The Duran Podcast - Dennis Kucinich, US foreign policy and government spending (Live)

Episode Date: October 16, 2024

Dennis Kucinich, US foreign policy and government spending (Live)

All right. We are live with Alexander Mercuris, and it is an honor and a great pleasure to have with us. Mr. Dennis Kucinich, Mr. Kucinich, thank you so much for joining us on the Duran. I have linked in the description box down below, Kucinich.com running for Congress. Mr. Kucinich, I will add the link as a pinned comment as well when we wrap up the live stream. Is there any other information you would like to tell our viewers about your campaign for Congress? We've lost the audio. That's strange. We lost the audio.

How's this? Strange? Just. We lost the audio. We've lost the audio. It was working. It was working. It was just very clearly.

Yes, yes. We can hear you. We can hear you, sir. I can hear you clearly. Okay, great. We'll try again. Yes, we hear you. We hear you.

Okay. Mr. Kucinich, where can people, what else would you like to let the viewers of our show know about your campaign for Congress? I'm running to return to Congress in a district, which much of what I represented for 16 years, until the Democrats redistricted me out. And this time I'm running as an independent. People want our information and go to Kucinich.com. And I will say this that since I am really independent contributions are certainly appreciated at Consenticenance.com. This is a campaign that is aimed at playing a pivotal role in the Congress, because if I'm elected to the House of Representatives, it's quite possible that I'll be the swing vote with 217 Democrats, 217 Republicans, and myself. I'll be in a pivotal position to advance the cause of a totally different direction for America in the world.

Absolutely. Prucinich.com, everybody. It is in the description box down below. And I will add it once again as a pinned comment. Alexander, Mr. Dennis Prucinich, let's talk politics. Absolutely. Can I just say Dennis Kucinich has had an extraordinary and I would say wonderful career in politics. He's been mayor of Cleveland where he took on the mafia.

and very courageously took on the mafia. And I believe the local banking cartels and took them on and won. And he was an outstanding member of the House of Representatives for many years. And he fought against George W. Bush. And he fought against Dick Cheney. And he opposed all the wars. And he had an exceptionally interesting and I think wonderful domestic program. And he argued passionately.

properly for all sorts of important things in American political life. And as I absolutely, as he himself said, they then redistributed him out of the House of Representatives after the people that he was representing were continuously voting for him. So I will be very, very, very happy. I will open a bottle of champagne and drink it with great joy if I see him back at the House of representatives where based on all of the things that he has been done before, you can be sure that he will make a difference and keep the promises that he has made, just to say. So Dennis Kucinich, we are in a time of, you know, very fraught time in the United States,

great conflict in the United States. Your former party, the Democratic Party, is fighting and interesting and unusual campaign, I would say. The Republican Party now led by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, trying to appeal to working class voters in a way that those of us who remember the Republican Party would have found extraordinary once upon the time. We are involved in wars in all sorts of places, and more wars are being threatened. you were someone who strongly opposed all of the forever wars. You spoke about against the war in Iraq, as I well remember.

You spoke out courageously against the Barack Obama's war in Libya, all sorts of wars like that. Where do you want us to begin? Shall we talk about the present political situation in the United States? Why it is so important that you get re-elected to come. Congress at this time. Why having the balance is important and why this is an essential of the transitional election? Well, we're right now in a moment in U.S. history where the United States is totally overextended. Eight hundred plus military bases around the world, major

conflicts going on in Europe with Ukraine, serving as a U.S. proxy against Russia, a major conflict Middle East, with Israel being the U.S. proxy against the Arab and the Muslim world. We are, and of course, an incipient conflict in the Far East with the United States providing over the last two years about a billion dollars for Taiwan in anticipation of some kind of conflict with China. We are looking at the potential for a three-front war, which will destroy the United States. And there are people in the White House right now who are naively whistling,

and stumbling through the graveyard of history, pretending there's no consequences for the U.S. fueling the wars that were involved in. And my election will give a very powerful sign, to those in Washington that we must take a new direction, that we must stop these forever wars, that they're not only jeopardizing the survival of the United States, our national security, but they're also breaking the United States financially, looking at a $36 trillion deficit right now. And that isn't even getting into the moral dimension, which I certainly want to talk about.

we're at an inflection point in the history of the United States. And our freedoms are at risk as we pursue these endless wars. Peace and freedom are bound together. Absolutely. I mean, war is the enemy of freedom, something that the founders of the United States understood very well. Sometimes one has to fight wars to defend freedom.

But choosing wars and interventions in all sorts of places, ultimately are demoralizing and degrade freedom. Now, you have been arguing against these wars for decades. You have been consistently right. Why has it proved so difficult to get the United States to change course? Why, in fact, are we in this crisis that we are in at the moment? What has happened to the Democratic Party, of which you were formally apart? Why have they become so obsessed and belligerent with all of these wars? Because I find it difficult to understand from the outside. But what is the underlying problem in America?

Is it the military industrial complex? Is it the people we call the neocons? Why do these people have so much influence today? Well, all of the above. Gorvidal's, uh, uh, Gorvidal wrote a book called the United States of amnesia. And, uh, you know, during, in the run up to the war against Iraq, people forgot about what happened in Vietnam. And a run up to the war against Ukraine, or against Russia in Ukraine, people forgot about what happened in Iraq. And the, uh, and the same is true of, uh, with respect to the focus on the Middle East. So, you know, we have a combination of forces that play here.

One is certainly the military industrial complex, which President Eisenhower warned about this valedictory. We have to understand that that complex works every congressional district. That in almost every congressional district, there is some kind of a defense manufacturing facility, which lobbies members of Congress for the annual defense appropriation, which is now approaching a trillion dollars. In addition to this military industrial complex, which is honeycomb into the United States, we also have the defense intelligence establishment, which includes today, the FBI, the CIA Defense Intelligence Agency, and an archipelago of other agencies that

integrate. And what they do is provide a steady stream of misinformation together with the White House to the American press, which is then fed by these stenographers in the American media so that they can keep the people fearful of being attacked and of trying to guide them toward supporting policies that are otherwise antithetical to the economic interest and national security interests of the American people. So this is not new, but it's a process which is strengthened. And it's one where there's not just resistance to in the Congress, but there's appreciation and promotion of, particularly in the Democratic Party.

