Background Briefing: March 21, 2021

On By gram

 

Separating Asian Americans From Worsening U.S.-China Relations

We begin with the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska between the Biden administration’s top officials and their Chinese counterparts in which Secretary of State Blinken faced a 16 minute tirade of “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy from the head of China’s Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi and speak with Mae Ngai, Professor of History and the Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies at Columbia University. The author of The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America and The Chinese Question, she joins us to discuss the need to separate growing tensions in U.S. – China relations from how Asian Americans are treated in this country as racist hate crimes against Asian American communities are on the rise following Trump’s demonization of Asians linking them to the Covid pandemic as opposed to blaming the Communist Party government in China. 

 

Censoring Lies, Idiocy and Hate On the Right is a Declaration of Defeat by the Left

Then we speak with Thomas Frank, the author of a number of books including Listen Liberal, Pity the Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew, and What’s the Matter With Kansas? His latest book is The People. No. A brief history of anti-populism and he joins us to discuss his latest article at The Guardian, “Liberals want to blame right-wing ‘misinformation’ for our problems. Get real“, which makes the case that talk from the Left of censoring lies, idiocy and hate on the Right is a declaration of defeat.

 

The May 1 Deadline to Get Out of Afghanistan

Then finally we speak with Charles Kupchan who was Director of European Affairs on the National Security Council during the Clinton administration and spent the last 3 years of the Obama administration as Special Assistant to President Obama for National Security. He joins us to discuss his article at CNN co-authored by Lt. General Douglas Lute who was co-ordinator for Afghanistan on the National Security Council, “Biden should withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Here’s Why.” We discuss the May 1 deadline for a U.S. withdrawal which the U.S. is unlikely to make and whether the Taliban will resume their attacks on American and allied forces who have agreed to leave the country which, in terms of the just-released World Happiness Report, is ranked as the saddest in the world with Finland the happiest.