From the Arctic to the Axis: Iran, Russia, China, and the Global Battle for Influence

In this episode of This Week Explained, we delve into the most pressing global conflicts that are shaping international relations today. We examine Russia's military expansion and NATO's strategic response, the escalating crisis in Gaza, and rising tensions between the United States and Iran. We take a deep dive into the Middle East, focusing on Iran's missile capabilities and its growing coordination with Russia and China. We also analyze the transitional government in Syria, exploring its consolidation of power and the exclusion of minority groups. Shifting to East Asia, we unpack the rising tensions between China and Taiwan, marked by military drills and propaganda campaigns. Finally, we examine Greenland's strategic importance in global geopolitics, highlighting its valuable resources and the increasing interest of external powers in the Arctic region.
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (01:46):
Welcome to This Week, explained the podcast that cuts through
the noise to help you make sense of our ever
changing world. I'm Tiana, and each week my co host
Curvin and I break down the biggest global events and
explain what they mean for you. This week, we're breaking
down the latest on the wars in Ukraine and the
Middle East, Iran threatening attacks on US military, China and

(02:07):
circling Taiwan, and we will even get into what the
big deal is with Greenland. There's a lot to unpack,
so we're just going to get right into it. I
want to start with Russia's recent military moves. President Putin
has called up one hundred and sixty thousand conscripts, the
largest draft since twenty eleven. Okay, so what is the

(02:28):
significance of this and how does it fit into Russia's strategy.

Speaker 5 (02:34):
Well, I mean my first thought is it doesn't really
scream I'm ready for peace.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Exactly right as I was saying one hundred and sixty
thousand conscripts. So I'm like, hmm, what piece deal?

Speaker 5 (02:47):
Well, I mean it kind of cut me thinking about
And you'll remember this the stop loss issues that we
had in the US military for the Global War on terrorism.
Remember that was a big thing. They made a movie
about stop loss.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
We had several friends who were who went through that,
and you're supposed to the only reason why you weren't
is because we moved to North Carolina.

Speaker 5 (03:07):
Yeah. Well yeah, and the commander at Jaysock said, no,
he's coming with us, He's not going to your stupid
little again.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Yeah you would, it would.

Speaker 5 (03:19):
And then I ended up deploying every year.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
You also have going places, any lot of going places anyways.

Speaker 5 (03:25):
But still yeah. So during that stop lost time, there
was no mention from George W. Bush that the US
was ready for peace in the Middle East. It was
we're at war. It's a tough, tough war, and we're
going to keep doing it.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, we need to call you up again.

Speaker 5 (03:41):
Yeah. So I say all of that to once again say,
it does not scream I'm ready for peace, guys.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Yeah, I really am. My promise.

Speaker 5 (03:51):
Yeah, but what you talked about these one hundred and
sixty thousand conscripts, it's this spring draft, which is part
of Putin's plan to expand russia military to two point
thirty nine million personnel, including one point five million active
service members. And that's over the next three years. That's
an increase of one hundred eighty thousand troops. And what's

(04:13):
notable here is that the draft pool has been expanded
by raising the maximum age of conscription from twenty seven
to thirty.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Also convenient, very convenient, very convenient. And these conscripts are
they being sent to Ukraine or are they readying themselves
for something else?

Speaker 5 (04:31):
So officially Russia claims the new conscripts will not be
deployed to Ukraine. But look, we've seen reports of conscripts
in the past being killed in border regions and even
sent to the front lines during the early stages of
the war. There is a law within Russia that the
new conscripts are not allowed to go into combat until

(04:54):
they are properly trained. So it's that until they are
properly trained.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
But that's still so vague.

Speaker 5 (05:00):
What exact right, you go through basic training when we
went through basic training? Yeah, so you're not called a
soldier in the army until you complete basic training. At
that point you're a soldier and you can go off
and do whatever. Now, after that, you go to your
Advanced Individual Training a T, get your job, and then

(05:21):
they can send you to war. That's the US military.
What does that mean for Russia? Do you is it?
Do you just go to a basic training you can
do a couple of weeks and then you're on the
front lines.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Or putin just goes tag you're it.

Speaker 5 (05:35):
Yeah, and yeah, that could be one area of it.
But for me, what officer would want? Uh? And we're
different in the United States, we have non commissioned officers
or n CEOs that lead the troops. Really, they lead
the troops into battle.

Speaker 1 (05:53):
But what officer wants under.

Speaker 5 (05:56):
Yeah, once a two week conscript, what are they going
to do? This is purely chess pieces, right, They're pawns
in this game. You're just gonna move, you'll get killed.
But at least removing the battlefield and the.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
Fact that they're conscripts. They're not there because they want
to be necessarily right.

Speaker 5 (06:13):
And so while the Crimins denying that these conscripts are
going to be put into battle, history suggests otherwise.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
Okay, so what do you think is driving this push
to expand the military.

Speaker 5 (06:25):
The look It boils down to two factors. First, it's
the staggering losses Russia has endured in Ukraine, over one
hundred thousand confirmed deaths. That's confirmed. The actual number is
likely far higher than that, right. Second, it's Moscow's perception
of an increasing threat from NATO. Now, NATO's expansion, especially

(06:46):
with Finland and Sweden joining, has added significant pressure to
Russia's already vulnerable western border. That means a preparation for
a large scale combat operation is has gone from unlikely
in my analysis to possible. On the European continent.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
Speaking of NATO, US negotiations between Washington and Moscow seem
to have stalled, which we saw that coming one thousand
miles away. President Trump has expressed frustration with Putin, even
threaten threatening secondary tariffs because we don't have enough.

Speaker 5 (07:21):
Of those right now. I mean, we talk sanctions, right
terriffts is the new buzzword. Yeah, right now.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
So he's threatening secondary tariffs on countries by Russian oil.
Oh my god, So what's going on here?

Speaker 5 (07:36):
Yelk. It is for those who believed that Trump is
just a puppet of Putin or some Russian plant, this
is a significant shift in tone right for President Trump. Now,
like I said, for those who believe that, I'm not
saying that that is true, that we believe it, or
that we believe it.

Speaker 1 (07:56):
I know that that's a very prevalent theory amongst the
left wing.

