On this edition of Parallax Views, Jordan Cohen, policy analyst in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, joins the show to discuss the 2022 Cato Handbook for Policymakers: Arms Sales report. Jordan makes the case the U.S. arms sales today lack oversight leading problems like arms dispersion that leads to weapons ending up in the hands of unsavory entities such as drug cartels and terrorist organizations. Moreover, said arms sales often contribute to aiding authoritarian governments and states that commit human rights abuses. Among the topics discussed in this conversation:
– Top U.S. arms consumers are often “risky” clients; defining risk countries buying U.S. arms
– U.S. weapons sales from anti-aircraft missiles and fighter jets to small arms and light weapons (SALW)
– The Executive Branch’s unrivaled power in regards to arms sales and why Congress can’t regulate arms sales effectively
– Saudi Arabia and the war in Yemen
– Weapons dispersion in Central America’s Northern Triangle
– The potential connection between weapons dispersion, refugee crises, and immigration
– How U.S. arms sales undermine many of the stated foreign policy aims/objectives of President Joe Biden’s administration
– The Ukraine/Russia war and arms sales
– Thoughts on foreign policy under the Biden administration thus far
– The need to “flip the script” on how we talk about U.S. arms sales
– And much, much, much more!
In the second segment of the show, Mitch Robson of the conservative student paper The Chicago Thinker joins us to discuss confronting Liz Cheney on the her father Dick Cheney and the Iraq War. On November 11, 2022 Liz Cheney, who has gained newfound popularity due to her opposition to Trumpism and the January 6th insurrection, appeared at a University of Chicago Institute of Politics (IOP) event. Mitch, in response to a recent ad where Liz and Dick Cheney together opined that “a real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters” in reference to Trump, grilled Ms. Cheney about what many have argued are the lies that embroiled the United States in the George W. Bush administration initiated Iraq War. Robson’s exchange with Cheney has gone viral and he joined to discuss the issues he had with Liz Cheney’s response detailing the issues with claims like, for example, Saddam Hussein’s government having had operational ties with al Qaeda.
