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Roger Waters and CNN’s Michael Smerconish engaged in a heated exchange during which the co-founder of Pink Floyd criticized the United States while praising Russia and China’s actions on the international scene.
In an interview with Waters, Smerconish questioned the English rock singer about his political engagement. The CNN anchor brought up a recent program when President Joe Biden was featured in a montage of those Waters has denounced as war criminals, noting several areas where he and Waters disagreed on the subjects.
When prompted to elaborate, Waters stated, “Joe Biden is starting to feed the fire in Ukraine. That is a serious felony.
Why won’t America persuade [Ukraine President Volodymyr] Zelensky to talk, preventing the necessity for this terrible, terrible war? stated Waters. You’re blaming the party that was invaded, Smerconish objected. You have this backwards.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, according to Waters, “is fundamentally about the actions and reaction of NATO pressing right up to the Russian border, which they pledged they wouldn’t do when Gorbachev negotiated the withdrawal of the USSR from all of Eastern Europe,” he said. With the question “what about our position as liberators,” Smerconish moved to respond.
“You have no function as liberators,” Waters rebuked. He emphasized this point by claiming that up until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States had been “totally isolationist” in World War II.
Thank God the brutal conflict was nearly over by that point, Waters added. “Remember that 23 million Russians lost their lives defending you and me from the Nazi threat.”
Waters advised Smerconish to “go away and study a bit more and then attempt to figure out what the United States would do if the Chinese were deploying nuclear-armed missiles into Mexico and Canada” in response to the question of whether Russia should have known not to attack Ukraine. Waters expressed his support for China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan, a contentious international issue since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, as a result of the discourse shifting toward China.
Taiwan is a territory of China. stated Waters. Since 1948, the whole international community has unwaveringly acknowledged that. You are not reading enough if you don’t know that. Read about it now!
“Did we solve anything here today?” was asked. No, we didn’t, Waters informed Smerconish, “because you’re buying into your propaganda, your side’s propaganda.” Smerconish retorted that the Chinese are “at the top of the list of offenders” since Waters brought up the question of human rights.
Waters responded, “The Chinese didn’t attack Iraq and kill a million people in 2003. Whom have the Chinese invaded, massacred, and killed?
Smerconish said, probably alluding to China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims: “Their own.”
“Bollocks!” Waters answered. That is total rubbish! Absolutely absurd!”