Transcript with question topics:
Welcome back to Political Misfits on Radio Sputnik, where we bring you news, politics and culture - without the red and blue treatment. I’m John Kiriakou here with Michelle Witte.
Official Washington was shaken over the weekend with the leak of hundreds of classified documents, most of them related to the war in Ukraine and American efforts to arm Kiev, to pressure allies to do the same, and to infiltrate the Russian government in search of further intelligence. One analyst said that the leak, which appeared on the internet with no attribution, was just “the tip of the iceberg,” and the White House has referred the matter to the Justice Department for investigation and possible prosecution. Another said the leak was “a nightmare for the Five Eyes,” that is, the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. A former senior Pentagon official said that because many of the documents that have appeared on Twitter, Telegram, and the fringe site 4Chan were actually photographs of the documents indicates that the leak was deliberate and was meant to cause damage. The information compromised includes classified information on US support for Ukraine, on US diplomatic efforts to push Israel, South Korea, and other countries to arm Ukraine, detailed information on the battle for Bakhmut, US counterintelligence efforts to infiltrate the Russian government, information on US policy toward China, and US terrorism policy.
We’re joined by international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/09/politics/pentagon-leaked-documents-us-spying-allies-foes/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/07/politics/pentagon-leaked-ukraine-documents/index.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-searches-source-highly-classified-intel-leak-2023-04-09/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/us/politics/classified-documents-leak.html
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/10/1168923083/saudi-officials-visit-yemens-capital-for-talks-with-rebels
https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-china-america-pressure-interview/
Questions:
It’s good to have you back, Mark. Thanks for joining us. This leak seemed to come as a big surprise in Washington, even if it now appears to have begun slowly back in March. First, what do you make of the fact that these documents are out there? And second, as an analyst, what do they mean in the bigger picture?
These documents appear at first glance to be substantive. They deal with major contemporary issues, like the Ukraine conflict. What are you taking from what you’ve seen so far? Does the White House have something to worry about here?
One of the revelations that we’ve seen is that the South Korean government simply doesn’t trust the US on Ukraine. The US had asked the South Koreans to sell ammunition to Washington. The South Koreans wanted end user guarantees that the ammunition wouldn’t go to Ukraine, and they believed Washington lied when the White House provided those guarantees. Almost immediately thereafter, the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs of South Korea resigned. What do you make of this?
Another revelation was that Israel steadfastly refused to arm Ukraine or to get involved in Ukraine’s missile defense. The Israelis were looking for ways to hold the US at arms length and were worried about US pressure. In the end, Israel didn’t do anything substantive for Ukraine. What have we learned about American pressure on Israel from these documents?
Bellingcat says the documents could be Russian disinformation, which is a little funny to me. But the Russian military says they could be American disinformation. With that said, the White House has filed a crimes report with the Justice Department, asking for an FBI investigation that would lead to prosecution. What conclusions have you drawn?
There has also been some speculation on the reasons for the leak, if it’s genuine. Walk us through the qui bono of all this. Who benefits? Does this damage Washington’s position? Does it help? Does it help the Russians? Is it a tempest in a teapot, helping nobody?
Representatives from the Saudi government are meeting today in Sanaa with Houthi representatives from the Yemeni government, all at the urging of an Omani diplomatic delegation. The Omanis have always played peacemaker in the region, maintaining that conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen destabilizes the entire region, which it does. This is the first time that the two sides have met in years, and it comes on the heels of successful Chinese mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Where do you see this going? Is the time right to see an end to the war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen?
CIA Director Bill Burns made a secret trip to Saudi Arabia a few days ago to tell Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman that the US was blindsided by the Chinese mediation and the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran and Syria. What’s the US end-game here, especially in light of the recent deal between Saudi Arabia and China to trade in yuan, rather than in dollars, and the fact that both Iran and Syria are under crushing US sanctions?
Israel continues to spiral into violence. Things started at the beginning of Passover, which coincided this year with Ramadan. Jews went to the Temple Mount and confronted Palestinians there. Israeli troops fired rubber bullets into the crowd. And now a Palestinian teenager has been killed in a refugee camp, while Israeli settlers say they’ll begin killing any Palestinian who goes into their settlements. This looks to be the worst potential violence since 2006. Where do you see it going?
French President Macron said in an interview on his way back from China that Europe must reduce its dependency on the United States and must avoid being dragged into a conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan. He calls this policy “strategic autonomy” and believes that Europe, apparently led by France, should be considered a superpower. This all comes back to multipolarity which, in my view, is the future. What are your thoughts?
Disinfo Leaks, CIA Frustration with Saudi, Israel Distracts with Attacks, and Macron Plays Good Cop...