Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses why the mainstream media won't cover the NSA's habit of passing raw intelligence on Americans to Israel; a cost-benefit analysis of the US-Israel "special relationship;" the few barriers to making a deal on Iran's nuclear program; and why Rand Paul is just an empty suit.

John Glaser, a writer for Antiwar.com and The Huffington Post, discusses why Obama shouldn't delay making a deal with Iran; the US's clear support for Al Qaeda in Syria - no matter how much John Kerry claims otherwise; John McCain's brain-damaged lunacy; Israel's latest house-demolishing war crimes in the occupied territories; and why no Israel-Palestine peace talks can end illegal Jewish settlements or find a two-state solution.

Brendan O'Neill, editor of Spiked Online, discusses how foreign intervention ruined the genuine Syrian popular protests by discouraging a peaceful settlement with the government; the US's double standard on which Middle Eastern governments are repressive; and why the Syrian conflict could become worse and more widespread than Lebanon's 15 year civil war.

Marc Hyden, a coordinator with Conservatives Concerned with the Death Penalty, discusses the 3 main reasons he opposes the death penalty; why the justice system isn't very interested in a person's actual guilt or innocence; problems with eyewitness identification and forensic "experts;" the corruption of juries in capital cases; and the Conservatives Concerned presence at the Conservative Political Action Conference in St. Louis on September 28th.

Ali Gharib, a journalist with Al Jazeera and The Daily Beast, discusses his article "US and Iran: The art of the nuclear deal;" the legitimacy (or not) of UN Security Council resolutions condemning Iran's nuclear program; disagreements about Iran's actual obligations/violations under the NPT; and why Bibi Netanyahu fears good US-Iran relations more than Iranian nukes.

Stephen M. Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University, discusses the scheduled high-level meetings between US and Iranian officials at the UN; why "talking to our adversaries should be routine" in US foreign policy; the increasingly discredited "mad mullah" excuse for not negotiating with Iranian leaders; and why John Kerry has no chance for success with Israel-Palestine talks.

Dan Johnson, Founder and President of PANDA (People Against the NDAA), discusses all the Constitution-killing provisions snuck into giant defense appropriations bills; fighting terrorism through civilian criminal trials instead of wars and military tribunals; Obama's weasel-words on whether Americans can be subject to indefinite military detention; and how PANDA is effecting change from the bottom up.

Thomas C. Mountain, an independent journalist based in Eritrea, discusses the history of al-Shabaab and the context of the Nairobi mall siege; why al-Shabaab has become a mercenary army; Kenya's blowback from repeated military incursions in Somalia; the Saudi royal family's financial backing for Wahhabi groups including al-Shabaab; and the lack of news on mass starvation and refugees in the Horn of Africa.

Gareth Porter, an independent investigative journalist and historian, discusses the possibility of an Obama-Rouhani meeting and a diplomatic breakthrough in US-Iran relations; why the Israel lobby's defeat on Syria doesn't mean their hold on Congress has slipped on Iran issues; Iran's use of the Fordo nuclear facility as a reduced-sanctions bargaining chip; profiting from arms sales and continual low-grade war in the Middle East; and why it suddenly seems possible to bring the US war machine...