Zafar Bangash is back from traveling the troubled region of Turkey, Iran, and Syria, and we find out what the news is in all of these crisis spots. But first, Phil talks to Ann Garrison about the hotly-disputed election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "This is an extreme situation," Garrison recounts, "It's a cliffhanger...The Congo is not going to be able to continue as it was."
While waiting for Zafar's interview, Phil Conlon reads a critical piece by Glenn Greenwald on "George Orwell and the Evil Iranian Menace." If America faced the same situation as Iran, experiencing sabotage, sanctions, and the occupation of its neighbours, they would view a drone overflight as an act of war. Yet Obama has asked Iran to return the drone. Greenwald has discovered that the operative word when dealing with Hillary Clinton and co. is "hypocrisy." Taylor explains that "once you become an empire, you lose your mind." Empires employ what is known as moral relativism, judging acts of others by different standards than their own.
Then, Zafar launches into a discussion about Turkey's internal politics and foreign policy, and the apparent inversion of its "zero problem" policy. Turkey committed a serious error when it assumed the rapid collapse of Syria.
Phil also refers to a brilliant website by Julian Tell, "The Humanitarian War," describing how "the basic principles of human rights can be bypassed" to promote humanitarian interventions.
www.laguerrehumanitaire.fr/english
Interview with Ann Garrison and Zafar Bangash
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