On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Vice Admiral Robert Harward, former Deputy Commander of US CENTCOM and Executive Vice President of Shield AI. Afshin Rattansi challenges him on his support for the US regime change war on Iran, Iran’s de facto alliance with the US against ISIS & Al Qaeda, the economic cost of the war on Iran at $2 billion a day for Americans, the level of the Iranian threat against the United States before the war on Iran began, the fate of the US’ bases in the GCC after the war on Iran ends, the US’ sanctions on Iran and the 38 million deaths caused by US sanctions up until 2021, the state of the Russia-NATO proxy war in Ukraine and Kiev being unable to ‘win’ the war, Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries fuelling the global energy crisis, the Maidan Coup and the NATO provocations that caused Russia’s invasion in 2022, and much more.

• (00:00:00) - Intro: State of the region after Iran war
• (00:01:28) - National security adviser question and multi-front strategy
• (00:03:00) - History of Iran-US relations since 1979
• (00:06:33) - Cold War alliances and Soleimani contacts
• (00:09:58) - Prioritizing the Middle East vs China
• (00:11:47) - Would Harward have stopped the Iran war?
• (00:14:00) - Assessing Rubio and the Iran threat debate
• (00:16:45) - Retaliation, US bases, and threat justification
• (00:18:58) - Sanctions, history of chemical weapons, and blame
• (00:20:18) - Drone warfare in Ukraine and Kiev strategy
• (00:23:15) - Ukraine, NATO expansion, and Putin's motives
• (00:25:48) - Israel, GCC, and closing remarks

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to former State Department & Defense Department official Matthew Hoh, who resigned over the Afghanistan war. He discusses the significance of the 20th anniversary of Julian Assange founding WikiLeaks, increasing censorship of journalism in the United States and NATO nations, the possibility of the US or Israel using nuclear weapons against Iran, Benjamin Netanyahu’s increasing political desperation, Pete Hegseth’s overhaul of the US military, why we don’t see more resignations from the US government over the US’ atrocities abroad, and much more.

• (00:00:00) - Introduction: WikiLeaks Anniversary and Context
• (00:01:24) - Matthew Hoh's Tribute to Assange and WikiLeaks' Legacy
• (00:04:22) - Censorship, Media Consolidation and Rising State Repression
• (00:07:59) - Why No Mass Protests Despite War on Iran
• (00:09:52) - Public Fatigue, Economic Pressure and Suppression Tactics
• (00:13:17) - Break
• (00:13:35) - Nuclear Weapons Risk and Netanyahu's Political Desperation
• (00:17:27) - State Department Loyalty and Lack of Dissent
• (00:21:18) - Military Resignations and Pentagon Power Struggles
• (00:23:24) - Nuremberg Legacy, Obedience, and Closing Remarks

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Charles Finfrock, former CIA Senior Operations Officer and Founder & CEO of Vigilance. He discusses the supposed ‘foiled attack’ on RAF Finfrock, which has been blamed on Iran and whether it could have been a false flag. He debates Afshin Rattansi on the history of the CIA false flags and the Wikileaks Vault 7 leaks, Seymour Hersh’s report that the Ghouta 2013 chemical weapons attack was a false flag attack, whether the CIA was working with Al Qaeda in Syria to overthrow Bashar Al-Assad, the extent of the CIA’s role in the Maidan Coup in 2014, whether Israel started the war on Iran purposely to destroy the US’ presence in the Middle East and degrade the power of GCC countries, Iran’s nuclear programme and how close Tehran was to building a nuclear weapon, how isolated Iran is economically, the effectiveness of US sanctions, whether the CIA was involved in the Nord Stream pipeline attacks, and much more.

• (00:00:00) - Introduction and context
• (00:02:10) - RAF Fairford/UK suspects incident analysis
• (00:06:22) - CIA and historical false flag operations
• (00:07:21) - Vault 7 leaks and cyber attribution
• (00:08:44) - Syria sarin attack and CIA-Al Qaeda ties
• (00:11:50) - Ukraine Maidan and CIA involvement allegations
• (00:13:18) - Break
• (00:13:30) - US bases destruction in the region
• (00:15:47) - Iran's nuclear program and deterrence debate
• (00:19:17) - Iran's economy, sanctions, and global alliances
• (00:22:20) - Nord Stream pipeline and CIA speculation
• (00:23:16) - NATO, US troop withdrawal, and European defense
• (00:25:56) - Europe's economic struggles and Ukraine nuclear risk

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Kristinn Hrafnsson, Editor-in-Chief of WikiLeaks, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary recently. He discusses how Julian Assange is doing 2 years after he was freed, the state of press freedom globally with the assassinations of journalists in Gaza and why Julian chose to speak about Gaza after his release, the impact and legacy of WikiLeaks publishing the collateral murder video, how the Iraq War Logs helped end the Iraq War and how the Afghan War Diaries exposed the lies of NATO governments and the media, the CableGate revelations of 250,000 diplomatic diplomatic cables from around the world which showed how the US empire work, the revelations of the US spying on European officials and the UN Secretary General, the Vault 7 revelations which was the largest CIA leak in history, the significance of the DNC & Podesta email leaks, the censorship of RT in the European Union, the future of WikiLeaks, and much more.

