We are living in turbulent times. U.S. media and politicians are busy carving up Syria, balkanizing a once proud nation, and are supporting Israel’s attempts to annex the entirety of the south of the country.
Israel has switched its focus to the West Bank and even further, with rumors of a wider war against Lebanon and Iran circulating. And that sentiment has been backed by pro-U.S., pro-Israel media around the world.
The big winners in any such war would be the hi-tech U.S. military-industrial complex, who stand to make billions supplying the Israeli war machine with the machinery it needs to continue its destructive course – companies like Palantir, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. And yet, it has recently come out that so many of those media outlets so loudly backing American and Israeli imperial ambitions are actually quietly funded by the U.S. government through USAID.
Joining MintCast host Mnar Adley today to talk about all of this are Robert Inlakesh and Alan MacLeod. Robert is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and is the author of the recent article, “Palantir CEO Alex Karp Teams Up With the Alt-Right to Censor Israel’s Critics,” which he discussed today.
Alan is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017, he published two books, “Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting” and “Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent.” Today, he discussed findings from his recent article, “USAID Falls, Exposing a Giant Network of US-Funded ‘Independent’ Media.”
Israel’s occupation of Palestine relies heavily on hi-tech equipment and the latest technology, including artificial intelligence and facial recognition cameras. One of the most dystopian weapons it has produced is an AI-powered robotic gun installed at checkpoints around Palestine. Ordinary people passing through the checkpoints tremble in fear as an automated system with the ability to instantly kill anybody it chooses watches over them.
Much of the technology Israel needs to prosecute its wars comes courtesy of U.S. tech company Palantir. At the height of the Gaza onslaught, Palantir announced it had entered into a new “strategic partnership” with the Israeli Defense Ministry to “supply technology to help the country’s war effort.” “Both parties have mutually agreed to harness Palantir’s advanced technology in support of war-related missions,” the company’s executive vice-president, Josh Harris, said, adding: “This strategic partnership aims to significantly aid the Israeli Ministry of Defense in addressing the current situation in Israel.”
Palantir founder Peter Thiel is known as one of the most influential men in Washington, D.C. The Silicon Valley oligarch has deep ties to the CIA and the military-industrial complex and is one of the Republican Party’s most powerful backers. Vice-President J.D. Vance is a Thiel protégé. The pair met while Vance was still at college. From there, Thiel secured Vance his first job in 2013. Two years later, Vance joined his venture capital firm, and in 2020, he provided the seed money for Vance to start his own investment group.
In 2021, Vance ran for Senate and was bankrolled to the tune of $15 million by Thiel, who has constantly guided his political trajectory all the way to the White House. Today, Vance and Trump hold the purse strings, not only of the gigantic U.S. military budget but also decide the direction of U.S. foreign policy. While the new administration’s decisions have harmed many, Thiel’s interests have always been most peculiarly attended to.
Mnar Adley is an award-winning journalist and editor and is the founder and director of MintPress News. She is also president and director of the non-profit media organization Behind the Headlines. Adley also co-hosts the MintCast podcast and is a producer and host of the video series Behind The Headlines. Contact Mnar at mnar@mintpressnews.com or follow her on Twitter at @mnarmuh.
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