- 30 minutes ago
The war in the Middle East has consequences in the economy of the U.S., not only for the population of the affected regions. We invited Bita Iuliano to analyze this situation.
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00:00Also, to add to our analysis, we have a special guest at this hour, Vita Iuliano, U.S.-Iranian community organizer
00:08based in Washington, D.C., who also volunteers with the Anti-War Group Code Bank.
00:14Hello, welcome to our special program and thank you very much for your time, Vita.
00:21Thank you so much for having me.
00:23Just a few months ago, you challenged the Defense Secretary, Pete Hasseth.
00:29I want to ask you, why did you stood up the way you did?
00:34What was your message and why it was important to do so just a few months away from these crucial
00:41midterm elections?
00:48Some technical difficulties. Vita, can you hear me?
00:56Well, it seems like we are having some technical difficulties, but we will have it in a few moments, Vita
01:03Iuliano.
01:04Before we change of topic, I want to go deeper into this analysis because there was information today that Donald
01:11Trump announced that it was cutting money support to Israel.
01:17How would you describe this political move?
01:21Is it really what is happening or is it a strategy, perhaps, to cut more last-minute votes?
01:28Yeah, it is curious that he announced that he's cutting aid to Israel today, on Election Day.
01:36Of course, that's not really true.
01:38What's happening instead is through the Defense Authorization Act, this time around, which will be voted on within the next
01:49month,
01:49the plan is to integrate the Israeli and United States armies, to integrate their technology, to integrate their surveillance.
02:00And this would mean that the United States government doesn't need to send that $4 billion because it will be
02:05going directly through the United States army.
02:08So it's really a trick that Donald Trump is playing on the electorate today.
02:14I'm not really sure if he thinks that that's going to make people vote Republican.
02:20But there's a real danger, a much bigger danger even than these $4 billion, you know, in that our militaries
02:31are combining,
02:32which is a terrifying prospect for U.S. people living in the U.S. and for the world.
02:40We have Vita, Adrienne, we have Vita back once more.
02:44Vita Juliano, U.S. Iranian Community Organizer based in Washington, D.C.
02:50Hello, Vita, thank you very much for your time, for joining us as well today in this crucial moment for
02:57the U.S. people,
02:58but also for the rest of the world.
02:59Thank you very much for joining us.
03:01Thank you for having me.
03:03I was asking you that in April this year, you challenged Defense Secretary Pete Hetheth with a message.
03:13And I wanted to ask you, what was that message?
03:17Why was it urgent to do this, to take this stance on behalf of the rights of Iranians, the rights
03:26of Palestinians altogether?
03:29Yes, so, you know, we've actually confronted Pete Hetheth a few different times and even more recently as well.
03:38But one of our duties, I feel like, as United States citizens is one piece of that is voting,
03:45but a much more powerful piece of that, it goes beyond that, and that's using our voice and using our
03:51power as people.
03:52And that's what we have done when we have the opportunity to be here in the belly of the beast
03:59in D.C.
03:59and confront these war criminals that are, you know, they're using our tax dollars to rain bombs down on our
04:09people,
04:10while here in the United States, people can't afford health care, they can't afford food, housing, schools.
04:17So, you know, we just, we took the opportunity to make this heard.
04:20As we speak, Bita, we have a video accompanying our conversation in which you are seen drawn, taken away with
04:30much violence.
04:31What are the challenges that activists for just causes are facing precisely while trying to raise their voices?
04:42Yeah, I mean, it's fascism, you know, this last disruption that I did, it was at a military expo here
04:51in D.C.
04:51that happens annually, where Pete Hetheth was speaking, and I was pretty violently removed.
04:57But at the end of the day, we are very grounded in our purpose and why we are using our
05:03voices.
05:04And, you know, when I leave there, I may be a bit bit up because this is fashion, but I
05:11get to go to a home with a roof over my head and a meal at night and a hot
05:16shower,
05:16whereas the people in Palestine, my people in Iran that are pulling their children's body parts out from underneath the
05:22rubble of an elementary school
05:24that was bombed on the very first day of this illegal attack in February don't get those things.
05:30So, we, you know, we get back up and are right back out there.
05:36Bita, I would like to bring in my special guest here in studio, Adrienne Pine.
05:41She's an international analyst and also she's going to be part of our conversation.
05:46Also, she's going to address some questions to you as well.
05:51Wonderful, thank you.
05:51Hi, Bita.
05:53So, we've seen the dramatic footage of you being, you know, pulled out of that forum and arrested.