I was shocked when I saw so-called progressive Democrats recant a letter that sought a peaceful resolution of matters in Ukraine and between Ukraine and Russia. This is a moment when we have to understand when there is a partisan lockstep in favor of war, and the party in power is promoting that among its acolytes. We are looking at wider war. There's no question about it. And that's my concern right now. I think of the basic aspirations that people have.

for housing, for health care, for education, for child care, for retirement security, for safe communities. All of those are being set aside in favor of war. And to me, this is not only a political question, it is a moral question. And it's time that it be brought to the American people, and that's why I'm running for Congress. Again, because no one else is bringing this up inside the Democratic Party. And as an independent, I think I'll have a chance to help strengthen the impulse that members have towards objecting to these policies which are taking the United States to the edge of destruction. What about the economics of this?

I mean, do you feel, I mean, certainly I know a lot of people feel that this impulse towards war is proving economically debilitating as well, that it is refocusing American economic and energies and technological energies towards creating bad means of destruction, that it's diverting intellectual energies from problems that exist. You listed many of them, childcare, health, all of these things. People are talking about all the time wars. The elites in Washington are focused on war, focused on foreign policy to an unhealthy and dangerous degree, or so it seems to me. And the result is that the economy is now becoming increasingly geared towards war and economic expansion, because that is what the leadership in Washington, the elite there, that they're primarily focused on. So you can get bills passed for vast appropriations

for Ukraine or Israel or wherever, but it's very difficult to get anybody to do very much for the domestic situation of the United States. That's how it seems to me. Do you have any thoughts about this? Yeah, yeah, I mean, you're right about that. I think war could be, called the fentanyl of the American economy, because there is an addiction to war. That addiction has sent $175 billion into Ukraine for the purpose of propagating the war against Russia, which could have been settled a couple years ago. This impulse towards war and spreading wider war has sent $23 billion into Israel to continue the war not only against the people of Gaza and the genocide there, but also against people in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and now it appears

conflict-ready in Iran, a billion dollars towards Taiwan in furtherance of striking a conflict there. Meanwhile, you're at home. People in North Carolina are languishing the government. If they can come up with, you know, 800 million in North Carolina, they act like they're doing people a great favor when lives have been destroyed. See, we're losing track of the historic purpose of nationhood. In America, it was never about ruling the world.

We were warned about going abroad, seeking dragons to slay. Now, America was about life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. And today, those have become chivalets. Today, we're told, well, no, we have to rule the world in order to make the world safe for democracy. Actually, we've made the world safe for plutocracy. We've helped to instill a totalitarian instinct in our own country. And so this stand that I'm taking is for freedom. You know, it's for a good reason that I carry a constitution with me, and this is staying

with me, you know, even if it's the last one that's circulating, this constitution is something that is being ignored right now. Congress should step up to its Article I. Responsibilities with respect to the administrative conduct of office and pursuing war, We need to insist that our Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure are absolutely confirmed and they're being lost. Our Fifth Amendment rights, our 14th Amendment rights. This is a moment in the United States where our basic freedoms are being smashed in favor of a war machine that grows as an incubus and threatens the safety. not only of the United States, but of the world itself.

So, you know, I'm glad to be with you today so we can have some frank discussions about where America stands right now at the threshold of great danger. I mean, I live in Britain. I watch the United States. I've observed the United States for, you know, all my, all my adult life. I've never known a time when there has been open attacks on the Constitution coming from within the political. political class in the way that we see today. I mean, suggestions, a former Secretary of State saying that the First Amendment is a problem because it makes governing more difficult, for example, things of that kind, things that I

would never have expected or imagined could possibly happen in the United States. Do people understand, does anybody in the political class understand that the United States is built on its constitution. It's there. It was, it's we the people, the people are there in the constitution. They founded the United States and they founded it through the constitution of the United States. If you start to take it apart, what you're going to have is not the America that we have known. Do people in the political class know that? Do they care? Do they want it to happen? So they want to dismantle the United States as the founders and the American people created it. Well, that this question is asked shows you how much trouble we're in.

I think there is a forgetfulness about what we're supposed to be as a nation. You know, when you look at the preamble to our Constitution, it very clearly sets out what the objectives of governments should governance should be. Forming a more perfect union. Securing the blessings of liberty. You know, promoting the common defense. And then they go all around the world and on and on and on. We need to have a day of remembrance about the Constitution itself.

Because when we forget the basis of our union, the union will not stand. In addition to those concerns that you've just articulated, we also are facing polarity between the parties, hyper-partisanship which has degraded the capacity for dialogue, which has led to a reflexive statement on policies both domestic and international. We're divided within. And those who describe to Christianity remember from the New Testament that a house divided against itself cannot stand. And we are a house divided. And at the same time, we are sewing divisions around the world.

through the desire to sell more arms that are killing more people that are building hatred against the United States of America. We are becoming a target and we're at the threshold of a nuclear war. And this needs to be stated very clearly. As we lob missiles towards the Kremlin,

as the United States provides a greater firepower to, Ukraine for the chance of moving towards a nuclear exchange with Russia increased as we encourage Israel to strike Iran. And I know the people say, we're not doing that. We're telling him not to abalone. I mean, the U.S. and Israel are handing, you know, America is the hand in Israel's glove. And the movements that are happening in that region would not have.

happened but for the United States. And so we could see a nuclear war in that theater as well. Where are we going? You know, and I think my candidacy is about restraining, taming, you know, if not eliminating this impulse towards forever war. And the economic issues are extraordinary. eight trillion of the $36 trillion deficit are attributed directly to the war since 9-11. Do you not get the impression because I do that the Democratic Party has completely lost interest in its own old electoral base, that they're not really interested in them anymore, that to the extent that they think about them, it's basically because they want to vote for them in elections, but on a day-to-day basis. they don't really worry very much about them or do very much about them once.

I say that I was listening just a few days ago. I was watching a speech that JFK did talking about health care issues, extraordinary speech. I would never imagine. I cannot imagine any prominent member of the Democratic Party talking like that today. Sadly, you're right. Right. You can go back to the trade agreements, NAFTA, North American Free Trade Agreement, the general agreement on tariff and trade and other trade agreements, which were devoid of workers' rights,

human rights, environmental quality principles. And more than that caused the deindustrialization of the Midwest, grass growing and parking lots where they used to make cars, washing machines, aircraft assemblies, ships. We've seen our strategic industrial base deteriorate to the detriment of America's middle class, which was built with the help of that. And then we are seeing good-paying jobs have left a number of regions in the United States. you know, the Democratic Party under President Clinton began that march towards economic insecurity for many Americans. And that, together with war, war is an economic loser, by the way.

