Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael
Society & Culture
On this edition of Parallax Views, Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, returns to discuss the rumblings about a potential Turkish ground operation in northern Syria. Is Turkey invading northeast Syria about to happen? Also how will the U.S. likely respond if it does? What should be made of U.S. response to the recent Turkish strikes in Syria and the possibility of a Turkish ground offensive there? Among the topics discussed in this conversation:
- The perspective from Ankara, the capital of Turkey, in relation to Syria
- Overview of the tumult in Syria since the 2011 uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the Ba'athist government in Damascus; the Syrian Civil War; the rise of the Islamic State;
- Why did the overthrow of Assad not happen?; how has Assad managed to hold onto power?
- The Kurds, the YGP (People's Defense Units), and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party); the U.S. relationship with the YGP and operations against ISIS
- U.S. shifting focuses in regards to Syria over the years; U.S. military presence in Syria
- Turkish foreign policy concerns and interests; the ambitious nature of Turkey's foreign policy goals in regards to the Arab world; Turkey and geopolitics, Erdogan; the upcoming Turkish elections
- Russia and Iran in Syria and the effect of the Ukraine/Russia War on U.S. foreign policy concerns
- The effect of ISIS and jihadist terrorism on the region; allegations of different state actors supporting ISIS
- Iran and the protest movement there
- Risks for Turkey if a ground offensive happens
- Turkey as an ally to the U.S. and why this may keep the U.S. from taking strong action (beyond condemnatory statements from public officials) against Turkey's current posturing on Syria
- Turkey views YPG as linked with PKK and as a security threat
- No love lost between Erdogan and Assad; if there is a reconciliation it won't be rosy but rather pragmatic and interests-based
- Sunni Islamism, the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt, Tunisia, and shifts in Turkish foreign policy
- Turkey and relationship resets in the Arab world; Turkey and the economy; Turkish business and commercial ties in the Arab world and specifically the Gulf States
- U.S. says it's opposed to a Turkish invasion, but when push comes to shove Giorgio believes the U.S. won't do much against Turkey
- U.S.-Turkey tensions before the Ukraine conflict, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Turkey role in the Ukraine/Russia conflict
- What are Washington's concerns when it comes to a Turkish military campaign in northern Syria?; fear that ISIS could be a beneficiary of a ground offensive; the view from Moscow as also being afraid of the consequences of a Turkish ground operation
- Kurdish separatism and fears from Iraq, Iran, and Turkey of a Kurdish state forming
- Historic tensions between Turkey and the Kurds; repression of Kurds in Turkey
- Where is the Turkey/Syria situation headed from here?
- And much, much more
Pro-Israel & Right-Wing Groups Accused of Collaborating to Stifle Academic Freedom: The Case of Dr. Lara Sheehi w/ Dr. Lara Sheehi
The Russian Far-Right and the Neo-Nazi Attack in Bryansk w/ Dr. Marlene Laurelle
Birds of Prey: Hitler’s Luftwaffe, Ordinary Soldiers, and the Holocaust in Poland w/ Philip W. Blood
Silicon Valley Bank and the Economy w/ Mike Swanson/Corporate Media, Big Tech, and Project Censored’s State of the Free Press 2023 w/ Mickey Huff
Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, & Human Rights w/ Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied Since 1967
Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich Calls for ”Wiping Out” Palestinian Village of Huwara w/ Estee Chandler of Jewish Voice for Peace
John Quincy Adams and American Foreign Policy w/ David C. Hendrickson
The Russian Antiwar Movement and the Crackdowns Against It w/ Ilya Budtraitskis
Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19’s Health Lessons for the World w/ Dr. Stephen Bezruchka
Team Jorge: The Israeli Private Contractors Involved in Global Election Meddling Ops w/ Dr. Emma L. Briant
Rampage in Huwara: Israeli Settler Violence in Palestine’s West Bank w/ Richard Silverstein
Secret Power: Wikileaks and Its Enemies w/ Stefania Maurizi
Private Military Contractors and The Rise & Fall of the Mozart Group w/ David Isenberg
Sympathy for the Raging Boll: Re-Evaluating Filmmaker Uwe Boll, from the German QAnon Shooter Docudrama HANAU to the Columbine-Inspired HEART OF AMERICA w/ Uwe Boll
Your Waking Nightmare: Exploring the UFO Through the Lens of Horror and Techno-Realism w/ David Metcalfe
Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America w/ Joshua Frank/U.S. Foreign Policy & Nuclear Weapons Delivery Systems w/ Yint Hmu
Lula Goes to Washington: What Lies Ahead for U.S.-Brazil Relations, Lula’s Foreign Policy, & the Recent Lula/Biden Meeting w/ Andre Pagliarini
The Chinese Spy Balloon Incident & U.S.-China Relations w/ Mel Gurtov
The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis w/ Jared Yates Sexton
The American Surviellance State: How the U.S. Spies on Dissent w/ David H. Price
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL