tv Democracy Now LINKTV August 27, 2021 8:00am-9:01am PDT
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08/27/21 08/27/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i had gone there in the northeast of the airport, there was very strong and powerful suicide attack in the middle of the people. many were killed, including americans. many killed and many injury. amy: at least 95 afghans and 13 u.s. troops have been killed after a pair of suicide bombings in kabul near the international airport as thousands of afghans
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are desperately trying to flee the country following the takeover by the taliban. the militant group isis-k claimed responsibility. president biden has vowed to take revenge. pres. biden: we will not forgive. we will not forget. we will hunt you down to make you pay. amy: who is isis-k? we speak to olivia troye, former top aide to mike pence. she says the racist hysteria of trump advisor stephen miller helped gut the program to help afghan allies resettle in the united states. plus, we will look at how a right-wing radio host who once mentored a young stephen miller could become the next governor of california if voters back a recall of gavin newsom. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!,
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democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a warning to our audience, we begin the headlines with a story with disturbing video. in afghanistan, a pair of suicide bombers struck the crowded gates of kabul's airport thursday where thousands of afghans had gathered in an attempt to flee the taliban takeover. at lea 100 people were killed, most of them afghan civilians. 12 u.s. marines and u.s. navy medic were among the dead. the taliban reports 28 of its members were killed and scores of people were wounded. the militant group isis-k, and archrival of the taliban, claimed responsibility. pres. biden: we will respond with force and precision at our time at the place we choose and the moment of our choosing. amy: evacuations from kabul's
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airport were halted after the attack but later resumed. the u.s. says it has helped over 100,000 people leave afghanistan is the taliban takeover august 14. after the headlines, we will go to kabul for the latest. the u.s. preme court has struck down the biden adminiration's tempary motorium on evictns durin the ndemic. in a 6-t3 rulingthe cou's consvative mority rud the centerfor disee contro ceeded its authori and tha only cgress hathe poweto ordea pause evictio. the urt'ruling ps an estited 3.5 llion pele at riskf evicti in the next t mont. in aissentinopinion sied by jusces sotoyor and gan, justice stephen breyer wrote -- "these people may end up with relatives, in shelters, or seeking beds in other facilities where the doubly contagious delta variant threatens to spread quickly." the united states recorded
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nearly 190,000 new coronavirus infections thursday and over 1200 deaths. in illinois, democratic governor jb pritzker has reinstated an indoor mask mandate for all residents regardless of their vaccination status. in texas, republican governor greg abbott has signed an executive order banning all government mandates on covid-19 vaccines, even the pfizer biontech shot, which was granted full fda approval this week. governor abbott's order came as texas hospitalizations approached their highest levels of the pandemic, with half of all intensive care unit beds occupied by covid-19 patients. the centers for disease control is warning against use of the drug ivermectin to treat covid-19 after the unproven treatment was widely promoted on fox news, prompting a surge of calls to poison control centers
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from people who self administer the drug. ivermectin is most commonly used to treat parasites in horses and other large animals. there are no randomized controlled trials showing it benefits covid patients. the arkansas medical board is investigating one doctor who says he prescribed ivermectin thousands of times, including on arkansas prisoners. texas's house of representatives has advanced sweeping voter suppression legislation, with majority republicans poised to approve the measure today. the legislation would put strict limits on early voting hours, ban drive-thru voting, and empower partisan poll watchers inside polling places -- something critics say would open the door to racist voter intimidation. texas democrats said during thursday's debate the measures are designed to raise new barriers for voters of color, who tend to vote democratic. >> intentional discrimination against people of color -- these are not my words, these are
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three federal courts across this country making 10 findings of that intentional discrimination. >> intentional discrimination against people of a certain race , is that racism? >> those words, intentional termination, i think can be fairly characterized in that manner. >> we can talk about racial impacts of this legislation without accusing members of this body of being racist. amy: if the legislation is approved by texas house republans, as expected, it has to be reconciled with a senate bill. texas governor greg abbott could sign the measure into law by early september. israel said it would ease commercial access to the occupied gaza strip, allowing imports of goods, equipment, and vehicles, as well as gnting more entry permits for certain gazans into israel. the announcement came after fresh protests at the separation wall wednesday, demanding an end to the israeli blockade. israeli forces fired tear gas and live rounds on a crowd of hundreds, injuring at least nine people.
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israel has also continued to bomb the gaza strip in response to incendiary balloons launched from the besieged territory. president biden is meeting with israeli prime minister naftali bennett for the first time today after postponing their thursday meeting due to the attacks and afghanistan. the heads of state will discuss iran's nuclear program. the biden administration has been in talks about possibly reentering the iran nuclear deal, which israel opposes. in venezuela, at least 20 people are dead following heavy rainfall, massive floods and mudslides in the western state. over a dozen people are still missing and more than 1200 homes have been destroyed. parts of northern colombia have an hit i catch topic floods and heavy rains that turn roads into rivers. international aid groups are warning more than 12 million people in iraq and syria are losing access to water, food and electricity due the climate crisis, wi urgent action
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needed to combat a severe drought. this is an iraqi farmer. >> my family and i worked on this farm. it is my source of income and our livelihoods depends on it. because of the drought, we did not get anything this year and there's nothing i can do about it. amy: meanwhile, unicef warns that, without urgent action, over 4 million people in lebanon, mostly already vulnerable families and children, could face critical water shortages. in california, officials issued evacuation warnings around lake tahoe as the massive caldor fire continues to spread. thick smoke blanketed the usually idyllic tahoe basin as firefighters struggle to tame the devastating blaze, which was just 12% contained thursday. the dixie fire, the largest single wildfire in the california's history remains around 45% contained. tropical storm ida formed over the caribbean sea thursday with forecasters warning itould strengthen into a powerful category three big hurricane
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ahead of land probably sunday or early monday on the u.s. gulf coast. louisiana declared a state of emergency, and for new orleans, and warned the residents to be prepared. seven u.s. capitol police officers are suing former president trump, members of far-right extremist groups and organizers of the so-called stop the steal rally over the deadly january 6 insurrection. the officers are accusing trump and his far-right followers of spreading lies and using white supremacist sentiments as they attempted to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election. a federal monitor overseeing new york city jails is sounding the alarm on the brutal conditions inside rikers island. in a letter, the monitor said violence at rikers had skyrocketed this summer and warned of a high level of disorder and chaos, as well as a shortage of staff and lack of basic services for incarcerated people, including access to medical care. the letter also reported at least four suicides since december 2020, neglect during the covid-19 pandemic, and
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escalating use of force by officers. in related news, the justice department has announced it plans to shut down new york's metropolitan correctional center, the jail where convicted serial rapist jeffrey epstein was found dead in 2019 of an apparent suicide. the doj said the closure might be temporary while it addresses the squalid and dangerous conditions inside the jail. the ceo of time's up resigned thursday amid the ongoing fallout over its leaders' support for disgraced former new york governor andrew cuomo. "the washington post" reported this week tina tchen texted staffers to "stand down" from releasing a statement in support of cuomo accuser lindsey boylan. her resignation comes less than three weeks after prominent lawyer resigned as the chair of time's up over her role and advising cuomo on how to respond to the sexual harassment allegations. time's up was founded in the wake othe harvey weinstein
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scandal to supporturvivors of sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination. and congressmember ilhan omar is calling on president biden to pardon whistleblower daniel hale, a former member of the u.s. air force sentenced in july to 45 months in prison for leaking classified information exposing the u.s. drone and targeted assassination program. hale pleaded guilty in march to one count of violating the world war i-era espionage act. in a letter to biden, omar writes -- "the legal question of mr. hale's guilt is settled, but the moral question remains open. i strongly believe that a full pardon, or at least a commutation of his sentence, is oriented." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a warning to our audiencethis segment contains graphic video. the debt goal from the twin
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suicide bombings outside the kabul airport in afghanistan has reached at least 108. the associated press reports at least 95 afghans have died, as well as 13 u.s. troops. thursday was the deadliest day for u.s. forces in afghanistan in a decade. the suicide bombers struck near the crowded gates of the airport where thousands of afghans had gathered in an attempt to flee the country before the withdrawal of u.s. troops on august 31. survivors described a horrific scene. >> my dear brother, where we were there was suddenly an explosion. we climbed out of the water and saw them are many effective. people's brains were scattered everywhere. they were foreign forces who were following. people started running away and we got out. i saw at least 400 people there. explosion was really powerful.
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half for in the water and the others outside. we carried the wounded here on stretchers. my clothes are completely bloodied. and the militant group isis-k, and arch enemy of the taliban, claimed responsibility. president biden address the nation and defended his decision to abide by the trump's administration agreement with the taliban to withdraw u.s. troops, but he vowed to take revenge against the perpetrators of thursday's attack. mr. biden: to those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes america harm, no this. we will not forgive. we will not forget. we will hunt you down to make you pay. i will defend our interest in our people with every measure in my command. amy: evacuations from the airport were halted thursday
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k where we're joined by ali latifi, afghan journalist based in kabul and a correspondent for al jazeera english. thank you so much for joining us once again. talk about what happened yesterday and the isis-k's claim of responsibility. >> sorry. amy: if you could start again? >> sorry, sorry. i spoke to several victims over the last day who had basically described the scene of panic after the bomb off. over the last week, the areas around the airport had become
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inundated with thousands of people. hoping they could somehow gain the attention of foreign forces or someone else who would let them into the airport and eventually onto a flight to get out of the country. so when the bomb went off, it was literally -- people walking on top of one another. people scrambling and rushing through hordes of thousands of people. i spoke to one family whose daughter went missing trying to escape the bombing because she was younger and trying to lead the charge, go ahead the rest of the family. at the time she turned around her family was missing. her family spent much of last night and early this morning continuing to look for her. going from hospital to hospital trying to see if they can find
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her, trying to find out hopefully she is just injured and has not been killed as a part of the stampede the subsequent bombing. but that is the state of it. basically, it was, as they described it, may have. as soon as the bomb went off, thousands people who have been there for hours, in some cases days, running to get out as quickly as they possibly could. that really is the situation at the airport. amy: the word is, and we cannot confirm this, it was at least one suicide bomber who had been checked by perhaps u.s. military . this happened at the abbey gate and also near was at the baron hotel, which is the base of operations for the british you are ending their evacuation where they had already -- or they had already planned to, today. >> exactly.
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the issue is outside the gates of the airport, there are taliban stations and the cia-backed former intelligence forces. both of whom are knownor their hostility. they were basically given orders to keep people away from the airport. that way both groups have responded is b shooting into the air, chasing after people with hoses, making sure nobody gets too close, nobody lingers. so there really was -- it is not as if there was any sort of thorough security check before they got to the gate. and even when they get inside the gate, according to centcom, the bombers detonated inside the gate, if i understood correctly. but even by the time he got inside the gate, he had not been thoroughly checked. again, even in that crowd, there were hundreds, maybe thousands of people there. so getting to check in properly
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would have been almost impossible at that point because, as i said, the security outside the airport's is very haphazard, conducted by the ca-back versus that are known for their rights abuses when they were famous for conducting nitrates in this country. that is how you end up with that kind of situation. amy: patella beneficial called the attacks on the airport and active terrorism, adding the presence of foreign forces in afghanistan are to blame. can you talk about that? >> it is ironic, isn't it? coming from them? if the presence of foreign forces is to blame, they are leaving in four days and the taliban had been working with those foreign forces to take control of the airport, you know, essentially helped
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evacuate people, make it possible for them to evacuate people. so on the one hand, they are blaming the foreign forces -- fine, but they are also working with the foreign forces. they themselves made a deal with washington for the withdrawal. so the entire thing is ironic coming from them. amy: can you talk about the afghans who are trying to flee the country? who is being allowed through into the airport? who is getting out? >> almost nobody. amy: and yet the u.s. as has helped over 100,000 people, think something like 150,000 people have left afghanistan. >> well, i think the question is, how any of those are foreigners? i personally in the last we can been in contact with friends online, putting ones who had green cards who are afraid to
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take the family to the airport. i have been talking to those who had visas from different countries and were just standing in the line yesterday and, luckily, only left two or three hours before the bomb exploded. before the first bomb exploded. so this idea that thousands and thousands of avalon's are being evacuated every day is not entirely true. yes, many foreigners have been evacuated and will be evacted. but as of right now, there are still -- of course there are people just trying to press their luck -- for instance, we spoke to the family of one man who his colleague said he worked for intelligence, come with the intelligence badge and hopefully the americans will let you through. another had random documents at their disposal hoping they could get through. we also know of people who were
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very far along in the process, who had green cards, who had visas who were told to the airport -- to come to the airport but could not make it through the crowd and get into the actual airport. weeally need to keep that in mind, the fact this system was not built to get the afghan people out. if anything, it emboldened the taliban and the cia-backed groups to be more confrontational with people trying to get in. at the same time, all of these governments over the last few months have been advertising that would have the visa process is and they would give people visas and saying they expanded the parameters of this pieces. but going through that process is like a labyrinth. it is not their cut. it is not straightforward. a lot of people were left behind because the paperwork simply.
