Guns for Hire

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In this first video episode of the podcast, Alia is joined by Ibrahim Jalal, an expert on Yemen and the Gulf. Ibrahim describes the major escalation in Yemen and explains its timing and connection to Iran's bid to generate a two-strait crisis in advance of US midterm elections. They discuss the Russia and Iran-linked mercenary recruitment networks preying on young men of fighting age: Yemeni bodies may be sourced by the Houthi to fight for Russia in Ukraine in exchange for benefits such as intelligence sharing. They also consider whether ordinary Houthi soldiers are fighting for private gain, given the Houthis’ co-optation of the humanitarian aid system. Throughout, Ibrahim explores deep links to other Iranian-aligned groups in the region, including Iraq’s PMF militias, who were taught to bring down drones by Yemenis. 
The Guns for Hire podcast is written, produced and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi. 
Get in touch at: [email protected]. 
Subscribe to Alia's (free) Substack, "highly irregular": https://highlyirregular.substack.com/

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Alia is joined by Wassim Nasr, the veteran French journalist for France24 and Senior Fellow at the Soufan Center. Wassim talks us through the spectacular April 25th offensive across Mali by JNIM, an al-Qaeda affiliate that looks set to soon make a play to take over the whole country. They discuss the setbacks of the Wagner Group – now Africa Corps – campaign to roll back the jihadist advance in Mali, as well as the Kremlin’s goals in the Sahel. Wassim offers his views on the way forward in Mali, and whether it makes sense to negotiate with an al-Qaeda ally like JNIM. Alia and Wassim also cover the high risk of JNIM defections to the Islamic State.

The Guns for Hire podcast is written, produced and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi. 
Get in touch at: [email protected]. 
Subscribe to Alia's (free) Substack, "highly irregular": https://highlyirregular.substack.com/

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Alia is joined by Daniel McLaughlin, an international lawyer and Legal Director of the Centre for Justice and Accountability (CJA), a California-based legal nonprofit working on behalf of victims of torture and other atrocity crimes. Daniel and CJA are leading a civil suit in San Diego against a Delaware-registered PMC for war crimes in Yemen. They represent the Yemeni parliamentarian Anssaf Ali Mayo, who was one of the targets of an alleged hit-squad in Yemen. Daniel talks us through the explosive facts of the case, how it ended up in a California courtroom ten years later, and which US and international laws were ostensibly broken by the PMC. He also argues forcefully that the US government has a duty to regulate how former members of its military use their training and know-how.

The Guns for Hire podcast is written, produced and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi. 
Get in touch at: [email protected]. 
Subscribe to Alia's (free) Substack, "highly irregular": https://highlyirregular.substack.com/

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Alia sits down with Dimko Zhluktenko, a Ukrainian drone pilot and analyst within the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Ukrainian military. They discuss the realities of drone warfare in Ukraine, as well as the ways in which mercenary forces change the nature and tempo of battle. Dimko describes how he and his comrades are combatting Shahed drones, the psychological mechanisms necessary to keep fighting an army which uses waves of expendable manpower, and the need for NATO to start thinking of drones as bullets. Dimko also talks about how procurement and innovation cycles on both sides of the war are now measured in weeks, and how the geeks of war have turned the tide in Ukraine. 
The Guns for Hire podcast is written, produced and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi. 
Get in touch at: [email protected]. 
Subscribe to Alia's (free) Substack, "highly irregular": https://highlyirregular.substack.com/

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Alia is joined by Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown, a renowned expert on non-state armed groups and organised crime. They begin by discussing the escalation of gang violence in Haiti over the last year, despite the arrival of the American PMC, Vectus Global, which is led by the Blackwater founder Erik Prince. They go on to explore the bunkering of fuel by colectivos in Venezuela, Hizballah’s continuing narcotics operations across Latin America, the IRGC’s role in drug trafficking, and how the regime in Iran ends. 
The Guns for Hire podcast is written, produced and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi. 
Get in touch at: [email protected]. 
Subscribe to Alia's (free) Substack, "highly irregular": https://highlyirregular.substack.com/