On July 14, people from different districts of Iraq gathered in Baghdad to protest against the United States’ interference in the country’s internal affairs as well as in Baghdad’s relationship with its neighboring countries.
Iraqis Hold Anti-US Rally In Baghdad
Tag: Shia Islam
5/11/23 Joziah Thayer on AQAP’s Standing in Yemen
Joziah Thayer joins to show to discuss some of the work he’s done digging into the many factions and groups within Yemen and the foreign powers working to pull their strings. Scott and Thayer drill in on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, and explore how the group’s standing in Yemen has changed and how the country is likely to evolve going forward.
Discussed on the show:
The CIA, AQAP, and the Never-Ending Excuse to Bomb Yemen
How the IMF & World Bank Destroyed Yemen
5/11/23 Joziah Thayer on AQAP’s Standing in Yemen
Catherine Perez-Shakdam: The “Israeli Spy” Who “Infiltrated” MintPress
A storm of controversy erupted earlier this year in Iran, after local media outlets announced that a “Mossad spy” and “Israeli infiltrator” had gained the trust of the country’s senior leadership, penetrated into the highest halls of power, and had even been employed as a writer for Ayatollah Khamenei himself.
Catherine Perez-Shakdam: The “Israeli Spy” Who “Infiltrated” MintPress
US accused over huge ‘covert pro-Western’ digital campaign targeting Middle East
Dozens of social media accounts operating for years in an attempt to influence people in the Middle East and Asia have been shut down. Now a major new study believes the US is likely behind it
US accused over huge ‘covert pro-Western’ digital campaign targeting Middle East
Related:
CONOPs
Evaluating Five Years of Pro-Western Covert Influence Operations
The US government got caught using sock puppets to spread propaganda on social media
The data analyzed came from 146 Twitter accounts (which tweeted 299,566 times), 39 Facebook profiles, and 26 Instagram accounts, along with 16 Facebook pages and two Facebook groups. Some of the accounts were meant to appear like real people and used AI-generated profile pictures. Meta and Twitter didn’t specifically name any organizations or people behind the campaigns but said their analysis led them to believe they originated in the US and Great Britain.
For anyone who’s ever been within 15 feet of a history book, the news that the US is using covert action to push its interests in other countries won’t come as a surprise. It is, however, interesting that these operations were uncovered just as social media companies are gearing up to deal with a wave of foreign interference and misinformation in our own elections.
The report also comes right on the heels of a bombshell whistleblower report from Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, Twitter’s former head of security, which accused the company of lax security practices and misrepresenting the number of bots on its platform (something the US government is investigating and that Twitter has strongly denied).
DeSantis and Future Foreign Policy Disasters
With his refusal to go along with lockdowns and mask mandates during the pandemic, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis emerged as a hero to many in libertarian circles. But as his name is now consistently put forward as a prospective or even likely 2024 Republican Presidential candidate, those who view him favorably should take a sober second look. On foreign policy in particular, DeSantis promises to continue the disastrous policies of his predecessors, which have made us uniformly less free, less safe, and much poorer.
DeSantis and Future Foreign Policy Disasters
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 