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amy: we will talk about that later in the broadcast come how difficult, especially the trump administration, with steve miller, advisor -- >> is not just the trump administration. i don't think we can take that point of view trump, that. everyone else, good. i don't think we should just be pinning this on trump. amy: let me ask you about attacks onournalists. he wrote about tolonews. can you talk about what is happening to journalists? is this typical right now? close it is not entirely typical. it is not an exception. journalists have always had a hard time in this country. at this point, everyone is -- essentially, trying to see how far they can go. amy: wt happened? >> basically, he was outside in
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the middle of the street in a very populated area in broad daylight. basically interviewing daily wage workers. there was no politician or soldier, nothing controversial. he was asking about the economy when and land cruiser stopped, beat him up and that cameraman. when they pulled out their media card, they insulted them and beat them up more, started hitting them with the butt of the rifle. they were doing nothing controversial whatsoever. and that is the scariest part. everybody in the last 10 days is trying to test the waters to see what is too far for these people and how to see if they will live up -- because they kept saying the media is free and can operate and we want them to operate. but with things like this happen, again, as i said, it was
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broad daylight in the middle of the city interviewing daily wage workers. nothing remotely controversial. amy: are you planning to stay in kabul? >> i hope to be able totay as long as possible. the situation -- we have to see if the taliban protects us, if it allows for some semblance of democracy, freedom of speech. if they don't continue to intimidate and harass and beat up journalists and they allow us to operate freely, of course, why would i want to leave my country? i have been lucky. today i was able to go visit so many victims and tell their stories to the world. if i am forced out by them, by their actions, then who will be here to tell those stories, to make sure they get broadcast and published everywhere possible? amy: ali latifi, inc. you for being with us afghan journalist
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amy: "afghanistan" by badel safi. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we contin to look at the crisis in afghanistan, a day after least 95 afghans and 13 u.s. troops were killed after a pair of suicide bombings in kabul just outside karzai international airport. the militant group isis-k has taken responsibility. we are joined in istanbul, turkey, by haroun rahimi, assistant professor of law at the american university of afghanistan. he was en route back to kabul when he heard the news of the taliban takeover and stayed in turkey. he tweeted -- dylan "i am not
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doing well. no afghan is." professor, welcome back to democracy now! who are the isis-k? >> there are differentays to answer that question. you can look at their ideological leaning, look at their fighters. you can look at their objeive. you would come up with different answers. you can look at the logistical methods and come up with different answers. ideologically, it is a group that is often called -- subscribe to a specific brand of politics. his speaks to reestablish the reimagined musli past. they often are very critical of everyone. they are puritan. there critical of all other
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faiths of islam, whatever muslim speaks differently in them as a major target. they target shias and other muslims. they have called them a close enemy, as opposed to a distant enemy which would be the west for america. in terms of their fighters, they don't have a lot of fighters i afghanistan. it was a branch of isis which emerged most of the regional branch that emerged in afghanistan because of some of the connections that existed historically. the arab world -- spring to the eastern part of the country. some arab fighters, some foreign fighters, including arab fighters, when isis was disseminated in iraq and syria
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came there and are also local afghans who joined them because they felt more ideological alignments with them or they thought it was a good opportunity to join a group that was seen by many -- in terms of objectives, their very against other types of muslims who disagree with them. they have fought with taliban. they had many fights. they also target shia, which are a sect of muslims in afghanistan. they fought the government of afghanistan as well. right now they seem to portray the taliban as allies of the united states and they wish to target both, and they did in the blast attack. there are different ways to ask that question, but it is a
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complex reality underground. how powerful it is, many have concluded it is not that powerful anymore after he was beaten down by the taliban, the government, and internationa forces. they still have some follors, sleeper cells in urban areas because isis tends to recruit more educated, middle-class members compared to the rural base of taliban. so it has a lot -- it has a number of sleeper cells for sure in kabul and several of those were responsible for that attack we saw yesterday. a makeup on august 14 when taliban swept in to the vacuum in kabul, they executed imprisoned former head of the islamic state of isis-k. they were freeing people and in prison. they pulled him out. he had been there for years and
