The Hot Zone with Chuck Holton

Episode 180 - Stateless Persons and the Fulani Threat

Nigeria and an update on Venezuela.

Episode 179 - Hong Kong Protests and The US Military in Africa

Did you know the US military is engaged in the fight against Boko Haram?  We'll cover it on today's podcast.

Episode 178 - Nigerian Christian Persecution and Boko Haram

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with over 200 million people from over 250 ethnic groups. Almost half of Nigerians claim the Christian faith, with most of the rest adhering to Islam.  Boko Haram is killing Christians wherever they find them, and many Christians - even in Nigeria - doubt the problem.

Episode 177 - Deep Dive into Afghan Issues and More!

Well, it's not time yet to plan your vacation to baghdad, and we'll take a look at the muslim pilgrimage to mecca, and take a closer look at what's happening in Afghanistan.  All coming up on today's hot zone.

 

Hi folks!  Yesterday I broke the news that you can now donate to the hot zone via Victor Marx's website, All Things Possible Ministries.  We're partnering up with Victor so any donations you give will be tax deductible if you so choose.  If you are currently donating via patreon.com/hotzone, and plan to write off your donations, then unsubscribe there and start giving over at victormarx.com/hotzone. 

 

Speaking of donations...something bad yet kinda funny happened yesterday while I was filming the podcast:  Lightning struck my house just as I was finishing up and blew out the tv that I use for a backdrop. 

 

Actually it wasn't all that funny - that was an expensive TV and even though I had it plugged into a very good surge protector, the bolt was so powerful it killed it anyway.  So I'm stuck using a green screen for now until I can get a new TV or get this one fixed somehow.

 

Well a huge bomb went off monday afternoon in Baghdad at a weapons depot and military base south of the city.  It just happened so we don't have all the details yet, but it appears the base belonged to a Shia militia, which you may remember is backed by Iran.  So it might not have been an accident...some are saying it may have happened because of an airstrike by Israel, since they have been hitting Iranian assets inside Iraq more and more lately.  If that's the case, this would be a big strike and may have some repercussions.  Remember, everyone has designs on this region for one reason or another, and the government in Baghdad has been increasingly under the influence of iran, which is a bad thing for the US , the kurds and especially israel.  Israel cannot allow Iran to establish a land bridge across iraq or Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.  So something really big just blew up in Baghdad and at the moment we don't have any word on deaths or injuries. 

 

Okay, now let's talk about something that is supposed to unify Muslims around the world, whether they are shia or sunni, it's the Hajj. 

 

The annual Muslim pilgrimage started Friday, and is one of the five pillars of Islam, muslims are commanded to adhere to.  The rule is: Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the journey to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, are required to perform the Hajj at least once in their lives.

 

It's a five day thing,  where muslims basically get together in mind-boggling crowds around the holiest sites in Islam to seek redemption, forgive their enemies, etcetera. they dress up in white robes and form a procession around the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure draped in black silk that is kind of like the holy of holies for Muslims.  They say it was built by the Prophet Abraham from the Old Testament.

 

The Prophet Mohammed made the first pilgrimage to Mecca in 628 AD with 1,400 followers.  He didn't need a visa, either.  But now to manage the literally millions of people who want to attend, the saudi government is pretty strict about who can get a visa.  In case you were wondering, I can't get a visa, since I'm not a Muslim.

 

Estimates are this year that about 1.8 million people will make the pilgrimage. 

 

Okay, now let's move over to Afghanistan.  I have so much content from there that I shot last week, you are going to get a real education about the issues facing that country and our troops there over the next few days.  There's a LOT to cover. 

 

As you probably know I spent a couple of days on the front side of my visit wandering around Kabul, which I would not recommend at the moment.  Here's an in-depth report I made there with some content you haven't seen yet.

 

The 18-year war in Afghanistan may be coming to a close as US and Afghan diplomats negotiate for peace with the Taliban.  But with rising violence and Presidential elections there less than a month away, noone is certain what Afghanistan will look like by the end of the year.  I traveled to Kabul last week to find out.

 

VO:  This Afghan street market in the Capital city of Kabul is bustling after Friday prayers, but there's a tension in the air anytime large groups of people congregate in one place.  The threat of suicide bombers is at an all-time high, and are now an almost daily occurrence.

 

IN the time I was in Afghanistan there were car bombs and suicide attacks happening with stunning regularity.  That made walking around a really dangerous thing to do, but I took a chance one afternoon and visited the market, where I found the people to be super polite and friendly. I walked down chicken street, which is famous for ancient rug shops that have been there since antiquity. I ate some great shish kabobs made of lamb with peppers. delicious.