People use, you know, war is is not labor intensive. It's, you know, it's all about technology. And so what we're looking at here is an additional degradation of the American economy with deindustrialization, with war, and with Wall Street's the deal the Democrats made with Wall Street. I mean, when you saw the bail out of Wall Street after the subprimealtown, after the banks became a version of a casino. And the American taxpayer had to indemnify the banks against their losses. Well, millions of Americans lost their homes. When you take a look at that whole panoramic sweep of deindustrialization, war, Wall Street, bailouts, why would people have any confidence in a political party to deliver them from their current dilemma?

Now, I'm not speaking on behalf of any party. I'm running as an independent so that I am free to be able to point out the direction that we must take to restore our industrial base, rebuild steel automotive aerospace and shipping, to stop these endless wars, to cut the budget deficit by eliminating these 800 military bases all around the world, to cause this defense establishment to be rolled back because we don't need to keep plighting. and planning future wars or creating fake intelligence to hype fear, there is a chance still for a good life in this country. But we better change our direction soon because we cannot forever sustain the direction we're going in. You turning to the other party now.

Do you not feel, because I sometimes do, that they're borrowing some of your themes, now talking some of them at least, not all of them by any means, but a few of them are talking about ending the forever wars, scaling back on conflicts around the world, not giving so much money to Ukraine, that they're complaining about de-industrialization and all of those things. But they have no actual plan. They have no real idea about how to do these things. They're talking a lot about tariffs, but not much else, or at least one person is. that they don't perhaps fully understand what a complex thing and what a challenging, but actually fruitful and productive thing it is to do, is needed to be done in order to do the things that you say.

Anyway, what do you think of the other party? Because, of course, some people will say, well, if you disagree with one party, there's always the other. Well, America at this point needs to make decisions based on the person, not the party. And by the way, no one's really told me who the party is. Who are these individuals? I mean, you know, what I know from being involved with the Democratic Party, there's faceless individuals who, you know, are representing very, economic interests that have nothing to do with the unique, pressing economic interests of the

American people. And, you know, who's the party? And, you know, there's a party and we're, you know, we're not invited to it. We're paying for the party, but we're not invited to it. Now, with respect to a Republican Party, look, I can work with people on both sides of the aisle, but I'm not into group think. And parties are really. essentially an exercise in group think. And group think is anathema to freedom. Group think is anathema to the idea of a republic. People, there has to be a free exchange of ideas. You pointed out earlier what Secretary of State Kerry said about, you know, too much free speech. It's kind of a reprise of what was said earlier about there's an excess of democracy in the United States.

we live in a world of ideas which sometimes are put into motion within government. And those people who are trying to control Americans as a group who are engaging in a kind of a massive sciop trying to restructure the world according to the image of the world. communicated to us according to their unique economic interests and not the interests of the American people. You know, they have to be challenged. And that's why I'm running through. I'm ready to do that. I'm ready to do that based on my understanding how we relied to about Iraq. You know, the Iraq war should have never happened. A million innocent Iraqis died. Five thousand American soldiers gave their lives. Their service was honorable, but the people who sent them,

not. You know, I'm in a rather unique position here. whether the people elect me or not, I'm still there to be a voice. But I have a chance to win this race because there is an awareness that the party system is insufficient to provide enough people who will challenge it from the inside. And that's why I'm here to challenge it from the inside. And I was independent within the Democratic Party, and I made a decision last year to become independent outside the party. Can I just bring up something which I know some people are going to say.

I mean, I don't agree with it myself. I think that the history disproves it. What do you say to those people who will say in response to all of the things that you've been saying? Which is that the world is full of bad actors. You can't trust Vladimir Putin. You can't trust Xi Jinping. The Ayatollahs are on the move. If we don't come after them in Ukraine,

them at least in Taiwan, they'll come after us. We have to fight them over there because otherwise we'll be fighting them over here. What do you say to people like this? I mean, I encounter them every day, by the way. But I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Well, it all depends on one's morality. I mean, if your morality is doing to others before they do unto you, then you're in a world of trouble.

And while there are bad people around the world, no question about it, we don't need to be one of them. You know, the United States can still be a beacon of light for the world, but we can't do that when the light that we're providing is the flash of a nuclear bomb or the flash of artillery or of other weapons. We have to ask, who are we, not who are they? who are we, pay attention to what we stand for. Make no mistake. I mean, if we were directly attacked by another country, we have every right to defend ourselves. But that's not what's going on right now.

You know, I've said this before, but I was a third-string quarterback and a not-very-good football team. And I can tell you, I know the difference between offense and defense, and we're on the offense all over the world right now. We're not on defense, and it's costing us mightily. So, you know, defend ourselves, yes, but it doesn't defend America when we're spending $175 million over to Ukraine, $175 billion

of the Ukraine to further a war with Russia. It doesn't defend us when we are letting and permitting and I would say encouraging Israel to commit genocide in the Middle East. If we said stop it, we could stop it. But we're not doing that. Well, we're saying, oh, well, we don't like it. Please, quit the con job that acts, that presents itself as government. I mean, Smedley Butler said, you know, General Smedley Butler said a years ago, wars of racket.

But foreign policy has become a racket. Foreign policy has substituted warcraft for state craft. And we are no longer pursuing the interests of America. We're pursuing the interests of arms manufacturers. We're pursuing the interests of empire, whether it's regional, or international, global. I'm not buying any of that. You know, I come from Cleveland, Ohio.

I come from a working class community. And, you know, we can sniff out fraud pretty easily where I'm from. And I'm telling you what I see going on in Washington right now with respect to international policy out of the state crap, fraud, fraud, fraud, fraud, fraud. And I think I'm right in saying that you exposed a lot of fraud when you were mayor of Cleveland all those years ago. Can I just, this is my last question. Can I ask you to say a few things about Ohio specifically where you're standing? I think is it the seventh, third congressional district?