06:01But, of course, you and other activists with Code Pink and other local D.C. and area activists have been
06:11on Capitol Hill every day.
06:14And I was wondering, I mean, many of the videos that have been created in that context have been shared
06:22around the world,
06:23have been translated into different languages, and there's, I think, a great admiration for the work you do.
06:29I was wondering if you could talk about that work a little bit, what it's like, what is the reception
06:34that you get from Congress members and senators when you go to their offices?
06:39And what do you hope, if anything, will change as a result of these elections?
06:48You know, regarding the disruptions and things that we do, it is quite exhausting.
06:58It's quite taxing.
07:00But we do it because we know it's important and having our voices heard.
07:05And, you know, so much of their weapon is their PR game.
07:09And, you know, making everyone think that they have everyone's backing.
07:14They certainly don't.
07:15They're quite unpopular around the world and in America.
07:19So we want to take those opportunities.
07:22We actually even confronted Donald Trump himself and the whole cabinet when they did dinner out in D.C.
07:32But, you know, we want to take the opportunities when we have them.
07:35It's obviously quite hard.
07:38It can be scary, but it's sort of we do it because we need to do it.
07:43As far as reception from members of Congress, I guess it depends on the member of Congress.
07:49And a lot of times we're not received very well.
07:53And there's quite a bit of, you know, of pushback or not wanting to answer the questions.
08:00But at the end of the day, it is the people's house.
08:05And everyone that lives somewhere that they can or if you come into D.C., you should come and be
08:12in those halls with us.
08:13And visit your members' offices and use your voices because it is truly, really important to do.
08:21Pita, you mentioned the attack on a school of girls on February 28th.
08:26That is the most atrocious crime that has been committed, that was committed that first day, among other attacks as
08:36well that took place,
08:36such as the killing of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
08:42What do you think is the importance of grassroots organizations, of activists as well, in claiming political accountability for these
08:52massacres that have been committed without any legal repercussion?
08:58I think it's the most important part of it, honestly.
09:02Of course, you know, like I said, voting is important.
09:05It's a tool.
09:07But in my mind, it's just the smallest, it's where it starts.
09:11Because where the power really lies is in us, the people.
09:16And the more we speak up, the more we're out there, the more we are in community with each other
09:22in speaking up and resisting massacres in all forms is really important.
09:29I mean, they are using our tax dollars for an ongoing genocide and to bomb schools and hospitals and, you
09:38know, pharmaceutical facilities, all these things that are deliberately, I mean, that elementary school, they double tapped even, right?
09:46So they bombed it and then they decided to, once people were running in to help the children, bomb it
09:52again.
09:52I mean, it's just war crime after war crime after war crime that is committed using our tax dollars.
09:59And so, yeah, I think that the, don't love the word activism usually because it makes it seem like it's
10:08something that you, a select few can do.
10:11But I think we as the people, whether it's with our wallets, with our voting, you know, in the halls,
10:17on the streets, I think all of those things need to happen together and not just one or the other.
10:23That's, that's, that's right and, of course, not, it is important not to circling it into activism.
10:29It is a matter that concerns the whole society and it has been as well shown precisely in this, in
10:35this midterm elections.
10:36Now, Adrian, as well, wanted to be involved as well in another question for you in the same, in the
10:43same, in the same sense.
10:45So, I had another question, Bita, in the lead up to this iteration of the war against Iran, we heard
10:53the loudest voices we heard from the Iranian diaspora,
10:58and particularly in the United States, had to do with these claims of massive repression of 30,000 or 60
11:06,000 or 70,000 people being killed by, by the Iranian government and, you know, and, and people supporting Riza
11:15Pahlavi, who lives in, in the Washington DC area.
11:20And, and, and of course, things have changed a lot since, since, since, since this, again, this version of the
11:28war started.
11:28I'm wondering, as an Iranian, what changes have you seen in the way that people, that you talk about, including
11:36politicians, understand the situation in Iran and do you see pushback now against this, against this position and a possibility,
11:47in particular in Congress, for any pressure to end this aggression against Iran?
11:58Yeah, you know, seeing some of those, some of those folks, including, you know, like you said, Pahlavi, who has
12:05lived here in the United States for over 50 years, and has said multiple times, he doesn't plan on ever
12:11living in Iran.
12:13So, seeing, you know, seeing, you know, people celebrate on the streets as, as our country was bombed was, was
12:19quite disappointing.
12:20But at the end of the day, there, the diaspora is, is huge and, and even in, in Iran, there's
12:28over 90 million people.
12:29I think people forget that as well, and everyone's not going to see the same.