 

On one day in late July the city suffered three car bombs in one day.  This merchant was nearby when the bombs went off. He says he was doing his duty inside the compound when he heard the explosion and came running. He saw some wounded victims lying on the ground near his office. the target was two armored vehicles but he does not know who was inside them.

 

Abdul Mohammad: (Dari) "I was doing my duty inside our compound. I heard an explosion and I came out. I saw a couple of wounded victims on the ground near our office and over there. The target was two vehicles, but I don't know who was inside the vehicles."

 

Stand Up: "Donald Trump says he's tired of hearing that the United States is losing the war in Afghanistan. And he says the American people feel the same way. And that's why the U.S. military has been having talks with our enemies the Taliban here in Afghanistan to try to come up with a ceasefire. But even while they're doing that the Taliban has been stepping up attacks around Kabul like the one that happened right here in front of Kabul University in mid-July that killed more than 10 people. But if we've learned anything from the precipitous pullout that happened in 2011 in Iraq it's that if we pull out too soon or in the wrong way it could have serious consequences for the United States in the future."

 

VO: Over 17000 coalition troops are still in the country, but their role has changed dramatically from direct action to one more focused on an advise and assist mission.  this is the same thing we're doing in Iraq. This means Afghan troops are doing the lions' share of the fighting, and dying as well.  While the US has lost 12 soldiers this year, which is certainly 12 too many, the Afghans regularly have over a hundred soldiers killed in a normal week.  In one week in June, Afghan troops lost 249 soldiers killed and many more injured.  Despite decades of training alongside US troops, Afghan soldiers remain one of the least effective fighting forces on the planet, and are plagued by low rates of literacy and low morale.  There's even a huge problem with so-called "ghost soldiers" who don't actually exist, but instead the generals have for years claimed these troops and  pocketed their pay.  I've spent a lot of time with Afghan troops and without a doubt one of the biggest problems with bringing them up to the level of a professional fighting force is the lack of education.  The US has implemented vast literacy programs trying to improve that, but are limited by our agreement with the Afghan government to being able to only teach them from the Koran and other writings by the prophet Mohammed.  I believe this has something to do with the ongoing "green on blue" attacks that we have seen among Afghan troops for years, where they regularly turn on our forces and kill them suddenly and without warning.

 

Stand Up: "Another contributing factor to the uptick in violence we're seeing across Afghanistan right now are the upcoming presidential elections at the end of September. Back in July there was a massive complex attack at this building behind me which were the offices of the president's running mate. And it just shows that the Taliban is flexing its muscles in advance of that upcoming election."

 

VO:  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech August Fourth that the solutions to Afghanistan's problems are diplomatic, not military, and that the US is committed to working with the Afghan government to finally extricate our forces from the country.

 

Mike Pompeo:  "President Trump has made very clear that his desire is that we develop a diplomatic resolution that permits us to reduce the resources that are located in the country, while simultaneously ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a platform where terror can strike the United States of America."

 

During the event the Secretary was asked about the building tensions with Iran centered around the straits of Hormuz.  Here's what he had to say as well as some quotes from the Australian prime minister and others at the conference.

 

The United States has deployed one of its largest aircraft carrier's, the USS Abraham Lincoln, to the Middle East after months of heightened tensions with Iran.

 

The multi-billion dollar aircraft carrier was sent by President Donald Trump to the North Arabian Sea - where last month, Iran boarded a British ship in retaliation to the UK blockading one of Iran's oil tankers.

 

The USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the U.S.'s largest aircraft carriers, arrived in the region in May, earlier than expected, after tensions escalated with Iran - however, the ship has yet to enter the Strait of Hormuz.

 

US jets in the area are fitted with cameras to record the waters below, making it harder for tankers in the Gulf to be targeted - and recording any interactions. Commander Michael Boyle said he believes that preparation is the backbone to deterrence.

 

And that may be one good argument for leaving at least a few thousand troops in Afghanistan over the long term. They will serve as a deterrent both to Iran and to China, because those countries would love nothing more than to get their hands on all the natural resources Afghanistan sits on. That's already happening, as China has been buying up mineral rights all over Afghanistan.

 

Stand Up: "Despite the recent increases in violence things have gotten better in Afghanistan since I started coming here at least back in 2007 2008. You can look at factors like the infant mortality rate which has gone way down. Gross Domestic Product is five times what it used to be in life expectancy which was only forty three years is now in the mid 60s. So things are getting better but the concern is that if the US leaves precipitously it could cause a lot of those gains to be reversed."

