have looked at the legacy of George H. W. Bush every day this week and focus today on the Gulf War, the war on drugs, and mass incarceration. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show. Republicans in Wisconsin and Michigan were wiped out of their states’ top offices in last month’s election. But both legislatures called lame duck sessions to strip incoming Democratic governors of much of their power. The bills also would reduce the time for early voting and throw poor people off of Medicaid. Brian and John speak with Matt Brusky, the deputy director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is asking a federal judge to sentence former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn to probation -- not jail time -- for lying to the FBI, citing Flynn’s exceptional assistance in the Russia collusion investigation. Later this week, former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort will be back in court, where Mueller will have to identify what Manafort has done to break his plea deal. And meanwhile, new information has emerged that Manafort met with Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno in 2017 about a complex deal that would involve Julian Assange’s expulsion from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, joins the show. CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed a bipartisan group of senators on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi yesterday. Many came out of the briefing offering angry accounts of the information Haspel conveyed and said there was no doubt in their minds that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman ordered the assassination. Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins Brian and John. A Houthi delegation and the UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, arrived in Stockholm last night in advance of peace talks with the Yemeni government. A Saudi delegation is expected to arrive today. Mediators from Kuwait, which hosted the last direct talks in 2016, are also in Sweden for the meetings, which should begin today. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show.Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro left for Moscow this morning, where he’ll meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin. No specific reason for the meeting was announced, but Putin said that he is acutely aware of the economic crisis in Venezuela and the media are speculating that oil and gas will be on the agenda. Brian and John speak with Paul Dobson, a writer for VenezuelaAnalysis.com.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of the book “The Battle for Justice in Palestine,” and Miko Peled, the author of “The General’s Son - A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine” and “Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.”Israel’s government moved close to collapse yesterday when Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned and withdrew his party’s support for the government to protest the Netanyahu Administration’s cease-fire talks with Hamas. Far-right Education Minister Naftali Bennett threatened to withdraw his own party from the governing coalition unless Netanyahu names him as the new Defense Minister. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, joins the show. In an interview with the Washington Post yesterday Vice President Pence said that if China wants to avoid what he called an all-out Cold War with the United States and its partners, it must fundamentally change its behavior. The comments came in advance of President Trump’s meeting later this month with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Brian and John speak with Jude Woodward, the author of the new book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?” British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament today that the country is “significantly closer” to delivering on Brexit, saying that the draft agreement reached with the European Union would give the UK control of its borders, laws, and money. She is seeking the backing of her senior-most ministers before putting the agreement to a parliamentary vote. Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, joins the show. Jemel Roberson was shot by police in a Chicago suburb earlier this week. He was a Black security guard who was on duty the night a shooter came to the bar where he worked. He successfully had the alleged shooter on the ground when cops got there, but instead of taking the shooter into custody, the cops shot and killed Roberson, the security guard. Frank Chapman, a longtime organizer with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, joins Brian and John. Protesting students in Colombia are preparing for a major demonstration tomorrow as they continue their struggle for adequate funding for the country’s higher education. They are facing massive, violent repression from the new far-right government of Ivan Duque. Christian Polo, the spokesperson for the National Union of Students in Higher Education at the National University of Colombia in Bogota, joins the show.President Trump today named the former Commander of Central Command, General John Abizaid, as the new Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The appointment came as a surprise, as Abi Zaid has no known direct ties to Trump and the Saudis insist that any US Ambassador be a direct line to the president. Brian and John speak with Ali al-Ahmed, the Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs.

The Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was close to the Saudi royal family for decades, but after falling out of favour, he went into self-imposed exile in the United States and became a thorn in the side of the Kingdom. His column in the Washington Post newspaper was critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his tactics to consolidate his power, including arresting powerful business executives. Will the fallout from his death prompt foreign investors to walk away ? Jason Tuvey of Capital Economics; Ali al Ahmed, the founder of the Institute for Gulf Affairs; and Neil Quilliam ,a senior research fellow at the research group Chatham House, analyse what pressure may be brought to bear, and what the kingdom can do about it. A series of leaks in recent years has shed light on the way corrupt payments are made and then the money is channelled through a series of shady financial conduits to launder the cash . Roberto Perez Rocha, director with the anti corruption campaign group Transparency International, which is hosting a conference in Copenhagen this week, explains how even the cleanest countries have to pull their socks up. And finally, Canada legalised cannabis last week. Rohit Joseph, a reporter with CBC, has been finding out how it went.