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executed him. also explain what isis-k stands for. >> korsan is aegion. isis does not believe in nationstates. they believe in a caliphate that has universal claims. so everywhere in the world falls within the realm or the jurisdiction of the caliphate, but they had regional representation. the name korsan refers to the eastern part of the muslim empire. it covers regions like iran and afghanistan. if they're using the older name to refer to that part of the world in a relationship with the past muslim empire. obviously, it has symbolic significance. as i said, they are reimagining the muslim past in modern times as a way to mobilize, often
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disenfranchised, and alienate those who are angry for different reasons for the kind of claims and hopes of reestablishing some past lost fury, which is a reconstructed, reimagined past. that is why the name, symbolic pedigree. america with president biden vowing revenge for the suicide attacks, do you see the u.s. and tele been working together? isis-k is also enemy of taliban come as we do, to target them? >> supposedly they have already. the united states military said it had been exchanging information sanitized information, meaning sometimes may not be good information but some was passed on to the taliban to prevent such attacks
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and the use -- information sharing. moving forward, taliban are the de facto government underground and the meat issue remaining from u.s. perspective and the only partner they have, given they have -- withdrawing all troops, would be the taliban. it seems like the u.s. is counting on taliban's self interest as a possible partner, an odd partner but still a partner, for counterterrorism attacks -- especially with regard to isis-k. you have to reali, there are other terrorist groups active in the region who have better relationshipith the taliban and there is no enemy between them. there are many groups that pakistan, for example, considers
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a terrorist group. there are groups that china considers terrorist groups and have good relationship with the taliban. taliban will not be seen as a strong, robust partner in counterterrorism in general but with regards to isis-k, seems like there's been some cooperation and moving forward the taliban will be seen as a partner that can be relied upon and afghanistan. amy: the taliban have not announced answer government and afghanistan. are they having trouble pulling together this coalition of theirs? >> the taliban are good at not having public -- if there are statements, they tend to remain inside the movement. there other reasons why they have not announced a government. one, there are so u.s. troops present on afghan soil. the symbolism of announcing a government while the airport is under control of the united states would not be something --
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if the u.s. troops leave by the august 31 and they still have a problem announcing a government, for example september 1, we would pause for more serious internal fraction. right now i am sure -- kabul is dominated by subgroup. there have been disagreements but th're good at resolving them and keeping cohesion. the fact they have not announced a government yet is not evidence of a strong divide, but u.s. is still on the ground. with the kabul -- amy: are you planning at any point soon to go back to afghanistan? i know the president of american
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university of afghanistan, your university, apparently has fled the country according to "the wall street journal" and others. will you be coming back? >> absolutely. just to continuum, shouldn't of -- continue my mission of educating youth, and that is where my home is where everyone i love is. all of my family is in afghanistan. if i could be assured i would not be harmed, i would deftly go back. amy: haroun rahimi, assistant professor of law at the american university of afghanistan. he was en route back to kabul when he heard the news of the taliban takeover and at this point has stayed in istanbul, turkey. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as thousands of afghans attempt to flee afghanistan before the u.s. withdrawal on august 31, we turn now to look at how th trump admistration me it harder for afghans who worked with the united states to apply and receive what is known as a
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siv, a special immigrant visa. one former top aide to mike pence has placed the blame on trump's xenophobic advisor stephen miller. olivia troye recently tweeted -- "there were cabinet meetings about this during the trump administration where stephen miller would peddle his racist hysteria about iraq and afghanistan. he and his enablers across government would undermine anyone who worked on solving the siv issue by devastating the system at dhs and state." in recent weeks, stephen miller has repeatedly appeared on fox news to criticize efforts to resettle afghans in the united states. >> the taliban has all of the control of the government now. the notion that people could just show up at a checkpoint and demand resettlement into the united states, we could have any idea about their background or belief system, where they come from now that u.s.-backed government has fallen, is an impossibility. resettling in america is not
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about solving -- it is about accomplishing an ideological objective. to change america. amy: that is stephen miller on fox. we're joined now by olivia troye , who worked as homeland security and counter-terrorism adviser to former vice president mike pence. she is now the director of the republican accountability project. welcome to democracy now! can you talk more about -- i mean, you're in the room. talk about what the afghan visa process is. we are talking now about a law passed by congress. they have to go through something like 14 steps? >> that is correct. to hear stephen miller sort of disregard the fact these people are vented so extensively -- i mean, the process is cumberse and challenging. despite the trump administration's attempt to really get the entire thing.