 

VO: But the shoppers in this downtown market, the best future they can hope for right now is to simply make it home to their families for one more day. 

 

From Kabul Afghanistan, I'm Chuck Holton for CBN news.

 

Just for some context, I also wanted to show you a package we made a few years ago in Afghanistan.  See if you think much has changed:

 

So Afghanistan is going to remain interesting, without a doubt.  In addition, there's a lot happening in Hong Kong, so I want to  mention it... word is that Chinese troops are moving into Hong Kong, so within a day or two there may be some serious violence happening there.  You may have seen on the news that Hong Kongers took over the international airport and shut down incoming flights for a time on Monday.  I also hear they are waving american flags and singing the US national anthem - which to them symbolizes freedom and liberty from oppression.  Kind of ironic that I didn't see anyone taking a knee while they were singing the star spangled banner.  They get it.  If only our pampered pigskin princes would as well.

 

That's all I have for today. Thanks for watching and sharing the podcast with your friends. You can donate via paypal at hotzoneholton@gmail.com, patreon.com/hotzone or like I said at the start of the show, at victormarx.com/hotzone.

 

Thanks for watching!

 

 

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/blast-at-pro-iranian-militia-base-weapons-depot-rocks-baghdad/

Episode 176 - Protests, Protests Everywhere!

Hi folks. Chuck Holton here. Welcome to this edition of the hot zone podcast, where we don't just make the news, we make it better. While the entire news cycle in the United States right now is pretty much dedicated to the death of a billionaire pedophile, around the world people are hurting and there are new threats popping up every day. So we're going to cover that. If you'd like to support the podcast, you can go to patreon.com/hotzone and subscribe, or send a donation to hotzoneholton@gmail.com via paypal.

 

on that note, I have a huge announcement to make. The Hot Zone Podcast has teamed up with my friend Victor Marx and All Things Possible Ministries. What that means for you is that all your donations can now be tax deductible! Just go to https://victormarx.com/hotzone/ and donate there. If you aren't familiar with Victor and his organization, go back and watch Episode 99 - where I interviewed Victor about all the great stuff he and his team are doing around the world. I've run into him in various hot zones and I can tell you he's the real deal.

 

Well, My dad used to say, "everyone's got to have something to gripe about." Well it seems that's never been more true than now, as The whole world seems to be up in arms about something. On my recent three-week trip to Nigeria, South Africa and Afghanistan for example, there were big protests taking place everywhere I went. In Nigeria it was the Shia muslims protesting against the government, claiming discrimination. they kept shutting down the center of the capital city, Abuja, and that made the already difficult traffic there even worse. The government in Nigeria doesn't play, though, and so a lot of protesters ended up getting shot, and unfortunately one young journalist was also killed.

 

On to South Africa, where they are facing a migrant crisis similar to that in the United States. In South Africa, hundreds of thousands of north africans, from nigeria, cameroon, zambia, lesotho and elsewhere are flooding in every year for the ...wait for it...generous social welfare benefits offered for refugees. It's like governments just can't grasp the fact that anytime you give away free money, you will have lots of people getting in line for it. Well these africans aren't content just to suck off the government teat, they also are known for lots of criminal activity - the culture there could be summed up by the motto: "If you aren't cheating you aren't trying." And so tens of thousands of migrants set up shop in downtown Johannesburg's commercial district, where they sell counterfeit goods on the street. While I was there, the government sent in the police to confiscate these illegal products, and that caused riots that really looked like a zombie apocalypse movie. Amazing footage. By the way if you aren't watching the podcast, you are missing out on a lot, as I'm putting tons of work into showing you what's going on, not just telling. Right now I'm showing clips of the protest in Johannesburg, and it's incredible footage, believe me.

 

In Afghanistan, where I was embedded with US forces last week, angry mourners were protesting airstrikes as violence in the capital city of Kabul has been heating up. The country is in the midst of a presidential campaign, and the Taliban has been blowing things up on a very regular basis - almost daily, and the body count is getting incredibly high. But of course, CNN reported last month that US and coalition forces along with the Afghan army are killing more people than the Taliban. Leave it to CNN to do whatever they can to tarnish the image of our men and women in uniform. Buried in their article, however, are stats that show only 14% of casualties in Afghanistan this year have come from airstrikes - and the US isn't out on patrol participating in many ground engagements. So they sort of self-refute on that one. Typical.

