Assad is Back, Russia is Retreating & Some Scary 2022 Candidates!

In this episode, Alex discusses how there may be changes coming in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Could it be partitioned like Korea was? Then he talks about how Syria’s president and war criminal, Bashar al-Assad, has recently been embraced by Gulf nations such as the UAE. Finally, he goes through some worrying GOP candidates for the 2022 midterms who have links to domestic abuse and violence.

• First, Alex discusses how Russia is going to pull back forces around Kyiv. A member of the Russian Defense Ministry, Vladimir Medinsky, said that the first step agreed by Russia in talks with Ukraine "concerns a gradual military de-escalation in two main directions — Kyiv and Chernihiv. He also said that “we understand that there are people in Kyiv who need to make decisions, so we do not want to expose this city to additional risk." Alex does not believe that Russia is doing this to show good faith, he thinks they are doing this because they are retreating. In the same week, Russia has changed its rhetoric about the goal of its invasion. Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, has now said that “liberating” the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has been the main goal of Moscow’s military operation. Alex looks into how some experts believe a partition of Ukraine could be in the cards. Could it look like Korea after the war? 

 

• In other news, Alex discusses how the Biden Administration was caught off guard when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited the United Arab Emirates. Since 2011, Assad has become a pariah on the international stage after using a heavy hand to try and prevent the Syrian Civil War. He has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, the torture of many more, and the displacement of nearly half of Syria’s population. Alex worries that Assad was never held accountable and is now slowly being welcomed back by some, onto the world stage. He also discusses how this may show that American influence is waning. If Putin isn’t held accountable, Alex worries the same may happen. 

 

• Lastly, Alex goes into a worrying trend that he is seeing in some of the America-First, Right-Wing Populists, who support Trump and MAGA. Many candidates have a history of violence and abuse towards women and children. He discusses how this is often a feature of fascism in which violence is not just part of the movement, but is often a feature. He looks into people like Sean Parnell, Max Miller, Herschel Walker, and Eric Greitens. It seems like Trump is willing to overlook their histories of abuse mainly because they are willing to endorse the big lie and support Trump’s lies.