Pushback with Aaron Mate

The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal discusses his reporting trip to Damascus in the aftermath of Syria's proxy war. He interviewed residents who were caught between Western and Gulf-backed extremist insurgents and the Syrian government’s war to retake territory, and who now struggle to recover under a US-led economic blockade. "They want to attack and intimidate people from the West who want to have cultural and personal contact with Syrians in the area where most Syrians live," Blumenthal says. "I went there and I took that opportunity to have contact with them because I’ll take any reasonable opportunity to break the media blockade in countries targeted with regime change, and to show my fellow citizens what’s on the other side of the corporate media and the US national security state’s information war." Guest: Max Blumenthal, Senior Editor of The Grayzone and author of "The Management of Savagery." Pushback with Aaron Maté Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Pushback on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Pushback on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2mpwIQm Pushback on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=465855 Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone Twitter: https://twitter.com/grayzoneproject Facebook: https://facebook.com/thegrayzone Minds: https://minds.com/thegrayzone

The Trump administration is sending US troops to Saudi Arabia as it continues to threaten Iran. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, says the US-Saudi relationship is "not based on strategic interest so much as it is based on money, money, and money -- going into the coffers of some people in the national security elite, and into the coffers of some politicians who cling to their power." Guest: Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Pushback on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Pushback on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2mpwIQm Pushback on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=465855 Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

The Trump administration continues to threaten Iran after blaming it, without evidence, for the recent bombing of Saudi oil facilities. Instead of beating the war drums, Trita Parsi argues that President Trump has an easy path to resolve the standoff: rejoin the Iran nuclear deal that he abandoned and negotiate additional issues with Tehran. Guest: Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute and the author of "Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy." Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Pushback on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Pushback on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2mpwIQm Pushback on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=465855 Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been ordered to remain behind bars until hearings over a US extradition effort begin next year. Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, says that UK authorities are holding Assange in worse conditions than accused terrorists and 'making it impossible' for him to prepare his case. Guest: Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of Wikileaks. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Pushback podcast on iTunes: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Pushback podcast on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Pushback podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2mpwIQm Pushback podcast on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=465855 Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

Lawrence Wilkerson, who served alongside John Bolton in the Bush administration, discusses the reasons for Bolton’s firing; Bolton's legacy as a war hawk who promoted regime change and undermined global arms control; the anti-interventionist views of a potential successor, Douglas Macgregor; and the lasting influence of neocons inside the national security state. Guest: Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Currently a distinguished professor at the College of William and Mary. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Listen to Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Subscribe to the Pushback podcast on iTunes: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

The outing of a CIA informant inside of the Kremlin raises new questions about the Russia investigation and the intelligence officials behind it. The informant, identified as Oleg Smolenkov, disappeared from Russia in June 2017 and turned up in the US living under his own name, in a luxury home in the Washington, DC suburbs. Former CIA analyst John Kiriakou says that all of this points to Smolenkov being less valuable an asset than he's been portrayed – and, just as we saw during the Iraq war -- to the possible manipulation of the intelligence he provided by then-CIA head John Brennan. Guest: John Kiriakou, former CIA analyst who was imprisoned after blowing the whistle on the agency’s torture program. ||| Pushback with Aaron Maté ||| Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Listen to Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Subscribe to the Pushback podcast on iTunes: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone Twitter: https://twitter.com/grayzoneproject Facebook: https://facebook.com/thegrayzone Minds: https://minds.com/thegrayzone

Ex-CIA analyst John Kiriakou discusses why he accurately predicted John Bolton’s ouster as National Security Adviser; who might replace him; and the Democratic leadership’s anemic response. Guest: John Kiriakou, former CIA analyst who was imprisoned after blowing the whistle on the agency’s torture program. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Listen to Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Subscribe to the Pushback podcast on iTunes: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com

The prison death of convicted pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein raises concerns that the mysteries surrounding his case — including whether he worked with US intelligence, who his criminal accomplices were, and whether anyone will be held to account for his crimes — will be resolved. Leonard Goodman, a Chicago criminal defense attorney, breaks down the most pressing questions. Guest: Leonard Goodman, criminal defense attorney, writer, and media publisher in Chicago. Read Leonard Goodman’s article at The Chicago Reader: "The Epstein Cover-Up." https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/jeffrey-epstein-death-cover-up/Content?oid=72967174 Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Listen to Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Subscribe to the Pushback podcast on iTunes: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com

A "bombshell" CNN report claimed to show how Wikileaks founder Julian Assange published stolen Democratic Party emails in 2016 in cooperation with the Russian government from his place of refuge in Ecuador's London embassy. Ecuadorian diplomat Fidel Narváez -- who served in the embassy throughout Assange's stay -- says that CNN's report was error-ridden and defamatory. "There are so many smears, speculations, and some false information in that report that somewhat somebody needs to set the record straight," Narváez says. "It is unbelievable how they twist every single thing in order to to defame Julian and Ecuador." Guest: Fidel Narváez, former Ecuadorian diplomat who served in Ecuador's London embassy for six of the seven years that Julian Assange lived there under asylum. Read Fidel Narváez's article at The Grayzone, "40 rebuttals to the media’s smears of Julian Assange – by someone who was actually there": https://thegrayzone.com/2019/08/20/cn... Read CNN's report: "Exclusive: Security reports reveal how Assange turned an embassy into a command post for election meddling," https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/politi... Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Listen to Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Subscribe to the Pushback podcast on iTunes: https://apple.co/2lu7MGQ Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone

The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal explains how Nicaragua celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution just one year after defeating a US-backed coup effort — and how US sabotage efforts continue today. Guest: Max Blumenthal, Senior Editor of The Grayzone and author of several books including his latest, "The Management of Savagery." * Pushback with Aaron Maté * Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Pushback on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushbackshow Aaron Maté on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronjmate Pushback on YouTube: http://youtube.com/thegrayzone Listen to Pushback on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pushbackshow Subscribe to the Pushback podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pushback-with-aaron-mate/id1478159781 Find transcripts and more at https://thegrayzone.com/pushback thegrayzone.com/pushback Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com