Speaker 5 (08:00):
And yeah, and if you listen to this podcast long enough,
you know where where we stand on is Trump a
you know, a Russian plant and stuff like that. And
it's I was in Poland for overt anti Russian aggression
during the Trump administration that during the Russian dossier, the
the you know, Russia colluded with the US with with

(08:25):
Donald Trump to become president. If you collude with somebody,
I don't think they would send troops to a bordering
country to ultimately monitor your aggression. I mean, so significant
shift in tone. And that's because for weeks he's been
trying to broke or a ceasefire in Ukraine, but Russia

(08:47):
has rejected those US proposals. They claim they do not
address what Moscow sees is the root causes of this conflict.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
No, that's not it.

Speaker 5 (08:57):
Okay, okay, So the root cause, according to Putin, of
this conflict is NATO expansion and the Nazification of Ukraine.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
He changes it just whenever.

Speaker 5 (09:07):
Yeah, I mean, he did that Tucker Carlson interview where
he spent about thirty minutes just on the history of
Russia and putting Ukraine on. So it's the history of
the Soviet Union and going back thousands of years, and
that was key into understanding Putin's mind in that this
isn't just about a kharkey for Donetsk or those eastern

(09:33):
regions or even Odessa. This is about returning the Soviet Union,
returning Mother Russia to its former glory exactly. So, yeah,
we talked about the root causes of this conflict. Now
Kiev has made it very clear these demands from Russia,

(09:56):
and I think the one big demand is that Ukraine
would limit its military size. So Ukraine sees that, and
they look back to removing nuclear weapons from Ukraine in
the nineties, and they saw what happened once that. Once
that occurred, which is Russia still was aggressive towards Ukraine

(10:18):
and they didn't have anything to protect themselves, and they
invaded Crimea, and yep, they invaded Crimea, and then they
invaded again in twenty twenty two. So these are non starters.
President Zelenski has called out Russia for dragging out the
war and playing the same games they've been playing since
twenty fourteen.

Speaker 1 (10:36):
Ukraine is much smaller. This is a much smaller country,
and yet they're being asked to limit the size of
their military while Russia is expanding their military, which makes
no sense at all.

Speaker 5 (10:54):
I was waiting to see what you would come up with. There,
makes no damn sense.

Speaker 1 (11:00):
No sense at all. Okay, So what is Trump's response
to all of this?

Speaker 5 (11:05):
I mean, from insight sources, we are hearing that Trump
has grown increasingly impatient with Putin he, as you said,
is threatening to impose secondary tariffs or sanctions on countries
that buy Russian oil, like China in India. Mike Baker
and I had a conversation a couple of days ago

(11:26):
about this, or was that Yester? Oh that was yesterday. Jeez,
it's been a long week. And and what he astutely
brought up was that, you know, the US buys Russian
oil through other distributors, ourselves. We look like we're sanctioning
ourselves here in some of that. But I think the

(11:47):
main sticking points to this are the main targets are China, Iran,
India and putting sanctions on those. Now, this is the
first time the Trump administration has serious threatened Russia with
economic consequences that are tied to these particular ceasefire negotiations.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
All right, well, let's shift to the rest of NATO,
because Finland and Sweden join the alliance, and Finland in
particular has taken some very bold steps, including resuming the
use of anti personnel lines. What do you think the
significance of this.

Speaker 5 (12:20):
Is, Yeah, this is a direct response to the perceived
threat from Russia with a border that Finland has with Russia.
That exceeds thirteen hundred kilometers. Finland is in a very
precarious position. So by resuming the use of anti personnel
minds and increasing defense spending to three percent of GDP,

(12:40):
Finland is signaling that it's taking its security very seriously.
And I alone right, Yeah, you're you're absolutely right. So
if you examine a map, you're going to notice a
clear trend among the countries that have significantly increased their
defense spending. Poland and the Baltic States, all of which
share borders with Russia, have made very similar strategic decisions

(13:04):
to Finland. That's to include withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention,
which bans anti personnel minds. This reflects a broad regional
shift towards strengthening defenses in response to the Russian threat.

Speaker 1 (13:17):
And you mentioned in our personal conversations about this that
on this map that you're talking about, farther away you
get from Russia, like the European countries farther away from Russia,
they are not spending as much as the Baltic States
because they feel comfortable and safe with that buffer, the

(13:37):
Baltic States being the buffer.

Speaker 5 (13:39):
Absolutely. Yeah, you know, look at France, look at Canada.
These are countries that feel like they're protected. Canada is
not Europe right, No, but it's in NATO and it's
not carrying its weight. And that's a direct reflection of
the United States and what the United States has done
for Canada. They don't have to build up their defense

(13:59):
spending now, France, the UK, the UK is trying, but
those those countries within NATO that's further away from Russia.
Just as you said, they're not carrying their weight because
they've figured well, the Baltic States are our buffer zone.
If anything happens, we'll have some time. If Russia expands

(14:22):
their aggression, we'll have time to build up our defenses. Well,
the time is now, and I think they're seeing that.

Speaker 1 (14:28):
Well, Kurban. As we look ahead, what should we be
watching for in the coming weeks.

Speaker 5 (14:33):
Oh, I think we should keep a very close eye
on Donald J. Trump. Okay, that's why he likes it,
I think so. Yeah, I mean every home on every politician,
that's what they want to be looked at and to
be glorified.

Speaker 1 (14:47):
Probably want a little bit more positive coverage though than Yeah,
he's been receiving as of late.

Speaker 5 (14:54):
I mean it's the old but that's the pr at it, right,
which is true. Any news is good news. As long
as you're in the news, it's good right. Yeah. Now
Donald Trump has said he is pissed off with Putin.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
That's a quote.

Speaker 5 (15:11):
That is a quote from him or from his team
that he said that he's pissed off with him.

Speaker 1 (15:17):
He probably said it too though, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (15:20):
I could see that happening now. He also maintains he
has a good relationship with Putin, So whether that dynamic
leads to progress or more frustration remains to be seen.
I'd also watch for NATO's next moves, particularly in Eastern Europe,
as member states continue to bolster their defenses.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
Well, thank you for that update, But now it is
time to pivot to the situation in Gaza, which has
escalated significantly over the past week. Israeli Defense Minister Israel
Katz announced plans to expand military operations in Gaza, including
seizing large areas of the territory to create what he
called quote security zones end quote. So what is the

(16:03):
strategic goal behind this move?

Speaker 5 (16:05):
Well, like, this is just a continuation of Israel's broader strategy,
which we discussed last week. You know, Israel wants in depth,
and yeah, very much in depth and did some tangents
as well. And it's what Israel's wanted to do from
the very beginning. They want to completely annihilate Hamas. So
neutralize Hamas and then secure its own borders. So by

(16:29):
expanding operations and creating these so called quote security zones
in quote, or buffer zones as some people call them,
Israel aims to eliminate Hamas fighters and infrastructure while also
establishing that buffer to prevent future attacks. Now, this approach
comes with significant humanitarian consequences because this requires large scale

(16:54):
evacuations of Palestinians and it intensifies an already dire humanitarian
situation in Gaza.

