https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-zp7vz-1a62f15

This is the first part of a two-part Adam’s Riffs episode. In the first part, Adam takes a deep dive into the CIA-backed Afghan death squads called “Zero Units,” the Obama administration’s assassination/drone strike program, and how the War on Terror paved the way for the Trump administration to launch unilateral military strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. (Recorded February 3, 2026) 

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Links, research related to episode:  

• The First Person Who Reached Alex Pretti’s Body Described What Confused Him Most Amid the Incident in Minneapolis https://shorturl.at/5TklV  
• Data/information on Latinos making up bulk of Border Patrol and ICE agents:  
  • https://www.eeoc.gov/federal-sector/department-homeland-security-dhs-0 
  • https://www.npr.org/2019/07/07/739288297/understanding-the-border-patrol 
  • https://thetriibe.com/2026/01/commentary-the-making-of-an-ice-agent/ 
• In-depth ProPublica report on the Afghan Zero Units https://www.propublica.org/article/afghanistan-night-raids-zero-units-lynzy-billing; key take aways: https://www.propublica.org/article/afghanistan-night-raids-zero-units-investigation-takeaways 
• The CIA’s Afghan Death Squads https://theintercept.com/2020/12/18/afghanistan-cia-militia-01-strike-force/ 
• CIA’s Afghan Forces Leave a Trail of Abuse and Anger https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/31/world/asia/cia-afghanistan-strike-force.html 
• “They’ve Shot Many Like This” Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/10/31/theyve-shot-many/abusive-night-raids-cia-backed-afghan-strike-forces 
• The National Guard shooting suspect was in one of the CIA’s “Zero Units” https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/11/28/national-guard-rahmanullah-lakanwal-shooting-suspect/ 
• National Guard shooting suspect served in CIA counterterrorism unit, group says https://www.npr.org/2025/11/27/nx-s1-5623041/national-guard-shooting-suspect-cia-unit-afghanistan 
• National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom has died from injuries after D.C. shooting https://www.npr.org/2025/11/27/nx-s1-5622955/national-guard-shooting-washington-dc-updates 
• Rahmanullah Lakanwal May Have Been ‘Blackmailed’ by Taliban Before National Guard Shooting: Report https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/rahmanullah-lakanwal-may-blackmailed-taliban-130815353.html 
• ‘Today’s the day’: Video shows suspect shoot 2 Va. officers during traffic stop before fatal OIS https://www.police1.com/body-camera/todays-the-day-video-shows-suspect-shoot-2-va-officers-during-traffic-stop-before-fatal-ois (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOmqWNe9DrQ ) 
• Fairfax police release body cam video of police shooting in Greenbriar https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/fairfax-police-release-body-cam-video-of-police-shooting-in-greenbriar/3921110/ 
• Armed Man Rants About Taliban and Opens Fire On Fairfax Cops in Fatal Traffic Stop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DchO6ciuJCs (full footage) 
• Asserting a License to Kill: Why the Caribbean Strike is a Dangerous Departure from the “War on Terror” https://www.justsecurity.org/120568/caribbean-strike-departure-war-on-terror/ 
• Trump Directs Military to Target Foreign Drug Cartels https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/us/trump-military-drug-cartels.html 
• Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, Operation Absolute Resolve https://www.justsecurity.org/120753/collection-u-s-lethal-strikes-on-suspected-drug-traffickers/ 
• Murder by Drone: The Legal and Moral Stakes of the Caribbean Strikes https://www.justsecurity.org/120794/legal-moral-stakes-caribbean-strike/ 
• Bombshell Lawsuit Could EXPOSE Trump Lies Over Boat Murders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1luZgXZxQh4 
• 2026 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill summary https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy26_homeland_security_conference_bill_summary.pdf 
• “Death By Metadata” Jeremy Scahill Slams Obama Drone Policy on MSNBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QphqXvnN0mg 
• Jeremy Scahill Takes Down MSNBC Panel On Obama Foreign Policy 360p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ziOjNtg1g 
• How Google and the Big Tech Companies Are Helping Maintain America’s Empire (by Adam Hudson) https://www.alternet.org/2014/08/how-google-and-big-tech-companies-are-helping-maintain-americas-empire# 
• The Assassination Complex https://theintercept.com/drone-papers/the-assassination-complex/ 
• The NSA’s Secret Role in the U.S. Assassination Program https://theintercept.com/2014/02/10/the-nsas-secret-role/ 
• Exclusive: ICE’s Secret Watchlists of Americans https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/ices-secret-watchlists-of-americans?utm_source=post-email-title 
• ICE CAUGHT w/ ILLEGAL ‘SECRET WATCH LIST’ OF AMERICANS https://youtu.be/AvCOfJ3lXUg?si=m31a4HXmLyKATAKS 
• ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it https://www.npr.org/2026/03/04/nx-s1-5717031/ice-dhs-immigrants-surveillance-confrontation-deportation-mobile-fortify 
• Senate Democrats Block D.H.S. Funding Again Over Enforcement Guardrails https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/us/politics/senate-democrats-dhs-shutdown-ice-immigration.html 
• Trump fires Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-says-kristi-noem-stepping-homeland-security-secretary-rcna248719 
• House Passes H.R. 7744 to End Democrat Shutdown and Fully Fund Homeland Security https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-passes-hr-7744-end-democrat-shutdown-and-fully-fund-homeland-security 
• Clips: 
  • AC-130 gun run https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F809jKdD-E 
  • “Death By Metadata” Jeremy Scahill Slams Obama Drone Policy on MSNBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QphqXvnN0mg 
  • Jeremy Scahill Takes Down MSNBC Panel On Obama Foreign Policy 360p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ziOjNtg1g 
  • Armed Man Rants About Taliban and Opens Fire On Fairfax Cops in Fatal Traffic Stop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DchO6ciuJCs 

Adam’s Riffs intro. & outro 

Adam Hudson – djembe (intro); drum kit (outro)  

Real Sankara Hours is a Pan-African socialist political podcast that covers domestic and global politics, current events, race, Black radical political theory, and Black culture from a Pan-African socialist and Black Left perspective. It’s hosted by Adam Hudson and Peter MGunn.