Going Underground Hosted by Afshin Rattansi

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Kristinn Hrafnsson, Editor-in-Chief of WikiLeaks, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary recently. He discusses how Julian Assange is doing 2 years after he was freed, the state of press freedom globally with the assassinations of journalists in Gaza and why Julian chose to speak about Gaza after his release, the impact and legacy of WikiLeaks publishing the collateral murder video, how the Iraq War Logs helped end the Iraq War and how the Afghan War Diaries exposed the lies of NATO governments and the media, the CableGate revelations of 250,000 diplomatic diplomatic cables from around the world which showed how the US empire work, the revelations of the US spying on European officials and the UN Secretary General, the Vault 7 revelations which was the largest CIA leak in history, the significance of the DNC & Podesta email leaks, the censorship of RT in the European Union, the future of WikiLeaks, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction: Reykjavik Summit Anniversary and Nuclear Threats
(00:01:52) - Julian Assange's Current Status and Wellbeing
(00:03:07) - Press Freedom, Journalists Under Attack, Gaza Focus
(00:05:21) - WikiLeaks' 20-Year Legacy and Impact on Journalism
(00:08:21) - Collateral Murder Video: Origins and Investigation
(00:10:39) - Collateral Murder: Apache Crew Conduct and Civilian Deaths
(00:13:53) - Chelsea Manning, Reuters, and Media Complicity
(00:14:44) - Afghan War Diary and Iraq War Logs Revelations
(00:16:42) - Diplomatic Cables: Ukraine, Gaza, Syria Backstories
(00:19:10) - Cablegate's Impact on US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
(00:20:29) - Snowden Revelations and European Surveillance
(00:21:55) - Vault 7 Leak and CIA Retaliation Against Assange
(00:23:56) - Trump, Podesta Emails, and DNC Leaks
(00:25:24) - WikiLeaks Neutrality and RT Media Persecution
(00:27:51) - Closing Remarks and Upcoming Show

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Charles Finfrock, former CIA Senior Operations Officer and Founder & CEO of Vigilance. He discusses the supposed ‘foiled attack’ on RAF Finfrock, which has been blamed on Iran and whether it could have been a false flag. He debates Afshin Rattansi on the history of the CIA false flags and the Wikileaks Vault 7 leaks, Seymour Hersh’s report that the Ghouta 2013 chemical weapons attack was a false flag attack, whether the CIA was working with Al Qaeda in Syria to overthrow Bashar Al-Assad, the extent of the CIA’s role in the Maidan Coup in 2014, whether Israel started the war on Iran purposely to destroy the US’ presence in the Middle East and degrade the power of GCC countries, Iran’s nuclear programme and how close Tehran was to building a nuclear weapon, how isolated Iran is economically, the effectiveness of US sanctions, whether the CIA was involved in the Nord Stream pipeline attacks, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction and context
(00:02:10) - RAF Fairford/UK suspects incident analysis
(00:06:22) - CIA and historical false flag operations
(00:07:21) - Vault 7 leaks and cyber attribution
(00:08:44) - Syria sarin attack and CIA-Al Qaeda ties
(00:11:50) - Ukraine Maidan and CIA involvement allegations
(00:13:18) - Break
(00:13:30) - US bases destruction in the region
(00:15:47) - Iran's nuclear program and deterrence debate
(00:19:17) - Iran's economy, sanctions, and global alliances
(00:22:20) - Nord Stream pipeline and CIA speculation
(00:23:16) - NATO, US troop withdrawal, and European defense
(00:25:56) - Europe's economic struggles and Ukraine nuclear risk