Speaker 1 (17:01):
Well, speaking of the humanitarian situation, reports indicate that Israel
has blocked AID from entering Gaza since early March. Okay,
so that is marking the longest AID blockade of the war.
How how dire is the situation for the population?

Speaker 5 (17:23):
You know that, you know the answer to that. It's catastrophic,
it really is.

Speaker 1 (17:27):
How is he allowed to do that?

Speaker 5 (17:30):
I mean, hope we go back, I mean do we
don't think we want to get into the.

Speaker 1 (17:35):
Well, I'm just knowing I'm just saying he was told
he needed to let aid in.

Speaker 5 (17:41):
Well, yeah, during during the ceasefire. Oh, the ceasefire no
longer exists because Hamas did not send the hostages that
they agreed to. Hamas would say that Israel broke the
ceasefire by performing strikes on on the West end.

Speaker 1 (18:01):
But that wasn't part of the ceasefire, right right.

Speaker 5 (18:03):
There was specifically for Gaza. But now now we have
this whole situation, we just have a catastrophic It's terrible.

Speaker 1 (18:15):
It really is an entire population caught in the middle
of this crap.

Speaker 5 (18:18):
Yeah, and they were already struggling under the weight of the conflict.
So this blockade has pushed the situation to the brink.
Like hospitals are overwhelmed, food and water supplies are dwindling,
and the lack of humanitarian aid is exacerbating the suffering
of the people there. The UN has even scaled back
its operations because several of its staff and emergency responders

(18:41):
were killed in recent Israeli strikes. I saw that now
this blockade is not just a military tactic, it's a
form of pressure on Hamas. But it's the civilians who
are paying the part.

Speaker 1 (18:51):
It's not pressure on Hamas. They don't give a crap.

Speaker 5 (18:55):
Well it it is because it is working. The people
of Gaza are right up and they're protesting, not Israel. Now,
they're protesting Hamas.

Speaker 1 (19:05):
I'm the one that sent you that article. I know, Hey,
don't talk to me like I didn't send you that article.

Speaker 5 (19:12):
Now, and that that's the dire consequences, right of protesting against.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
That one guy he got tortured.

Speaker 5 (19:20):
That's right, that's the consequence of protesting against Hamas. But
it is good to see. It's not good to see
the consequences of it. It's good to see the people
are trying to take that. Yeah, and what you know,
what are the second and third order effects of that?
Could it be that the people protest against Tamas, they

(19:40):
remove Hamas as the form of government, work with the Israelis.
There is that trust issue there, I get that huge.
It's not just between Hamas and Israel or other proxies.
It is the people of Gaza and the Israelis. But
if you can bridge that gap, could the people of
Gaza work with the Israelis and find some sort of

(20:03):
peace that works for both sides? Is Yeah, At the
same time. If they push Hamas out, then the ball
is firmly in Israel's court to do something to help
the Palestinians unless the Israelis are lying. And it's not
just about Hamas, it's about a complete takeover of Gaso. Yeah,

(20:25):
so this is all things we need to be watching
for as it happens. To hold people's feet to the
fire when they say something, like when Putin says something
and then does something different, you hold his feet to
the fire.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
Right And you know, despite all this suffering, there are
reports of renewed cease fire talks. Hamas has said it
accepted a proposal for a new truce, and Israel has
responded with a counter proposal. So what is the status
of those negotiations.

Speaker 5 (20:55):
Yeah, I mean both sides are under Immen's pressure to
reach a deal, and they're under Ammen's pressure from their
own people. But these talks are still in a very
delicate phase.

Speaker 1 (21:04):
Now.

Speaker 5 (21:04):
Hamask claims to have accepted a proposal that was mediated
by Egyptian cutter, but that includes the release of some hostages.
Israel countered with its own terms. They want the release
of at least ten living hostages in exchange for a
temporary cease fire extension.

Speaker 1 (21:21):
Do they even have ten living hostages?

Speaker 5 (21:24):
Well, that's that is probably one of the sticking points
in this and.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
One of the reasons why they haven't released any hostages since.

Speaker 5 (21:31):
Yeah, a couple of weeks ago, And it could all
be stalling to formulate a pr plan that if they
do not have that many living hostage.

Speaker 1 (21:40):
They can now put it back on Israel.

Speaker 5 (21:41):
It was Israel's fault. They bombed Gaza to at to
complete annihilation and that's where the people were. Now the
US is also involved in these stalks and they're coordinating
with Israel on all of these proposals.

Speaker 1 (21:54):
All right, So what is holding up disagreement? Because the
sooner they reach an agreement, the sooner the people of
Gaza can get their aid.

Speaker 5 (22:02):
Well, beyond the immediate issue of hostage and prisoner exchanges,
there is a fundamental disagreement over the future of Gaza now.
Hamas wants a permanencyasfire and then the complete withdrawal of
Israeli troops, while Israel insists on Hamas disarming and relinquishing
control of the territory. These are irreconcilable demands and at

(22:24):
least for now, these are the things that are preventing
any long term resolution.

Speaker 1 (22:30):
And in the meantime, the violence continues. Reports from Gaza
indicate that at least fifteen Palestinians were killed, including children,
and there's been heavy shelling near the Egypt border. Is
this a sign of a looming ground offensive.

Speaker 5 (22:44):
You think, I mean, it certainly looks that way. Israel
has already expanded its buffer zones and taken control of
a corridor cutting through Gaza. Now the intensified air strikes
and shelling suggest that Israel is preparing for a larger
ground operation in defense. Minister cats has been clear his
intentions are to seized more territory in Gaza, and that

(23:05):
aligns with the broader strategy of dismantling Hamas's infrastructure.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
But this escalation isn't without criticism the Hostages and Missing
Families Forum. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but this escalation
isn't without criticism the hostages and missing families for him
in Israel has expressed outrage and they're urging the government
to prioritize the release of the hostages. So how is

(23:31):
this playing out domestically for Prime Minister Netan Yahoo.

Speaker 5 (23:34):
Like he's walking a tight rope here. One side of it,
he's under pressure from his hard right coalition to maintain
a hardline stance against Hamas. Then on the other side,
there's this growing public frustration over the government's handling of
the hostage situation. Now many Israelis feel that the hostages
should be the top priority, and Netnahu's focus on military

(23:54):
operations that's being seen by some as a political move
so that he can secure that far a coalition rather
than a humanitarian move.

