by Marc Steiner | Mar 10, 2026 | Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, The Marc Steiner Show, Trump, War
President Trump’s catastrophic decision to plunge the US into a war with Iran is following a depressingly familiar playbook to those who lived through—and those who served in—the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with military veteran, author, and peace activist Rory Fanning—who served two tours in combat as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan—about the reality of what the US military has done in the Middle East, and about the veterans who are speaking out against the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Guests:
Rory Fanning is a war resister, military counter recruiter, and writer living in Chicago, IL. Fanning served two deployments with the Second Army Ranger Battalion in Afghanistan, and he is the author of Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger’s Journey Out of the Military and Across America.
Credits:
Producer: Rosette Sewali
Studio Production: David Hebden
Audio Post-Production: Stephen Frank
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Marc Steiner:
Welcome to the Marc Steiner Show here on The Real News. I’m Marc Steiner. It’s great to have you all with us. As the insanity of this Trump-Hegseth War with Iran intensifies, we’re going to bring you a conversation today and hear an analysis of what we face from a man who knows our military, who fought in it, and that stands the danger of wars that have no meaning of than pulling us deeper into a quagmire that endangers our future. Roy Fanning did two tours in combat as an army ranger in Afghanistan. He wrote an amazing book entitled Worth Fighting For: An
by Brandi Morin | Mar 9, 2026 | Canada, Climate Crisis, Indigenous communities, Oil, Politics and Movements: International, TransCanada, video
The costly completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project (TMX)—Canada’s only pipeline system transporting crude oil from Alberta to the West Coast—has been a massive boon for Canada’s oil industry while posing existential threats to the environment and to First Nations. One of the last portions of the pipeline expansion was completed on the sacred Secwépemc site called Pípsell, near Kamloops, British Columbia, in violation of prior agreements with, and the treaty rights of, members of the Secwépemc Nation. In Pípsell: The Last Stand, award-winning Cree/Iroquois/French journalist Brandi Morin and documentary filmmaker Geordie Day expose in stunning cinematic detail the human and environmental costs of Canada’s TMX pipeline—and they follow the intense, dangerous, brave struggle of Indigenous land defenders and their allies to halt the completion of the Pípsell expansion.
Pípsell: The Last Stand was produced in partnership with The Real News Network and Ricochet Media. The documentary made its global debut at the 2025 Calgary Justice Film Festival. If you are interested in organizing an in-person screening of Pípsell: The Last Stand, please send inquiries to contact@therealnews.com
Credits:
Written and hosted by Brandi Morin
Directed by Geordie Day and Brandi Morin
Additional editorial and production support provided by Maximillian Alvarez, Kayla Rivara, Ethan Cox, Andrea Houston
Transcript
A transcript for this will be provided when ready.
by Jon Queally | Mar 9, 2026 | Article, Climate Crisis, Iran, Israel, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint, Trump
by Maximillian Alvarez | Mar 6, 2026 | Iran, Israel, Media Criticism, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, video
The US-Israeli war with Iran is spiraling into a regional catastrophe, and the number of dead is rising quickly. While President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the war hawks in their cabinets are responsible for this illegal war, they are not the only ones with blood on their hands. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files, and Adam Johnson, co-host of Citations Needed, about how Western media and American politicians in the Democratic “opposition” have helped manufacture the conditions for war with Iran.
Guests:
Abby Martin is an independent journalist, filmmaker, and host of The Empire Files. She is the director of the 2019 documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom and the 2026 documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy.
Adam Johnson is a writer, media critic, co-host of the podcast Citations Needed, and a columnist for TRNN.
Credits:
Video Post-Production: Cameron Granadino
Podcast Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez: Welcome everyone to the Real News Network. My name is Maximillian Alvarez. I’m the editor-in-chief here at The Real News, and it’s so great to have you all with us. Urged on by Israeli Prime Minister and Genes Adair, Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump thrust the United States into a war with Iran on Saturday, committing what critics say may be the worst foreign policy decision in history. US and Israeli forces have been accused this week of seemingly indiscriminate bombing of Iran as the country’s Red Crescents said that at least 555 people have been killed amid reports of fresh mass
by Michael Fox | Mar 5, 2026 | cuba, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Trump, Under the Shadow
by Stephen Prager | Mar 3, 2026 | Article, Iran, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 03, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
In less than a week, the US and Israel’s war has rendered unfathomable suffering upon the people of Iran. Over 180 schoolgirls and staffers were killed in a massacre this weekend, and several hospitals have reportedly been struck, amid numerous other attacks on civilians.
But some US troops are being told the bloodletting is all a part of God’s plan.
At a briefing on Monday, as President Donald Trump unleashed what has been called a “carpet bombing” of Tehran, a combat-unit commander reportedly told noncommissioned officers (NCOs) that the commander-in-chief was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.”
The complaint, sent by one of those noncommissioned officers, was just one of at least 110 similar reports received by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) since Trump first launched strikes on Saturday.
In compliance with the First Amendment, the Department of Defense has long adopted rules against proselytizing within the armed forces. But under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, an evangelical Christian who has said the West must wage a “crusade” against Islam, Christian nationalist invocations in the military have become commonplace.
The death toll from this air strike on an elementary school on Saturday is now nearly 180, and 95 injured. Most of those killed were girls aged between 7-12 years old. @UNESCO calling it “a grave violation of international law.” https://t.co/MEsJugD4eA— Leila Molana-Allen (@Leila_MA) March 2, 2026
Mikey Weinstein, the president and founder of MRFF and an Air Force veteran who served in the White House of former President Ronald Reagan, told independent journalist Jonathan Larsen that the group has been “inundated” with
