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

Published:
2026-10-11 01:54:38
Imported:
2026-10
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Guest: Cyrus, MENA researcherRecorded: October 9, 2026

On September 30, US forces fully withdrew from Iraq. Cyrus returns to RWN to discuss the fallout & lasting effects of America's invasion, occupation and reshaping of Iraq and the MENA. We also discuss current Iraqi-Iran oil transits, South Lebanon, and the Israeli elections.

Further listening with Cyrus:*EP #605 - Lebanon, Syria, Iraq fronts in the US-Israel War on Iran*EP #589 - Hezbollah Rising

Music interlude by Brendon Anderegg. Check out music from his group Mountains here

Total time: 2:08:49Direct link to this episode's mp3 here

*

John's new essay collection, To The Crows, is available to subscribers. You can also order a hard copy on Amazon - read it, know it, review it!

Subscribe to Radio War Nerd at patreon.com/radiowarnerd

Sound production by Telescope Audio

Files

Comments

Zach

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

HarshMalarkey

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

Lord-Admiral of the Pyrenees

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

CC

Cyrusss LFG. Stay safe man.

Kamran Husain

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

Ilias

I see Cyrus, I click.

Dan

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

CR

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

CR

He and Kamal Chomani are great even for just acknowledging Kurds outside of the SDF.

CR

Badge of honor

Markus Puskar

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

Rhys Hayes

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).

Kyle Erickson

Can we get a bonus episode where Mark uses this guy as an oracle

Markus Puskar

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

docbrownn

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.

mark

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

Max King

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.

Methew

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

Miko

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.

Jeff Normal

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!

Fjzuqbrci3ndo

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?

Schaeffer Mallory

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

Schaeffer Mallory

Which is to say, to the extent that America has seemed more or less "anti war" seems to be more so a measure of whether that perspective is actually broadcast at a mass level. But I think that's totally separate from the actual mood of the population, if you can even describe it as a whole

Sex With Ted Cruz

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

J P 3

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.

Matto

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

EnKaff

Daniel Denvir threw a hissy fit and stormed off after Brianna Joy Grey asked him a few mildly difficult questions. That man has no place as a spokesperson of the left.

Nicholas Levis

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

Tariq

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.

Terry Dunk

MEMRI is a US think tank operation HQ'd in DC designed to manufacture Islamophobia and consent for GWOT among Americans via supercuts of Muslims and Arabs saying scary (read: cool) things on local television

Terry Dunk

Yeah it is infinitely more edifying and enjoyable to listen to him on any of this stuff than Rob Ashlar go ultra granular special interest mode on the minutiae of interjihadi office politics for hours while Mark nods along

HarshMalarkey

They don't have the guts to let me on

Hans Anders

Although I like the episodes with Rob, this is true

Stefan

I second that. Would be very interesting to hear Cyrus elaborate further on the Kurds, including Rojava (he seemed to say it was not as much of a Left democratic & feminist enclave as was often stated in progressive media).

Dan

I forget which episodes but he's talked about rojava and the PKK before and I think his general view is that both had become very culty over time by the time of Syria were much stranger and much less traditional left or Marxist than a lot of their foreign admirers realized

cyberbasque

Ashlar provides a texture and nuance that makes it more difficult to make quick value judgements; it resolves into actual politics.