Is there anything you particularly want to say? Because we do have people who are watching this program from Ohio. I know that they know you well. I know a little bit, by the way, about the history of the Ohio. But perhaps you could just say a few things about. Well, the people that said, you know, I've represented a number of people in the seven congressional district over the years in what's called Chihaga County. Many of them moved into Medina County, which is part of the district. There's a more rural county, Wayne County, and then we have a little bit of homage country in Holmes County. My campaign has consisted of supporting the Constitution, stopping the endless wars, stopping government from spying, stopping the building of a deficit,

supporting small farms and businesses, making sure that we could put a cap on credit card interest rates, taming the beast of inflation, which grows mightily. from all these laws and the monopolization within our economy, on and on and on with economic issues. I mean, I come from communities where people, you know, struggle to make these means, where they worry about paying the bills every month, where they're not sure, where, you know, if they lose a paycheck, how they're going to survive. Where they have to worry about holding onto their homes or paying the rent or getting their medical,

is about going bankrupt, you know, let alone thinking about what for many people is a dream that's being lost and that is sending their kids to college. I mean, these are the practical aspirations that people have. And from my point of view, one must, you know, represent people's practical aspirations, and I do. But I'm also aware of what's cheating people of their hopes and dreams. And right now our government has become a, instead of being a constitutional government, has become a cheat sheet of military operations. And I am, you know, if the people send me back to Congress, I am prepared to challenge that to the nth degree and to stand up and speak out on behalf of the needs of my constituency, which I'm sure are compatible with the needs of millions of Americans.

So this isn't just about one congressional district. I'll point this out because if I'm elected, I could be the pivotal vote in the House of Representatives. I'm the only person who stands a chance to be elected to the House as an independent. And the chances are the House will be closely divided with 217 Democrats, 217 Republicans, and one independent myself. So, you know, that's why this race has national importance. It's not just about one seat in one district that other people are outside that just who, oh, why should I care? If you can help right now, go to cacinich.com, make a contribution, you can help me win this

race. And because I'm running as an independent, because I don't take money from all these interest groups that are driving wars that are, that, that, that, that, you know, with those contributions come some masking tape to go over the mouths of the members of Congress who received the money. I am free to be able to stand up and speak out about everything I've just been speaking of on the Duran here. Dennis Kucinich, I absolutely want you to be elected, and I urge people to do that.

If they really want to see happen what Lincoln said in his second inaugural address, a just and lasting peace between ourselves and all nations, then they should vote. for you and help you get elected to Congress. Thank you very much. I'm going to pass you over to my colleague, Alex. He's going to have perhaps one or two questions to put to you. And thank you very much for answering my questions. Thank you. Mr. Kucinich, we have a lot of questions, but I'll try to get to a few. I know you're very busy. You're pressed on time. Maybe give us five minutes to answer some of the questions from yours. Awesome. All right. All right. Great. From Sparky, Dennis, some say Gaza is over with because it's physically destroyed,

but once Israel fizzles out, won't the Palestinian diaspora with Brick's investment return and rebuild quicker than some think? The people of Gaza have been steadfast for many years, despite being under occupation, despite lacking the basic necessities of life. Today they're facing starvation. If they haven't already been knocked out of their homes, all systems of support have been shattered. This is horrendous, horrific.

But it is a tribute to the determination of the people of Gaza that they're not giving up. They're not ready to leave. And even though there are those such as my opponent in this race has talked about turning Gaza into a parking lot, an advocacy of genocide. The people of Gaza are not going to be denied. In our Christian Bible, it says that truth crushed to the ground shall rise again. And I think that this attempt to crush the people of Gaza in the interest of

of building out the dreams of the far-right Likudniks. It's not, I don't see it happening. And I think that there will be a moment to rebuild. And the world community, which has unfortunately supported this action, is going to have to help in that rebuilding. This is one of the great tragedies of our times. But it's a man-made tragedy. It did not have to happen.

And I don't sanction anything amosted on October 7th. But I can tell you that anything that happened before that has been swept aside. And anything that's happened subsequent to that has been ignored, even though we're talking about 43,000 dead gossins, children burning alive in hospital beds. The horror of it is should stir the human heart. and strike the conscience of people all over the world. And this must stop Netanyahu and that crew of his supporters there have to be brought into check before they succeed in destroying a good part of the world

with their homicidal intent. From John Roberts, what is going on in Congress that they keep using continuing resolution instead of passing actual budgets? Is this a consolidation of power to congressional leaders? What should be done about this? You know, we have a system of checks and balances. The administration writes the checks, and Congress doesn't know what the balance is.

We have a, congressional leaders do get more power when there's not a critical inquiry on every dime that's being spent. And right now the American people are being cheated by defense contractors who run up the cost of basic goods by a factor of 10, if not more, by lack of oversight on all kinds of spending programs. You know, when I was Mayor Cleveland years ago, I was able to cut the city budget by about 15 percent the first year without reducing services. government has become a waste machine. And the more that government spends, you know, it doesn't necessarily mean their benefits going to the American people.

So, you know, you're right. The questioner is right about the lack of oversight, the aggregation of power into the hands of a few. And most members of Congress aren't even reading the bills or checking out the budget, unfortunately. A couple of more. And we will let you go, Mr. And there's so many questions. Peter Jackson says, do you agree that the U.S. is an Israel-controlled plutocracy? Has the empire killed the American Republic?

I sure hope not. I mean, that's one of the reasons why I'm running. You know, if I thought it was dead, I wouldn't be running because, you know, if it's dead, it's dead. But there's still across this land and underlying unity among Americans and a desire to take the country in a different direction, notwithstanding the fact that there's, you know, few people that seem to have on toward influence over the decisions that are made in Washington. This didn't happen overnight. Are there elements in our government who are influenced in a direction that is not consistent with the needs of the American people? Yes. Is that having an effect in the Middle East? You better believe it. Is it having an effect in Europe?

Absolutely. The Far East, yes. See, when you have such great powers, the United States has, there's always people want to appropriate it, put it to their unique needs. That's going on in the Middle East. It has to stop. See, now, one does not have to oppose. I oppose what Israel's doing, but I don't oppose Israel itself.

