Biden’s Blindspot in Afghanistan, Trump’s Dangerous Promise & Bomb Threats on HBCU Campuses

In this episode, Alex discusses Trump’s dangerous speech in Texas where he encouraged extralegal actions to secure the election. Then he discusses George Packer’s scathing article with new revelations about Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Finally, he discusses some recent bomb threats at HBCUs across the United States. 

 

• In Texas, Trump told supporters at his rally that “If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly ... And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons." Alex discusses how by telling his supporters that he would pardon some of them, he basically is saying that anyone who commits violence for his bidding over the election or whatever it may be, will be protected if he is back in power. This is a worrying trend - when one side thinks that the other is existentially dangerous, they may have the rationale to throw out the democratic rule book.

 

• George Packer’s new article in The Atlantic discusses Biden’s moral blindspots in foreign policy involving both Vietnam and the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The article looks at the complete failure to properly get out of the country combat interpreters, embassy support staff, intelligence informants, and simply allies that had aided the United StatesThe alarming part is that many of these people had the proper visas to be evacuated out, but because of the chaotic situation in Kabul during the withdrawal, many were left behind. Biden seems to have a history of not supporting aid to allies after a military withdrawal and that may pose some questions about his leadership style. 

 

• To start off Black History Month, over twenty historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) received bomb threats that forced them to cancel classes on Tuesday. The FBI and Homeland Security are looking into these serious threats. Alex discusses how this escalating polarization and violence in the US may lead to domestic terrorism that usually impacts minorities and people of color.