Geopolitical Economy Report

The Syrian government was overthrown, and Salafi-jihadist rebels led by a rebranded version of Al-Qaeda called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took power in Damascus. US President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu boasted of helping topple Bashar al-Assad. NATO member Turkey played a key role as well. Ben Norton explains how the West dealt a major blow to the Axis of Resistance and Iran. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8pZgwOdIuA Al-Qaeda-linked ‘rebels’ in Syria say they ‘love Israel’. USA gave them billions in weapons & support: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/12/06/al-qaeda-rebels-syria-israel-usa/ US troops are occupying Syria’s oil fields. Congress refuses to withdraw them: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/12/12/us-troops-occupy-syria-oil-congress-withdraw/ Topics 0:00 Syrian government is overthrown 3:17 Al-Qaeda leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani 4:39 AQ rebrands: Jabhat al-Nusra to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham to HTS 6:16 Western media whitewashed Osama bin Laden 7:53 Jake Sullivan: "AQ is on our side in Syria" 8:49 CIA spends billions arming Salafi-jihadists 10:06 Diplomat says HTS is US "asset" 11:33 HTS' medieval rule in Syria 12:44 Libya: where NATO brought back slavery 15:40 (CLIP) Biden takes credit for overthrowing Assad 16:58 Syrian Al-Qaeda got US weapons 17:24 Turkey backed Syrian assault 17:50 Ukraine's role in Syria 18:30 Israel boasts of Syria regime change 19:12 (CLIP) Netanyahu: Israel helped topple Assad 19:26 Israel supported Syrian rebels 20:38 Syrian rebels say they "love Israel" 22:09 Israel seizes more Syrian territory 23:15 Axis of Resistance is weakened 25:15 Syria's territorial integrity 26:41 US military occupies Syria's oil fields 27:19 (CLIP) Trump boasts: I took Syria's oil 27:46 Congress backs US military occupation of Syria 28:33 US starved Syria of oil revenue 29:43 Western sanctions suffocated Syria's economy 32:42 Inflation in Syria 33:35 This is not about "authoritarianism" 36:08 US strategy to collapse Syrian state 37:30 (CLIP) US official outlines Syria regime-change plan 39:46 Will Syria's borders be changed? 41:41 Iran: the ultimate US target 42:45 (CLIP) Wesley Clark: US planned to topple 7 governments 43:38 US collapsed 6 of 7 states on regime-change list 44:34 Will US war on Iran be next? 46:24 Outro

While the United States provokes conflicts across the world, China has promoted economic development, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, building infrastructure, and encouraging win-win cooperation. Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by Beijing-based scholar Mick Dunford to discuss the significance of the 75th anniversary of the Chinese revolution. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuKG___qK-8 This is part of the show Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the program here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

The United States spent billions over years arming and training militants in Syria, many linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS. The extremist "rebels" who took over Aleppo (and rule Idlib) said they "love Israel". Ben Norton documents the Western dirty war on Syria, and how Washington is trying to divide and conquer the anti-colonial Axis of Resistance in West Asia (the Middle East). VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl-vX1RBapo Sources and links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/12/06/al-qaeda-rebels-syria-israel-usa/ Topics 0:00 CIA armed & trained "rebels" in Syria 2:14 Rebranded Al-Qaeda (HTS) takes over Aleppo 4:54 Jake Sullivan: "AQ is on our side in Syria" 6:04 Syrian Al-Qaeda (Nusra Front) got US weapons 6:50 Israel supported Salafi-jihadist "rebels" in Syria 7:52 Syrian "rebels" say they "love Israel" 11:47 US demands Syria cut ties with Iran & Hezbollah 13:14 Israel violated Lebanon "ceasefire" 100 times in 1 week 14:09 USA tries to divide Axis of Resistance 15:31 Geopolitics of West Asia (Middle East) 16:23 Israel is US empire's unsinkable aircraft carrier 17:46 (CLIP) Biden: If Israel didn't exist, US would have to create it 18:11 USA uses Israel to crush anti-colonial resistance 19:59 ISIS got US weapons 22:05 (CLIP) Biden: US allies supported ISIS & Al-Qaeda in Syria 24:10 DIA memo shows Pentagon knew ISIS & AQ led Syrian opposition 29:21 NATO-backed Israeli think tank said ISIS was "useful tool" 31:30 US-led war on Syria continues 32:15 Outro