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they have to be sponsored by either the military commander at the time or the person they were working for. they have to get a letter of recommendation from them and then it is a series of steps. they go through health checks, venting, background checks. this is not something that happens overnight. it is a cumbersome process that lasts at least several mons. but what we have had is any of the people were in the pipeline for years just waiting to get to the process, and they never sought results. -- they never sought results. amy: describe the scene, described a meeting stephen miller was in describing these afghan allies. he is continuing to talk about this to this day. >> stephen miller does not hide the fact he is anti-immigrant, anti-refugee. this is something he has been consistent about from day one,
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the trump administration when they took office. whether it was issuing the travel ban and in that ban it called for a full stop of the refugee process to do security reviews and review vetting. i sat in those meetings will we discussed many of the scenarios. in these meetings, it was prior to the attention, especially before cabinet meetings and a senior staff meetings at the security council, the importance of protecting these translators, interpreters, these u.s. allies that have served on the ground with us. and needed to get to the process expeditiously. stephen miller would say, these are terrorist cells in the making ring them here. he was a, you what a little iraq s in the country, a bunch of 'stans? it was offensive.
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no attorney brass come offensive to intelligence career people like myself. amy: who spoke upgeneral mattis, for example? >> he wrote a memo specifically about the metoo program on iraqis. i think this was in 2018 we were discussing refugee caps. amy: similar to -- >> exactly. this conversation, we were talking about siv process, the p2s, translators, many have been and the pipeline for years. general mattis is not able to attend this cabinet meeting. so he writes a memo. he writes this memo because he wanted to going record anyone's it distributed at the meeting because he is concerned about what is going to happen when people come into the room. will he cave to the likes of
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stephen miller? he was right to be concerned because in this discussion, stephen miller pontificates once again and pushes this narrative of fear mongering about what is going to happen if we bring these people here. and mattis through his memo make suree's on record that if we do not protect ts population, if we don't get them to the process, this is a serious matter of national security because what message are we sending to the world? amy: your special advisor to vice president pence. did you go you can stand up to stephen miller? >> yes. you always had to do it in a very calculated manner because when you do take a stand, unfortunately, he did have the power to remove people from their positions. he pushed a number of many of my competent colleagues out. state department, foreign service officers, who wer serving across the national
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security council. some of them own to be pro refugeep and pro-2's. many were pushed out and replaced by stephen miller allies. i worked closely with my colleagues to figure out how we were going to navigate this careful situation. look, i grieved former vice president pence -- i briefed former vice president pence about the scenario. i told him i was meeting with numerous men's asians who are raising serious concerns about what was budget cut for the refugee resettlement programs, afghans and iqis and other refugees. they were asking the right questions. there were saying, what is happening at the state department? when dug into this and go and meet people at the state bar -- department, i see people -- apad comes together for me and i come
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back and say, well, i don't know how we're going to counter what is happening here across the u.s. government when we have a group of people that are actively working to undermine the entire system. amy: in a statement to "the new york times" stephen miller responded to your accusation saying "the sole reason anyone is stranded in afghanistan is because joe biden stranded them in the single most imbecilic act of strategic incompetence in human history." of course president trump has weighed in and he is attacking biden, calling his responses imbecilic as well. your response? >> i think rob had for years to -- trump had four years to do something about getting these people out of harm's way who were under the system waiting to be processed. i think -- they have spoken about this before where they come in and realize the program