Guests:  Joe Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics and Professor at Columbia University, discusses the deficit, trade wars, and how America must be lead towards the new, service economy.  Noel Hebert, Director of Credit Research for Bloomberg Intelligence, on 125-year old iconic retailer Sears filing for bankruptcy.  Ali Al-Ahmed, founder and director of The Institute for Gulf Affairs, and Toby Harshaw, Bloomberg Opinion editor, to discuss the missing Saudi journalist Khashoggi, and impact on US-Saudi relations. 

An enormous category 4 storm is tearing into the Florida panhandle, and many people have been unable to evacuate. Extreme weather events just keep getting worse, and scientists agree with climate change is the culprit. A new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has an ominous warning for everybody in the world: The anticipated 1.5 degree Celsius temperature rise we should expect to see in the next 12 years will be far worse than the 1 degree rise we have already seen. The report was written by 132 authors drawing on 6000 peer-reviewed studies, and its findings are grim. If we don’t curb the emission of greenhouse cases immediately, people will die, species will become extinct, the food supply will dwindle, and ocean levels will rise precipitously. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show. Major media outlets lined up today to praise the tenure of Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the United Nations. The Washington Post said she succeeded in promoting multilateralism for a president who opposes multilateralism. The New York Times said Haley “would be missed” and lauded her pragmatism and positive relationships with other diplomats. An Israeli diplomat lamented that “now Israel has only one ambassador at the United Nations.” Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, whose work is at rall.com. Turkish authorities investigating the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said today that the well-known journalist appears to have entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was killed on the orders of the Saudi leadership and dismembered by four men who subsequently left from the back of the building, drove to the airport, and flew to Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, condemnation of Khashoggi’s apparent murder is rippling across the globe. Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show. Israeli authorities have detained an American graduate student at the airport in Tel Aviv for the past week, solely because she is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, or BDS, program. Lara al-Qasem, whose grandparents are Palestinian, has a valid Israeli visa, but she will be deported because of her political views. She is being confined while she appeals the decision. Reem Zaitoon, the president of Students for Justice in Palestine at Florida State University, joins Brian and John. Nearly two years ago, Marcus Mitchell and many other indigenous activists stood up to the oil and gas corporations trying to build the Dakota Access pipeline through their land. While protesting to protect his land, Marcus was blinded in one eye and lost partial hearing in one ear due to a lead pellet shot directly at his head by a county sheriff. Yet now he’s facing two years in prison. Kandi Mossett, Indigenous Environmental Network’s Native Energy & Climate Campaign Organizer who took part in the Standing Rock protests of 2017, joins the show.Google announced that it would drop out of a bid for a $10 billion cloud contract with the Defense Department, saying that the project conflicted with its corporate values. In the meantime, the company is appealing a 5 billion euro fine for running a monopoly in Europe. Brian and John speak with Dr. Robert Epstein, the senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “The Plot to attack Iran,” and Joe Lauria, the editor-in-chief of Consortium News, founded by the late Robert Parry. Courts in New York and Alexandria, Virginia delivered bombshells for President Trump yesterday, as former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of eight felony counts of bank fraud, and Trump attorney Michael Cohen turned himself in to the FBI and pleaded guilty to eight counts of campaign finance fraud, bank fraud, and wire fraud. Manafort will now go on trial on additional fraud counts in Washington, DC, and Cohen will go to prison for between three and five years. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear with Kevin Kamps, looks at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focus on Trump’s plan to cut coal regulations, and the connections between the coal and nuclear industries. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, joins the show. Facebook announced yesterday that it had taken down 652 fake accounts and pages with ties to Iranian and Russian propaganda organs. The company said there were four different campaigns, with three originating in Iran. Is Facebook jumping on the war hysteria bandwagon? Brian and John speak with Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter and founder of This Can’t Be Happening!, as well as a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to Businessweek, The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com. Saudi Arabia is preparing to execute five people, including a woman, for participating in peaceful demonstrations in support of rights for Shia Muslims. The public prosecutor, who reports directly to King Salman, has charged the five with a variety of so-called crimes, including, “participating in protests, incitement to protest, chanting slogans, attempting to inflame public opinion, filming protests, and providing moral support to rioters.” The five could be beheaded as soon as Friday. Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show. Russia’s foreign minister said that the Taliban have accepted an invitation to attend talks on the future of Afghanistan to be held in Moscow on September 4. Sergei Lavrov said that the aim of the talks is to encourage the Taliban to abandon hostilities, to engage in a dialogue with the Afghan government, and to protect Russian citizens in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, hopes for a temporary halt in the fighting have broken down following a mass kidnapping and a rocket attack on the presidential palace as President Ashraf Ghani was giving a speech. Brian Terrell, a long time peace activist and a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, joins Brian and John. National Security Advisor John Bolton said yesterday that the United States would respond “very strongly” if forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad use chemical weapons in an offensive to retake Idlib Province. But doesn’t that just open the door for US-allied forces to use chemical weapons and blame the Syrian government? Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show.Tensions between the United States and Turkey, along with the country’s economic instability, continue to heat up. National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters yesterday that Turkey could end its lira-battering crisis with Washington “instantly” by freeing a detained American pastor. Bolton added that promises of cash from the Qatari government will not save Turkey’s economy. Brian and John speak with Ambassador Robert Pearson, a former US Ambassador to Turkey and former director general of the US Foreign Service.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a constitutional rights lawyer and the executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, and Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemecist.net.The Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday heard testimony from social media and technology experts, who said companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter must do more to prevent the spread of misinformation and propaganda. But where does one draw the line between that and freedom of speech? Are Americans in danger of losing their civil liberties? Thursday’s “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, Paul Wright, the founder and Executive Director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), joins the show. The Intercept reported today that former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired thanks to pressure from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Tillerson had intervened to mediate those countries’ dispute with neighboring Qatar. Saudi Arabia had intended to invade and conquer Qatar with UAE help. Brian and John speak with Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs. The Trump Administration this morning announced that it was freezing fuel efficiency requirements for all cars and trucks through 2026 as part of a dramatic rollback of Obama-era environmental regulations. The announcement comes on the heels of a weakening of air and water quality regulations. Fred Magdoff, professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont and the co-author of “What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism,” joins the show. Israel has blocked the delivery of fuel and gasoline to the besieged Gaza Strip, saying that it was in retaliation for Palestinians setting fire to Israeli land with flaming kites. Only cooking gas, wheat, and flour will be allowed into Gaza until further notice. Dan Cohen, a journalist and filmmaker whose work is at KillingGaza.com, joins Brian and John. Pope Francis announced this morning that the death penalty is inadmissible under any circumstances and that the church will work toward its abolition around the world. The announcement marks an evolution of the Catholic Church’s official view of the death penalty that began under Pope John Paul II in 1978. Gregory Joseph, communications director at the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, joins the show.The Trump Administration has imposed sanctions on the Justice and Interior Ministers of Turkey in retaliation for the continued incarceration of American pastor Andrew Brunson. Brunson was arrested two years ago and charged with espionage for preaching. He has yet to go on trial. Turkish President Erdogan said the move will jeopardize longstanding US-Turkish relations and that Ankara will consider retaliatory sanctions. Brian and John speak with Max Zirngast, an independent writer studying philosophy and political science in Vienna and Ankara.

In his first major speech since becoming Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo demanded that Iran withdraw its troops from Syria and end support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad if it expects to see any tangible improvement in relations with the US. Pompeo also said that the US would not renegotiate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran sanctions deal. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won a second six-year term yesterday in a popular election. Meanwhile, President Trump is considering an oil embargo on Venezuela, a move that would sink the country into economic chaos. Carlos Ron, the Charge d’Affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, joins the show. The online news site The Intercept reported over the weekend that an FBI informant who had allegedly infiltrated the Trump campaign in 2016 is the same person who oversaw a CIA operation in 1980 to infiltrate the Jimmy Carter campaign. He reportedly did so at the urging of former CIA Director George H. W. Bush. How is all of this legal? And is Donald Trump right when he says the FBI was spying on him? Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at www.rall.com.At least ten prominent women’s rights activists were arrested in Saudi Arabia over the weekend and today, just six weeks before the kingdom was supposed to lift its ban on women driving. Two men also were arrested. The women have been outspoken in their support of a woman’s right to drive and in their opposition to the male guardianship system, where a women may travel only with the permission of her father, husband, or brother. The arrested men are known for having created a literary salon that allows both men and women to attend. The government said that the activists had “formed a cell that threatened Saudi security.” Ali al-Ahmed, the Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show. Monday’s regular segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” looks at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Today focuses on the dangers of privatizing education. The hosts speak with Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto.” Today is the first installment of a new weekly segment called Connected Lives, Private Profits with Chris Garaffa. Chris will help the hosts look at technological issues that shape our world and how we can fight to maintain our civil rights and civil liberties in the face of increasingly advanced, and sometimes hostile, technology. