Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals

Forever Wars— Trump vs. the World! (G&R 475)

·57 min·5 clips

Donald Rumsfeld predicted the Iraq war could last six days to six months, but it dragged on for eight years.

The episode opens with a clip of Donald Rumsfeld from February 2003, where he speculated the Iraq war might last six days to six months, ironically contrasting with its eight-year duration. Hosts Bob Buzzanco and Scott Parkin use this to introduce the theme of 'forever wars,' examining U.S. foreign policy from World War II onward. They note that the Cold War era established a pattern of containment and suppression of third-world movements, leading to conflicts like Korea and Vietnam. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 removed a counterbalance to U.S. hegemony, and the 9/11 attacks further entrenched a period of perpetual warfare. The discussion then focuses on specific conflicts, starting with Ukraine. The war, which began with Russia's invasion in February 2022, has resulted in massive casualties: estimates suggest 275,000 to 325,000 Russian military deaths and 100,000 to 40,000 Ukrainian deaths, with millions displaced. The hosts argue that the U.S. and Europe have used Ukraine to bleed Russia, comparing it to World War I trench warfare. They reveal that in March 2022, a potential ceasefire deal between Putin and Zelensky was scuttled by Biden and Boris Johnson, prolonging the conflict. The episode shifts to Israel's actions in Gaza, described as a genocide with casualties possibly in the hundreds of thousands. The hosts criticize U.S. support for Israel, noting that aid totals around $20-30 billion, and discuss how Trump's policies align with Netanyahu's goals, including the assassination of Iranian commander Soleimani. The recent U.S. attacks on Iran are analyzed, with the Quincy Institute's Iran War Tracker cited to show costs exceeding $6.5 billion in six days. The hosts highlight how weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon saw stock price increases following these attacks, underscoring war profiteering. They also touch on expanding U.S. interventions in Venezuela, where Maduro was kidnapped, and Cuba, which faces a humanitarian crisis due to blockade. Throughout, the hosts critique both Democratic and Republican complicity in these wars, noting that Trump's 'MAGA' base feels betrayed by his involvement in conflicts like Iran. The episode concludes by reflecting on the human cost, such as a U.S. bombing of a school in Iran that killed 175 people, and the broader implications of endless warfare.

As heard by us

A blunt left-wing episode about forever war, elections, and the political fallout of Iraq, Gaza, Iran, and Ukraine.

Green and Red treats forever war as a political habit, not a slogan, and it tracks how that habit shifts across Iraq, Gaza, Iran, and Ukraine.

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Why you'd press play

Play this if you want a scrappy anti-war conversation that ties forever wars to Iraq, Gaza, Iran, Ukraine, and election-year politics.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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