Speaker 1 (24:03):
All right, well, let's talk about I sent an article
to you earlier this week, and it was the story
of a man who was openly protesting Hamas, a Palestinian
man openly protesting Hamas, and he was brutally tortured for that.
So what about these new protests that are starting us

(24:24):
brought up in Gaza of Palestinians against Thamas, against Tamas,
against Tamas. There are reports that there that the descent
is growing against Amas. So what do you think? Well,
I don't even need to really ask this question.

Speaker 5 (24:41):
What's driving Yeah, right, obvious the obvious answer there. It's
the worstening conditions in Gaza. I know we touched on
it briefly minutes ago. But look what once was frustration
with Israel by the people of Palestine for good reasons.
It's now what we've talked about, focusing on Hamas for

(25:06):
good reason. Hamas using human shields, and people are frustrated
with Hamas's governance. They're frustrated with its role in prolonging
the conflict. I think they understand Hamas's role in starting
this conflict in October of twenty twenty three. But these
protests are not going to go unpunished. As you just said,

(25:28):
Hamas is known to crack down on dissent. They are
doing that brutally, torturing people, and there's a concern that
they might that Hamas might use a temporary ceasefire to
regroup and suppress these movements. It's a volatile situation and
the protesters are caught between a rock and a hard place,
Hamas on one side and the Israeli military on the other.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
Well, it's clear that both sides are under immense pressure.
But with over fifty thousand Gosins killed since the conflict began,
the stakes couldn't be higher. Is there there are any
hope for a resolution here? Aside from you know, Palestinians
being able to push past the distrust.

Speaker 5 (26:08):
Yeah, I mean I don't see a resolution in the
near term. Long term, maybe the ceasefire talks. That's a
step forward, but they're unlikely to address the root causes
of this conflict now. As long as both sides remain
entrenched in their positions, the violence is going to continue
and the humanitarian crisis is going to worsen. The international community,

(26:32):
I think needs to step up its efforts to mediate,
not just point the finger at one side or the
other side. But even that's going to require a level
of cooperation that currently is missing.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
Well. We will obviously continue talking about this as more develops.
For now, we will shift to the escalating tensions between
the United States and Iran over its nuclear program and
the latest moves in Syria's transitional government. But before we
dive in, we're taking a quick break for a message
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(28:28):
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(28:50):
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Speaker 5 (28:53):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (28:54):
Call eight seven seven four seven six one six eighty one.

Speaker 6 (28:58):
That's eight seventy seven four seven six one six eight
one call now.

Speaker 1 (29:05):
Welcome back, listeners. As we said before the break, we
are discussing two major developments, the escalating tensions between the
United States and Iran over its nuclear program and the
latest moves in serious transitional government. So let's start with Iran. Kurvin,
what's the latest going on.

Speaker 5 (29:22):
Now, Elk, The situation is heating up between Iran and
the US. Iran is ramping up its threats of military
actions you deter the United States from striking its nuclear facilities.
And this comes after President Trump made a bold statement
on March thirtieth saying, quoting him here, there will be
bombing end quote. If Iran that's if Iran doesn't agree

(29:43):
to a new nuclear deal. He also threatened secondary tariffs,
but he's threatened tariffs on everyone and everybody. I think
we were threatened with tariffs on this podcast. Maybe somewhere.
I'm gonna have to check the paperwork thanks from April.

Speaker 1 (30:00):
The tariff paper, the list of countries. Yes, a tariffs.

Speaker 5 (30:04):
I'll get with Mike leon over it. Can we please talk?
We'll see if his network is on kidding terarff. That
puts us in the crosstairs now kidding.

Speaker 1 (30:14):
A sigh, Yeah, he's being silly.

Speaker 5 (30:16):
Yes, So Trump did threaten secondary tariffs on Iran, and
that would sanction countries that trade with Iran.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
That is a strong stance. So how has Iran responded,
I imagine not Well, yeah.

Speaker 5 (30:31):
They rejected direct negotiations with the US, but they did
leave the door open for indirect talks.

Speaker 1 (30:38):
Now.

Speaker 5 (30:38):
At the same time, they've issued some serious threats. Iranian
officials have warned that they'll attack US allies and bases
in the region if the US does strike on Iran
or any of its proxies. Now we know they're they're
firing on the Houthis that slow down on the totem
Pole for Iran amongst their proxies. Now, I think this

(31:02):
is likely an attempt by Iran to discourage allies from
cooperating with the US, and that would be because those
allies would fear Iranian retaliation.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
Well what kind of retaliation are we talking about here?

Speaker 5 (31:17):
Well, I mean, Iran did outline three potential responses. They
explicit so one was they explicitly threatened to attack US
basis and forces in the region, including Diego Garcia Island
that's in the Indian Ocean. It is a strategic military
site for the United States. Now, Iran's missile range limitations

(31:38):
make this a very challenging target, so much good luck,
good luck. Second, their second option, they've suggested they could
disrupt international trade.

Speaker 1 (31:50):
But were they're suggesting, They're like, we might be able
to hit yeah, never Diego Garcia Island, and we might
be able to disrupt international international trade.

Speaker 5 (32:01):
I mean we might, I'm guessing yeah, yeah, we might
put a good podcast.

Speaker 1 (32:07):
Out one way one day.

Speaker 2 (32:10):
No.

Speaker 5 (32:12):
Yeah, So what they could do there is close. They
could disrupt international trade. They would close the Strait of
Hormuz or you know, let the houthis continue to see
ships But if.

Speaker 1 (32:24):
I'm already thinks that the Houthis are low on the
total pole, why would the hoo he's.

Speaker 5 (32:29):
Why would they do that? Because if the Huthie's listen
to Iran for for some.

Speaker 1 (32:32):
Reason, like it's fine that we're literally the bottom.

Speaker 5 (32:35):
Yeah, but they're getting money, they're getting munitions from Iran,
so there is some support there.

Speaker 1 (32:41):
Okay, I was getting Are they supporting them on all?

Speaker 5 (32:45):
Yeah, No, they definitely do. They It's not as much
support as you'll see towards Hesbola or Amas, but that's
because they that's a direct threat to Israel, and that's
what Iran wants threatened Israel. Now, Iran has also resurfaced
threats to directly attack Israel. Fine, of that would be crazy, Yeah,

(33:09):
it would be. We saw what happened last April wasn't
a good go. Now, the Iran's missile stockpile has been
severely depleted by previous Israeli air strikes, so that's another
tough So they're just.

Speaker 1 (33:26):
Light suggestions at this point, but they want to sound
big and bad.

Speaker 5 (33:30):
Yeah, And I don't think they'll do any one of
those three. It'll be something that they haven't spoken about doing.
If they intend to do if.

Speaker 1 (33:37):
They actually do want to take action. While speaking of missiles,
there's been some news about Iran's missile production capabilities. What
is going on there.

Speaker 5 (33:47):
Yeah, so Iran is working to rebuild its missile production capabilities.
That's after those Israeli strikes. You're talking about the ones
in April they had the ones in October? Are the
ones in April from Iran and Israel retaliated with strikes
in October that damaged key facilities. There was a sanctioned

(34:11):
Iranian vessel, that's the Jhran. It recently delivered a key
component for solid missile fuel and that was actually near
the bandhar Abas And it suggests to me that Iran
is trying to restore its long range missile capabilities, though

(34:32):
they could still use that same material for its short
range ballistic missiles, so it could be anything with that one.

Speaker 1 (34:38):
What sounds like Iran is preparing for a worst case scenario.
But they're not acting alone, are they?

Speaker 5 (34:46):
No, absolutely not. Iran is coordinating with Russia. They're coordinating
with China, and that's on nuclear issues. Just last week,
Iranian officials met with Russian and Chinese counterparts to discuss
sanctions relief and nuclear talks. Now it's unclear how much
support Iran is going to get from those two, but
this try lateral coordination signals a shared opposition to US policy.

Speaker 1 (35:09):
All right, well, let's shift gears to Syria. There's been
a lot of buzz about the new transitional government, so
can you let our listeners know what the story is there? Yeah.

Speaker 5 (35:18):
I don't think we've hit on this in a while
since they stood up their government. And that's with Syrian
interim President Ahmed al Sharra. He announced a new transitional
government this week and on the surface, it looks like
he's trying to broaden representation. He's including some minorities and
technocrats in and what he's doing here is putting them

(35:40):
in these less critical roles. But the reality is that
he's consolidating power by appointing loyalists too key ministries like
the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, Foreign Affairs,
and the Ministry of Justice.

Speaker 1 (35:54):
So it's more about maintaining control than actually fostering inclusivity.

Speaker 5 (35:59):
Yeah, looks placed, Hyatam or HTS it again? Sorry one
more time, Hyatt, I just love it. Yeah, So that's
HTS that's the terrorist organization.

Speaker 1 (36:16):
Yeah, I will not be pronouncing that work, gotcha.

Speaker 5 (36:19):
Okay, so when we get into the the Arabic words,
I can do that one, but I'll leave you to
do the Spanish and some of the other.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
Don't. Don't discount your abilities, sir. I gotta you're fine.

Speaker 5 (36:34):
I gotta be better at this.

Speaker 1 (36:35):
We all got to be better at this.

Speaker 5 (36:37):
We're supposed to be professional.

Speaker 1 (36:39):
I'm not professional anything. Okay.

Speaker 5 (36:42):
Now back to HTS. SO is putting loyalists from HTS
in positions that directly impact internal security and state stability.
Think Ministry of Defense. That's a huge one.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
For some reason, I thought you were about to say
Ministry of Magic.

Speaker 5 (37:00):
Oh, well that too. He has not declared who is
heading the Ministry of Man, has not declared that it
could be Nate no rip, Yeah another tangent.

Speaker 1 (37:11):
Yeah, sorry, I don't know what is wrong with us
today or hyper Yeah.

Speaker 5 (37:17):
I did have some coffee just before coming on here.

Speaker 1 (37:19):
Oh I didn't.

Speaker 5 (37:20):
Yeah, so you're just seeding often This is.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
Natural energy that I don't usually have. Actually, I think
it's just I'm happy to finally not be sick.

Speaker 5 (37:30):
Yeah, I'm sure everybody can hear neither one of us
is hacking up along, like we have a month of that,
yeah and so gone.

Speaker 1 (37:38):
All right, sorry, sorry, sorry, all right.

Speaker 5 (37:39):
So, so we have these HTS loyalists. They're being put
in positions that directly impact the internal security and this
is to ensure influence over the government whilst sidelining those rivals.
Within Syria. You know, minority groups like the Kurds and
the Drus have criticize the government for its lack of representation.

(38:03):
They are calling this a one party government.

Speaker 1 (38:08):
Well, can you explain how these minority groups are responding.

Speaker 5 (38:11):
Yeah, look, I mean no surprise here, it's overwhelmingly negative.
Kurdish groups like the Syrian Democratic Council have condemned their exclusion.
They are warning that this is the third time they've
been ignored in key political processes. Now, the Jerwis majority
Swayada Military Council they have also rejected the government. They

(38:33):
say there needs to be a more inclusive approach to
this government. These criticisms highlight the challenges that Shara's facing
right now. Those challenges are in building legitimacy for his
transitional government.

Speaker 1 (38:50):
There is an awful lot to dijust here. Kirtman So
let's wrap up with some of the key takeaways. What
should our listeners keep in mind about these developments.

Speaker 5 (39:00):
Well both In both of these situations, the key takeaway
is that everything is incredibly volatile. It's the Middle East.
On one end, you have Iran. They're using threats and
military posturing to what they would say, deter the United
States and Israeli actions while rebuilding their own missile capabilities. Now,

(39:23):
for Syria, this transitional government is a double edged sword.
While it's a step toward political restructuring, Sharrah was the
leader of a terrorist organization, so this consolidation of power
and the exclusion of key groups is something that was predictable,
but it risks undermining its legitimacy.

Speaker 1 (39:44):
Thank you. Let's move to the Indo Pacific and discuss
the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan. China has launched
a large scale military drill around Taiwan and they're accusing
its leaders of being separatists and parasites, pushing the island
toward war closer toward war. These drills are accompanied by

(40:05):
a heavy propaganda campaign and have raised alarms across the region.
So let's start with the basics here, What exactly is happening?

Speaker 5 (40:13):
Yeah, Like, the issue here is that the People's Liberation
Army or the PLA, launched that series of military exercises
around Taiwan. And it's not just that the drills and
the exercise happen, it's that the involved forces from everywhere,
the PLA, Navy there, the plan, the army, the Rocket Force,

(40:34):
even the coast Guard. They were described by the CCP
as a stern warning to Taiwan's government. Beijing accuses that
government of engaging in separatist activities. And these exercises were extensive,
focused on combat readiness, maritime and land strikes and even
for one of the first times, had a blockade placed

(40:58):
during the exercise.