• (00:00:00) - Introduction: Reykjavik Summit Anniversary and Nuclear Threats
• (00:01:52) - Julian Assange's Current Status and Wellbeing
• (00:03:07) - Press Freedom, Journalists Under Attack, Gaza Focus
• (00:05:21) - WikiLeaks' 20-Year Legacy and Impact on Journalism
• (00:08:21) - Collateral Murder Video: Origins and Investigation
• (00:10:39) - Collateral Murder: Apache Crew Conduct and Civilian Deaths
• (00:13:53) - Chelsea Manning, Reuters, and Media Complicity
• (00:14:44) - Afghan War Diary and Iraq War Logs Revelations
• (00:16:42) - Diplomatic Cables: Ukraine, Gaza, Syria Backstories
• (00:19:10) - Cablegate's Impact on US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
• (00:20:29) - Snowden Revelations and European Surveillance
• (00:21:55) - Vault 7 Leak and CIA Retaliation Against Assange
• (00:23:56) - Trump, Podesta Emails, and DNC Leaks
• (00:25:24) - WikiLeaks Neutrality and RT Media Persecution
• (00:27:51) - Closing Remarks and Upcoming Show

• (00:00:11) - Introduction: Warsaw Security Forum and UN Anniversary
• (00:01:34) - Roots of the Ukraine War and NATO Enlargement
• (00:04:29) - Exit Ramps for Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran Conflicts
• (00:08:06) - UN Paralysis and US Disregard for International Law
• (00:09:04) - Trump, Putin and the Anchorage Meeting
• (00:11:56) - European Incompetence and Fear of Nuclear War
• (00:14:18) - Break
• (00:14:36) - Jake Sullivan Conversation and NATO's 'Open Door' Myth
• (00:18:29) - Western Officials' Rhetoric and Incompetence
• (00:20:47) - Current US-NATO Envoys and Risks of Escalation
• (00:23:41) - Media Complicity and Propaganda on the War
• (00:25:26) - Iran's Existential War and Closing Remarks

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Robert Pape, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Founder of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. He discusses the rise of violent populism in the United States and Americans increasingly turning on each other, the legacy media’s deliberate omission of facts that he has found about the new middle and upper class of violent populists in the United States, why Trump’s political survival is at risk because of the war on Iran, the Iran war escalation trap that has resulted in the war expand to Saudi Arabia & Yemen, Trump’s plan for escalation against Iran, why the odds of the use of a nuclear weapon against Iran have doubled, the normalisation of political violence in the United States and the impacts it will have both at home and abroad, what could cause a mutiny in the US Armed Forces, how skyrocketing economic inequality is causing the normalisation of political violence, and much more.

• (00:00:00) - Introduction and Gaddafi Anniversary Context
• (00:00:53) - Introducing Professor Robert Pape and His Book
• (00:01:57) - Violent Populism in America Explained
• (00:03:18) - Class Profile of Jan 6 Perpetrators
• (00:04:41) - Media Distortion of Political Violence Data
• (00:06:27) - Wealth Inequality Driving Violent Populism
• (00:07:27) - Media Responsibility and Social Media's Role
• (00:08:29) - The Escalation Trap and Trump's Iran War
• (00:10:28) - Spread of War to Saudi Arabia and Yemen
• (00:12:36) - Nuclear Weapon Risk Assessment
• (00:14:18) - Break
• (00:14:33) - Domestic Unpopularity of the Iran War
• (00:16:03) - Normalization of Political Violence
• (00:18:44) - Military Mutiny Risk and Insurrection Act
• (00:19:48) - Trump's Address to Flag Officers
• (00:21:45) - Legitimacy Shock Cycles and Normalization
• (00:23:14) - Multiple Fronts: War, Economy, and Elections
• (00:25:09) - The 70% Solution and No Kings Protests
• (00:27:49) - Closing Remarks and Show Sign-off

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to John Perkins, former economic hitman and Author of The Art of the Steal: Trump & The Economic Hit Man Presidency. He discusses the US’ move to oligarchy and Trump’s acceleration of the shift, why he feels ashamed to be an American, the IMF & World Bank’s GDP predictions and why GDP is only a measure of how the wealthy are doing, why unity is very important for African and Latin American countries, why the US made the enormous strategic mistake of attacking Iran, why the war on Iran could be Donald Trump’s downfall, the nature of Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin, why leaders of countries continue to take hated IMF & World Bank loans, China’s strategy of sitting on the sidelines while the US makes catastrophic mistakes, and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Steve Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University. He discusses the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates by 25 basis points last Wednesday, the real reason behind the US bond market being in a slump and why inflation will be around for a while, why he recommends private investors to stay away from the US bond market, why Donald Trump has no good options to escape the current inflation and bond market crisis, the war on Iran’s impact on the US government’s budget deficit, increased energy prices in the US being a ‘war tax’ on the American people, and how Donald Trump has put oxygen into the BRICS thanks to his actions, and why Xi Jinping holds all the cards against the United States.

Prof. Hanke and Afshin Rattansi also debate the legacy of Hugo Chavez’ Bolivarian Revolution, with Hanke calling Chavez an economic disaster for Venezuela and calling for the adoption of the dollar for Venezuela, while Afshin Rattansi points out the achievements of Chavez in improving the lives of ordinary Venezuelans.

• (00:00:00) - Introduction and geopolitical overview
• (00:01:35) - Fed rate hike and impact on world
• (00:03:26) - Money supply, Divisia M4 and inflation risks
• (00:05:29) - Bond market manipulation by Treasury
• (00:07:29) - Divisia data, Iran war and money supply link
• (00:10:02) - War costs, deficits and inflation tax
• (00:12:03) - Debate on interest rates vs. war as inflation cause
• (00:13:13) - Oil chokepoints and Saudi production decline
• (00:13:58) - Break
• (00:14:16) - War tax impact on truck drivers and farmers
• (00:15:29) - Environmental costs of war and GDP accounting
• (00:17:48) - Trump's strategy and BRICS dynamics
• (00:19:33) - BRICS communique and Iran war rhetoric
• (00:21:27) - Venezuela dollarization plan and debate over Chavez
• (00:24:53) - China, Xi Jinping meeting and global pivot
• (00:26:40) - Closing remarks