Rashid Khalidi, author and professor of Middle East history and politics, discusses the spectacle of protesters from Morocco to Malaysia echoing the leaders of the American Revolution; how genuine reformist movements in Iran are undermined by US support; the endgame of US Mideast policy, where despotic client regimes were nurtured in the name of regional stability; the bravery of Libyan protesters who knew full well their government’s willingness and ability to use violence against them; the...
02/21/11 – Andy Worthington – The Scott Horton Show
Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, discusses the end of whatever small chance there was of closing Guantanamo, though half the prisoners are cleared for release; the Obama administration’s continued moratorium on releasing Yemeni prisoners, based on political pressure dating from the 2009 Christmas Day attempted bombing; why the material support statute should give everyone pause, even those who don’t care about the plight of Guantanamo prisoners; and how the current SCOTUS...
02/21/11 – Angela Keaton – The Scott Horton Show
Angela Keaton, Antiwar.com Development Director and Antiwar Radio producer, discusses the importance of modest individual donations during Antiwar.com’s fund drive, and our empty roster of billionaire donors (and their accompanying agendas).
02/18/11 – Adam Morrow – The Scott Horton Show
This interview is excerpted from the KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles broadcast of February 18th. The original is available here. Adam Morrow, journalist with IPS News, discusses Egypt’s incredible, broad-based, non-”ism” (except nationalism), peaceful revolution; the endurance of Egypt’s decades-long Emergency Law and the many remaining Mubarak-appointed government ministers; the unheeded demands of protesters to release all political prisoners; the lack of women or Coptic Christians on the panel...
02/18/11 – Joe Lauria – The Scott Horton Show
Independent investigative journalist Joe Lauria discusses – live from Cairo – the throng of Egyptians re-filling Tahrir Square in celebration of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation; how Egypt’s constitutional reforms could be an early source of division among the protesters; the duplicitous post-WWII US foreign policy of supporting dictators while talking about “exporting democracy;” how Egypt’s broad-based and peaceful revolution undermines the terrorism and religious extremism of al-Qaeda; and how...
02/18/11 – Angela Keaton – The Scott Horton Show
Angela Keaton, Antiwar.com Development Director and Antiwar Radio producer, discusses the quarterly fund drive and reminds us how Antiwar.com remains vigilant 24/7 on the depredations of the state, especially its foreign policy. Individual donations average 45 dollars, so every little bit helps. Antiwar.com accepts credit cards, Paypal, XIPWIRE, old cars, gold, silver and, apparently, goats?!
02/18/11 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Please excuse the technical difficulties that cut this interview a bit short. Gareth Porter’s article can explain any partially-answered questions. Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses US frustration with the Taliban’s highly effective IED attacks, which led to a change in strategy from house-to-house clearing to razing entire villages with airstrikes and bulldozers; problems with the official story, that Tarok Kalache residents abandoned their...
02/18/11 – Michelle Richardson – The Scott Horton Show
Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel for the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office, discusses the status of various PATRIOT Act provisions due to expire; marginal but increasing Congressional opposition to the PATRIOT Act, much of it from GOP freshmen; why the worst civil liberties violating provisions – the “library act” and National Security Letters – should be ended immediately; evidence that the FBI is infiltrating and spying on domestic political activists in the guise of fighting...
02/17/11 – Ray McGovern – The Scott Horton Show
Ray McGovern, member of Veterans For Peace and former senior analyst at the CIA, discusses his brief, nonviolent protest during Hillary Clinton’s GWU speech about US support for protesters and free speech in Egypt and Iran; McGovern’s violent removal and arrest by uniformed and plainclothes security that left him bruised and bloodied; and how Clinton didn’t even pause during the disruption to contemplate the incredible hypocrisy of her smug lecture to those awful undemocratic Mideast...
02/17/11 – Gregory Johnsen – The Scott Horton Show
Gregory Johnsen, blogger and former Fulbright Fellow in Yemen, discusses Yemen’s history and factional differences, blowback from U.S. military action, the economic hardships which are the primary motivation of the protests, the likelihood that Saleh could fall, how US aid to Yemen helps the government fight their enemies, rather than al Qaeda, the attempted attack of Christmas 2009 and what U.S. policy in Yemen should be.
02/17/11 – Jason Leopold – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Leopold, investigative reporter and Deputy Managing Editor of Truthout, discusses his interview with former Guantanamo detainee David Hicks; the deleterious effects of torture on victims, guards, writers and readers; Hicks’ soul-searching youth, conversion to Islam, and journey to Afghanistan; how Australian Prime Minister John Howard enlisted Dick Cheney’s help in getting a military commission indictment against Hicks, to help his reelection bid; and why a nine month plea deal isn’t the...
02/15/11 – Eric Margolis – The Scott Horton Show
Eric Margolis, foreign correspondent and author of War at the Top of the World and American Raj, discusses Egypt’s faux revolution, where there’s still a military dictatorship but no longer a pretense of civilian authority (Mubarak wore a suit, not a uniform); how the US refusal to deal with political centrists (like Muslim Brotherhood) enables radical parties to come to the fore; and the criminal charges against former Pakistani president Musharraf that remind us of the still unsolved mystery...
02/15/11 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses the importance of National Intelligence Estimates in determining US foreign policy and war-making abilities; how the Afghanistan NIE allows the military to measure their own success, leaving out a CIA assessment of the supposedly diminishing numbers of Taliban; debunking the military’s “taking the fight to the enemy” explanation for increased attacks; Gen. McChrystal’s well-reasoned “insurgent math;” and why Gen....
02/14/11 – Jason Ditz – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the Egyptian army’s assertion of power, and not all in a good way; protesters split on living under martial law for the near future; uncertain prospects for democratic representation, as the military may run their own candidate in elections (if there are any); Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s improbable conversion from super-villain to lukewarm US ally; and the popular uprisings brewing in Algeria, Jordan, Yemen and Bahrain.
02/14/11 – Ivan Eland – The Scott Horton Show
Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow at The Independent Institute and regular contributor to Antiwar.com, discusses the historical revisionists coming out of the woodwork for Ronald Reagan’s 100 birthday; Reagan’s overrated presidency, from foreign policy to the economy; why the Soviet collapse had more to do with a failed economic model than provocative US policy; how Iran Contra dealt a huge blow to Constitutional checks and balances, with the Executive branch doing an end-run around Congress and the...
