“Do People Care When We Died?”: Foreign Policy Under Trump

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In this episode of the It’s Going Down podcast,we again speak with long term journalist Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files. In this discussion we again cover lots of ground, but largely discuss US foreign policy under Trump. As Martin points out, while Trump ran as an isolationist and stated that he wanted to keep the US out of interventionist wars, in fact, air strikes has actually doubled and US intervention and manipulation in various countries only continues.

As Axios wrote:

Since President Trump took office, the U.S. has carried out more airstrikes in more places, expanded its use of drones and been increasingly willing to risk civilian casualties.

Towards this end, Martin discusses her recent work in Columbia, Venezuela, and Palestine, and talks about the struggle to not only bring this news to the US, but also staying safe while covering it. Throughout our conversation, she tells stories of running from right-wing hit squads on the streets of Venezuela, to hearing the frustrations of Palestinian journalists who ask if people in the US simply do not care when Israeli soldiers shoot them dead.

We also discuss some of Martin’s recent work that touches on domestic issues, including the various corporations that are making a killing off of the opioid crisis, and the Christian fundamentalist backed attacks on transgendered people.

More Info: Abby Martin on Twitter and Empire Fires

photo: Ahmed Abu Hameeda via Unsplash