But I will tell you this, that if Israel keeps on the path that's going in the region, and they could destroy themselves, just as the United States could destroy itself if we continue on this path of aggression throughout the world. So, you know, there's, I hope to go to Congress to introduce some thoughts of restraint of, you know, to bring a flashing yellow, if not a red light to the spending policies which keep promoting war. you know, the question or ask a good question. You know, I, you know, I can tell you that I'm not controlled by any of these interest groups. I mean, you figured that out. If I was, I wouldn't be talking to you right now, nor asking you to help me out because those interest groups are fully operationalized in congressional districts across this country,

including the one that I'm in, but of course, I'm not, I don't have my handout to people who have blood on theirs. Right. Two more. Florina says, how do the ideals of the U.S. Constitution square with the systemic genocide that the U.S. has pursued against the Native American people and their culture? Well, we have some historical reckoning that has to take place. There's no question about it. You know, anyone who understands how we grew as a nation has to admit it was at the expense of people of the color red, of the color black, brown. You know, that's a history we reckon with.

We included in who we are, and hopefully we evolved beyond that and become something. that is wiser, smarter, compassionate, understanding, more ready to assert our humanity instead of the opposite. People in the chat want to know from K. Mead, does Dennis think a new congressional investigation should be opened into 9-11? I think 9-11 is always going to be an open book, of course. Just as a new investigation needs to be open into the Kennedy assassination. You know, these, we can, unfortunately, we're living in a time where we know government lies. Now, I saw that writ large myself during the Iraq war period where the government promoted this idea that Iraq somehow had something to do at 9-11, did not have anything to do with 9-11, didn't have anything to do with al-Qaeda's role 9-11, wasn't involving the anthrax attack, didn't have the intention of capability of attacking the United States. United States. Yet here we are, a million innocent Iraqi deaths later. Government does lie. And does it lie all the time? Not necessarily, but you have to have somebody in there that

knows what the truth is. That's why I'm running. It's not hard to tell the truth if you live with truth. But if you live with a lie and you live standing on a lie, then, you know, you wouldn't know a life in the truth. So I know the difference. And, you know, if I can, you know, get back to Congress, I can tell you that I'll help wake the town and tell the people what's going on as I, as I endeavor to do during that period of the Iraq war and the war against Libya and war, war, war, here and there. So thank you for that question. Kucinich.com. You can make a difference. Absolutely. And sophisticated caveman says, hi, Duran. It's a pleasure to hear from Dennis on your program. I'm from Cleveland area, Medina County. I appreciate

all of you. Medina, yes. Yes, and Zareel says, Mr. Cucinish, I wish you all be success. And Sparky says, thank you for joining us, Mr. Cucinich. Thank you, Mr. Dennis Cucinich for joining us on the Durantcucinich.com, everybody. The link is in the description box down below, and I will have that as a pinned comment as well, that link to Cucinich.com.

Mr. Dennis Cucinich, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. everyone. Take care. Take care. Take care. All right. Thank you, Sparky, for that fantastic super chat. And Alexander, let's answer the rest of the questions. Fantastic.

Difficulty to rise to the level that he has done. I should say. By the way, I remember him in politics so well before. I even remember when he was mayor of Cleveland. Can I just say, I mean, he was a heroically brave mayor of Cleveland. It was in a very, very big mess. And I remember him clearing it up. And all sorts of very, very difficult things happened at that time as he did it.

Yeah, I remember his work as well. Very brave. Very brave. Great interview, Alexander, as well. great questions that you posed to him and great questions from the chat as well. Absolutely. And by the way, I'll have a don't perignon ready for when he wins.

Yeah, we had many questions and we had limited time, but I tried to get to as many as I could. I said five minutes and we had them for a good 15 minutes. Anyway, let's add to the rest of the questions, Alexander. Kathy Tang, welcome to the Drand community. Dan Doyle, welcome to the Drand community. and H. Reed Shaw, walking the draft community.

D.K., thank you for that super sticker. Nikos says David. David Pine once said that through its actions, the U.S. is creating a new Soviet Union. I looked up, I looked it up, and if Russia reaches a 2.4 million personnel mark, that's half of the capacity of the USSR in 1985. I think that's true. I mean, if you're talking about men,

But of course, the Soviet army was based on conscription, soldiers who served for two years. The Russian army is going to be based on contracts, the volunteer soldiers. It's going to be a different army from the Soviet army. And I don't think you can push that too far. Today's Russia and the Soviet Union are still very, very different places, at least in my opinion. as for the United States being like the U.S., well, being like the USSR, there are still important differences. And Nicos has a follow-up question to that.

He says, by funding Ukraine, you'll now have the massive conventional force in half of the USSR with modern weapons and no communist system holding them back. Oh, absolutely. That's exactly right. And there are people in Washington who are very worried and stressing about it. They're saying, what have we done? what are we bringing on ourselves? There are people who are talking this way.

And of course, they should have thought it out before. I mean, you know, if they'd been listening to us or indeed, Deniz, seen it. They'd have foreseen it coming, but there we are. Yes, Parki says, make Israel Syria again in those Ottoman Empire days, Levantuos, not along fine with their neighbors, whether Muslim, Christian, or otherwise. Indeed, the quiet Ottoman centuries. as I've heard them described. Kimberly, welcome to the Duran community.

Great to have you with us. Sparky says, fun fact, in 1492, the Ottoman Empire sent ships to rescue Jews from the Spanish Inquisition, contrary to popular belief Muslims and Jews have not been fighting for thousands of years. Well, I'm sure that's true. I mean, I'm not an ex-exam.

I give many things I'm not an expert on, but relations between Islamic states and the Jewish people. I'm not an expert on. But I do know that there have been long, long periods of peace and coexistence and contended peace and coexistence between them. That I do know.

Sparky says, Dennis, should Russia spoil Black Rock's plan and make Ukraine Russia again? Well, that's what may happen. Whether Dennis wants it or not, it could very well be where we end up. Matthew says, Alexander, it would appear that the UK is still trying to secure long-range missile strikes.

Do you see this happening? What would the response be? I think it's, look, one should never exclude this possibility. The Pentagon, I think it's absolutely clear now, is strongly opposed to this idea. But the Pentagon is not the only power force in Washington. The British can say what they like. The decision isn't going to be made by them. is going to be made in Washington. The president himself, I suspect, is inclined to do it.