12:33But I think once things started to happen, the people that truly care about Iran and the Iranian people do
12:40not, whatever they may have thought may happen, immediately saw that that's not what's going on.
12:46They are, no one's there to quote unquote help or anything like that.
12:50Anytime the U.S. and Israel are involved in anything, I think we all, because we know history, know that
12:55that's simply not a thing.
12:57Even quite recent history with this ongoing genocide.
13:02So, I do think that people's, people got a little bit quieter, as far as Iranian diaspora, I think.
13:08And then the ones that are loud are, are, are gun loud, and, and you know their intentions, their intentions
13:14are not for the people of Iran.
13:17And, and, and, and as far as in Congress, I mean, every poll overwhelmingly shows how unpopular this war on
13:26Iran is.
13:27And so, that obviously impacts members of Congress who, who have tried to speak up against it.
13:35Now, again, it's, I think it's up to us, no matter who, how tonight ends up, no matter if there's
13:41someone that we think might be more on our side or not,
13:43it's up to us to keep up the pressure.
13:46We can't just vote, they're there, okay, great.
13:49So, we, we need to do our part in that.
13:52But you, you certainly do see, with this war on Iran, quite, quite a shift happening.
13:59It's, it's so black and white, it seems, unless you talk to a Republican, in which case they come up
14:05with all sorts of excuses,
14:07including using some of those initial diaspora people as consent, you know, as manufacturing consent for something like this happening,
14:16which is just atrocious.
14:18Also, Bita, much of the public debate focuses on military operations, geopolitical consequences, objectives.
14:27What do you think is missing from the public debate regarding, for example, the casualties, the human consequences of this
14:36nonsense of war?
14:39Yeah, I mean, we've already seen so much death.
14:43You know, thousands of people in Iran, we, I mean, again, we, just as Iran is doing with its demands,
14:49we look at all of it in, in the same, in the same wavelength.
14:54We look at Palestine, we look at Lebanon, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, we look at all of them.
14:59And we look at lives lost, we look at what the people are, are starving, are, you know, are being
15:06put through so much.
15:08And it's just, they're talking, they've been talking, as I'm sure you've seen,
15:13every now and then they bring up this idea of nuking Iran.
15:16I mean, we're talking about 95, you know, million people.
15:20This is an insane thing to even float out there, not to mention the cost that it has on the
15:27future.
15:27We're, you know, when, when you bomb a country, it's not just like, okay, this, these tragic losses that happen
15:34in that moment.
15:35You're also, it's the, the air they breathe, the water they're drinking for generations and generations to come are impacted.
15:42The displacement that takes place, it's all, all together to just have tragic, insane amount of costs.
15:53Also, Vita, Adrian is again wanting to ask you as well, more questions in the same context.
16:02So, one more question, Vita, as you, as you know, Trump has carried out this war against Iran, completely ignoring
16:12the War Powers Act,
16:13not requesting approval from Congress, calling it an excursion to claim that it's not a war.
16:19And we've been hearing from so many sources that he and Benjamin Netanyahu are possibly planning a nuclear attack as
16:29soon as tomorrow against Iran.
16:31Is there anything that, that, that our people, our people in Congress are, are people who are organizing in D
16:41.C. preparing for this eventuality?
16:44And, and what do you think that people in the United States can do to, to prevent it or to
16:52protest it effectively?
16:55Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, to, to what your question was earlier about sort of what Congress's opinions have
17:02changed at the end of the day,
17:04whatever changes, he's ignoring all of it anyways, and kind of moving forward with, with this, the Department of War
17:11and what they want to do with it.
17:14It is, it is, it is tragic. The worst thing we can do is, is just sit there. So, I
17:20think as far as what people can do is make those calls, make your voices heard, you know, continue to
17:28put that pressure.
17:30Be out on the streets, be out on the streets if you are, if you are, if that's something you
17:33are able to do. If you're here in D.C., you know, we're, we're constantly out there.
17:38If you're able to visit your offices in Congress, do that. If you're not, make phone calls. Just, they, the
17:44phone calls do matter.
17:46They do kind of take back what things they get the most calls about. Continue to do that. And the
17:53worst thing you do is nothing.
17:54So, to find ways to, to, to be active and do something, get involved in your community. I think mutual
18:01aid and community stuff is always so, so crucial in every time.
18:05But especially now when we're seeing things abroad and even here at home, when even our streets here in D
18:11.C. are being militarized and, and we're seeing it kind of left and right.
18:16So, just get with the communities, find an organization and get out there.
