Don’t Let Iran Become Another Afghanistan w/ Former Inspector General John Sopko

From Shane Smith Has Questions by VICE News & Studio71

May 7, 2026 · 1h 1m · Episode 48

About this episode

Shane Smith interviews John Sopko about the lessons America has failed to learn from its longest wars and the implications for future conflicts.

What happens when America never learns the lessons of its longest wars? Former Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko joins Shane Smith for a brutally honest conversation about Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine, corruption, contractors, the military-industrial complex, and the trillion-dollar cycle of endless war. After overseeing more than 700 investigations into waste, fraud, and abuse during the 20-year war in Afghanistan, Sopko explains how America spent trillions, empowered corruption, radicalized populations, and repeated the same mistakes over and over again — while contractors, bureaucracies, and political interests kept the machine running. The conversation dives into: The real legacy of Afghanistan Why “nation building” failed How war spending fuels the contractor economy Why Iran could become another endless conflict The “Iron Triangle” between Congress, the Pentagon, and defense contractors Ukraine, Gaza, AI warfare, and drones Why America struggles to stop wars once they begin The dangerous consequences of weak oversight and bad advisors Sopko also warns that future wars will look nothing like Iraq or Afghanistan — and says the U.S…

People in this episode

Host: Shane Smith

Guest: John Sopko

Topics covered

U.S. foreign policy
military spending
corruption
nation building
endless conflict
drone warfare
oversight in war

Keywords

Afghanistan
Iraq
Iran
military-industrial complex
corruption
endless war
drone warfare
oversight
contractors
nation building

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. government, military-industrial complex

Products: AI warfare, drones

Places: Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine, Gaza