The Secretary of State, Lincoln, is enthusiastic for it. There are all kinds of other neocons who wanted to happen as well. So this is never a fully resolved issue, even if for the moment the answer still seems to be no. It could change at any time whilst this president is still in office. Yeah, and I would just like to add that given everything that's happening in the Middle East right now and the ramping up towards a war with Iran, I imagine the Pentagon is even more dead set against long-range risks to hit Russian territory because Russia could cause a lot of problems for the United States in the region. Absolutely. Yeah. Sir Mug's game says, easier for Kamala to pass through the eye of a needle than when a... Cleaner ballot type thing.

Thank you, Sirmosky. I've been looking at some of the opinion polls over the last couple of hours. And, well, you know, there may be forcing what you say. Nova Storm says, thank you, Duran, still the best. Thank you, Nova Storm for that. Boa Omega says, how many missiles would Olenski lose if dollars are funneled to U.S. citizens in North Carolina and Florida for hurricane relief, ditto with BB. Well, to answer your question,

if the people of North Carolina and all of that got all the money for flood relief and storm relief that they need, it would still be small change compared to the shoals of money they've been sending in the direction of Ukraine and for all the other wars, including Israel's wars in the Middle East at the present time. It's incredible that they're not prepared or not able to provide those monies.

And it tells you exactly where their actual priorities are. That was the question I basically put to Dennis Puccino. You saw what he said. These people are obsessed with war. That is what they're about. If you want a government, if you want a government that starts caring about people in places like, you know, South Carolina and wherever, You need to change the government completely. And you can do better by voting for Dennis Kucinich if you're in the 7th district in Ohio, just say.

Sparky says, build a better world with bricks. And Sparky says, Dennis, consider this, quote, every time someone says Israel is our friend in the Middle East, I can't help but think before Israel we had no enemies in the Middle East, U.S. missionary, John Sheehan. Well, I don't think he would push back on that at all, actually. just to say Oscar N says U.S. wars do not affect the U.S. Yes, you lose some soldiers and some money

but see the country you destroy. Decades of misery and generations' lives lost. Never been invaded and see wars as a heroic thing. I mean, your point is absolutely correct and completely true. However

debilitating these wars are for the West and for the United States specifically, for the people who have to endure them, they are disastrous. And again, he spoke about the moral dimension toward of this, and we must never forget it. Yeah, I like the fact that he talked a lot about the moral dimension. Yeah, you don't hear that much, you don't hear that at all from politicians. Napoleon Laguerre, thank you for that super sticker.

Sparky said, Dennis, what effect will the October 24th Brick Summit have on the Israel-based Middle East conflict? could Brick's make steps towards peace? You can answer that question. Well, it could do. I mean, bear in mind that the president of Iran will be there. Also, some very interesting facts that have come to light over the last couple of hours, which is that the Israeli foreign minister, Mr. Katz, telephone Wang Yi in Beijing, you know, Chinese foreign minister.

Six minutes after that call, Wang Yi telephed. phone the Foreign Minister of Iran. So the Israelis very urgently communicating something, which they wanted the Chinese to pass on to Iran. And by the way, the Israelis are also contacting the Russians and the Russians have been speaking to the Iranian, the Israelis, and they gave a very strong warning to Israel, by the way, about, you know, Israel dropping missiles and bombs. close to the Russian air base in Syria. So, you know, one can imagine that at some point over time, perhaps not very long, perhaps weeks,

we could start to see the BRIC states playing a significant role and trying to, you know, pull it all together and patch it up. But at the moment, I have to say, my overwhelming instinct is that we are heading for a big war, that Israel is going to launch its strike. and only after that has happened and things have started to shake down, especially if it doesn't go the way the Israelis expect, only then will the brick states be able to step in and start to put things together.

Go on. I just want to ask you a question. What is the relationship between Russia and Israel right now, Putin Netanyahu specifically? Do you have any sense of what the relationship is like? My sense is at a personal level. It is completely broken down. I mean, they were sort of friends. I don't think they're friends anymore.

Certainly not after what they've each said about the other. So I don't think they're friends anymore. But I think that they still know each other and they know each other's mind and they know the kind of person they are. And I think that whilst repairing the friendship is impossible, I still think that they can probably find some common ground and come to some kind of understanding with each other if the conditions are right.

At the moment, they're not right. Elza says, will the US ever be held accountable or will they keep walking away? Keep on walking away. One day they will be held accountable if they continue along their current course. It is inevitable. Always there is an accounting.

It is an iron rule. Sir Mugge's game says, a fantasy, the inability to picture things that are not present. US suffers from the inability to picture things, even if they are present. It is yet unnamed. No, wait, I'm calling it. A fantasia with malakia encephalonbi. Yeah.

Wow. Well, this is, this is very, very powerful, very true. By the way, someone else, Julius Caesar once said that the art of genius, is not to see that which is not there. Not so different from what you're saying. In other words, to see things clearly, rather than to let your mind get cluttered with all sorts of irrelevant things.

I think that complements what you've just said. I've always liked that. Not not to see that which is not there. That which is not there. Kamala Harris would like to come up with something like. Andrew Andrew Novak says End of the Ponzi scheme

Mr. Kramer spoke of yesterday. Oh yeah, absolutely, a brilliant live stream as well and very complimenting today's very well, I think. Yeah, Laura Powers, thank you for joining the Duran community. Abinoza says, just thanking you guys

for all the amazing streams and the courage it has taken to make them. Thank you for an amazing super chat. Habinoza. Thank you for that. Sparky says Gaza flattened but not finished. Sir Muggey says it was it was lucky little Stalin who first used the term

American exceptionalism but with a fire hose of mockery, of course. I didn't know this. I didn't know this. Be careful. I mean, lots of things are attributed to Stalin. It's clever phrases. And it turns out that he didn't say most of them, just so. Sticky Mark says, as it's Kamala Harris as VP who gets to sign off on the U.S. election results, would a delay in her doing that kind of light blue touch paper and things?

Let's wait and see is the answer. I think everybody is looking to this day when the, the results are presented with some degree of concern. I'm certainly one of those, and we will see what she does. Sparky says, Dennis, as you may know, Putin is a reasonable, if not righteous man. Most, if not all bad things heard about him are the result of relentless Western propaganda and false flags. He has gone on record as saying that he thinks that Russia, and of course that extends to Putin as well has been severely demonized. And I think, well, obviously, I think he's right.

