None Of The Above

Historian Stephen Wertheim traces America's decision for global military dominance back to World War II in a widely anticipated book published this month. Some anticipated Donald Trump would follow through on a campaign promise to end America's endless wars, and finally break the United States from the globe-spanning role in which it cast itself. But Wertheim points out that President Trump is as conventional in his quest for military dominance as most other presidents before him. This week, host Mark Hannah sits down with Wertheim to discuss the origins of American military supremacy, the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and what it all means for the future of America's global role. Stephen Wertheim is a historian of American foreign relations and the co-founder and deputy director of research and policy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His forthcoming book is Tomorrow, The World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy. You can follow Stephen on Twitter @stephenwertheim.

Commentators describe the first presidential debate of the 2020 general election as a "hot mess inside a dumpster fire," "a bad reality TV show," and "a complete disaster." What insights on American foreign policy might we – and the rest of the world – draw in its aftermath? In this episode, host Mark Hannah is joined by Doug Wilson, the national security policy advisor for Mayor Pete Buttigieg's erstwhile presidential campaign. Doug also served in the Obama administration as the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. We reflect on the first presidential debate in the context of U.S. national security policy, and on how the politics of American foreign policy is interpreted by America's friends and foes. Doug discusses his involvement in the Buttigieg campaign, the importance of democratic legitimacy for statecraft, and the most recent survey of American public opinion on foreign policy from the Eurasia Group Foundation's Independent America project

The United States has been mired in endless war for more than a generation. This week, journalist Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept sits down with the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah to discuss the true costs of America's militarized foreign policy. Are journalists so used to reporting on the polarization of the American electorate that they miss the close collaboration between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to pursue pro-war policies? Ultimately, Glenn argues, "the policies that both parties endorse, a posture of endless war, of militarism, of aggression, of blind support for Israel, not only are amoral, but are actually contrary to the interest of the American people." Glenn Greenwald is co-founder of The Intercept. He is a journalist, constitutional lawyer, and author of four New York Times best-selling books. Glenn has won numerous awards for his reporting on mass surveillance and human rights abuses against the backdrop of the War on Terror. You can listen to his new show System Update and follow him on Twitter @ggreenwald.

In the wake of protests surrounding the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, America's institutions are reckoning with their roles in legacies of slavery and racism. The U.S. military is no exception. This week, Bishop Garrison, a U.S. Army veteran and former homeland security and defense official, joins None Of The Above to discuss this reckoning. From the renaming of Army bases named after Confederate figures to the recruitment of veterans by white nationalist organizations and the importance of diversity in the enlisted and officer ranks, Bishop delves into the moral and strategic importance of representation in America's most vital national security institutions. Bishop Garrison is the director of national security outreach at Human Rights First and is president and co-founder of the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy. His most recent article is "Challenges to Improving Racial Representation in the Military." You can follow Bishop on Twitter@BishopGarrison.

The U.S. bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago this month. Although nuclear weapons haven't been used in combat since, they continue to proliferate across the globe. This week, two activists from New Mexico explain the lesser known costs of the production of nuclear weapons, from the devastation inflicted on indigenous communities by impact testing and mining around the Los Alamos National Laboratory, to the risks modernization poses to national security. As the U.S. prepares to embark upon a major nuclear modernization program, will the impact on civilians worsen? Beata Tsosie-Pena is the environmental health and justice program coordinator at Tewa Women United and a Los Alamos National Laboratory downwinder. Jay Coghlan is the executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico and has worked on nuclear weapons and environmental issues for the past 25 years.

In May 2020, the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor touched off some of the largest protests in U.S. history and shone a spotlight on police militarization. This week, the ACLU's Hina Shamsi explains the connections between brutal police tactics and the ongoing War on Terror, from the Insurrection Act to drone strikes overseas. More than fifty years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned of the interconnected evils of racism and militarism, can America overcome police violence at home and endless war abroad? Hina Shamsi is the director of the ACLU's National Security Project and an adjunct lecturer at Columbia Law School. She previously served as senior advisor to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions. You can follow Hina on Twitter @HinaShamsi.

