Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the large bombings in Iraq after US withdrawal; Prime Minister Maliki’s attempt to arrest Vice President Tareq Hashemi as a “terrorist;” Iraq’s coalition government falling apart, as Maliki overreaches; the 700 US troops scheduled to remain behind as trainers; the military’s report justifying the fatal US air attack on Pakistani border posts; back-channel negotiations between the US and Pakistan’s civilian government to undermine the...
12/21/11 – Tom Engelhardt – The Scott Horton Show
Tom Engelhardt, creator of Tomdispatch.com and author of The United States of Fear, discusses why the US withdrawal from Iraq seemed a lot like defeat, despite the “success” story peddled by Obama; how the ambitious Bush administration, confident of a “cakewalk” victory, never got the “enduring bases” and tens of thousands of permanent occupation soldiers they wanted; a catalog of what the US took home, and what remains behind; Dick Cheney’s reasonable explanation (in 1994) why George H.W....
12/21/11 – Marcy Wheeler – The Scott Horton Show
Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses the conviction of US citizen Tarek Mehanna on material support of terrorism charges, in part for posting “jihadist” videos online; the SCOTUS ruling (Holder v. HLP) that defines “material support” so broadly a lawyer could be arrested for representing alleged terrorist organizations (except those favored by the government, like MEK); whether provisions in the NDAA authorize the indefinite detention of Americans or not; the legal precedents set by the Yaser...
12/21/11 – Barbara Slavin – The Scott Horton Show
Barbara Slavin, author of Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S. and the Twisted Path to Confrontation, discusses her article “Mass Tragedy Feared as Closure of MEK Camp Looms;” how MEK leader Maryam Rajavi is using the camp residents as pawns while pressuring the State Department to remove the group’s terrorist status; the proposed 2003 prisoner swap (MEK for al-Qaeda) between the US and Iran that was scuttled by Doug Feith and Paul Wolfowitz; and how UN interviews with MEK members (to...
12/20/11 – Philip Giraldi – The Scott Horton Show
Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses his article “NATO vs. Syria;” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the CIA working overtly and covertly to undermine the Assad regime; how the lack of reliable news from Syria makes it hard to tell if there really is a civil war or major uprising; the worse alternatives to secular Middle East dictators who at least tolerate religious minorities; the Syrian opposition’s receipt of “training” and weapons from Europe, Turkey and Libya; and how Obama...
12/20/11 – M.J. Rosenberg – The Scott Horton Show
M.J. Rosenberg, journalist and Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at Media Matters Action Network, discusses his article “The ‘Israel Firster’ Brouhaha” about the Politico article chiding Media Matters for supposedly trying to turn the Democratic Party establishment against Israel; AIPAC’s dossiers on journalists (including M.J.) unwilling to parrot Likud Party talking points; the political risk-reward calculation that makes almost the entire Congress rabidly pro-Israel; why even Tom Friedman...
12/19/11 – Adam Morrow – The Scott Horton Show
IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses his article “Muslim Brotherhood Looks Beyond Tahrir;” the Islamic political parties sweeping Egypt’s parliamentary elections; continuing protests from Egyptian liberals, frustrated at getting trounced in the polls; the meeting with US Ambassador Anne Patterson, Senator John Kerry and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party; and whether Egypt’s second-place – and very conservative – Islamic party will inspire more paranoid talk of a...
12/19/11 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses his article “How Maliki and Iran Outsmarted the US on Troop Withdrawal;” the Iran-brokered deal that protected Moqtada al-Sadr’s militia, granted Prime Minister Maliki much-needed political support, and united Iraq’s power structure against US occupation; how the US screwed up plans for an Iraqi client state (you support the minority faction with a tenuous hold on power, not the majority that doesn’t need propping up);...
12/19/11 – John Feffer – The Scott Horton Show
John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, discusses his article “Two Leaders, Two Deaths,” comparing the legacies of former Czech president Vaclav Havel and N. Korean “dear leader” Kim Jong Il; Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution and Havel’s mixed-bag presidency, where his aspiration of “moral government” fell short in implementation; Kim Jong Il’s ability to defy the US and maintain his hermit kingdom (paid for by Koreans who suffered a repressive...
Liberty Fest NYC 9/10/2011
Yeah, the audio ain't so good.
12/16/11 – Karen Greenberg – The Scott Horton Show
Karen Greenberg, Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University, discusses her article “How terrorist ‘entrapment’ ensnares us all;” setting a dangerous precedent by allowing law enforcement and paid informants to manufacture terrorist plots, ideology and materials; making the already-difficult entrapment legal defense even less likely to succeed; why terrorism suspects can’t expect to get fair trials; why preventive law enforcement is needed to some degree after 9/11; and...
12/16/11 – Aaron Glantz – The Scott Horton Show
Aaron Glantz, Bay Citizen reporter and author of The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle against America’s Veterans, discusses how the US quickly squandered the goodwill of Iraqis who were glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein; the disasters in Abu Ghraib, Fallujah and Najaf; a personal retrospective on the individual casualties of war; why the giant US embassy and small remaining mercenary force aren’t nearly enough to dominate Iraq; and why Obama deserves some credit for making good on Bush’s...
12/16/11 – Jack Hunter – The Scott Horton Show
Jack Hunter, talk radio host, Charleston newspaper columnist and Ron Paul 2012 blogger, discusses the Michele Bachmann/Ron Paul debate on Iran policy; why David Frum is (sort of) correct that Republicans live in an alternate reality quite apart from the real world; the consistency of pro-war pundits, from the Reagan era to today; why Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are both responsible for a million Iraqi deaths; and how a timely release of the 2011 National Intelligence Estimate could help...
12/15/11 – Karen Kwiatkowski – The Scott Horton Show
Karen Kwiatkowski discusses her "Bill of Rights 220th Anniversary Money Bomb" to help fund her congressional campaign in Virginia's 6th district; her run against a 10-term Republican incumbent (RINO) facing his first real opposition; her promise to limit herself to three terms in office and fight the National Defense Authorization Act if elected; how Repubican voters are learning the difference between national defense and nation building; and why a good foreign policy is based on avoiding...
12/15/11 – Glenn Greenwald – The Scott Horton Show
Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald discusses his article “Obama to sign indefinite detention bill into law;” our return to the McCarthy era when indefinite detention was last codified in law; how the Levin/McCain bill just ties up legal loose ends to 10 years of official government policy previously justified by the AUMF; the broadened definition of terrorism, such that the president could target just about anyone; why we shouldn’t mistake Obama’s initial NDAA objections as a defense of liberty...
