West Africa Braces for Conflict as ECOWAS Threatens Niger Intervention

By Any Means Necessary

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Deja Gaston, Salt Lake City based organizer and writer for Breaking The Chains Magazine to discuss the ongoing regional turmoil in west Africa as ECOWAS prepares to launch a military operation to oust the military leadership in Niger, why some nations and social movements in West Africa are rejecting ECOWAS’ efforts to depose the Nigerien government, the history of French colonialism in west Africa and how many people in the region are rejecting further intervention by France, and how the mainstream press has mischaracterized the protests against French intervention and advanced the narratives of war.

In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Watchdog at Beyond Nuclear to discuss the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, why many say that the use of the weapons were not necessary and needlessly killed many innocent Japanese people, how the recently released film “Oppenheimer” fails to deal with the victims of these bombings, and the danger that countless people have been put at risk of as a result of the development and use of nuclear weapons.

In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by journalist Waqas Ahmed to discuss the sentencing of former Pakistan Prime Minister to prison after a trial court found him guilty of illegally selling state gifts, how the Pakistan military has suppressed protests in support for Imran Khan and how that indicates the direction of the government, and why this repression is unlikely to suppress the support that Khan and his party receive.

Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Kristine Hendrix, President to the University City School Board, Junior Bayard Rustin Fellow with the Fellowship for Reconciliation and contributor to the Truth-Telling Project and "We Stay Woke" podcast to discuss the indictment of Donald Trump on charges related to alleged 2020 presidential election fraud, the chances that the ongoing conflict in West Africa over the military takeover in Niger may blow up into a broader conflict, videos of a brawl taking place in Montgomery, Alabama which are taking the internet by storm and the importance of the area in the history of slavery and racism in the US, and recent health scares by older US politicians and why they will never be able to truly represent working people.

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