On this episode of "By Any Means Necessary" hosts Jacquie Luqman and Sean Blackmon are joined by Iraqi-American political activist Dina al-Bayati to talk about the different factions vying for power in the protest movement in Iraq, how troubling allegations of corruption, sectarianism, and violence continue to divide Iraqis opposed to US occupation, and why the situation has left many Iraqis to choose between groups whose goals they disagree with.
In the second segment, Jacquie Luqman and Sean Blackmon are joined by human rights lawyer Jonathan Kuttab to talk about why Trump's so-called "peace plan" for the Middle East is dead on arrival, how the disparity in power between Israel and Palestine hinders any chance at a productive negotiated outcome, and why how in many ways the proposed plan has nothing to do with peace and everything to do with politics.
In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Haysam Kadri, who stars in "1,000 Splendid Suns," to discuss the play's story of Afghani women attempting to piece their lives together as the country is transformed into a bastion of Wahhabist fundamentalism after the withdrawal of Soviet support for the socialist government of Afghanistan and the rise of the US-backed mujahideen and the Taliban, how such a brutally patriarchal social framework could blur class differences between women, and the struggle to maintain dignity in the face of constant and overwhelming violence.
Later in the show, Jacquie and Sean 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 explain Bernie Sanders' is surging in Iowa, why so many politicians seem more interested in justifying the lack of social programs for working people than in addressing it, why some members of marginalized communities end up supporting the politicians who threaten them, demographic dynamics at play in Hendrix's conservative-leaning home state of Missouri, how the political establishment over-hyping the prospect of removing Trump has led to a loss of interest in the impeachment circus, the use of wedge issues like abortion to convince workers to vote against their own interests, the Democratic willingness to engage in racist attacks against progressives like Ilhan Omar, and the party's tendency to take Black voters for granted.
We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com