Speaker 1 (41:00):
Hikes. That is a significant show of force. But why now,
why this week? Because I mean, Taiwan has never made
it a secret, but want to happen. I mean, this
is not new, this is not new for them. So
what is driving this escalation on China's end?

Speaker 5 (41:18):
I mean, we know timing is everything in geopolitics, right,
and I'm glad you brought this up because this escalation
is no exception to that. Beijing's actions appear to be
a direct response to recent statements and policies from Taiwan's
President Lii Shingtei. Now he leads the pro sovereignty Democratic

(41:38):
Progressive Party, it's taken a strong stance against Beijing. Just
last month, he labeled China a quote foreign hostile force
end quote. Some people would not argue with that. China
does take offense to that though, and he announced measures
to counter its growing in or China's growing influence in
espionage operations. Now, like I said, trying to use these

(42:01):
moves as provocative, and they've ramped up its military and
propaganda efforts, and that is solely to send a clear
message to Taiwan. These particular drills were launched with little warning.
That's pretty unusual compared to previous exercises. We usually know
far enough in advance this is happening, and so that

(42:23):
signals a quite the shift in Beijing's approach.

Speaker 1 (42:27):
Yeah, because I know usually we mentioned like a week
or two ahead of time, because they announce it.

Speaker 5 (42:34):
Yeah, And that's and the reason you do that is
because it is quite provocative to do those exercises, and
it could be viewed by some people in the region
as an as an escalation, right, and so or an
active war or an active war, and then preemptive measures
are taken, right and it could what was just an

(42:56):
exercise could lead to war because it's it's viewed that
way because the proper channels, nobody knew about it. Right now,
I can almost assure you that through back channels there
were calls saying we are going to do this just
wasn't and those were kept on the Signal chat app

(43:17):
so that no one was able to another joke it
was not. I hope it wasn't. Yeah, I hope those
conversations are kept through secure, very secure channels, classified channels.

Speaker 1 (43:31):
And what about this propaganda campaign? It seems like China
is using more than just military pressure here.

Speaker 5 (43:38):
They absolutely are you using more than just military pressure.
This campaign is part of their strategy. The PLA flooded
social media with these nationalistic hash TEGs, the videos, posters.
One particularly striking image depicted Taiwan's president as a cartoon
bug being held over a burning Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Now,

(44:04):
the message to that should be very clear to everyone.
Beijing is trying to delegitimize Taiwan's leadership and portray them
as reckless separatists leading the island towards destruction. This propaganda
isn't just aimed at Taiwan's domestic audience, though, it's also
designed to influence international perceptions, particularly in the United States.

(44:26):
Beijing wants to paint as a troublemaker, and they want
to deter the United States from maintaining its high levels
of support for Taiwan.

Speaker 1 (44:34):
I don't think a picture of lie as a bug
roasting over Taipei is going to change us perceptions. But okay, yep,
I guess whatever. So do you think China is ready
to launch a full scale invasion of Taiwan?

Speaker 5 (44:53):
Not yet, so talking like we'll go back again. Talking
with Mike Baker yesterday, he actually doesn't see this happening
at all. He just does not think that that's what
Jijunping wants to do. He's going to try to use
grey zone warfare and and not a full scale invasion.

(45:16):
I still disagree with that. I do believe twenty twenty
seven is the year we see an attempt at a
full scale invasion and we'll see where that goes. So
they're not there yet, Okay, that's two years from now,
but they are getting very close. I still believe that
China is building the military capability needed for such an operation.

(45:38):
We saw that with the roll on roll off barges
with these new fighter jets.

Speaker 1 (45:43):
Got huge military complex.

Speaker 5 (45:45):
The huge military complex, yeah, how many, like ten ten
times bigger than the Pentagon. I did go on to
NTD a month ago, right and discuss that with for
one of their programs on China, right, and just how
massive it is and what it means. It means that
they are trying to do what's called command and control

(46:07):
or C two. Have built a C two node which
would allow them to then control all aspects. So it's
to be a joint command and control center that controls
all aspects, and you only do that in a wartime effort.
So that's getting built up really quickly. So, like I said,

(46:32):
they're not there yet, but in the meantime, they are
using military pressure, they're using propaganda other coercive tactics to
push Taiwan towards submission. I still do believe that's what
they want. If they never have to go to war
and they can take over Taiwan, to them, that's a win.

Speaker 4 (46:51):
Now.

Speaker 5 (46:51):
It's also worth noting that Taiwan, though They're not sitting
idly by. Their military and government have been ramping up
their response training and they've elevated their readiness level one
of the highest levels they've ever had it at, and
that's to ensure these drills don't turn into a real attack.

Speaker 1 (47:08):
Okay, so what is the endgame here? Is this just
about Taiwan or does China have broader ambitions?

Speaker 5 (47:16):
I mean, it's definitely more. It's about more than Taiwan.
The immediate goal here though, is to bring Taiwan under
Jee's control, but the broader ambition is to establish dominance
in the Indo Pacific. These drills are part of a
larger strategy to project power and then challenge the United
States and its allies in the region. Now Taiwan's presidential office,

(47:39):
they did point out that China's recent exercises have extended
beyond the Taiwan straight to areas near Australia are great
friends in New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, also the
South China Sea, and this shows Beijing's ambitions. They are regional,
but they're also glad.

Speaker 1 (48:01):
We are witnessing what analysts describe as a significant realignment
of power dynamics across the Indo Pacific region. So we
are going to turn our attention northward to the Arctic,
specifically Greenland, a territory that has emerged as a focal
point of strategic interest in international competition. While China maintains

(48:24):
relevance in this discussion, our focus centers on Greenland itself
and also Greenland. I'm just so sorry, Well, what's going
on right now? Oh my gosh. This massive island has
generated considerable diplomatic activity in recent years, from the United
States expressing acquisition interest to its increasingly prominent role in

(48:46):
Arctic security frameworks, which is probably why Trump wants to
buy it. But Carvin, can you help our viewers understand
the fundamental question here? What factors have elevated Greenland from
a remote Arctic territory, you know, run by Denmark to
a centerpiece of geopolitical strategy.

Speaker 5 (49:09):
Yeah, Greenland is the world's largest island. And while it's
part of what you said that it's part of the
Kingdom of Denmark, it is a self governing territory with
a population of just over fifty six thousand people. They're
mostly Inuit people there. Now, what makes Greenland so important?
Is its location and its resources. So it sits at

(49:31):
the heart of the Arctic that's becoming a geopolitical hotspot.
As climate change melts the sea ice. It opens up
new shipping routes and access to untapped natural resources like
rare earth elements, oil, and natural gas.

