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TMI Show Ep 37: “Trump 45 vs. Trump 47”

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Ted Rall

Donald J. Trump is about to become the first president since Grover Cleveland to serve one term, lose a reelection bid and then run a third time successfully for a second term. What has Trump and his team learned from his first term? How will he govern differently? This time he has added progressives like Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to his team, drawing from the left of the Democratic Party in a way that he didn’t do the first time around; how will they impact his policies? As a lame duck with no possibility of running for reelection, his only real concern for the future is for passing the torch of the MAGA movement, potentially to JD Vance. Is Trump now more free to do what he wants, and if so, what does he want?

TMI Show co-hosts Ted Rall and Robby West (filling in for Manila Chan) are joined by Angie Wong for an inside view into the new administration by an old president.

TMI Show Ep 35: “Assad Falls; What Now for Russia in the Middle East?”

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Ted Rall

Ties between Syria and Russia go back not only through the Soviet Union but even to Czarist Russia. Now, presumably because Russia is so focused on Ukraine, it was unable to save its ally, President Bashar al-Assad, from being deposed by Islamist insurgents. Assad is safely in Moscow but Damascus is a different matter.

Americas who remember the optimistic coverage of the fall of Baghdad in 2003 know better than to take similar images and coverage seriously now. International security analyst and Russia expert Mark Sleboda joins Ted Rall and guest co-host Robby West (filling in for Manila Chan) on “The TMI Show” to talk about the broad international implications of the collapse of the Syrian state, rising instability, and where Russia and Iran go now when it comes to influence in the Middle East.

TMI Show Ep 34: “The Talibanization of Syria”

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Ted Rall

This feels like a movie you’ve seen before: a secular socialist government where women and ethnic minorities have rights that are respected is targeted by the United States and its allies in large part because it shows that left-wing politics can be successful. The Carter administration armed the mujaheddin in Afghanistan, setting the stage for Al Qaeda and 9/11. The Bush Administration overthrew Saddam Hussein in Iraq, creating a failed state that became a vassal of Iran and a home for ISIS. Obama killed Muammar Qaddafi in Libya, creating a failed state where slave markets have reappeared and radical Muslim fundamentalists hold sway. Now an officially designated terrorist organization has, with the help of the US and Israel, overthrown Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Will Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its reformist leader Ahmad al-Sharaa keep their promise to limit their ambitions to Syria? Will they impose radical Taliban-style sharia law on Syria? What are the implications for Russia, which accepted Assad but did not provide sufficient air support to protect his regime? Israel has already started bombing Syria, saying that its 1974 peace deal was with the Assad government which no longer exists; will the war in Lebanon and Gaza spread into Syria even more? What are the security implications for Israel, which wanted this regime change, right next-door?

TMI Show Ep 31: Can Putin Save Syria? An Exclusive from Inside Aleppo

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Ted Rall

Scarcely noticed by most of the world, the Civil War in Syria has been grinding on for more than a decade. A proxy war, with the central government of Bashar al-Assad, supported by its traditional ally Russia (along with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon) against an assortment of radical jihadi militias, including remnants of Al Qaeda supported by the United States under cover of going after the terrorist group ISIS, the balance of power had remained relatively stable at the front lines despite the threat of total fragmentation as Syria’s Kurds seized their own autonomous zone—until a couple of weeks ago.

Now an Al Qaeda affiliate called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies have launched an offensive that shocked the world by capturing the second largest city in Syria, Aleppo.

The TMI Show brings you an EXCLUSIVE look from directly inside HTS-occupied Syria with Steven Sahiounie, a Syrian national and journalist in Aleppo.

What is it like to live under HTS control? How likely are they to topple the government of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus? What would be the regional and global implications of a radical jihadi state on the border with Israel? The United States has been trying to persuade al-Assad to abandon his allies Russia and Iran, but has so far failed. Is that likely to change? Can Russia, trying to close the deal in Ukraine, divert resources to save the Syrian government?

The TMI Show Ep 28: “Turkey’s Perspective on Trump, NATO, Ukraine”

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Ted Rall

By dint of geography, history, culture and human evolution, Turkey is one of the most influential nations in the world and certainly that’s the case throughout Asia. The trade and cultural gateway between Europe and Asia, Turkey has recently taken a light authoritarian and nationalist turn under the presidency of Reyup Erdogan, who has been serving as president for the last decade.

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the American presidency, there has been speculation that Erdogan’s natural stylistic affinity to Trump may draw him closer to the United States as Turkey — like all countries between great powers — balances the US and its European allies against Russia and perhaps even plays them off against each other. On the other hand, Russia has gained the upper hand in Ukraine. And Trump seems to want to end the Russo-Ukrainian War. Then there’s the country’s complicated relationship with Europe: it’s been a member of NATO since 1995 but its application to join the EU has stalled since Erdogan became president.

