Global Politics & Cultures (formerly Independent Thought & Freedom) - 58: Jean Marie Richard | Diego Garcia, Middle East Wars, Mauritius and the Anglo-American Empire

58: Jean Marie Richard | Diego Garcia, Middle East Wars, Mauritius and the Anglo-American Empire

01/17/20 • 68 min

Global Politics & Cultures (formerly Independent Thought & Freedom)

Are small states doomed in a world of huge powers?
With war being threatened between the US and Iran, the tiny island of Diego Garcia plays a crucial role.
Yet this island is being illegally occupied by Britain, who in turn is leasing it to the United States.
The rightful owners of Diego Garcia is another small state, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

This exposes international politics as games of power rather than of respect for law, democracy or human rights, which the US and the UK are claiming to defend by illegally occupying Diego Garcia. It is deeply ironic.

I am personally tied to this issue as well. I am also from a small state, and i am also married to a Mauritian, which has given me personal, professional, political and media ties there as well.

As this issue is becoming more and more globally important, I am pleased to speak with Jean Marie Richard, Mauritian business and media consultant with expertise in geostrategical defense, trained in France and US, politically involved in Mauritius, who will explain this issue a bit more to us, and it many surprising ramifications.

We discuss:

- the history of Diego Garcia before its population was forcefully expelled by the US and UK
- the stark differences (even opposite approaches) the British used in decolonisation in Trinidad, Guyana and Mauritius to deal with the ethno-political issues of representation of Africans and Indians
- the forced depopulation of Diego Garcia
- Mauritius's surprisingly successful symbolic fight against this injustice in the United Nations and other international fora
- the International Court of Justice's ruling against the UK, which Britain has refused to recognise
- how Operation Desert Storm and the threatened attack on Iran is could only happen from the protected position of Diego Garcia, which is out of the current range of targeted countries
- the centrality of Diego Garcia to the American Empire in protecting and policing oil and gas routes from the Persian Gulf as well
- Is Diego Garcia just an unforunate but necessary casuality of the US's "fight for global freedom and democracy"? Does Mauritius have any choice in the matter?
- What exactly does Mauritius want by reclaiming Diego Garcia?
- How Mauritius has allowed India to use the neighbouring Agalega islands for its own Indian Ocean military facilities, in response to China's New Silk Road expansion
- the possibility of a South Indian Ocean Conference, and the further involvement of the Indian Ocean territories in geopolitical positioning by the US, UK, France, India, and China
- How Mauritius has successfully used its multi-ethnic population as economic and diplomatic assets to build development
- How the UN censured the UK for its illegal occupation of Diego Garcia, and questions were raised about the legitimacy of its seat on the UN Security Council because of its ignoring of the advisory opinion

and much more

I am personally tied to this issue as well. I am also from a small state, and i am also married to a Mauritian, which has given me personal, professional, political and media ties there as well.

We discuss:

and much more

Previous Episode

57: Preity Upala, William Pounds, Chad Wilson | The Assassination of General Solaimani

This week, I am replaying a panel discussion in which I participated, speaking about the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Solaimani, along with Preity Upala (geopolitical analyst with the Jersalem Post and Times of Israel), William Pounds (Independence Media Network), and Chad Wilson (Green Party, running for the party's Presidential candidacy)

We discuss:

- the legitimacy (or not) of the US assassination of Iranian General Solaimani
- US disregard of other nations' sovereignty
- the problem of US ignorance of the difference between Ba'athist, Arab nationalists, Arab socialists, Salafists, Wahabbis, Shias, Sunnis, etc. despite the War on Terror
- the possibility of increasing World Peace by requiring US Congressional approval and re-introducing the draft
- re-alignment of global military and political alliances
- Iran's economic and deep historical connection to India, and the complication of the India-US relationship
- double standards with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia state-sponsoring of terrorism, as opposed to Iran opposition to terrorism
- the difference between the Lebanon-Israel conflict, and Jihadist Salafist terrorism
- nuclear weapons as a deterrent for regime change
- uniting an anti-war political movement in the US across left and right
- the contradiction of Trump's anti-Imperialism -- calling out the Deep State, CIA, FBI, military-industrial complex, G7, NATO -- and the neocon American Imperialists in his Cabinet
- how ISIS and others are benefiting from the US attack on Iran, and the miseducation of the general public
- the necessity of fighting Jihadist terrorism, and understanding it properly, historically and ideologically
- How Christian, Jewish, and Muslim eschatology drives foreign policy in many important ways, but which is ignored in mainstream discourse
- the breakup of the Ottoman Empire as the root of the current confusion in the Middle East
- the spread of Wahhabism as behind Muslim radicalism around the world in Russia, Nigeria, the former Yugoslavia
- Islamism and the left
- The contradictions of American Christianity
- The controversy over the Citizenship Amendment Act in India
- possible implications and repercussions of the Solaimani assassination

Next Episode

59: E Michael Jones | MLK, Race vs. Ethnicity, and American Empire

Issues surrounding race, immigration, nationalism and identity have been at the forefront around the globe for the past few years. These have fed into radical political earthquakes that are re-shaping the world, such as Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, the consolidation of the BJP in India, and with nationalist and anti-mass immigration parties around the world.

This week, the United States observed the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the most famous figure in the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960s, and a virtual saint for many around the world.

As with all saints, there have been mythologies built up around them. With respect to Dr. King and his struggles on behalf of the African American people, we need to delve more deeply into the facts and details surrounding Dr. King and his movement, and the implications for ethnic, political and social justice struggles today. This includes debates on "who are the real racists", what the did the Civil Rights Movement achieve for Afro-Americans, and other issues.

To talk about this issue today I have with me E Michale Jones, author of "The Slaughter of Cities" and 61 other books.

E Michael Jones is an unusual, independent Catholic thinker. His interests and knowledge are incredibly wide-ranging, from history, to economics, to global politics, to theology, to sociology.

He is extremely challenging, fearless, bold, committed, and controversial.

I am so glad to have him on this podcast.