As the NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine escalates, the US Army is funding research on "the impacts of nuclear weapons on farm systems" in Eastern Europe. Numerous scientific studies warn that this would cause a nuclear winter that would starve billions and kill off the majority of the human population. Ben Norton discusses the extreme dangers. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV8rCGchY-k 94% of Americans want to end Ukraine war, but US rejects China peace deal, opposes talks with Russia: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/06/08/end-ukraine-war-us-china-peace-deal-russia/ Topics 0:00 Intro 0:27 Doomsday Clock is 90 seconds to midnight 2:09 US Army studies effects of nuclear weapons on agriculture 3:47 Scientists say nuclear war would kill billions 5:46 Nuclear winter 6:47 Escalation of Ukraine proxy war 7:48 Ukraine (and NATO) is losing 8:58 Most Americans want to end Ukraine war 10:03 US nuclear war strategy 11:37 USA spends trillions on nuclear weapons 14:39 Donald Trump tore up Russia arms treaties 17:37 Trump gave Ukraine lethal weapons 18:23 (CLIP) Trump boasts of Ukraine arms shipments 18:40 Trump is not anti-war 19:11 Bipartisan US war drive 20:19 Outro

To defend their colonialism in Gaza, the United States and Israel have attacked every single legal institution upholding international law, including the UN, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and more. Ben Norton explains how the imperial war on Palestine is a neocolonial assault on multilateralism and multipolarity. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EAAytPjQzc Check out our related video - US threatens ICC & allies over Netanyahu arrest warrant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqBtZxSYwaU Topics 0:00 Intro 0:40 US vetoes Gaza ceasefire in UN Security Council 2:24 Israel uses food as weapon in Gaza 4:19 Israel violates ICJ rulings 5:26 US attacks ICC over Netanyahu arrest warrant 6:36 Washington Post: ICC is for Global South & Russia 7:59 Billionaire oligarch Jeff Bezos owns Washington Post 9:20 ICC was "built for Africa" & Russia 10:26 (CLIP) ICC prosecutor on Western pressure 10:51 Rules-Based International Order 12:47 UN Security Council 14:27 Wolfowitz Doctrine 15:35 US unipolarity 17:02 Western colonialism 18:23 Israeli colonialism 19:25 Israel is ethnically cleansing Gaza 20:45 Israeli minister Smotrich vows to annex West Bank 21:52 Israel attacks UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres 23:42 Trump's UN ambassador pick Elise Stefanik 24:26 Trump withdrew US from UN Human Rights Council 25:15 Biden-Harris administration 25:54 UN experts warn Gaza war destroys international law 27:42 Outro

The Western alliance is divided over Israel, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, charging him with crimes against humanity in Gaza. The United States is threatening sanctions. Ben Norton discusses the severe political crisis in the "rules-based order". VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqBtZxSYwaU Sources and links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/11/24/west-israel-us-threat-icc-netanyahu-arrest/ Here you can see the September 2024 UN vote demanding an end to Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/09/19/end-israel-occupation-palestine-un-vote/ Topics 0:00 ICC issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu 0:25 West divides over Israel 0:57 US politicians threaten allies 1:35 UN accuses Israel of g-cide 3:03 Israel is ethnically cleansing Gaza 3:41 ICC tries to save its reputation 4:36 ICC delayed arrest warrants for 6 months 5:01 US sent Israel $18 billion in military aid in 1 year 5:25 US pressure on ICC 6:20 (CLIP) US Senator Lindsey Graham warns: "We're next!" 6:44 Biden attacks ICC 7:27 The "rules-based international order" 7:55 Senator Tom Cotton wants to invade the Hague 8:25 Hague Invasion Act 9:27 Trump officials threaten ICC 10:07 Trump sanctioned ICC personnel 11:23 House of Representatives calls to sanction ICC 12:14 Australia, Canada, UK support ICC 13:54 Senator Lindsey Graham threatens US allies 14:31 (CLIP) Lindsey Graham calls to sanction US allies 14:53 US threatens Western allies 15:27 EU backs ICC arrest warrants 16:32 France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland back ICC 16:51 UN vote on Israel-Palestine 17:33 Viktor Orbán's Hungary supports Israel, attacks ICC 18:24 Javier Milei's Argentina backs Netanyahu 19:17 Germany refuses to honor ICC warrant 19:48 West is split on Israel 20:49 Outro

