Author and former climate journalist Dahr Jamail returns to the podcast to discuss the 20th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq by United States-led coalition forces. Jamail began his journalistic career as an unembedded journalist documenting the war from the ground beginning in 2003, highlighting the countless war crimes committed by the occupying forces against the civilians of Iraq, superbly documented in his first book on the subject, Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq published in 2007 by Haymarket Books.
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#333 | The War In Ukraine: An Update To An Ongoing Catastrophe w/ Eric Draitser
Independent political analyst and CounterPunch Radio host Eric Draitser returns to the podcast to provide an update on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The last we spoke about this subject was March 2nd, seven days into the invasion.
Eight months into this war, I ask Eric: Where do the Russians and Ukrainians stand in this blatant war of aggression by Putin? Who stands to gain from prolonging this conflict? What are Russia and NATO's endgame? For all the calls for an end to the conflict through negotiation, what, in fact, could or would that even look like? As the war drags on, we look on in horror as this neocolonialist, revanchist invasion grinds more human bodies on the fields of battle. Russia, to meet the imperialist vision laid out before the world, conscript thousands of men to continue the war. Many more flee the country to escape such a dire fate. While Ukraine is reduced to rubble, Russian society is flung into numerous, cascading crises — both material and existential in scope. Geopolitical conflicts proliferate across Europe and Asia, generating new and preexisting tensions between nations. Eric, in covering this war since its first days, provides a measured and nuanced overview of events as they stand today.
Read More#314 | The Invasion Of Ukraine: An Imperialist War, An Unfolding Conflagration w/ Eric Draitser
Eric Draitser, independent political analyst and host of CounterPunch Radio, joins me to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We recorded this discussion March 3rd 2022 — exactly seven days into this ongoing conflict.
Eric has been publishing very concise, clear, and measured analysis of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military almost daily since it began — mostly through 15-20 minute videos published publicly, and through his Patreon page for his supporters. He applies a principled anti-imperialist, anti-war, and leftist approach to his detailed summaries of this situation as it unfolds — pointing to the roles that both Russian leadership (primarily Russian President Vladimir Putin) and the United States and its NATO partners in Europe have played in the escalation of this conflict. What are the short-term, and long-term, aims of Russia in this invasion? What is the historical context this war sits within? What are the ideological components to this? And most importantly, who ultimately suffers from this conflagration in Eastern Europe? We discuss all this and more in this interview.
Read More#225 | The Bootprint Of Empire: The Environmental Impacts Of The US War Machine w/ Oliver Belcher
Intro: 12:11 | Outro: 1:00:08
In this episode, I speak with Oliver Belcher, Assistant Professor in Human Geography at Durham University and co-author of ‘Hidden carbon costs of the “everywhere war”: Logistics, geopolitical ecology, and the carbon boot‐print of the US military’ with Patrick Bigger, Ben Neimark, Cara Kennelly. A summary of their research was published at The Conversation ‘US military is a bigger polluter than as many as 140 countries – shrinking this war machine is a must.’
This discussion is about the often obscured impacts the United States’ global military presence has on the planetary climate system at large. Oliver and his colleagues’ research points to the fact “[g]reenhouse gas emission accounting usually focuses on how much energy and fuel civilians use. But recent work, including our own, shows that the US military is one of the largest polluters in history, consuming more liquid fuels and emitting more climate-changing gases than most medium-sized countries. If the US military were a country, its fuel usage alone would make it the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, sitting between Peru and Portugal.” We discuss why this reality is often overlooked in climate and environmental studies, and how the Military-Industrial-Complex is one of the largest purveyors of environmental and climate change in the world today. When it comes to international efforts to mitigate climate change, the overbearing effects of the maintenance and expansion of the United States Empire is the “elephant in the room” in addressing the global climate crisis. What’s also examined in this research is the awareness the US military has of its own impact on the climate system, as the “US military has long understood that it isn’t immune from the potential consequences of climate change – recognising it as a “threat multiplier” that can exacerbate other risks.” In spite of this, the “American military’s climate policy remains contradictory. There have been attempts to "green" aspects of its operations by increasing renewable electricity generation on bases, but it remains the single largest institutional consumer of hydrocarbons in the world. It has also locked itself into hydrocarbon-based weapons systems for years to come, by depending on existing aircraft and warships for open-ended operations.” (http://bit.ly/396LbnZ)
As Oliver argues in this interview and in his research, to even approach a proper plan to mitigate global climate disruption, anti-imperialism is crucial and demanding the shuttering of US military bases across the globe is imperative.
Oliver Belcher is an Assistant Professor in Human Geography at Durham University. His research investigates transformations driven by computation in warfare, aesthetics, and environmental politics. He holds an MA and BA in Geography from University of Kentucky, and a PhD in Geography from University of British Columbia.
Episode Notes:
- Read ‘US military is a bigger polluter than as many as 140 countries – shrinking this war machine is a must.’: http://bit.ly/396LbnZ
- Read Oliver and his colleagues’ paper ‘Hidden carbon costs of the “everywhere war”: Logistics, geopolitical ecology, and the carbon boot‐print of the US military’: http://bit.ly/394aZBi
- I reference the article ‘U.S. Military Could Collapse Within 20 Years Due to Climate Change, Report Commissioned By Pentagon Says’ by Nafeez Ahmed: http://bit.ly/397EW3A
- The song featured in this episode is “War” by Edwin Starr.
#105 | War, Art, & The Hardships That Shape Our Lives w/ Milica Popovic
In this episode, Cynthia Jones and I speak with Milica Popovic, Associate Professor of Art at the College of Southern Idaho. Milica discusses her personal experiences with the social and economic disintegration in her home country of Serbia, during the fracturing of the Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990's. Milica describes how her and her husband left their home country and made their way to the United States, where Milica eventually settled in Twin Falls, Idaho, and took up a position at the College of Southern Idaho, where this interview was conducted. In this episode, Milica also discusses the impact trauma has had on her art, and how producing art has helped her work with the traumatic memories she carries with her to this day.
I would like to thank Milica for being open and sharing her experiences for the episode. I understand it is a difficult thing to discuss these things with others, particularly when it's being recorded and put online for the world to hear. So, I'm very grateful for those that have been willing to talk with Cynthia and I for this project.
This is the second episode in a series of interviews and conversations with individuals who, whether they officially or not fall under the category, are refugees. These episode are done in collaboration with Cynthia Jones, Artistic Director of the Inspirata Dance Project, for an upcoming production that will feature segments of these recordings.
Episode Notes:
- The title card of this episode features the artwork of Milica Popovic.
- The song featured in this episode is "Sea of Love" by Cat Power from the album The Covers Record.