The USS Abraham Lincoln just docked in Pattaya, Thailand — one of the world’s most famous sex tourism hotspots. After 286 days at sea, more than 5,000 US sailors and Marines poured into port on Wednesday for a “rest and relaxation” stopover; Rania Khalek and Zoe Alexandra blast how the mainstream media’s “swapping boots for flip-flops” jokes run cover for the disturbing legacy of US troops in Thailand. Pattaya’s sex tourism industry didn’t emerge out of nowhere: the city was built into a major US military R&R destination during the Vietnam War. Rania and Zoe unpack the longstanding, documented links between US troops abroad and sexual violence against women in countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Korea and Colombia. And they respond to Fox News’ Jesse Watters’s jokes about the “wild animals” that would be created by the Pentagon’s push to put troops on testosterone in July, including his warning that women on base and in port cities should “watch out” — normalizing US military culture’s toxic masculinity and the sexual assault it engenders as a punchline. Watch full episodes of BT Live, join breakthroughnews.org as a member today! #breakthroughnews

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