On this week’s episode Christoph Germann and I cover three major flash points in Central Asia and the Caucasus region: We start by examining some of the recent developments in Afghanistan, beginning with the surge in opium cultivation and heroin production. We discuss how this was always one of the main goals of the NATO-led invasion and how integral opium is to black operations such as Gladio B. Next we take a look at a story which received almost no coverage in the mainstream media, the “invasion” of Afghanistan by neighboring Turkmenistan. We look at why the Turkmen government decided to send in troops to the Faryab region of Afghanistan and what this means for the future of the nation, as well as the proposed TAPI natural gas pipeline. We then explore the reality of the so-called “withdrawal” of US and NATO troops from the war-ravaged country. Christoph explains why there is no actual withdrawal, given the thousands upon thousands of remaining military contractors, a massive embassy and Obama’s’ quiet expansion of the US mission with each passing day. We end the Afghanistan segment by taking a look at China’s increased involvement in the nation. We look at the Chinese proposal to restart peace talks with the Taliban, and explore the notion that they could sway the Pakistanis to ease up their support for Taliban factions.
For our next segment we move to Kyrgyzstan and first take a look at that nation’s warm relations with Russia. Christoph explains what the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union is, and why the Kyrgyz government has decided to join in. Later we discuss recent actions the Kyrgyz government has taken against various western-funded NGO’s, including Freedom House and the George Soros-funded Advocacy Center for Human Rights. Christoph explains why Kyrgyzstan is quite worried about these NGO’s “promoting democracy” in a country that saw two recent color revolutions orchestrated by western NGO’s. We finish off by looking at Soros’ recent visit to the nation, as well as allegations that the State Department’s Tech Camp event could be a prelude to a Maidan-style “revolution.”
Our third segment takes a critical look at the recent firing of Georgian Defense minster Irakli Alasania, and at how this is being framed as some sort of reversal of Georgia’s pro-NATO Euro-Atlantic choice by Alasania, while the current regime is doing all it can to integrate faster into the NATO sphere. Christoph and I discuss what this could mean for the future of the NATO-controlled nation, especially with the upcoming 2016 elections in Georgia. We also look at billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanashvili and his control of Georgian politics. We finish off the podcast by taking a look at the recent “killing” of infamous terrorist Samantha Lewthwaite in Eastern Ukraine and Tarkhan Batirashvili in Syria. We both offer our perspectives on what the FSB and Russia may be trying to say with these announced killings, and explain why neither of these figures is actually dead.
This week I am joined once again by Tom Secker and Jon Ryman for a roundtable discussion about white female terrorists. We take a look at how white female terrorists have been portrayed in Hollywood movies and TV shows, and examine how these cartoonish representations mimic real life white female terrorists. We, of course, take a look at one of our favorite white female terrorists, Samantha Lewthwaite, as well as the less known, but equally important, “Jihad Jane.” We discuss the celebrity status of the white female terrorist in Western society, and how this meme really represents the coming together of several different aspects of the war on terror. We also speak more broadly about the ever-evolving synthetic War on Terror and how all these pieces fit together.
This week’s episode was a long time in the making, but it is one that I am especially proud of. I had on Tom Secker and Jon Ryman to discuss Jon’s superb film White Widow- The Samantha Lewthwaite Conspiracy. I would encourage everyone to go and watch the film first, as there is so much detail that Jon goes into. The three of us discuss the origins of Samatha Lewthwaite; from her birth in Northern Ireland during the troubles, to her “conversion” to Islam and subsequent betrothal to 7/7 bomber Germain Lindsay, and later to her supposed place of importance with in Al Shabab in Somalia. We explore the notion that Lewthawaite may not have ever been in Kenya, one of her alleged bases of operations, and instead may be part of a much larger and complex intelligence operations. We also discuss the Westgate shopping mall attack and how Lewthawaite was erroneously connected to it, as well as the geopolitical implications of the recent uptick in violence in Kenya and the African continent in general. We round of the conversation with a look at how the War on Terror has blurred fiction and reality. This is another long podcast that deals with a subject that is little understood and deserves more attention.
This week we are joined once again by our good friend Tom Secker to discuss one of Tom’s favorite movies, the black comedy Four Lions, which revolves around of group of young men living in Sheffield England who decide to become suicide bombers . If you have not seen the film, then please go to the show notes and click on the link and watch it. It will blow you away and will make this conversation much more enjoyable. Tom and I discuss the way the film deconstructs many of the familiar terrorism memes and cliches, and presents us with a side that we never, ever see. We explore the many similarities between Four Lions and the 7/7 terror attacks, including the notion that the whole movie may be revolving around an MI5 operation. We round off the conversation by looking at how this film humanizes people whom we would generally write off as fanatical murders.
Our good friend Tom Secker recently emailed me about a new report put out by the NYPD on the Westgate Mall attack. The report is entirely open source intelligence and paints a picture eerily similar to what we talked about on ClandesTime as well as my own podcast. Here are just a few snippets that I found particularly interesting:
-Allegedly there were only 4 Al Shabab militants in the mall
-They left a full two days earlier than what the Kenyan authorities reported
-Most of the confrontation was between various different sets of Kenyan security services chasing each other around the mall
-The numerous plain clothes police present at the attack were only armed with pistols and one clip of ammunition.
-The plain clothes police had no identification or markings on them that would have identified them as police. This made it very difficult for Kenyan military to tell them apart from Al Shabab militants
-There were in fact several westerners and private citizens in the mall who were armed and assisted the Kenyan security services
–There is no proof that Samantha Lewthwaite a.k.a. The White Widow was present at the mall
There is much more in this report so I would suggest that you take some time and go through it.
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