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In-Depth Interview: International Human Rights Lawyer Dan Kovalik Detail’s America’s Illegal Wars

Attorney and author Dan Kovalik returns to our podcast to talk about his latest book, No More War, and takes on Samantha Power and “right to protect” advocates.Kovalik retired as General Counsel for the steelworkers union, and focuses on US foreign policy and human rights.  We discuss his new book, No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using ‘Humanitarian” Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests.

We open with the recent US sanctions on members of the International Criminal Court, which the US has boycotted since its founding.  The ICC is investigating war crimes in Afghanistan, including rape and torture.  Kovalik explains CEDAW, the Convention one the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which the US has also refused to endorse, and probable violations during the almost 20 year occupation of Afghanistan.

His book takes on Obama’s UN Ambassador, Samantha Power, who had written a book about genocide, and her use of a variation on the concept of “Right to Protect” to justify the US-led invasion of Libya and other recent military projects.

We talk about the bloody legacy of the US in Latin America, and other elements of the perpetual wars backed by the US, including Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and potentially Iran.  We also discuss the impending Israeli annexation of large parts of the West Bank.

Near the close, we talk about Kovalik’s early skepticism about Russiagate in this book The Plot to Scapegoat Russia and recent disclosures that there was never any evidence that Russian intelligence hacked the DNC.