Sir Mug's game says, I've noticed that Nafali Bennett has traded his thick Israeli accent for a cartoonish American accent. Desert Fox 2.0. Better check his six by the pricking of my thumbs, Mr. Bennett, this way comes. He wants to become Prime Minister of Israel again. That's clearly what it means.

Thank you for that, by the way. Thank you for that, Sir Muz game, absolutely. Sparky says, make Ukraine, Russia again. and don't even leave Apache-palled Ukraine. At least it remain a NATO playground, a carpet baggers money, laundry, and it becomes a black rock property. You know, the West and Zelensky today,

in his speech to the Rada, are working overtime to make precisely what you've said happen. I mean, I thought it was one of the most disastrous speeches I have ever heard in my life. When I did my program, which will appear later today, I hadn't yet heard and read the whole text of it. I have now. I mean, I just couldn't believe what I was reading, even Zelensky, even Zelensky.

Yeah. Far, thank you for that super chat. Sparky says another reason returning Ukraine back into Russia is to deter a bay of pigs-type invasion using the projected Ukrainian government in exile pushed by the West. And, of course, the West is also doing everything possible to impress that lesson on the Russians. I mean, it really is astonishing how everybody in Europe, in Washington, in Kiev, seem to be conspiring together to destroy Ukraine. Just saying.

Communism Incorporated says, why do you not like geopolitics as a term, Alex? Because it is connected for me very much to the personality of McKinder, and a certain German scholars of the 1920s who were basically imperialists. And I am not someone who is into imperialism at all. But international relations, which is perhaps the word I would have once preferred, has been massively contaminated by IR studies, which is a type of studies, which I have, by the way,

for all kinds of reasons, which I'm not going to discuss now. Sparky says go answer Allah fight the power. Latimeros says, thank you gentlemen for inviting Dennis Kucinich. His stands on foreign policy very much resonate with Ron Paul's. It would be also great if you invite Dr. Paul to your live stream. We did to do a program with him, Glenn Dyson and myself, I seem to remember. And I agree, there is a great deal of overlap, though, of course, on many things they differ. And Sir Mug's game says Putin's body language towards Pezeshkian spoke volumes.

Putin's not a fan, it looks like. Interesting. No, no, I think the two were circling each other. I think you're basically right. Though against that, the words Putin used were very warm. And Moon Dragon said, hey, says, hey, Alex is my victory plan. send me some money. That's pretty much the victory player.

Well, it is. I mean, I mean, you could, you could, you could go a step further and say, you know, let's start World War III because one level best money, it also amounts. Yeah. Yeah. Send me money and let's start World War II. Josh Wood says, whereabouts do you think the post-war Ukraine-Russia border will be since you previously said it'll be west beyond the Denebred effects? I have to say this. And, you know, I haven't come to this, I was not certain.

And bear in mind, nobody in Moscow talks to me about these things. I mean, you know, this is just guesswork. But I think the Russians will cross the NEPA. And if they cross the NEPA, the only logical place for them to stop is the Western border, the Polish border, which is what Medvedev has been saying for some time now. Now, I don't think that everybody in Moscow is of the border. that view so far. I don't think Putin himself yet is, but I think that is where the logic of events is taking this. Unless there is a diplomatic settlement quickly, of which there is no sign.

Matthew says, if there are deep strikes, will Russia hold the course and arm the enemies of NATO, or will the direct response come? Thank you for all your work. I don't know. And I'm not going to try and guess. The Russians have spoken about a direct response, but they've also spoken. about proxies, supporting proxies. And exactly, as Alex said a few minutes ago, the conflict in the Middle East, the crisis in the Middle East, on this very issue gives the Russians more leverage

because there's many more people who are going to need help, and the Pentagon knows it. The Pentagon knows it, exactly. Jerry, thank you for that super sticker. What in the world says Americans on the verge of civil unrest, neglected? A just and lasting peace between ourselves and all nations.

People always forget that Lincoln also talked about all nations, by the way, but he of course also meant between ourselves. And America lacks both at the moment, and that is what it urgently needs. Boa Omega, thank you for joining the Duran community. Sir Mug's game says, have Iran and Israel cut a deal for both to get to the sea? both have dreamed of this forever. Adios, Lebanon,

adibadechi, Hezbollah, and Sayonata, Palestine. Well, I think straightforwardly, no. I don't think they've come to any kind of deal about anything. I don't see any sign of it. All the indications at the moment is that the ascendant faction in Israel, backed by the ascendant faction in Washington, want war with Iran. I see no sign of any deal being done.

There is clearly a dialogue going on, but I think it's more about trying to control the conflict than about trying to avoid it. And there are some people in Israel who are not looking or wanting to control the conflict at all. They want an all-out war, and I'm sure that that's what they're going to get. Matthew says, will Iran versus Israel go global? I hope not, because that would be the ultimate disaster. but Iran against Israel is an incredibly dangerous situation. We saw with that missile strike that the Iranians launched on the 1st of October, that they have the ability to hit Israel and to hit his heart.

36 missiles supposedly got through to the Neva-Tim Air Base. 36. Three dozen. That's what the Financial Times said based on open sources. It's on my figure. It's the Financial Times figure. We also read, also from the Financial Times, proof of what Brian Ballettick has been saying all along, there are not that many air defence missiles. They're going to run out of them very quickly. So if we get into a war with Iran, unless Iran collapses quickly, and I don't think it will,

then the advantage will gradually swing in its favour. And what will the other side do? What were the Israelis of the neocons do? What they always do, they will want to escalate even more. And where does that escalation end? What are its limits? Well, we've seen that with these people, unless they're really forced back, there are no limits. So this is an incredibly dangerous situation, and it is getting more dangerous all the time. Boa Omega says, don't believe everything you read on the internet, Rasputin.

True enough. Zareel says, and Padoliac, Alex, say it, please. Podolia. Padolea. Sir Muggeen says, Alex, just a heads up. West Point and Ph.D. McGregor claims Cyprus is half Turkish, and the other half is under Greek control. Do you have some splaining to do, my friend?

