Pushback with Aaron Mate

Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate The US is pouring more weapons into Ukraine amid bellicose threats against Russia and the US-backed Saudi war on Yemen continues to massacre civilians. But not everyone sees a downside: “I fully expect we’re going to see some benefit from it,” Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said this week of these and other flashpoints. Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine and author of “The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War Machine,” discusses the US arms industry’s role in promoting and profiting from today’s global conflicts, from Ukraine to Yemen to Syria. Cockburn also looks back on his groundbreaking 1988 PBS documentary, made with his wife Leslie Cockburn, “Guns, Drugs, and the CIA,” about the agency’s role in the global drug trade. Guest: Andrew Cockburn. Washington editor for Harper’s Magazine. His latest book is “The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War Machine.”

Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate The US and UK are ramping up threats to Russia over Ukraine by sending more weapons, vowing more sanctions, and lodging evidence-free claims of a Russian plot to install a pro-Kremlin leader. But comments by Germany's navy chief that Russia "deserves respect" -- leading to his resignation -- underscore that not everyone is on board with Washington and London's war fever. Scholar and author Richard Sakwa discusses the latest in the Ukraine crisis. Guest: Richard Sakwa. Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent. His books include “Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands” and his latest, “Deception: Russiagate and the New Cold War.”

Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate After defeating the US and its allies' decade-long dirty war, Syria is finding ways to rebuild under US military occupation and crippling sanctions/economic warfare. Author Tim Anderson discusses Syria's post-war recovery under sanctions and occupation; routine Israeli bombings and Russia's failure to stop them; Syria joining China's Belt and Road Initiative; and, in the wake of recent New York Times exposes on deadly US airstrikes that were covered up in Syria, how the US used ISIS as a tool for regime change while claiming to fight it. Guest: Tim Anderson. Writer, academic, and Director of the Sydney-based Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies. His books include "The Dirty War on Syria" and "Axis of Resistance." Discussed in this segment: Tim Anderson: "Syria: Why the US massacre at Al-Baghouz?" https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/syria:-why-the-us-massacre-at-al-baghouz Aaron Maté: "To keep troops in Syria, US leaders are lying like in Afghanistan" https://mate.substack.com/p/to-keep-troops-in-syria-us-leaders

Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate Douglas Macgregor, a retired US Army Colonel and former Pentagon senior advisor, analyzes the US-Russia standoff in Ukraine; the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan; Trump's failure to act on 2016 campaign anti-interventionist rhetoric, only to surround himself with neocons; and the ongoing, overlooked US military occupation of Syria after the decade-long CIA dirty war. "The Military Industrial Congressional Complex," Macgregor says, "seems to be more powerful than anyone who occupies the office of the presidency." Guest: Douglas Macgregor, retired US Army Colonel and former Pentagon senior advisor.

Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate New reports explore how the OPCW suppressed findings that undermined US-led allegations of a chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria in April 2018. Dr. Piers Robinson and Aaron Maté discuss the latest revelations on how the OPCW censored science. Senior OPCW officials doctored the original report; erased the conclusions of expert toxicologists who ruled out chlorine gas as the cause of death; and thwarted the key investigate area of forensic pathology, which could have helped determine how the dozens of civilian victims in Douma lost their lives. Instead of explaining the extensive suppression, OPCW Director General Fernando Arias has avoided questions; offered false excuses; and smeared the veteran scientists who challenged the cover-up from within. Guest: Dr. Piers Robinson. Co-Director of the Organisation for Propaganda Studies, and convenor of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media. Working with the Berlin Group 21, led by veteran diplomats Hans von Sponeck and Jose Bustani to seek accountability for the OPCW cover-up. Links: Berlin Group 21: https://berlingroup21.org/ Piers Robinson: “The OPCW Douma Investigation: Manipulation of Key Toxicology and Related Information Regarding Alleged Victims between the Original Interim Report and the Final Report” https://syriapropagandamedia.org/1200-2 Aaron Maté: "Corrupting Science" series at The Grayzone Part 1: “In Syria probe, OPCW erased experts’ inconvenient findings” https://thegrayzone.com/2021/11/22/corrupting-science-in-syria-probe-opcw-erased-experts-inconvenient-findings/ Part 2: “Shunning forensic expertise, OPCW left Douma murders in Syria unsolved” https://thegrayzone.com/2021/12/06/corrupting-science-part2/

At the Vienna talks on restoring the Iran nuclear deal, the US and EU are accusing Iran of refusing to compromise. Mohammad Marandi, a University of Tehran professor advising the Iran delegation in Vienna, says that the compromise was the nuclear deal itself, and the problem is the US refusal to abide by its own commitments and lift the sanctions that target Iranian civilians. Guest: Mohammad Marandi. Professor at the University of Tehran and adviser to the Iran delegation at talks on restoring the JCPOA in Vienna. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Russia is seeking a legally binding pledge that NATO will stop expanding east, including to Ukraine. If the US refuses, is war next? Scholar and author Richard Sakwa analyzes the growing Russia-Ukraine conflict and how Russiagate fueled it. Guest: Richard Sakwa. Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent. His books include "Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands" and his latest, "Deception: Russiagate and the New Cold War." Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Brian Jackson, a keyboardist, flautist, singer, composer, and producer, put out a string of legendary albums with his music partner Gil Scott-Heron, in the 1970s. Jackson discusses the duo's prolific, influential run and some of their most famous songs, including "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", "The Bottle", and "Winter in America." He also talks about current projects, including a new album on the label Jazz is Dead. Guest: Brian Jackson. Keyboardist, flautist, singer, composer, and producer. Former music partner to Gil Scott-Heron. His new album is "Brian Jackson JID008." https://www.brianjackson.net/ https://jazzisdead.co/Brian-Jackson-JID008 https://twitter.com/brian__jackson Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

One year ago this month, a conflict broke out in Ethiopia when the TPLF -- the country's former ruling party -- attacked government forces in what it claimed was a preemptive strike. Thousands have been killed and millions have been displaced. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has accused the US of backing the TPLF to overthrow his government. Hermela Aregawi, an Ethiopian-American journalist of Tigrayan descent, argues that Western media has distorted the Ethiopian war in support of sanctions and regime change, at the cost of many lives. Guest: Hermela Aregawi. Independent journalist focusing on the conflict in Ethiopia. https://twitter.com/HermelaTV

Igor Danchenko, the main source for the Clinton-campaign funded Steele dossier, has been indicted for lying to the FBI. The indictment's revelations are humiliating for the influential political, media, and intelligence voices who promoted Steele as credible, and raise new questions about the FBI's handling of the Trump-Russia probe. Veteran journalist Barry Meier, author of "Spooked", and Aaron Maté discuss. Guest: Barry Meier. A veteran, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. His latest book is "Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies." https://www.barrymeierbooks.com/ Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate