Tucker Carlson, Ukraine War critic, pushed out

   By Reginald Johnson

    Commentary

 

   For those who care about the danger of US militarism, ending the proxy war in Ukraine, protecting free speech and forcing accountability from the nation's intelligence agencies, the departure of Tucker Carlson from FOX News is a big loss.

Carlson had in-depth shows on all those topics, unlike other commentators at FOX and news outlets like MSNBC and CNN.

I agree with Glenn Greenwald who wrote on Twitter:

 "Tucker was the cable host who most: * Opposed US proxy war in Ukraine; * Denounced CIA, FBI and DHS for its systemic lies and corruption; * Devoted himself to a pardon for Julian Assange; * Objected to regime change efforts in Cuba; * Criticized Trump Admin's militarism."

 Who's going to speak out on these issues now in the mainstream media? I don't know of anyone.

 Carlson would regularly bring in thoughtful, independent-minded and often progressive guests to talk about civil liberties and foreign policy issues --- including Jill Stein, Medea Benjamin, Aaron Mate, Dan Kovalik, Tulsi Gabbard, the late Stephen Cohen, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr and Greenwald.

 I particularly appreciated Carlson's outfront coverage on the Ukraine War. Right from the beginning, really months before the Russian invasion and the full-scale conflict began, Carlson was raising questions about America's role in Ukraine. He became a harsh critic of US involvement, and this showed a lot of guts, seeing as no other media voices, including those at FOX, were raising questions. 

 Carlson was a Republican so I didn't agree with him on several domestic issues. He can be faulted for a number of things, but that shouldn't wipe out his good work on a range of important topics.