Speaker 1 (49:47):
So it's not just about the land itself, but what's
under it and.

Speaker 5 (49:52):
Around it exactly. This is a geopolitical discussion, not merely
some simplistic notion that trump her offhand and then he
impulsively acted upon it. I know that was one of
our first thoughts about this. He heard the term greenland
and he just went, oh, that sounds good. Let me
go promote buying greenland. I don't think I don't think

(50:15):
I ever thought that. So that's I mean, that's one
of the theories that first popped up in my head
because that happens. It's like Canada, Hey, we could make
it a fifty first day. It got a chuckle from people,
and now it's becoming what it is right now, which
is two allies that don't like each other anymore.

Speaker 1 (50:37):
This is really fine.

Speaker 5 (50:38):
It's depressing. Yeah, And so the reason I say that
about Greenland is because in doing the research for this.
It's very notable that Greenland's proximity to emerging Arctic shipping
routes like the Northwest Passage and the Transpolar Sea Route
make it a strategically vital place. These routes could eventually

(51:05):
bypass traditional choke points like the Suez or the Panama
Canals and that would cut chipping times significantly in that region.
And on top of that, Greenland is part of the
gi Uk or the Giuk Gap, that's Greenland, Iceland and
the United Kingdom. It's a key choke point for monitoring

(51:25):
Russian naval movements. Let's not forget as well, the US
military presence at Patific Space Base. That's one of the
bases there. It's formerly full air base. When Space Force
took over, they made that airbase into a space base.
It makes a ton of sense because of its proximity,

(51:47):
in its location on the globe. Yes, this is a
globe that we live on and that is a critical
site for missile defense and space surveillance.

Speaker 1 (52:00):
I know this is not the first time the United
States and everybody's like shocked right now with what's going
on with Trump, but this is not the first time
the United States has tried to acquire Greenland. They tried
to acquire Iceland too, and I understand, you know, where
they're positioned, it would be helpful, but they're already being

(52:21):
governed by other countries, and just because we decide we
want it doesn't mean they have to give it to us.

Speaker 5 (52:27):
Yeah. And also we're in the twenty first century. Now
why I get it's fifty six thousand people that live there,
and so they probably need some help with infrastructure and
things like that. But just to I thought colonialism was
dead in the twenty first century, but it's alive and well,
and with Denmark, of all places, I love Denmark. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (52:52):
But okay, so let's just get back to it. That
brings us to the United States, and President Donald Trump
has made waves suggesting that we buy Greenland. Tell us
what's the story there.

Speaker 5 (53:09):
I think the interest in Greenland wasn't as outlandish as
it might have seemed at first glance. Now Trump has
framed it as a national security priority. He cites the
need to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic.
Greenland's natural resources and strategic location make it a valuable asset.

(53:30):
But Trump's rhetoric here, threatening economic coercion or even military
force was a bit shocking and honestly it alienated both
Greenland and Denmark.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
Yeah, why that's the thing here, is the threatening military
action to acquire it. Dude, we aren't Russia, we aren't China.
We supposedly allow for people to live their lives.

Speaker 5 (54:00):
Well, you know, there there was a point where people
said that the US should stop being the police of
the world. Maybe we're stopping from being the police of
the world and we're now the villains of the war.

Speaker 1 (54:12):
Great, Well, I mean everything's going to come.

Speaker 5 (54:14):
Be careful what you wish for people.

Speaker 1 (54:16):
Everything, No, everything comes full circle. You know, the pendulum swings.
You know, we're the heroes and now we're swinging back in.

Speaker 5 (54:25):
The other director the Batman phrase. What you either die
a hero or you live long enough to become the Villainy. Now,
I'm not saying the US is the villain right now.
I want to put that out. That's not the thing, right,
And that goes into all these conversations about well, the
US is losing their allies and look, we have.

Speaker 1 (54:46):
People don't feel like this is a good.

Speaker 5 (54:48):
Idea, right, and it's about an administration. Yeah, and it's
an administration that at the point in November the majority
of Americans voted for that is not going to be
the administration in twenty twenty eight.

Speaker 1 (55:04):
Even though he's threatening to try to find loopholes in
the constitution right for a third term. He's like, based
on my vaults, I should be able to run for
a third term. No, you should it. The Constitution is
in place for a reason.

Speaker 5 (55:18):
And I would suggest everyone that I'm not constitutional lawyer.
I did raise my right hand and uphold to defense
of the Constitution. Yeah, against enemies domestic and abroad. And
I still say, even after getting out of uniform, I

(55:38):
never relinquished that that duty to uphold the Constitution. I
think he'd have a very tough time now, since we
are on Leon Media Network, at least you heard it
here is one of the podcasts, and she did a
full deep dive on if he can find it and

(56:00):
find the loophole and what those loopholes might be. She
does a fantastic episode. Listen to her. Not US constitutional
law Ye I don't know.

Speaker 1 (56:09):
Okay, So obviously the US hasn't backed off entirely from
this notion that we should be able to grab Greenland
just what we wanted. Vice President jd Vance recently visited
Greenland and had some strong words for Denmark.

Speaker 5 (56:29):
Yeah. I mean, I've never seen a guy hate Europe
so much in my life.

Speaker 1 (56:33):
It's so weird because they have. I know I mentioned
this last week. I think I mentioned it last week
about how before he became vice president he went on
and on about how much he hated Trump. Like his
internet footprint is him talking about how much he can't
stand the Trump administration now.

Speaker 5 (56:51):
And you make a good point there, and it was
a point that was made during the vice presidential debates.
There's a question to jd Vance, you said this about
Donald Trump, and they put his tweets calling Donald Trump
so many just tweets videos, right, but they put the
tweets up there, and it was just him railing against

(57:11):
Donald Trump. And he had a brilliant answer for it.
It was one of the more impressive moments in the
vice presidential debate, and it was something that I think
he knew was coming and he had been practicing it
because he said, you're right, I did say a lot
of disparaging things towards President Trump, and it was because

(57:31):
I believed what the media said about President Trump. But
when I met the man and I got to know
the man, I saw a different person than the media
portrayed him to be. And that's why he's the vice president.
It is a brilliant answer, honestly, and it seemed like
it could have been one of those gotcha questions hard

(57:52):
to defend. So that's why I assume.

Speaker 1 (57:55):
So he blamed the media, right.

Speaker 5 (57:57):
And that blame and media blame Europe. Yeah, just getting
back to I looked at the signal chat right that
was released, and one of the key points was JD.
Vance talking about how much he hated Europe and wanted
Europe to pay for everything and didn't want to come
to Europe's defense now. In that Vance then criticized Denmark

(58:21):
as well, like you mentioned, and he criticized them for
what he called a failure to adequately invest in Greenland's
security and well being. He pledged more US resources. He
said naval ships and military icebreakers would be sent to
Greenland so that it would counter Russian and Chinese activity
in the Arctic, but his comments, particularly about Denmark, did

(58:43):
not sit well with leaders from either country.

Speaker 1 (58:46):
Well, the thing is is if they don't want it,
they shouldn't have to take it, right if they don't
want our help and they're perfectly fine with the status quo,
leave them alone.

Speaker 5 (58:58):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (59:00):
You don't get to pressure somebody into doing something. Well,
you shouldn't be able to. But that's not the state
of things, all right. So let's talk about Greenland itself.
It is a self governing territory, self governing and so

(59:20):
how much autonomy does it really have?

Speaker 3 (59:23):
Though?

Speaker 5 (59:24):
Yeah, I mean it has significant autonomy over domestic matters.
Those are education, health, natural resource development. But Denmark still
controls foreign defense and security policy. Now, with all that said,
Greenland's autonomy in these areas is growing. In twenty twenty four,

(59:44):
they released its foreign defense and security strategy. They titled
it Greenland in the World, Nothing about Us without Us,
And that defense strategy emphasize is Greenland's right to self
determination and its goal of eventual independence.

Speaker 1 (01:00:05):
Independence from Denmark. Yes, so, I mean it sounds like
a long term goal. But what is holding Greenland back
from getting in independence? Now?

Speaker 5 (01:00:17):
Fifty six thousand people living on an island of that size,
they still have an economic reliance on Denmark. Now, Greenland
receives substantial subsidies from Denmark and that makes up a
significant portion of its yearly budget. So while developing its
natural resources could help Greenland achieve economic self sufficiency, there

(01:00:39):
are some challenges. You've got harsh conditions. It's it's what
we learned in school about Greenland. Greenland.

Speaker 1 (01:00:47):
Yeah, Greenland is icy and island.

Speaker 5 (01:00:51):
This was the So that's The Mighty Ducks Part two,
What they all right? Tangent time the second installment D two,
The Mighty Ducks. They are the US national team, children
of children in Iceland is the main They're the main

(01:01:11):
villain of the movie. Right, They're the big the big bad.
I think it would have been a lot better to
be Russia. But I think at that point, I don't
know what the geopolitics when I was seven, what was
going on. But there's a very fun scene between Gordon Bombay,
the coach of the Mighty Ducks, so and one of

(01:01:38):
the female characters from Iceland, not one of the children
because it's a love interest, but Emilio sts character. Gordon
Bombay talks about Iceland and how it must be really
harsh and very icy, and she says Greenland is full
of ice. In Iceland is very nice that was resonated with.

(01:02:03):
I was like, is it really And I had to
look it up and yeah, it's there is there is
something that I learned in school, and I don't know
if you learned the same thing. But they did it
to trick other people to not invade Iceland. So they
called it Iceland. But it's very green, not very green,

(01:02:24):
but it's it's beautiful. And and then Greenland was called
Greenland as a counter to that. So there's very old
agent to say very harsh conditions.

Speaker 1 (01:02:40):
This.

Speaker 5 (01:02:40):
So with harsh conditions come high costs. And then there's
also environmental concerns. Now Greenlanders are very divided on mining.
For example, some see it as a path to independence,
others worry about the environmental and cultural impacts of that mining.

Speaker 1 (01:02:59):
Right, you mentioned Russia and China would tie into this earlier,
So how do they factor into this Arctic power struggle?

Speaker 5 (01:03:09):
Yela. Russia's been militarizing the Arctic for years, and now
with its invasion of Ukraine in twenty twenty two, that
is only heightened tensions in the region. All Arctic states
except Russia are now NATO members, and that has increased
the region's strategic importance now. China, on the other hand,
has been trying to establish a foothold in Greenland through

(01:03:31):
investments in mining and infrastructure, but many of these projects
have stalled because of US pressure. Greenland has made it
clear that it is going to decide its own future.
But with that said, it does remain a focal point
for great power competition.

Speaker 1 (01:03:49):
I like that, Yes, Greenland, you should decide your own
future and not have all these other people on the outside.
Oh anyways, so what should our listeners take away from
this about Greenland.

Speaker 5 (01:04:06):
Well, look, honestly, it did sound like a joke at first, right,
A lot of people thought this was a joke. Greenland?
Why Greenland? Greenland's insignificant. Greenland is a microcosm of the
broader geopolitical shifts that we are seeing, not just in
the Arctic but globally. It highlights the intersection of climate change,

(01:04:28):
of resource competition, but mainly this great power rivalry that
we're seeing. The US, Russia, and China all see the
Arctic as a strategic frontier and Greenland is right smack
dab in the middle of it all. At the end
of the day, I believe what Tiana believes Greenland's future

(01:04:50):
should be decided by its own people, not by the
external powers at play. I this opinion time. If you've
gotten this far into the podcast, I want to give
my opinion on where we sit here. The US and
other nations need to respect the people of Greenland and
find ways to cooperate on shared challenges like all of

(01:05:12):
this stuff with the people of Greenland.

Speaker 1 (01:05:16):
Boom, Oh, I can't say that, can I is that trademarked?

Speaker 5 (01:05:21):
How many boom? So many booths? Booms? Costco guys, the
Costco guys.

Speaker 1 (01:05:26):
Sorry, I'm not stealing your trademark, saying Costco guys.

Speaker 5 (01:05:30):
I promise not a sponsor.

Speaker 1 (01:05:33):
Not Yeah, I'm probably gonna never mind. So Greenland may
be remote, but it's clear that what happens there has
global implications. So thank you Kurbin for breaking it all
down for all of us. Is there anything else that
you would like to discuss?

Speaker 5 (01:05:52):
Nope, let's be done with this.

Speaker 1 (01:05:54):
Thank you so much for listening to this Week Explained.
We hope you found it both informative and engaged. If
you have any feedback or suggestions for future episodes, we'd
love to hear from you. For more in depth coverage,
of these stories and more. Be sure to follow us
on social media

Speaker 5 (01:06:09):
At this week explained Sienna, thank you so much, and
until next week, stay safe out there.