And here's a preemptive, oh, how dare you Greeks? Alexander Cyprus 36% of the island is illegally occupied and there is only one Republic of Cyprus Absolutely correct

Recognized as such by the United States Just to say Alexander Ponyachev says I heard that the current situation in the US Has been called the fall of the Roman Empire But with Wi-Fi

Does that make sense no the fall of the roman empire was completely different don't forget that if you're talking about the eastern roman empire which was the roman empire um the weight of historical scholarship when it looks at what is called in the west the byzantine empire has firmly now come to that conclusion that it is the roman empire in the east it didn't fall until 1453 and it did not fall in the same way as the American Empire is falling. There are some similarities. If you're talking about the Western Roman Empire,

it does seem that it started to run out of money. That was one factor that, you know, the two had in common. But it was a far, far more intelligently handled affair. some of the people in Rome who were making the decisions at the end were still remarkable and great people trying to do their best. Can I say that about the political class of the U.S. today? Tisham says, dear Mr. Kucinich, ain't there a law against our regime's lawlessness? Tisham, thank you for that great super chat.

I'm sure Mr. Kucinich is watching and hopefully he'll address your own. question when he gets it to Congress. Thank you for that. Tish. And Samuel Maroni says, what do you think of Orix? Is it the Twitter account? This is, this is presumably that account that claims to all you, I'm not sure where it's even in business anymore, but they used to count where they give all those numbers for Russian tax. I think they've got it completely wrong. It's just one another one of these, you know, entities that goes around, providing what they call citizen-based information. I don't take it seriously.

It's a straightforward. I mean, you've never seen me even discuss it in any of my programs, and nor have we on the Duran. Yeah, they're getting it all from the Ministry of Defense, the Ukraine Ministry of Defense, which is where the UK Ministry of Defense actually gets much of their information as well. Correct. That's exactly right.

Yeah, sophisticated caveman says, how will Russia handle the governing of ethnic Ukrainians in the annexed regions. Will there be Russian Ukrainian and Ukrainian Ukraine? Well, we shall see. I think for the moment, as at the present time, Putin's talking only about the four regions, you know, Zabrogyat, Khashon, Donets, Lugansk, and of course, Crimea. And in those regions, there are, by the way, Ukrainian schools. I mean, there's no prohibition. on the Ukrainian language. It's possible to their schools where Ukrainian is taught.

I think that is absolutely, you know, the model that Putin wants to follow and that the Russians want to follow within the four regions. If things start to be extended further westwards, then there may be challenges to that kind of policy. It may be the perspectives change. I'm not sure that the Russians themselves have, thought it out yet. Given how

systematic the Russians tend to be, and given that they know Ukraine very well, I mean, bear in mind, you know, they've had 300 years of history together. I suspect they will work it out. Just the last few questions and comments, Alexander.

Ilya Koriakin says, Courage is knowing what to fear, Socrates. That's true, exactly. Prole Princess says, I vote for Dennis at every opportunity I would again at this time but I don't live in his district

yeah but you can still help him as he said even if even by even the message you've just put is a way of helping and Ilya Koriakin says Putin's natural state is observation yes he is I agree with that actually that's a very insightful point very insightful very insightful when

when you are when you see him in person by the way And I remember, bear in mind, I've only seen him in large halls with hundreds of people present. So that's the only context in which I've seen him. You do notice what a very, very observing man he is. And you also notice, I mean, he's one of those people where you notice his eyes, just to say. And that he reminds me a lot of my art, by the way. Matthew says, hope you chaps know how important your work is.

Thank you. And finally, it's always nice to be told. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Matthew, for that. And Sir Mugge's game, final question, comment. I thought it was the fevered ravings of a cephylic brain caused from wearing his red fez. It's red to symbolize spilled Christian blood. I'm not sure who you're referring to.

I'm not quite sure you're referring to, actually. He's this Erdogan. I mean, you never wears the fence as far as. I believe that Camel banned it, by the way, after the fall of the Ottoman monarchy. The place you're most likely to see it now is in London. Seriously, in the smoking rooms, in the clubs in St. Jameses, they all go off, they take out their cigars, they put on their smoking jackets and they wear their red fence. It's part of the dress.

It's very weird, very strange. and rather actually rather elegant, if I have to say, in some ways. All right, on that note, we will wrap up this live stream. Alexander, any final thoughts? It's an absolutely, absolutely amazing program. I was going to say, like talking to a legend, but of course, he wasn't talking about Denny's Casillas like that, because he is absolutely a living, a living, breathing human being,

and an active politician still fully engaged and involved in American politics. And he's a kind of politician of the sorts that are, you know, the United States. America has thrown up many times, people who come up from, you know, working class backgrounds as he has done, and who've risen to positions, important positions, who talk clearly and change things and change things. in their societies for the better. It's a very American phenomenon as well, just saying. Sir Mugg's game says to the last comment, McGregor.

Oh, McGregor, okay. And one more, one more comment, question, Alexander, from locals. By the way, are you going to be doing locals today? Yeah, I am. I am going to do one today. You are, okay. I'm so booked up. Do you want to make an announcement?

When? Yeah, actually, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it at 7 o'clock. Why not? I'm going to re-announce it. I'm going to start it at the normal time since, you know, I'm off and running and ready for it. Alexander's Q&A only on locals, the durand.com at 7 o'clock London time, correct? 1400 Eastern time, just saying.

Okay. And the final question. Okay. And the final question from locals, El Hamurabi says, Trump win helped to calm the situation in the Middle East? Is he keen in doing that? Will he restore relations with KSA with Saudi Arabia? You know, I think he will. Well, let me put it like this. I don't know whether I don't know whether he will, but I think he will try. I think people get Trump very wrong, by the way. I don't think he's a belligerent, warlike figure in any way. I think what

he wants is peace and quiet so that he can get on to what really interests him. which is trying to sort out the many problems of the United States. He may not have all his ideas fully thought through, but if you listen to him, when he talks about tariffs, for example, you may agree with him or you may not, but it's obvious to me that that is where his real passion is. It's thinking and talking about things like that.

And he doesn't want a war in the Middle East. He doesn't want America involved in, another war in the Middle East or in Ukraine or in Taiwan or anywhere else because he understands as a businessman that it's an expense and he understands also as a practical person and a politician that it is a distraction. So for those reasons, I think he will try to bring all of these wars to an end. Whether he will be successful is a completely different matter. All right, then 556642. Thank you for joining the Duran community. all right Alexander we will wrap it up and we can catch you in about 30 40 minutes right

30 40 minutes exactly okay look forward to seeing everybody then cheers bye take care everybody bye bye