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to former State Department & Defense Department official Matthew Hoh, who resigned over the Afghanistan war. He discusses the significance of the 20th anniversary of Julian Assange founding WikiLeaks, increasing censorship of journalism in the United States and NATO nations, the possibility of the US or Israel using nuclear weapons against Iran, Benjamin Netanyahu’s increasing political desperation, Pete Hegseth’s overhaul of the US military, why we don’t see more resignations from the US government over the US’ atrocities abroad, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction: WikiLeaks Anniversary and Context
(00:01:24) - Matthew Hoh's Tribute to Assange and WikiLeaks' Legacy
(00:04:22) - Censorship, Media Consolidation and Rising State Repression
(00:07:59) - Why No Mass Protests Despite War on Iran
(00:09:52) - Public Fatigue, Economic Pressure and Suppression Tactics
(00:13:17) - Break
(00:13:35) - Nuclear Weapons Risk and Netanyahu's Political Desperation
(00:17:27) - State Department Loyalty and Lack of Dissent
(00:21:18) - Military Resignations and Pentagon Power Struggles
(00:23:24) - Nuremberg Legacy, Obedience, and Closing Remarks

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Vice Admiral Robert Harward, former Deputy Commander of US CENTCOM and Executive Vice President of Shield AI. Afshin Rattansi challenges him on his support for the US regime change war on Iran, Iran’s de facto alliance with the US against ISIS & Al Qaeda, the economic cost of the war on Iran at $2 billion a day for Americans, the level of the Iranian threat against the United States before the war on Iran began, the fate of the US’ bases in the GCC after the war on Iran ends, the US’ sanctions on Iran and the 38 million deaths caused by US sanctions up until 2021, the state of the Russia-NATO proxy war in Ukraine and Kiev being unable to ‘win’ the war, Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries fuelling the global energy crisis, the Maidan Coup and the NATO provocations that caused Russia’s invasion in 2022, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Intro: State of the region after Iran war
(00:01:28) - National security adviser question and multi-front strategy
(00:03:00) - History of Iran-US relations since 1979
(00:06:33) - Cold War alliances and Soleimani contacts
(00:09:58) - Prioritizing the Middle East vs China
(00:11:47) - Would Harward have stopped the Iran war?
(00:14:00) - Assessing Rubio and the Iran threat debate
(00:16:45) - Retaliation, US bases, and threat justification
(00:18:58) - Sanctions, history of chemical weapons, and blame
(00:20:18) - Drone warfare in Ukraine and Kiev strategy
(00:23:15) - Ukraine, NATO expansion, and Putin's motives
(00:25:48) - Israel, GCC, and closing remarks

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Joe Kent, former Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, who resigned from the Trump Administration after the US-Israeli war on Iran was launched. He discusses the effects of the war on Iran domestically in the United States and how Israel marched the US to war on Iran, who the individual access points are for the Israel lobby in the Trump Administration, what was behind Israel’s calculation to assassinate Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war to keep Trump stuck in the Iran War, why Donald Trump has decided not to aid Saudi Arabia militarily in the campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, the association of Nicolas Maduro with Tren de Aragua—the pretext for regime change in Venezuela, why nothing has been done about the perpetrators about the Russiagate hoax, the ongoing cover-up of 9/11, the anniversary of the Nordstream attacks and whether the US was behind the attack, why no one resigned from the Biden Administration over the Gaza genocide, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and much more.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Intro: Nord Stream Anniversary and Global Context
(00:00:53) - Introducing Joe Kent and His Resignation
(00:03:16) - The Israel Lobby's Influence on Trump
(00:05:55) - Killing the Supreme Leader and Locking In War
(00:07:15) - Trump's Restraint on Yemen and the Houthis
(00:09:40) - Signal Gate Leak and Yemen Terrain Challenges
(00:11:19) - Financial Fallout of Middle East Wars
(00:13:25) - Break
(00:13:40) - Venezuela, Tren de Aragua, and Intelligence Politics
(00:17:30) - Russiagate and Trust in the Intelligence Community
(00:19:28) - 9/11 Secrets and Al Qaeda/ISIS Questions
(00:22:05) - Nord Stream Suspicions and Gaza Genocide Silence
(00:24:59) - Charlie Kirk Assassination Investigation Doubts
(00:27:14) - Closing Remarks and Next Episode Preview