American Foreign Policy

On this riveting episode of The TMI Show, hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan dive into France’s ambitious quest to build a “Collective European Defense,” a seismic shift in the continent’s security framework. With global power dynamics in flux, France is leading the charge to unite European nations, fostering military cohesion and reducing dependence on NATO. This episode unravels the implications of this bold strategy, exploring how France aims to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy amid rising tensions with powers like Russia and China. What obstacles lie ahead for a unified European defense? How will this reshape alliances across the Atlantic? Tune in for a sharp, serious breakdown of a development poised to transform global geopolitics. Plus: Trump’s Iran nuclear proposal: The U.S. delivers a plan to address Iran’s advancing nuclear program, with talks reaching expert-level intensity. Tehran demands the right to enrich uranium, while the Trump administration insists on a total halt. Aviation data sold to ICE: A massive aviation clearinghouse sells passenger data to the Trump administration for its immigration crackdown. CRISPR baby’s historic treatment: A U.S. infant with a rare genetic condition receives a groundbreaking personalized gene-editing therapy.

The TMI Show Ep 20: “Haiti Spirals Out of Control” On the TMI Show, co-hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan dive into one of the most vexing problems in the Western Hemisphere: a failed state in the Caribbean less than 600 miles away from the United States. Exploited and ravaged by French and American colonialism and decades of brutal dictators, Haiti has been destroyed by earthquakes and hurricanes and is now in the hands of brutal gangs. Recent headlines paint a gruesome picture. Haitian police attacked a Doctors Without Borders ambulance and murdered patients it was transporting. The capital of Port-au-Prince is completely controlled by violent gangs. Starvation is everywhere. The FAA has banned American flights to the country after a Spirit Airlines jet was struck by small arms fire. At least 5000 people have been killed in the last year. As the country’s security crisis continues, 5.4 million Haitians struggle daily to find enough to eat and gang activity has displaced over 700,000 people. On the human development front, Haiti has tens of thousands of confirmed cases of cholera. Over one-fifth of children are at risk of cognitive and physical limitations, and only 78 percent of 15-year-olds will survive to age 60. The effects of this misery, of course, come to America in the form of Haitian migrants and illegal immigrants. What needs to be done to restore calm, law and order and maybe even prosperity to this benighted nation? Who is up to the job? Or should Haiti be left alone for the Haitian people to work things out? Joining Ted and Manila is independent journalist and filmmaker Dan Cohen, the founder of Uncaptured Media. His latest documentary is “Haiti: Intervention Versus Revolution.”

By dint of geography, history, culture and human evolution, Turkey is one of the most influential nations in the world and certainly that's the case throughout Asia. The trade and cultural gateway between Europe and Asia, Turkey has recently taken a light authoritarian and nationalist turn under the presidency of Reyup Erdogan, who has been serving as president for the last decade. As Donald Trump prepares to return to the American presidency, there has been speculation that Erdogan's natural stylistic affinity to Trump may he draw him closer to the United States as Turkey — like all countries between great powers — balances the US and its European allies against Russia and perhaps even plays them off against each other. On the other hand, Russia has gained the upper hand in Ukraine. And Trump seems to want to end the Russo-Ukrainian War. Then there's the country’s complicated relationship with Europe: it's been a member of NATO since 1995 but its application to join the EU has stalled since Erdogan became president. Dr. Hasan Ünal, professor at Baskent University in Ankara, has published extensively on Turkish foreign policy-related matters. He joins Ted Rall and Manila Chan to explore Turkey’s dilemma: East or West? Which to Choose?

TMI Show Ep 31: Can Putin Save Syria? An Exclusive from Inside Aleppo Scarcely noticed by most of the world, the Civil War in Syria has been grinding out for more than a decade. A proxy war with the central government of Bashar al-Assad, supported by its traditional ally Russia (along with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon) against an assortment of radical jihadi militias, including remnants of Al Qaeda supported by the United States under the cover of going after the terrorist group ISIS, the balance of power had remained relatively stable at the front lines despite the threat of total fragmentation as Syria's Kurds seized their own autonomous zone--until a couple of weeks ago. Now an Al Qaeda affiliate called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies have launched an offensive that shocked the world by capturing the second largest city in Syria, Aleppo. The TMI Show bring you an EXCLUSIVE look from directly inside HTS-occupied Aleppo with Steven Sahiounie, a Syrian national and journalist in Aleppo. What is it like to live under HTS control? How likely are they to top all the government of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus? What would be the regional and global implications of a radical jihadi state on the border with Israel? The United States has been trying to persuade al-Assad to abandon his allies Russia and Iran, but has so far failed. Is that likely to change? Can Russia, trying to close the deal in Ukraine, divert resources to save the Syrian government? Keywords: Syria, Middle East, Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Iran, foreign policy, civil conflict, civil war, Bahar, al-Assad, jihadis Islamic fundamentalism, Taliban, Russia, Vladimir Putin

