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Radio War Nerd EP #147—"Destroying Yemen" with Isa Blumi (Patreon)

Published:
2018-08-31 21:14:54
Edited:
2019-10-11 20:36:04
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

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Content

Guest: Isa Blumi, author and professor

Recorded August 28, 2018

The War Nerd talks to Isa Blumi about the Yemen war's little-reported deep causes — political, financial, imperialist—in a wide-ranging interview. Blumi explains the  murky political and strategic differences between Qatar, Saudis and UAE, their own bought-off political and media figures in the US and UK, and how this has impacted the wars in Yemen and western reporting on Yemen. Great deep dive analysis you won't hear anywhere else . . . 

At 1:17:00 Ames and the Nerd take a look at current war news: UN report on war crimes in Yemen vs. how it was reported in US/UK media . . . Talk of American officers in UAE army facing war crimes charges . . . Idlib showdown coming—Al Qaeda's militia transformed by western media into "rebels" while completely ignoring "rebel"-Turkish ethnic cleansing of Kurds in Afrin . . . White Helmets providing cover for Turkish occupation and ethnic cleansing . . . NYTimes says "transparency" is  the problem with US role in Yemen slaughter . . . New Chad rebel group . . . 

Buy Isa Blumi's book "Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us About The World". Follow Isa Blumi on Twitter 

 Total time: 1:57:22

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here.

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Comments

Oskaras Funk

Great interview! Isa needs to be a recurring guest, seems like there was a lot more to explore there

Ed Mac

Really good interview, It would be a good candidate for making public to promote the podcast. Isa is amazingly succinct when explaining the convoluted relationships between all the involved factions. Definitely hope you get him back on a few more times, it felt like you were just getting into your stride when the interview finished up.

Manfred

Make that a free episode. The world would be a better place.

mt

Excellent stuff! Isa was could explain everything on all levels: military, geopolitically, financially, historically etc

Jackm

Fascinating discussion, incredibly information-dense

mark

Very knowledgeable guest I have to say. One of the rare occasions I hear about how the global economy plays into the conflicts in Yemen and elsewhere. Do bring him back if you can.

Dave Dolle

Please make this one public.

Paul Vd

Heather Newart said that the US military was helping the humanitarian aid effort in Yemen. Why the f*ck does the press even go to those events ? Why ? Matt Lee. Respectable guy. Why does he even show up? Just to get blatantly lied to ? And then when they try to call out Newart that vile whore, she laughs and gives them an elementary school teacher stare.

Tupac Chopra

I would love to hear more information on the real state of the Saudi Oil industry. Lord knows the mainstream press isn't covering it. So many wars around the world are caused by Saudi directly or through the oil-supported export of Wahhabism. If oil production in Saudi really is declining and set to collapse, then we're looking at the destruction of the logistics of one of the most insidious strands of contemporary physical and social violence. It would be an implosion akin to the 1991 Soviet collapse, on a slightly smaller-scale.

Chris Knutson

This is the not the first book I've bought based on a War Nerd episode but it is the fastest, ordered mid-episode. Incredibly engaging and accessible interview!

Michael Pollak

Isa mentioned work by someone named something like "Israh Hussein," who wrote a book or article on how the British invented Islam (minute 42). I can't quite seem to google it. Can you guys supply more clues, like the correct spelling? Many thanks.

xnfec

I've heard that Al Jazeera started out in Tunisia, fell out with the government there and then came to Qatar where they have free rein to say anything about other countries except Qatar. Also, Isa mentioned natural gas. Qatar has very little oil but a lot of natural gas. Excellent episode. Adam Curtis has an interesting take on British involvement in Yemen in the 60's covered in the first episode of the Mayfair Set which is on Youtube. Basically, the founder of the SAS, David Stirling, thought he could regain Britains influence by using Saudi money to fight Nasser in Yemen using ex SAS personnel. The whole series follows a group of characters as they cope with Britains decline an it's pursuit of influence and money from the beginning to a vary ironic end. I think Isa said Erik Prince has moved to Abu Dhabi not Dubai. Abu Dhabi is the emirate with all the oil and all the money. Dubai has very little in comparison.

yyouyouu

Thank you! Here is some other books mentioned if anyone is interested: America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier by Robert Vitalis. <a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=10072" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=10072</a> I'm assuming this is the book they're referring to by Mark Curtis: <a href="https://serpentstail.com/secret-affairs.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://serpentstail.com/secret-affairs.html</a> Islam in Liberalism by Joseph A. Massad <a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo19211851.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo19211851.html</a>

Sérgio Teixeira da Silva

Thank yyouyouu. On the last, though: "Massad shows that through this projection Europe emerges as democratic and tolerant, feminist, and pro-LGBT rights—or, in short, Islam-free." This is implied to be a lie revealed - but was largely true for Sweden and Netherlands. It's also said that (Northwestern) Europe was supposedly "pro-Christian", but both those countries have state churches that *don't* expect adherents to believe in any sort of god.

Charles

I listened to this one twice. I don't usually do that.

Stefan

Really interesting and insighful interview with Isa Blumi - would be great if he comes back for other episodes.

Stefan

And btw, sorry but can’t resist an irrelevant comment: in the photo Isa looks a lot like the writer Ben Lerner, whose debut novel ”Leaving the Atocha Station” was an excellent read (and Lerner is also a good poet).