(CelebrityAccess) – Singer, Songwriter Roger Waters is currently on his This Is Not a Drill tour. He starts each show with a big-screen message: “If you’re one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd, but I can’t stand Roger’s politics’ people,’ you might do well to f*ck off to the bar.” Alrighty then.
Waters sat down with CNN’s Michael Smerconish to discuss the political themes that run throughout his concerts. Smerconish began the interview by asking Waters why he labeled President Joe Biden a “war criminal.” “Well, he’s fueling the war in Ukraine,” the former Pink Floyd member responded. “That is a huge crime. Why won’t the USA encourage Zelensky (President of Ukraine) to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war?”
Smerconish then pointed out that Waters was “blaming the party who got invaded,” Waters countered by criticizing NATO. “Well, any war, when did it start? This war is basically about the action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border, which they promised they wouldn’t do when Gorbachev negotiated the withdrawal of the USSR from the whole of Eastern Europe.”
Waters was also having none of it when Smerconish commented that Americans are “liberators.” “You got into World War 2 because of Pearl Harbor. You were completely isolationists before,” Waters argued. “Thank god the Russians had already won the bloody war by then. Twenty-three million Russians died, protecting you and me from the Nazi menace.”
“I would suggest that you … go away and read a bit more, and try to figure out what the US would do if the Chinese were putting nuclear armed missiles into Mexico and Canada,” Waters added.
When Smerconish then noted that the Chinese are “too busy encircling Taiwan as we speak,” Waters snapped back with this proclamation:
“Taiwan is part of China. That has been absolutely accepted by the whole of international community since 1948. If you don’t know that you aren’t reading enough. You are believing your side’s propaganda.”
“The Chinese didn’t invade Iraq and kill a million people in 2013,” Waters added. “Who have the Chinese invaded and slaughtered?”
“Their own,” Smerconish answered. “Bullocks! That’s absolute nonsense! Absolute nonsense!” Waters responded.
From there the conversation dived into which country was the world’s biggest global threat, among other topics. Although things did get heated, they seemed to leave the interview on good terms to the credit of the two men.