Dr. Hasan Ünal, professor at Baskent University in Ankara, has published extensively on Turkish foreign policy-related matters. He joins TMI Show hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan to explore Turkey’s dilemma: East or West? Which to Choose?

The TMI Show Ep 24: “Ukraine Flirts with World War III”

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Ted Rall

Donald Trump’s election victory caused most people to think that the war between Russia and Ukraine would soon come to an end as the United States pulled back on its financial and military support for Ukraine, something the former president promised repeatedly. However, what was expected to be a quiet transition in America’s proxy war heated up dramatically after President Joe Biden reversed himself in order to allow Ukraine to fire US-made and US-operated ATACMS missiles up to 200 miles inside the Russian Federation. As Russian president Vladimir Putin had threatened to do, Russia quickly responded by updating its nuclear doctrine to authorize Russian military leaders to launch a nuclear strike against any nuclear-armed country that attacks Russia whether it uses nuclear or conventional weapons.

Now that has taken place. Ukraine used an ATACMS system to attack and ammunition storage facility in Russia. Now the US Embassy in Kyiv is closed in anticipation of a possible Russian air attack. Will Russia let it go, retaliate asymmetrically or go to DEFCON 4? Can Putin wait things out until January 20, and if he does, will it pay off? How close are we to World War III?

On today’s The TMI Show, co-hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan are joined by military and intelligence analyst Mark Sleboda, an expert on the war between Ukraine and Russia, to game out what comes next.

The TMI Show Ep 23: “New York Times Smears Tulsi Gabbard”

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Ted Rall

A smear, the dictionary says, is a word or statement applied to a person in order to degrade, blacken, or make unjust or unfounded accusations. The lead in today’s New York Times, a story titled “How Tulsi Gabbard Became a Favorite of Russia’s State Media,” is a textbook example of a smear. Relying on guilt by association, reading into similarities between her opinions and those of U.S. adversaries, assuming the worst of her while taking her enemies’ statements at face value, and twisting reality into a pretzel to normalize insanity and marginalize the facts, the Times piece shows you how state-sponsored media propaganda works in the real world, in this case as part of a concerted effort to sabotage President-Elect Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence. Missing, by the paper’s own account no doubt in order to avoid another costly libel lawsuit, is any evidence that Gabbard is a “Russian asset” or has done anything wrong at all. Times editors obviously assume that few readers will read beyond the headline or, if they do, will read with the skeptical eye of a veteran journalist.

On today’s The TMI Show, co-hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan dissect the smear campaign against Gabbard in order to showcase how “mainstream” corporate media outlets undermine reputations and lives.

DMZ America Podcast Ep 179: The Ukraine War: Why It Began, How It Ends

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Ted Rall

During the campaign, President-Elect Donald Trump promised to bring a rapid conclusion to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict that began in 2022. But most Americans aren’t aware of how or why the war began in the first place. Now the waters are getting further muddied by a decision of President Biden, a lame duck with just two months left in his term, to allow Ukraine to fire long-range American missiles deep into Russia itself.

The DMZ America podcast’s Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) review the relationship between Russia, Ukraine in the United States, how the current conflict began either in 2014 or 2022 depending on your point of view, and how it is likely to end. Can Trump make good on his promise?

Listen to the Audio Version:

Watch the Video Version:

The TMI Show Ep 19: Trump Won. Will He Bring Peace to Ukraine?

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Ted Rall

As the Russo-Ukraine conflict prepares to enter its third year of grinding warfare that has claimed untold lives and wreaked havoc on people and infrastructure, the election of Donald Trump to the presidency has sparked speculation that a reduction of U.S. proxy support for the Zelensky government might force the Ukrainians to sit down for serious peace talks with Putin.

Russia has gained a clear military advantage in the war. On the TMI Show, co-hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan dare to ask: Will Trump, as he has promised, end the Ukraine War? If so, how? What role will be played by likely incoming secretary of state Marco Rubio, and European allies? Will the broad contours of a peace deal result in a rump Ukraine and an agreement not to join NATO? Are we looking at a full-fledged armistice, a ceasefire or just continued fighting?

Joining Ted and Manila is Mark Sleboda, an International Relations and Security analyst.

Listen to/Watch the Video Version:

Keywords: Donald Trump, 2024 election results, 2024 election, 2024 campaign, Second Trump administration, Marco Rubio, Ukraine, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, peace talks, Russo-Ukrainian War, negotiations, diplomacy

The Blame Game

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Ted Rall

Defeat is an orphan. But defeated Democrats, themselves responsible for losing an election to Donald Trump that should have been easy to win, are flailing about trying to pin the blame on everyone but themselves.

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