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show.Kyrill Vyshinsky, a reporter for RIA Novosti Ukraine, the Ukrainian bureau of the Russian news agency, was arrested in Kiev last week and charged with high treason. The Ukrainian government accuses Vyshinsky of “subversion by means of information.” The NGO Reporters Without Borders says that it is deeply worried about the journalist and is calling on the Ukrainian government to release him without delay. Brian and John speak with Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, and Jeremy Varon, a professor at the New School in New York and an anti-Guantanamo activist. President Trump this morning unceremoniously fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by tweet, and he moved CIA Director Mike Pompeo to State. Meanwhile, CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel, alleged to have been intimately involved in the Agency’s torture program, will become the director if confirmed by the Senate. The hosts continue the weekly series looking at the economic issues of the day, including Trump’s tariffs and the potential trade war they could instigate. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show. British Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday that Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent for the British who was poisoned last week along with his daughter, was likely the victim of a Russian assassination attempt. The Russian government is demanding proof, and the high stakes international mystery is deepening. Brian and John speak with legendary anti-war activist and former British parliamentarian George Galloway. The Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released an unusual and partisan report yesterday concluding that there was no collusion between the Russian government and either the Trump or Clinton campaigns. Significantly, the report however, perpetuates the narrative that the Russians launched cyberattacks against American institutions. Again, no actual hard proof of this assertion has been offered. The report said that several Trump campaign officials had made “poor decisions,” but that no crimes were committed. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, joins the show. Students across America will walk out of schools tomorrow in a nationwide protest against gun violence. The National School Walkout is both a memorial to those killed by guns and a protest of government inaction. Kofi Ademola, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, joins Brian and John. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Sunday gave what many observers are calling a “trainwreck” of an interview to the news program 60 Minutes. DeVos struggled to answer basic questions about the nation’s schools and failed to defend President Trump’s school safety ideas. Brian and John speak with Bill Ayers, an activist, educator, and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto.” A Saudi general may have been tortured to death, and several businessmen abused, while in captivity in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh during Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s crackdown on powerful figures in the country. The Crown Prince has systematically arrested, purged, or exiled virtually anybody who could pose a threat to him. Ali Al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs. Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has begun an international tour that is taking him to Egypt, the UK, and the United States. He has already outraged many in the Middle East by calling Turkey, Iran, and Qatar “the devil’s triangle.” He faces large-scale protests today in London. But he’ll get the red carpet treatment from Donald Trump. Today is the first day of a regular segment looking at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Greg Mello, the executive director of the Los Alamos Study Group, and Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, join the show. The Trump Administration is suing California over three of that state’s sanctuary laws. Those laws give the state final authority over federal detention centers for undocumented immigrants, and they forbid local and state law enforcement from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Brian and John speak with Carolyn Gomez, an organizer with the National Union of Healthcare Workers.At least 17 Senate Democrats have lined up to support the repeal of key components of the Dodd-Frank banking law, passed after the 2007 financial crisis to prevent further banking abuse and fraud. Democratic support virtually ensures passage and will significantly weaken consumer protections. Alexis Goldstein, a Wall Street banker who became an activist in the Occupy movement and is now the senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform, joins the show. Gary Cohn resigned yesterday as the head of President Trump’s National Economic Council, the 34th staffer to leave Trump’s administration. And Washington is buzzing with rumors that National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster is close behind. Plus, Trump has nominated a Dow Chemical lawyer to oversee chemical spill cleanup at Superfund sites. This is all part of a bigger story—Trump’s inner circle is dwindling and even more corporate stooges are populating the White House. Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, joins Brian and John. The Mueller investigation gets curiouser and curiouser. The Special Counsel is now investigating George Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman who acts as an advisor to the leader of the United Arab Emirates. The hosts talk about the latest twist in the Russiagate saga. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, joins the show.Many European elites saw Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a bulwark against the erratic and unpredictable Donald Trump, especially on trade issues. But now those same elites are worried that Xi is the one to worry about, in light of China’s abolition of term limits. Brian and John speak with writer and political analyst Ajit Singh.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek. Turkish forces yesterday fired artillery shells at Syrian government forces that had moved to the area of Afrin in northern Syria to assist Kurdish fighters there. Turkish president Erdogan also warned Iran against becoming more involved in the Syrian civil war. Meanwhile, Turkey announced that it would carry out a naval exercise in waters inside the Cypriot economic zone. And 17 Turkish government employees and their families defected to Greece by rowing to a Greek island in a dinghy.Vice President Pence was supposed to have a secret meeting on February 10 with Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and with Kim Yong Nam, North Korea’s nominal head of state. The meeting was cancelled two hours before its start when the North Koreans withdrew. Meanwhile, the resumption of postponed U.S.