pushback

US and UK escalate Russia war fever, but NATO splits over Ukraine emerge

The US and UK are ramping up threats to Russia over Ukraine with more weapons, sanctions, and evidence-free coup plot allegations. But not everyone is afflicted by DC’s war fever. Scholar Richard Sakwa discusses. 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 […]

US war lobby fuels conflict in Russia, Ukraine, and Syria: ex-Pentagon advisor

Col. Doug Macgregor, an ex-Pentagon advisor, on how the US war lobby fuels conflict from Ukraine to Syria. Washington, DC, he says, is “occupied territory. It’s occupied by corporations, by lobbies.” 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 […]

How the OPCW’s Syria probe censored science

New reports explore how the OPCW suppressed findings that undermined US-led allegations of a chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria in April 2018. 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 […]

War in Ukraine? NATO expansion drives conflict with Russia

Russia is seeking a legally binding pledge that NATO will stop expanding east, including to Ukraine. If the US refuses, is war next? Richard Sakwa joins Pushback. 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 […]

Ex CIA analyst on hidden realities of Syria war and new novel ‘Damascus Station’

Former CIA analyst David McCloskey, who covered Syria from 2008 to 2014, on the roots of Syria’s war, the US role, and his new novel set during the conflict’s early years, “Damascus Station.” As a CIA analyst, David McCloskey covered Syria from 2008 to 2014. He draws on his experience for his new spy thriller, “Damascus Station,” set during the early years of the Syrian war. David McCloskey joins Aaron Maté to discuss “Damascus Station”; the early years of the […]

CrowdStrike one of Russiagate’s ‘biggest culprits’: ex-House investigator

Former Congressional investigator Kash Patel, who helped expose the Steele dossier fraud, on the overlooked, suspicious role of another Clinton campaign contractor, CrowdStrike, which accused Russia of hacking the DNC. As a top investigator on the House Intelligence Committee, Kash Patel helped uncover the Clinton campaign’s funding of the Steele dossier and the FBI’s extensive and deceptive reliance on it. Patel joins Aaron Maté to discuss Steele’s new attempt to defend his discredited work via a softball interview with ABC […]

Inside the CIA plot to kidnap, kill Julian Assange

As the Biden administration continues to seek the extradition of Julian Assange, new details have emerged about the Trump administration’s secret CIA-led war against Assange and his organization, Wikileaks. Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News discusses on Pushback. Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News discusses his team’s reporting on the CIA plot to surveil, kidnap, and even kill Assange — all overseen by Michael Pompeo. In response, Pompeo has called for the prosecution of all the sources involved. The story builds on […]

Anti-war veterans explain how US lost Afghanistan while leaders lied, profited

Anti-war veterans Matthew Hoh and Danny Sjursen on the reality of the war in Afghanistan that was kept from the public. As the US establishment grapples with its defeat in Afghanistan, US veterans Matthew Hoh and Danny Sjursen explain how the war in Afghanistan was lost, Afghans suffered, and military contractors profited – all while the American public was kept in the dark. Guests Danny Sjursen: Retired US Army officer, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. He served […]

US suffocates Cuba for unwavering, victorious anti-imperialism at great cost

Cuba’s anti-imperial foreign policy helped end apartheid in South Africa and sustain liberation movements worldwide. Historian Piero Gleijeses says that’s one of the main reasons why the US has terrorized the island nation through today. Cuba’s anti-imperial foreign policy helped end apartheid in South Africa and sustain liberation movements worldwide. Historian Piero Gleijeses says that’s one of the main reasons why the US has terrorized the island nation through today.  Cuba’s anti-imperialist foreign policy helped end apartheid in South Africa […]

Syrian insurgents guilty of ‘red line’ 2013 sarin chemical attack, study finds

A new open-source study concludes that Syrian insurgents carried out the Ghouta sarin chemical attack in August 2013. The explosive findings add to a growing body of public evidence that undermines US-led efforts to blame the Syrian government, which almost led to US military intervention. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands were wounded when sarin rockets hit multiple sites in the Syria area of Ghouta on August 21, 2013. The US and its allies publicly accused the Syrian government […]