18:21Also, Rita, a few moments ago, we were speaking with Adrienne on the promise that Donald Trump made during his
18:29electoral campaign for the presidency,
18:31saying that he was not going to make the, to drag the country another, in another endless war.
18:37Or is that what is happening in the, in light of the, of the, of the confrontation, nonstop confrontation and
18:45threats as Adrienne was, was saying regarding now a possibility of an attack on Iran with nuclear weapons?
18:54Right. Yeah. He, he ran on being the peace president. Right. And, and some people believe that somehow, but yeah.
19:01Yeah. And, and, and he's gotten us into, to so many wars, um, continue Joe Biden's, uh, genocide and, and
19:08continues to make things worse, uh, at home as well.
19:11So, um, yeah, I think, you know, he's, and it's, it's probably one of the things that's being reflected in
19:18his, in his approval ratings.
19:20Um, because again, people don't want these things, especially when they can't afford things here themselves, um, you know, to
19:27put food on the table and healthcare and education and housing and, and things like that, that where people are
19:33just struggling here for.
19:34Um, and then to see that so far in the Iran war, they're saying it's been $47 billion, that taxpayer
19:42dollars that have been spent.
19:44I mean, it's, um, it's clearly he didn't keep his promise about being the peace president for sure.
19:50And, you know, we've, we're all just always, there's a, so much of a psychological, uh, warfare happening as well
19:58with the people in Iran and, and everywhere.
20:00And here, Iranians here as well, just wondering, is he going to do it?
20:04Is he not going to do it?
20:05You know, what side of the bed did he wake up on today?
20:08What, you know, what are they planning?
20:09Who are they talking to?
20:10Are they going to listen to Netanyahu today or not?
20:13Um, so yeah, it's, uh, it, it's quite, uh, uh, a tragic thing overall, I feel like for, for everyone
20:22around the world that has been caused by all this.
20:24Also, one of the major concerns of the U.S. voters in today's election is the, the issue of energy,
20:31the crisis of energy.
20:33How can we connect it with the war, the, the illegal war on Iran?
20:39Yeah, I mean, it's also incredibly connected.
20:42Um, we talk about any sort of environmental, um, energy.
20:48All of this is, is completely connected across.
20:51You talk about racial things, you talk about things here at home.
20:55Um, there's not one issue that you can bring up that is not connected in some way to the other.
21:00And how much, uh, damage we're doing across the world and how much money, uh, taxpayer dollars that could be,
21:07um, helping us here is, is being spent, uh, on, on things abroad.
21:13Also, what would be the consequences for, not just for Iranian people, not just for the U.S. people, but
21:19also for the entire humanity?
21:21What would be the consequences if this conflict escalates into a nuclear confrontation?
21:27It's catastrophic, right?
21:29And, and, and he's playing with catastrophe, um, across the world.
21:34And, um, you know, he keeps playing with this, uh, back and forth.
21:39He keeps playing this game.
21:40And the, the hope is that it's one of those things where he's just saying it and he's going to
21:45back up every, every second.
21:46He sort of says something different, but, um, but that is the hope.
21:50But it, it would be catastrophic worldwide if something like this was to start.
21:55Vita, putting the scope on the Palestinian cause, I want to talk to you, and this is probably is going
22:01to be our last, our last question.
22:02But I think it is important to retake the issue of Palestinians, the, the Palestinian cause.
22:08A few months ago, we witnessed an interesting situation that had to do with Macklemore, this musician band that was
22:21due to take, to be part of a concert, of a scheduled concert with a U.K. singer and songwriter
22:27Ed Sheeran.
22:28And he, in the first two concerts that were, that were scheduled, Macklemore stood up for the Palestinian people and
22:36resulted in the, in, that he was not part of the, of the tour in the upcoming events.
22:45And that was precisely for speaking up in, in support of Palestine.
22:50What does this say about the, the, the influence that could have culture in mobilizing bases, in mobilizing the people?
22:59We saw a, a, a downpour, a support, a massive support on the Palestinian people as of this situation.
23:09Yeah, I mean, he's had incredible support.
23:11He's now doing his own tour that has been completely sold out.
23:13And just because he is speaking up for humanity and Ed Sheeran on the other end is losing money and
23:20losing fans.
23:21And I think it's incredibly important.
23:23I mean, if you have a platform, any sort of platform, it's important to use it.
23:27And Macklemore from the beginning has done that.
23:30And, and the hope is, and like Miss Rachel, for example, I mean, you've got that platform, being able to
23:35use it to help people in, in a time like this is, is I think the only option here.
23:41Thank you very much, Bita, thank you very much for your time.