PRESS ROOM

Danny Sjursen appears on episode 7 of Independent Riot to discuss how we should conceptualize patriotism in an era of never-ending American warfare. He also provides a thorough explanation on the military-industrial complex.

"[H]ighly-classified signals intelligence from the National Security Agency and reports from the department of defence (DOD) and CIA... told a troubling story: one of corruption and discontent in the Malian military, a long-term beneficiary of US training and weapons that had recently sustained brutal losses to armed groups in the northern deserts.

A declassified defence department document from May 2019, obtained by arms trade watchdog Security Assistance Monitor, shows the US approved tens of millions of dollars in training, equipment and weapons for security forces across sub-saharan West Africa"

"Sunjeev Bery, the executive director of Freedom Forward, a group working to end US alliances with non-democracies, told Middle East Eye in January: “Businesses that partner with Saudi Arabia's dictatorship are enabling a brutal government that uses its power to smash the democratic aspirations of people both inside and outside of Saudi Arabia's borders.”"

Three of America’s biggest grocery chains are selling Brazilian beef produced by a controversial meat company which has been linked to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, an investigation by the Bureau has revealed.

“Costco and Walmart claim to care about sustainability, yet continue to sign contracts with JBS,” said Lucia von Reusner, senior campaign director of Mighty Earth.

“Supermarkets need to go beyond their sustainability rhetoric by setting strict requirements for their suppliers banning deforestation, monitoring their suppliers for compliance.”

"In the period of time since, Trump oversaw another massive arms deal with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as Egypt, another coalition partner. As part of what William Hartung, the director of the arms and security program at the Centre of International Policy called his “lame duck Middle East arms bonanza,” Trump authorized the sales of GBU-39 Small Diameter bombs, AH-64E Apache helicopters, THAAD Missile Defense systems, and other precision targeting equipment for drones. In their end of fiscal year reports recently, the State and Defense Departments revealed that the U.S. sold $175 billion in weapons to foreign partners in 2020, up 2.8% on 2019."

Danny talks to Scott about Biden’s early foreign policy moves—notably, announcing an end to all support for “offensive operations” in Yemen. It's positive news, but caution and further investigation are needed to avoid fine-print loopholes.

Danny Sjursen joins Matthew McKenna on Episode 37 of In the Context of Empire to speak about the confusing pattern of the United States being supportive of some uprisings, while seeking to crush others. They also discussed the wildly inconsistent reactions the United States has to various forms of terrorism.

February 9th marked the first time in nearly two decades that the U.S. military went one full year without a trooper killed in Afghanistan action. Now, with newly minted President Biden weighing his Afghan options – and under immense bipartisan insider pressure to stay-put or even ramp-up – a simple question leaps forth: Does Amtrak Joe really wish to be the guy to needlessly bury the streak along with some poor kid from Wilmington or Scranton?

Danny Sjursen speaks with RJ Eskow about the potential perils of applying wartime labels, language, and tactics here at home, empires in decline, and the way even Democratic administrations have used wartime rhetoric and alarmism to curtail civil liberties.

"“Supermarkets need to go beyond their sustainability rhetoric by setting strict requirements for their suppliers, banning deforestation, monitoring their suppliers for compliance, and dropping contracts with the worst offenders like JBS,” said Lucia von Reusner, senior campaign director of international campaign organisation Mighty Earth."

Only the Washington of 2021 is a different and – how’s that for saying something – more toxic, post-Trump town than it was a decade ago, and Biden’s now left the backroom for the bedazzled throne. He’ll be under immense pressure from the duopoly’s establishment wings to undo all things Trump, his own – more hawkish than he – interventionist national security advisers, and the usual military-industrial complex masters of the universe, to stay the Afghan course just little longer.

The Intercept labeled it a “dramatic policy shift.” And here’s hoping it’s that. Still, President Joe Biden’s announcement – during his first major foreign policy address — that he would end American support for Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led “offensive operations” in Yemen, needs more nuance.