West Africa Forms New Anti-Colonial Alliance. Are AFRICOM and Françafrique Doomed?

On The Freedom Side LIVE, Thursday, 7/11 at 3pm ET/12pm PT, Eugene and Rania are joined by special guests: Kambale Musavuli - The leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have officially formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a new bloc that will strengthen security ties between the Sahel states as they forge a new path away from US-French control. This undertaking poses a threat to the West’s long-standing ability to exert its influence through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its AFRICOM military operations. Kambale Musavuli, an analyst with the Center for Research on the Congo-Kinshasa, joins the show to explain how AES is challenging neo-colonialism in West Africa. Jamie Tyberg - Rather than try to ease up tensions in the Asia-Pacific, the US is planning to host large-scale nuclear war exercises in Korea next month. This year alone the US has conducted over 50 war games in the region, following more than 100 US-South Korean military exercises last year. Jamie Tyberg, a Korean organizer with Nodutdol, explains the dangers of such US provocations on China’s doorstep and how the US’s reckless militarism is drawing us closer to nuclear war in Korea. Layan Fuleihan - Despite the active warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the International Criminal Court, the US Congress has invited him to Washington to address a joint session on July 24. Activists with the Shut It Down for Palestine Coalition will be mobilizing against his visit, which they say is a bold-faced betrayal of the will of the majority of Americans who demand a ceasefire. Layan Fuleihan, Education Director at The People’s Forum and part of the coalition, joins the show to explain why supporters of Palestine must take action. Roger McKenzie - International Editor of the Morning Star Newspaper and member of the Communist Party of Britain will join hosts Rania Khalek and Eugene Puryear to discuss his new book, “African Uhuru: The Fight for African Freedom in the Rise of the Global South.“ McKenzie, who just returned from China, will also share insights from his visit through regions such as the autonomous region of Xinjiang, which has garnered special attention from the Western corporate media. Dr. Ben Becker - Days after surviving an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump announced Senator JD Vance (R-OH) as his running mate at the Republican National Convention. Dr. Ben Becker, Editor-in-Chief of BreakThrough News, joins the show to consider how the attempt on Trump’s life will result in the further rightward lurch of both Democrats and Republicans as Americans grow increasingly disillusioned with both options in front of them. #breakthroughnews