Radio War Nerd EP #641 — 23 Years In Iraq + MENA Updates, feat. Cyrus

Guests like Cyrus and conversations like this are why supporting this project is worth every penny. Thanks guys, great show.

grateful to Cyrus for mentioning the way Americans deflect to blame Israel for the reason the empire does what it does. I see that sentiment a lot, especially among frustrated (often very racist) commenters on social media.

Few episodes have made me cry. This one does in the second hour, when Cyrus describes the many aftermaths of 2003.

Is it possible to add the podcast to my Apple podcast feed with a RSS code?

Great episode. It is always helpful to have these kind of reminders about the recent past, because the official narrative and media coverage often omits the "how did we get here part" of the story. In this particular case, it was helpful to draw a connection back to the impact of sanctions and the 1990s. It is a major part of the 2003 invasion story, but honestly I had never really given much thought to social effects and the ways in which the policy changed the society between the 1980s and 2003. With so much of media coverage "things just happen". Events have no history. Local leadership is always to blame for everything that goes wrong inside a country, and our own state policy is rarely, if ever, mentioned as part of the story. Thinking too of Venezuela pre-2026 and the way that media coverage often talked about the dire economic situation in the country without any reference to U.S. sanctions. Great to have these deep dives and more nuanced takes, in part because there is often a pattern to occupation and wars that can be applied to other conflicts. It is also helpful to be reminded of the kind of commonplace "errors of omission" since these are a significant aspect of media coverage.

Cyrus is bar none the best Middle East expert I’ve ever listened to hands down.

I think anti imperialism anti war anti cia was more "popular" in the 70's ish era because there were just more normal, working class people in journalism, entertainment, and even politics. Now, all aspects of "American culture" are completely, impenetrably dominated by the elite

I'm curious about what Cyrus was saying about Gulf-funded television stations around the hour and five mark. Are those the original context of those MEMRI TV screenshots you used to see online?

I’m not sure you could look at the region as a “partial victory” for imperialism The credit card is maxed out…America has to park the truck a few blocks away so the repo man doesn’t find it. And yet…the ruling class made unimaginable piles of money, and nobody was held accountable. Fuck me…was it a TOTAL success? Maybe there is no repo man??? Just the guillotine left now folks!

I can't believe the US is finally out. On one hand the last 23 years are forever. I didn't think the US would be out in my lifetime, not truly out. A career's time. Long enough to see your own kids have kids. But it's also a historical flash in the pan. Embarrassing from an imperial standpoint. The east india company points and laughs. Future historians may view the US empire as more of a fluke than the Belgians or Dutch. Those guys had an empire? The US?? it's weird having both of those thoughts in my head at once, both true, both contradictory. It felt like forever and it's over.

Secular Israel wants to wave Netanyahu around their head like a chicken until he absorbs all their sins and be redeemed once they “slaughter” him

Glad Cyrus finally did his homework on the PMF and showed up prepared. He was good on about 95% of things with them, I think he just still underestimates the levels of interaction between the formal PMF BDEs and the Iranian Aligned Milita Groups. A forgivable offense, the line between the two is blurry and shadowy, I would t be surprised if people in some of these PMF BDEs were unaware their organization was directly supporting the IAMGs. Good that Cyrus has moved in from the “clean Wehrmacht” style argument of “fully separate structures” with the PMF and IAMGs. He was much more nuanced and prepared this time.

Bring back isa blumi. Also maybe an episode on the recent collapsing of the tigray defense forces.

Phenomenal episode, Cyrus fantastic guest and Mark facilitating extremely well as always. I hope this doesn’t come off as a criticism (or me being an ass), but Mark’s mention of DSA at the end & the state of the US anti war left did make me think it could be worthwhile to have an actual DSA guest (maybe Daniel Denvir) on the show, to talk about this topic, rather than go off of what comes out of the Twitter miasma about the org. My experience has seen them lead on anti imperialism more than anyone else stateside (‘Break the Chains’, Cuba Solidarity, anti Donroe Doctrine direction action). My 2 cents as a fellow upstate NY’er.

Fwiw, anecdotally, I don’t think dsa people I know are advocates for continuing empire. With regards to the genocide and other US atrocities / overreach they are quite clear and consistent in condemnation. I think that dsa are currently trying to make their platform one that mostly pertains to domestic issues, since Americans are generally too braindead to see the world beyond gas prices and affordability / culture war issues

Thanks so much for this, Cyrus. Please don’t anyone interpret this as apologia for the invasion, but when Cyrus mentioned that the younger majority doesn’t have a detailed memory of the horrors of the occupation/civil war, and then later noted that Iraq has one of the most functional democracies and media environments in the region (along with Lebanon), it made me wonder how people in that younger generation feel about the invasion as a whole. Would any of them say that it was worth it, that they consider it to be a net positive, because it birthed the state they’ve come of age in and opened up the possible trajectories of their lives? I ask because I find always find it fascinating how generations born subsequent to a great catastrophe can come to regard it as a ‘necessary evil’, because it made their own lifestyles and identities possible (WWII being the most obvious example of this).

Really appreciate hearing Cyrus’ perspective, so succinct and comprehensive in explaining this Pandora’s box of horrors. Really hoping this one gets unlocked

Of course the U.S. invasion and occupation resulted in the death of the Iraqi private sector. Fucking neocons.

The Kurdish section was very interesting, would love to hear Cyrus talk in more detail about the Kurdish region of Iraq, I feel like most media about Kurdish stuff I see is about Syria or anti Iran kuridsh groups

I see Cyrus, I click.

got bitched out for quoting the Brown study this spring by my former bbc reporter prof

Cyrusss LFG. Stay safe man.

Did it lead to lasting democracy and stability in the Middle East like Dick Cheney promised?

This one is gonna slap

You should have me on the show, I know fucking everything.

Cyrus is one of the best guests! Going to put my book down and start listening immediately