This feels like a movie you've seen before: a secular socialist government where women and ethnic minorities have rights that are respected is targeted by the United States and its allies in large part because it shows that left-wing politics can be successful. The Carter administration armed the mujaheddin in Afghanistan, setting the stage for Al Qaeda and 9/11. The Bush Administration overthrew Saddam Hussein in Iraq, creating a failed state that became a vassal of Iran and a home for ISIS. Obama killed Muammar Qaddafi in Libya, creating a failed state where slave markets have reappeared and radical Muslim fundamentalists hold sway. Now an officially designated terrorist organization has, with the help of the US and Israel, overthrown Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Will Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its reformist leader Ahmad al-Sharaa keep their promise to limit their ambitions to Syria? Will they impose radical Taliban-style sharia law on Syria? What are the implications for Russia, which accepted Assad but did not provide sufficient air support to protect his regime? Israel has already started bombing Syria, saying that its 1974 peace deal was with the Assad government which no longer exists; will the war in Lebanon and Gaza spread into Syria even more? What are the security implications for Israel, which wanted this regime change, right next-door?

Ties between Syria and Russia go back not only through the Soviet Union but even to Czarist Russia. Now, presumably because Russia is so focused on Ukraine, it was unable to save its ally, President Bashar al-Assad, from being deposed by Islamist insurgents. Assad is safely in Moscow but Damascus is a different matter. Americans who remember the optimistic coverage of the fall of Baghdad in 2003 know better than to take similar images and coverage seriously now. Senior Research Fellow at the Global Policy Institute George Szamuely joins Ted Rall and guest co-host Robby West (filling in for Manila Chan) on “The TMI Show” to talk about the broad international implications of the collapse of the Syrian state, rising instability, and where Russia and Iran go now when it comes to influence in the Middle East.

We’ve been talking about the H1B visa controversy and how it may be affecting tech workers in the US, where the H1B program has prompted a 5% decline in computer science majors. Today we’re flipping the script to consider the issue from the other side: India, which supplies the vast majority of H1B visa workers to the US. Indian tech sector leaders are concerned that the program is poaching some of their best coders and developers, creating a neo-imperialist brain drain from India and other tech centers. “The TMI Show” explores the other side of the H1B visa issue from the other side of the world with co-hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan and guest V K Samhith, independent game developer and the founder of BornMonkie.

Please support this independent work on the following sites: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TMinfoShow X: https://x.com/TMInfoShow TikTok: www.tiktok.com/TheTMIshow TruthSocial: https://truthsocial.com/@TMIinfoShow You can support us financially HERE: Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheTMIshow Substack: thetmishow.substack.com Ted Rall & Manila Chan give you too much info daily M-F 10am ET. Hot topics, politics, and some laughs. Manila Chan is a recovering news anchor/reporter. Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist & author. Together they unpack stories that often don’t get enough coverage. Come learn TMI. Political cartoonist Ted Rall and cultural analyst Manila Chan discuss the esoteric pressing trends and issues that are changing your world.

We’ve been talking about the H1B visa controversy and how it may be affecting tech workers in the US, where the H1B program has prompted a 5% decline in computer science majors. Today we’re flipping the script to consider the issue from the other side: India, which supplies the vast majority of H1B visa workers to the US. Indian tech sector leaders are concerned that the program is poaching some of their best coders and developers, creating a neo-imperialist brain drain from India and other tech centers. “The TMI Show” explores the other side of the H1B visa issue from the other side of the world with co-hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan and guest V K Samhith, independent game developer and the founder of BornMonkie.

Please support this independent work on the following sites: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TMinfoShow X: https://x.com/TMInfoShow TikTok: www.tiktok.com/TheTMIshow TruthSocial: https://truthsocial.com/@TMIinfoShow You can support us financially HERE: Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheTMIshow Substack: thetmishow.substack.com Ted Rall & Manila Chan give you too much info daily M-F 10am ET. Hot topics, politics, and some laughs. Manila Chan is a recovering news anchor/reporter. Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist & author. Together they unpack stories that often don’t get enough coverage. Come learn TMI. Political cartoonist Ted Rall and cultural analyst Manila Chan discuss the esoteric pressing trends and issues that are changing your world.