US politicians and media outlets complain about China's growing global influence, but offer no alternatives to help countries develop. China has the world's largest economy, produces inexpensive manufactured goods everyone wants, invests trillions in infrastructure, and doesn't interfere in internal affairs of foreign nations. Ben Norton compares what Washington and Beijing have done in Latin America, especially Peru and Nicaragua. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRpe7W4vxHY Topics 0:00 US politicians fearmonger about China 1:32 Non-interventionist foreign policy vs US wars 2:21 China: world's largest economy & manufacturer 3:49 China: biggest trading partner of most countries 4:36 Latin America 6:48 Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) 9:19 US alternative: tariffs & privatized infrastructure 11:42 BlackRock plans to buy up infrastructure 12:39 BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at G7 summit 13:49 China builds Peru's Chancay mega-port 15:56 USA threatens Latin America over Chinese-built port 18:09 US-backed coup in Peru 19:47 USA sells Peru old trains from 1980s 21:31 What US offers vs what China offers 23:40 Nicaragua canal plans 25:04 US attacks on Nicaragua's Sandinista Revolution 26:10 Why China is winning influence 29:02 Outro

To run the US military in his second term, Donald Trump has nominated as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a neoconservative self-declared "crusader" who is eager for a Western civilizational war on China and Iran. Ben Norton reviews the extremely hawkish history of the Fox News host turned likely Pentagon chief. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9WBjcfVhu4 Topics 0:00 Trump's defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth 0:31 An "American Crusade" (against China & Iran) 1:53 Hegseth called on Trump to bomb Iran 4:44 Trying to divide China & Russia 5:39 Fearmongering about BRICS & de-dollarization 7:48 "Axis of Evil": neocon ideology 8:26 Neocolonialism in Latin America 9:47 Preparing for war with China 11:33 Outro

Donald Trump has appointed neoconservative Marco Rubio to oversee US foreign policy as secretary of state. Ben Norton reviews his extremely hawkish record pushing for war on China, Iran, and beyond, as well as the Florida senator's shady support for his drug lord brother-in-law, Orlando Cicilia, who was imprisoned for trafficking $15 million in cocaine. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ncw2VCsJFI Topics 0:00 Intro 0:32 China is threat to US unipolar dominance 1:21 Rubio loves Israel 1:55 Rubio wants "disproportionate" attack on Iran 2:25 Religious fundamentalism 3:47 China is "far more dangerous than the cold war" 4:33 Neocolonialism in Latin America 6:03 Rubio wants USA to invade Venezuela 6:25 Monroe Doctrine 7:42 China and Latin America 8:39 Scapegoating China 9:28 Chinagate: the new McCarthyism 10:55 Censorship 11:41 Rubio wants to censor "disinformation" 12:08 Threatening Mexico 13:05 Rubio's shady links to drug lord brother-in-law 14:02 Outro

Donald Trump has nominated warmongering neoconservatives to run his foreign policy, including Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor, Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, John Ratcliffe as CIA Director, and Elise Stefanik as UN Ambassador. Ben Norton reports on their extremely hawkish views. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwsrUUkDBWg Topics 0:00 Trump's warmongering cabinet 3:54 Strategy: try to divide Russia & China 5:05 Summary of foreign policy of Trump's 1st term 8:31 Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor 12:49 Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary 19:52 Neocolonialism in Latin America 23:00 Marco Rubio, Secretary of State 29:20 John Ratcliffe, CIA Director 32:07 Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador 34:53 Outro