Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté

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This week, a big development for the proxy war in Ukraine: CIA Chief John Ratcliffe made a surprise visit to Moscow, and depending on which corporate outlet you read, the reason for the trip is confusing.
The Wall Street Journal says Ratcliffe went to issue a warning to the Russians, (‘Don’t you dare attack NATO.’) But the New York Times reported that Racliffe was merely sharing some friendly advice that the war isn’t going well for Russia and they should end it before it widens further. Either way, the CIA in Moscow, nearly five years into the war, surely means something is about to happen.
To help sort out the confusion, we are joined by Richard Sakwa, author and Professor Emeritus at the University of Kent, who specializes in Russian and European Politics. He explains that, while Russia has dominated the war so far, time is actually not on their side.
Useful Idiots: This war has been going on for a long time, and the longer it drags on, the bigger the risk that it widens beyond Russia and Ukraine.Richard Sakwa: That’s precisely the argument of the hardliners, the hawks in Russia, who basically say that time is not on Russia’s side in the sense that the West is in a vanguard of crossing all of Russia’s red lines.Putin himself also added to the warnings that Ukraine and the West are opening a Pandora’s box. It wasn’t quite clear yet what is in that box.In response, [UK Prime Minister] Burnham himself then said, ‘Well, you started the fire.’ Now that shows an extraordinary intellectual and conceptual myopia that the West has been locked into since the beginning of this conflict. They simply cannot understand the underlying logic of this conflict, as if Putin woke up one fine morning in February and attacked Ukraine in his mad zeal to re-establish the Soviet Empire if not the Russian EmpireSo it’s just an entrenched a position. And of course, this raises, as you suggest, that if Russia does not respond, then it is a sign of weakness.00:00 Intro
01:47 Dana Bash MELTS DOWN over Hasan Piker comments
06:24 Caught on tape: showing when Dana Bash said that EXACT THING to Netanyahu
07:41 Professor Richard Sakwa interview
08:22 Why is the CIA in Moscow?
15:31 Who really wants the war to expand?
25:31 The West is crossing Russia's Red Lines
30:43 Boris Johnson admits it again
39:10 Zelensky knew ALL ALONG

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On this week’s show we find out that when you launch an unprovoked regime-change war against a big country like Iran, it turns out that not only is it a bad idea militarily, but it might also tank your economy.
The US debt just hit a record-setting $40 trillion, rising $3.6 trillion in the last twelve months alone. That high mark being more than double what it was in 2016. Check out the graph:

More damning evidence for the 1971 theory
With a ballooning military budget for Pete Hegseth’s flailing Department of War and a strangled oil market from Iran’s continued control over the Strait of Hormuz, the US and global economies have been sent reeling.
Our guest, Middle East analyst Sharmine Narwani, explains why Iran’s surprise military strength has shocked both US commanders and economists, and gives her prediction that comes out quite bleak for the future of American interests on a global scale:
“Major financial institutions around the world are talking about the US potentially losing its position, and the dollar losing its position as a global reserve currency. When that happens, the house of cards falls apart.You cannot finance wars. Nobody wants the dollar. Nobody’s stocking it.You can’t hold other countries to anything if they’re trading in other currencies. If it doesn’t go through New York, you don’t have eyes on things anymore. You lose control.”

00:00 Intro
00:53 Three questions about Hasan Piker
5:00 MS Now tries to get Angie Nixon to ditch the DSA
07:03 Bakari Sellers ADMITS Dems will help Republicans over progressives
07:35 Sharmine Narwani interview
08:27 Refuting Stephen Miller
20:12 US debt hits $40 trillion
23:55 Is Iran a theocracy?
45:08 American power is about to take a huge hit

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This week, returning guest Sina Toossi joins us to check in on Trump’s regime change war on Iran: Trump is pausing the bombing campaign in an attempt to walk away from the war after realizing the total disaster it is for the US, falsely claiming that he controls the Strait of Hormuz, hoping that will let him save face and hide back home.
Now, he’s reverting to traditional neocon policy of suffocating Iran from afar, crippling Iran’s economy through murderous sanctions and hoping it submits.
Sina Toossi: It’s a strategic catastrophe for America as the global empire. This war has shown America to be weaker than countries around the world thought. And this is very significant in geopolitical calculations and alliance building and countries that depend on the US to provide for their security or to be in the US block.The US war machine is not necessarily all it was made out to be despite the trillion dollar military budget. Iran was a mid-tier power that held its own and was able to inflict all these costs and destroyed a lot of US bases in the region.Hear Sina Toossi’s full analysis of the US strategy in Iran and subscribe to hear our full interview with Michael Lange on Abdul El-Sayed, Zohran Mamdani, Francesca Hong, and the battle between liberal Democrats and progressives.
00:00 Intro
01:12 Bill O'Reilly wants bombs so bad
03:50 Oracle admits their "scary tech" kills Palestinians
06:34 Sina Toossi interview
12:42 Iran is closing in on the US
24:51 Iran's OTHER negotiations
35:27 US shows weakness on the global stage
40:38 Michael Lange interview
46:34 What Francesca Hong's loss means for progressives
57:16 Dems and Progressives go to WAR

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