This episode marks the end of the first season of the Eurasia Group Foundation podcast, None Of The Above. We conclude our season with a topic that gets far too little attention in the mainstream media: the history of the U.S. military's involvement in Somalia, a country deeply mired in terrorism, poverty, and war. Mark sits down with Nairobi-based journalist Amanda Sperber and anthropologist Catherine Besteman to unpack why the United States is waging an unofficial drone war in Somalia and explores the history and human costs of this conflict. They discuss the evolution of Al-Shabaab (an affiliate of Al-Qaeda), civilian casualties from U.S. airstrikes, and how Somalia exemplifies what many consider to be the strategic and moral failings of America's global war on terror. Have a listen, let us know what you think, and we'll see you in August when we return for Season 2. Amanda Sperber is a Nairobi-based award-winning investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, and multimedia storyteller. Her work focuses on East Africa, specifically on Somalia, and the consequences of U.S. drone strikes. She is the author of "Ilhan Omar Demands Answers on Civilian Deaths in Somalia" in The Daily Beast. @hysperbole Catherine Besteman is Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology at Colby College in Maine. Her work focuses on U.S. militarism in Somalia. She is the author of The Costs of War in Somalia from Brown University's Costs of War Project, and the upcoming book Militarized Global Apartheid (2020).

In February, the Taliban and U.S. government signed a peace deal. The U.S. would draw down its troop presence and persuade the Afghan government to release Taliban prisoners in exchange for a ceasefire. However, since the agreement was signed, the Afghan government's release of prisoners has stalled and Taliban attacks on Afghan forces have surged. Now, coronavirus spreads from neighboring Iran to the war-torn country just as the prospects for peace dim. How and when will the longest war in American history finally end? Peter Bergen and Kiana Hayeri weigh in on the U.S.' inconclusive and four-decade-long involvement in Afghanistan. They discuss whether the war was worth fighting and whether people in Afghanistan are better off today than they were before the U.S. invasion in 2001. What impact has American intervention had, and what new challenges does this country face as the coronavirus spreads across the region and world? Peter Bergen is vice president at New America, a CNN national security analyst, professor, author, and documentary film producer. His latest film The Longest War is streaming now on Showtime. Twitter: @peterbergencnn Kiana Hayeri is an Iranian-Canadian photographer, focusing on migration, identity, and sexuality in societies dealing with oppression or conflict. View her latest work "Afghanistan's Next War" in New York Times Magazine. Instagram: @kianahayeri

Donald Trump ran his 2016 presidential campaign on ending America's endless wars. But throughout his presidency, he has increased military deployments in the Middle East and threatened conflicts with Iran, Venezuela, China, and North Korea. And now, he has declared war on the coronavirus. Does this make Trump a hawkish commander-in-chief? Or, has he lived up to his promise to wind down wars and not start new ones? What kind of national security leader is he? This week, Mark Hannah digs into Trump's foreign policy legacy with Vox reporter Alex Ward. According to Alex, while Trump's foreign policy record may seem two-sided, there is an abiding ideology. In fact, Alex argues Trump's foreign policy legacy may even prove to be a political strength in the 2020 presidential election. Alex Ward is the staff writer for international security and defense at Vox and co-hosts its "Worldly" podcast. He is based in Washington, DC. @AlexWardVox

Since 1997, Hong Kong has been a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. The freedoms China promised the people of this semi-autonomous region are slowly eroding. Throughout the year, Hongkongers have taken to the streets to protest mainland China's encroaching influence. The protests persist today, even amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. In January, as the coronavirus began its global spread, Mark Hannah traveled to Hong Kong to meet with a leader of the protests, and he returned to speak with another organizer from Hong Kong who is based in New York City. These two young activists offer different views on Hong Kong's political struggle, especially when it comes to the West's role in supporting the pro-democracy movement. What should Hong Kong be seeking, if anything, from the international community? And, does outside support strengthen or undermine the legitimacy of Hong Kong's movement? Wilfred Chan is a writer, organizer, and courier based in New York City and is a founding member of the internationalist left publication Lausan. @wilfredchan Joshua Wong is a student activist and politician based in Hong Kong who serves as secretary-general of the pro-democracy party Demosistō. @joshuawongcf