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is definitely in need of resourcing and staffing. this is not something you can just flip a switch and turn on overnight. it is a cumbersome process. if it was not functioning the way it should have, which i know it was not because i know this firsthand, it is going to take time. you end up in a crisis situation now or you're trying to figure out how you're going to protec thousands of people whose lives are going to be at risk once we withdrawal. if that were the case -- i know for a fact the trump administration was planning the withdrawal for several years now, why were they not actively prioritizing this population so we would not be in the situation we are in today? amy: olivia troye, thank you for spending this time with us, former homeland security and counter-terrorism adviser to former vice president mike pence. now the director of the republican accountability project. when we come back, we look at how right wing radio host larry elder who once made toward a young stephen miller can become
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the next governor of california voters back a recall of gavin newsom. back in 30 seconds. ♪♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn to california where an effort to recall democratic governor gavin newsom is underway in a special election that could also shape national politics. conservative talk radio host larry elder is now the republican front runner
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challenging newsom. he was a mentor to stephen miller. the xenophobic anti-immigrant former trump advisor. as the race heats up, president biden and vice president kamala harris were set to travel to california to support newsom, but harris has canceled a campaign event planned for today after the attacks in afghanistan. ballots have already been mailed, who have until september 14 to answer two questions -- to the governor be recalled and if they vote yes, who should replace him? if more than 50% say yes, the governor should be recalled, the candidate with the most votes becomes the new governor. nuisance leading challenger larry elder gave -- newsom's leading challenger, larry elder, gave stephen miller one of his first platforms as our next guest jean guerrero writes about in her book "hatemonger: stephen miller, donald trump and the white nationalist agenda," which is just out in paperback this week. jean is a "los angeles times" columnist who has written several columns about the recall race.
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last week she wrote -- "if larry elder is elected, life will get harder for black and latino californians." her latest column is headlined "gavin newsom has been one of the most pro-latino governors in california history, and he's under attack for it." she joins us from san diego, california. welcome back to democracy now! first, explain this extremely unusual, arcane process in california, how governor newsom could be recalled if 51% of people vote against him but the person who replaces him, which could be larry elder, could get something like 18% of the vote. >> it is incredibly anti-democratic election. even if larry elder only gets come as you mentioned, far, far fewer votes than got some newsom -- amy: just a plurality against the other opponent. he would just need a plurality. >> exactly.
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it is incredibly dangerous. this whole thing started with anti-immigrant nativists in california who were upset about the pro-immigrant, pro-latino policies that gavinewsom had. it started with a former deputy sheriff healy who on facebook had called for planting microchips and immigrants and comparing them to animals. those are the people who started the recall. it only gained traction after gavin newsom was spotted in a restaurant having dinner with some people that he kw and he was not wearing a mask. he admits at was a mistake. he owns that mistake. republicans have used that as propaganda to get support for this recall. there has been a lot of misinformation around it. but also just general discontent about the pandemic that people
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are sort of putting on governor newsom. the problem is the alternative to newsom is larry elder, who so far has received the most support and he is a right wing talk show host come as i write in my book, that meant toward stephen miller, the anti-immigrant nativist to is the reason the people in afghanistan who died could still be alive today if he hadn't spent four years blocking the admission of refugees and bragging about it, as recently at a conservative conference saying he was very proud to have slashed refugee admissions historic lows. larry elder introduced him to this idea that it is not racist to deny the fact a systemic racism. he put out this idea to the delay of many white audiences -- like many white audiences, that he is this like me and because
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he is black he could not night the fact -- denied systemic rasm andses false's is to sticks from jad taylor -- falls statistics from jared taylor. was pulling content from the white nationalist website so this is a person who wants to attack all of the progress that california has made on immigrant rights. he wants to attack investments and public schools that gavin newsom has made. they have hugely benefited communities of color. he basically wants to take california back to the 1990's when we saw in doubly anti-immigrant, anti-black decade in california. amy: larry elder says it he is elected governor of california, he will repeal mask and vaccine mandates immediately.