- South Korean military drills threaten the thaw between North and South. Christine Ahn, a co-founder of the Korea Policy Institute and the International Coordinator of Women Cross DMZ, joins the show. The Daily Beast just published an article that claimed all guests on Radio Sputnik went through Moscow’s approval first--but this is 100% false. Brian and John speak with Walter Smolarek, Sputnik News analyst and producer for Loud & Clear. For the first time in nearly 30 years, West Virginia teachers plan a statewide strike to protest low wages and rising health care costs. The state ranks 38th in the nation in the quality of public education. Frank Ariet, a community organizer, and Travis Boothe, an organizer with the Morgantown Tenants Union, join the show. Border Patrol agents are working on private property without permission and setting up so-called “border checkpoints” 100 miles inland from any border under a little-known federal law that was ignored until Donald Trump became president. Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos, joins Brian and John. Brazil’s military was put in charge of security over the weekend in Rio de Janeiro, the country’s largest city, as gang violence continues to escalate. Aline Piva, with Brazilian Expats for Democracy, joins the show.Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman announced that he will arrange for the deployment of an elite unit of Pakistani guards to protect him and other royal family members, ostensibly from his own people. Brian and John speak with Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs.The anniversary of Ukraine’s 2014 revolution--what many people call a coup--is today. We take a look at this regime change effort that brought to power a far-right, pro-western government. Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, joins the show.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist.President Trump delivered his first state of the union address last night, setting an ambitious, but highly partisan—perhaps even divisive—agenda in his first State of the Union address. He took a hard line on immigration and North Korea, but then said he wanted to spend $1.5 trillion on infrastructure, although he didn’t say how he would pay for it, especially in light of recent massive tax cuts for corporations and the rich. The White House is saying that President Trump has not yet decided whether to release the Nunes memo, although he was overheard at the State of the Union last night saying that he would “100 percent release it.” Meanwhile, the plot thickens at the FBI, as its Inspector General is now investigating the actions of former director James Comey and deputy director Andrew McCabe, their role in the Hillary Clinton emails, and the FISA warrant they requested to look at the Trump campaign. Brian and John speak with Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers.A federal judge in the Southern District of New York this week lashed out at Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in a written opinion ordering the temporary release of an immigrants’ rights activist who ICE scooped up and scheduled for deportation. Ravi Ragbir, the leader of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York, was released so that, in the judge’s words, he could say goodbye to his family. Juan Carlos Ruiz, cofounder of New Sanctuary Coalition, where Ravi Ragbir is executive director, joins the show.An Israeli legal rights group is suing two New Zealanders who reportedly convinced the pop singer Lorde to cancel a performance in Israel. This is the first lawsuit filed under a controversial Israeli anti-boycott law. And for the first time in its history, an officer of the Israeli secret police agency, the Shin Bet, is facing a criminal investigation over allegations of torture. Miko Peled, an author whose latest book “Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five” comes out next month, joins Brian and John.Bahrain’s top court sentenced two people to death and almost 60 more to lengthy prison sentences yesterday on charges of terrorism in a case that the Bahrainis say proves Iranian meddling in their country. The Bahraini prosecutor said the defendants smuggled explosives and weapons into the country after having undergone training in Iran. Mustafa Akhwand, the executive director of Shia Rights Watch, joins the show.Cape Town, South Africa is dangerously close to running out of water. “Day Zero”, as it’s being called, is expected in April, and frantic preparations are underway to prepare for this impending ecological crisis. Brian and John speak with Fred Magdoff, professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont and the co-author of “What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism” and “Creating an Ecological Society: Toward a Revolutionary Transformation”.Saudi Arabia has moved the remaining 56 princes it has been holding in the Ritz Carlton hotel on corruption charges to secure private palaces and, in some cases, to actual prisons. Other princes have secured their own release by turning over to the government more than $106 billion that Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman says was made through corrupt practices. Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show.

11 of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent business and political leaders, including Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the wealthiest men in the world were arrested and detained over the past weekend under orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb described the arrests as a crackdown on corruption in the government, stating that they are “merely the start of a vital process to root out corruption wherever it exists”. Were these arrests really an attempt to eliminate corruption or was it merely a way for the Crown Prince to rid himself of potential political opponents? Ambassador Gerald Feierstein, director of the Center for Gulf Affairs at the Middle East Institute, explained the palace intrigue rocking Riyadh. Mikhail Zygar, a Russian journalist and filmmaker, joined us to talk about Russian politics, the influence of the Bolshevik Revolution on Russia 100 years later and his new book, “The Empire Must Die: Russia's Revolutionary Collapse, 1900-1917”.

Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, Ali Al-Ahmed, talks about the oppressive monarchy of Saudi Arabia: the American backed war in Yemen and unyielding partnership between the two countries; the export of terrorism and spread of ultra orthodox Wahhabism, the political bribery on behalf of Gulf States to maintain a culture of silence. twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en twitter.com/AbbyMartin www.mediaroots.org