 

Okay, who's next? How about Brazil, where protests erupted last week after an 18-year-old student was hit by a stray bullet on his way to school - the latest victim of the city's ongoing warfare. Dozens of angry residents from the favela where the shooting happened on Friday took to the streets and blocked the road where Gabriel Ferreira Alves died waiting for the bus that would take him to school. A police statement said officers of a small unit stationed in the favela were attacked by criminals but did not retaliate. Some residents, however, told The Associated Press there had been an exchange of fire between criminals and the police. Fogo Cruzado, a group monitoring shootings in the Rio area, says 110 people have been hit by a stray bullets so far this year, 31 of whom died.

 

Moving north, Hundreds of Hondurans took to the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa on Friday demanding the resignation of President Juan Orlando Hernández. Former president Manuel Zelaya and leader of the Libertad y Refundación (LIBRE) party called on his supporters to take part in the demonstration, demanding Hernández stand down. The protest follows a series of anti-government demonstrations that have intensified this week, after Hernandez was linked to drug trafficking by U.S. prosecutors and accused of receiving illicit funds for his 2013 political campaign.U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning a visit to Honduras soon, so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. The political crisis in Honduras dates back to the overthrow of President Zelaya in 2009, and the great polarisation of society that followed it. During the 2013 elections, Zelaya founded the LIBRE party and campaigned for his wife, former first lady Xiomara Castro, who was defeated by Hernandez. President Hernandez was re-elected in 2017 and had supported the coup against Zelaya in 2009. The Venezuelan government has sent instigators into Honduras to stir up unrest and it appears to be working.

 

Okay, now how about Kashmir - that disputed semi-autonomous region of northern india that borders pakistan and china. India sent about 10,000 troops in there last week, and revoked the area's self-governing status. That, of course did not make the people there very happy, and thousands came out to protest. The government claims the region is a hotbed for terrorrism and that the move is necessary, but the people obviously feel a bit differently about the matter.

 

Violent election protests are happening in Russia right now, on Saturday as tens of thousands of people rallied in one of Moscow's biggest political protests in recent years, denouncing the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the Russian capital's city council ballot.

The rally was the fourth consecutive weekend demonstration in Moscow over the local election.

After the rally, which was officially sanctioned, hundreds of participants streamed to an area near the presidential administration building to continue with an unauthorised demonstration.

They were confronted by hundreds of riot police who detained almost 150 people.

 

Meanwhile nearby in Moscow, there were cheering fans rather than protesters who came out to support one of the most interesting and manly sports imaginable - a tank biathlon. Teams from Venezuela, Syria, Mongolia and Kazakhstan took part in the tank biathlon competition in Moscow region on Thursday, as part of the Army Games 2019 with crews from 22 countries, including Iran, Venezuela, China, and Russia.

Fans from Syria and Venezuela came to the range to support their teams. Well, say what you want about the Russians, but these guys know how to throw a party.

 

In Romania, tens of thousands of protesters came out over the weekend to mark a previous protest outside government headquarters in Bucharest. They are protesting corruption in government, which is a common theme we're seeing in protests around the globe. In Hong Kong the protests have been goin on for nine straight weeks, and are getting increasingly violent as Chinese forces mass along the border. It may very well turn into a Chinese invasion of hong kong before we know it...and I'll be talking about that a lot more in the future, I think.

 

Speaking of corruption in government, there are protests happening right here in Panama today to oppose the former president Ricardo Martinelli. He was indicted several years ago after his term ended for corruption and spying on his political opponents, and after he was extradited back here from Miami, stood trial and was last week exonerated by the Panamanian supreme court. Many people here though believe it had more to do with his money than his innocence.

 

There's a common theme here. Much of the consternation being seen around the world has to do with corruption - which shows government, even if it's of the people, by the people, is still run by people. Fallen human beings. The lesson I take from that is that we should always endeavor to have the smallest, weakest government possible that can still maintain law and order. But not much else. We should never put our hopes on government. And when it comes down to it, only changing the human heart will have a long-term impact on human culture.

 

That's all I have for today folks. Thanks for watching. I've got lots of great stuff coming up this week, so stay tuned!

 

I'm Chuck Holton and you're watching the Hot Zone.

Episode 175 - Afghanistan: The Last Flight Out

Chuck discusses his recent embed with US troops in Afghanistan.

Episode 174 - Embedded with Dustoff

Episode 173 - the Unsung Heroes of the Combat Aviation Brigade

Visiting the 2nd of the 501st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade

Episode 172 - A Tour of Kabul

Touring the sites of recent Taliban attacks around the city of Kabul.  In a taxi.  

Episode 171 - Arriving in Afghanistan

Chuck makes it to Afghanistan and takes a stroll around the marketplace that has seen many vehicle-borne bomb attacks.  Plus! All-Allah-Akhbar All the Time on TV!