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>> if i become governor -- [applause] when i become governor, assuming there are still mandates for vaccines and face masks, they will be repealed. amy: jean guerrero? >> this idea of repealing all masks and covid vaccine mandates is iredibly concerning to communities of color in california who have already borne the brunt of this pandemic in terms of death toll, in terms of everything. everything that he is planning to do on a broad level in relation to covid, and in relation to climate change for example he says he does not want to do anything about climate change. even believes in investing in more fracking. these things would disproportionately impact the most marginalized communities in
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california who have made significant progress in recent years thanks to governors like gavin newsom prioritizing their needs and listening and sitting down and hearing them out. it is so important to understand what is happening in california could have national repercussions. we are talking about a state that has led the charge against trumpism, led the chae in terms of immigrant rights and protecting immigrant unities, helping immigrant communies feel safe, interting with the police, reporting crimes about fear of deportation. we are talking aut the state that has made significant advances on racial justice. if the republicans succeed in flipping this state, it will have catastrophic implications nationally in terms of immigration reform in congress, it could stall that. it would embolden other anti-immigrant, xenophobic
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governors in other states to really go after the latino community. it is just a part of the republican party's effort to overturn democracy and the will of the voters. amy: jean guerrero, the headline of her latest piece in "the l.a. times" is "gavin newsom has been one of the most pro-latino governors in california history, and he's under attack for it." you have also said that democratic outreach latino voters on the california recall election is not working. do people even realize this is happening? >> no, they don't. that is the problem. the communities who have the most to lo right now are kind of checked out because of the fact we have suffered so much under the pandemic. i mean, essential workers that have had to keep going to work and they have fatigue from the pandemic, fatigue from trumpism
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and the rise in hate crimethat occurred under the administration. a lot of young latinos in particular i have been speaking with our tuning this out. it is just too much for them. but it is so important -- they need to turnout in order for this election to not overturn the will of the voters. if only the people who turnout are the far right, white supremacist minorities in california, then we have a serious problem for these communities. their problem is even though newsom has been doing incredible work for these communities, they have not done a good job of messaging all of the advances that have been made, including unprecedented investment in our public education system, providing two years of free community college for first-time students, lowering the cost of textbooks, really great things that benefit not just latinos,
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but working-class latinos and communities of colorverall. so there needs to be a better job of messaging or this could be -- just as far as the rhetoric alone that larry elder would bring into our state. he told "the los angeles times as i wrote in my column that he plans to use the "bully pulpit" that he does not bieve in humanizing terms like "undocumented" or "immigrant." he was to use parts terms like "illegal aliens." that was in people back into the shadows and reverse the incredible progress that has been made. it would embolden the same in statafter ste after state. it is important to vote. if you're not in california, tell your friends in california to vote no. this could have serious implications. amy: talked about the implications for the balance of the senate as well. it was gavin newsom who chose
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campbell harris's position. now you're talking about dianne feinstein and the significance of her seat is vulnerable and what it would mean in this period if there were republican governor. >> the governor has the power to appoint a replacement for dianne feinstein if anything were to happen to her. if she were to retire or if anything else happened to her. you know, she is elderly. so that is a real possibility that he would appoint someone who does not represent the values of california or californns, and would tip the balance of the senate. it would make it impossible for president biden to push through the policy goals that he has put forth in terms of infrastructure, in terms of
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helping communities across the united statein ways the republicans oppose. there are real implications. even though it would be a year and a half in office, they would probably be voted up in the next election, they could do significant harm. larry elder says he plans to use his veto power to cut funding to all of these programs that he opposes, including health care for our undocumented seniors -- which has allowed them to stay alive. many of the latinos here, they have mixedtatus families, so this affects -- amy: thank you for being with us, jean guerrero, "los angeles times" columnist. her latest, "gavin newsom has been one of the most pro-latino governors in california history, and he's under attack for it." she is author of "hatemonger: stephen miller, donald trump and the white nationalist agenda." it is out in paperback this week.
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