#1330 Facing an Irrational Foe (Trump escalates tension with Iran)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2020
⏱️ 77 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date 1/22/2020
Today we take a look at the history of US tensions with Iran and the reality that it has been the irrationality of multiple Republican administrations working hand-in-glove with the far-right government of Israel that has thwarted any chance of peace.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: The US and Iran: A Brief History with Hussein Banai - BackStory - Air Date 1-10-20
BackStory delves into the long history between Iran and the US following the assassination of Soleimani.
Ch. 2: America Exists To Make War with Lawrence Wilkerson - Democracy Now - Air Date 1-13-20
Amy Goodman talks with Lawrence Wilkerson about the endless war machine of US imperialism in Iran.
Ch. 3: Iran with Mehdi Hasan Part 1 - Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill - Air Date 1-14-20
Jeremy Scahill hosts a discussion about the state of Iran and what the US has done.
Amy Goodman and Sarges Bajoghli discuss the consequences of the assassination of Soleimani.
Ch. 5: Hurtling Toward Catastrophe with Nathan Robinson - On the Media - Air Date 1-10-20
Experts discuss the Iran situation and how we got to the brink of war.
Jeremy Scahill hosts a discussion about the state of Iran and what the US has done.
Ch. 7: Danny Sjursen on Iran and War - The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow - Air Date 1-11-20
RJ Eskow talks with Danny Sjursen about Iran and how the military approaches Trump.
Ch. 8: US and Iran with Mohammad Marandi - Unauthorized Disclosure - Air Date 1-12-20
Iran's reaction to the US assassinating their top General was quite restrained.
Ch. 9: No War With Iran Jan. 25th International Day of Action via @CODEPINK - Best of the Left Activism
Take action! Click the title and/or scroll down for quick links and resources from this segment.
Ch. 10: Iran with Mehdi Hasan Part 2 - Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill - Air Date 1-14-20
Jeremy Scahill hosts a discussion about the state of Iran and what the US has done.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 11: We need more and better candidates - Dave from Olympia, WA
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 12: Final comments on the dynamics of presidential candidates including “bench” and “wave” candidates
TAKE ACTION!
Find a Jan. 25th "No War With Iran" International Day of Action rally near you
Tell your members of Congress to support the Senate War Powers Resolution
EDUCATE YOURSELF & SHARE
Why Iran's Qassem Soleimani was on a not-so-secret trip to Iraq when he was assassinated (Business Insider)
Trump authorized Soleimani's killing 7 months ago, with conditions (NBC News)
Trump’s team insists Soleimani was an “imminent” threat. Just don’t ask for details. (Vox)
Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of Left Podcasts in which we shall |
| 0:06.9 | learn about the history of U.S. tensions with Iran and the reality that it's been the |
| 0:11.3 | irrationality of multiple Republican administrations, working hand in glove with the far-right |
| 0:16.8 | government of Israel that has thwarted any chance of peace. |
| 0:20.8 | Clips day come from backstory, democracy now, intercepted, on the media, the zero hour, |
| 0:27.1 | and unauthorized disclosure. |
| 0:35.2 | Well, the 1980s were dominated by the war between Iran and Iraq, an incredibly bloody and |
| 0:44.0 | long war. |
| 0:46.5 | The United States took Iraq's side in that war. |
| 0:50.5 | Why is that? |
| 0:52.0 | This is a complex story because although the United States initially took the side of Iraq, |
| 0:58.4 | its official policy would evolve to become the support of the war of attrition between |
| 1:04.3 | Iran and Iraq so that both of them will be left weakened at the end of this ordeal. |
| 1:09.9 | But initially, the United States took the side of Iraq because Iraq's invasion of Iran |
| 1:15.9 | took place smack in the middle of the hostage crisis. |
| 1:18.6 | Saddam invaded Iran from its south-eastern borders on September 22, 1980. |
| 1:27.4 | But in subsequent interviews that I personally have done and the oral history project that |
| 1:32.8 | we co-conveased in 2007, we've come to understand that the United States not only knew about |
| 1:39.9 | this invasion ahead of time, but in fact, greenlighted Saddam's advancements into Iranian |
| 1:45.5 | territory and even shared intelligence with the Iraqi military at this point. |
| 1:51.7 | And the reason they did this was because they wanted to pressure Hamanie into submission |
| 1:57.0 | by first releasing the hostages. |
... |
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