Fred Branfman, writer for Alternet.org, discusses how the WikiLeaks documents reveal, more than anything else, the 'vast lying machine' of our government and military; why the Cablegate disclosures alone are enough to justify a new Nuremberg-style war crimes tribunal; how US military escalations in Afghanistan and Pakistan are counterproductive when considering (Ret.) Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s 'insurgent math;' and why the US government — not WikiLeaks — is a danger to national security and...
01/04/11 – Eric Margolis – The Scott Horton Show
Eric Margolis, foreign correspondent and author of War at the Top of the World and American Raj, discusses how the secession of South Sudan could jeopardize the entire African continent's colonial-drawn borders; considerable US influence in South Sudan that almost guarantees the new nation will be yet another American protectorate flush with oil; why controlling the world's oil supplies has been a US foreign policy goal since WWII, when Axis countries were irreparably damaged by fuel supply...
01/04/11 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses how Gen. James Jones pushed for NATO to take over the Afghanistan occupation, giving the purposeless organization a new raison d'etre; NATO's inability to deal with the Afghan insurgency (that wasn't supposed to happen) after the quick and resounding US ouster of the Taliban; President Bush's willingness to cede control to NATO in order to free up soldiers for his preferred war in Iraq; and how European countries —...
01/04/11 – Greg Mitchell – The Scott Horton Show
Greg Mitchell, author of the Media Fix blog for TheNation.com, discusses his multi-week long effort to provide daily blog updates on WikiLeaks stories; why the few mainstream journalists who aren't openly hostile to WikiLeaks are keeping their mouths shut; the spectacle of Judith Miller scolding WikiLeaks for bad, harmful journalism; Bradley Manning's inhumane treatment in prison; and why the decline in MSM WikiLeaks coverage can be partly contributed to lack of demand, ie: Americans don't...
01/03/11 – Robert Parry – The Scott Horton Show
Robert Parry, founder and editor of ConsortiumNews.com, discusses how discredited mainstream journalists like Judith Miller keep getting TV appearances while the reporters who got it right about Iraq, don’t; how the muckraking press corps of yesteryear was replaced by a bevy of sycophantic stenographers; the punishment/reward system for journalists that makes very clear the kind of reporting required for promotions; the infamous pre-Gulf War April Glaspie memo that shows the US took no...
01/03/11 – Becky Akers – The Scott Horton Show
Becky Akers, columnist at Lewrockwell.com, discusses the Department of Homeland Security’s expansion into malls, hotels and Walmarts; the disputed safety of TSA body scanner radiation and millimeter wave technology; the DHS 'If You See Something, Say Something' program for recruiting citizen informants (a familiar hallmark of police states); and why the 9/11 Commission’s primary duty was to recommend the creation of DHS.
01/03/11 – Grant F. Smith – The Scott Horton Show
Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C., discusses how Steven Rosen’s lawsuit disclosures are shining a light on the highly-secretive inner workings of AIPAC; the pro-Israel media’s focus on the 'injury of the United States' part of the Espionage Act while ignoring the 'advantage of a foreign nation' part; why Attorney General Eric Holder would rather prosecute WikiLeaks than AIPAC; Rosen’s violation of court proceeding rules that may...
12/29/10 – Daniel Ellsberg – The Scott Horton Show
Daniel Ellsberg, author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, discusses the government and media attacks on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks; a reminder that — at the time — Ellsberg was called a traitor for releasing the Pentagon papers; why Assange can't be charged with a crime without jeopardizing investigative journalism and the notion of a free press; how Bradley Manning's punitive detainment conditions seem designed to elicit a false confession; the question whether a...
12/29/10 – Kelley B. Vlahos – The Scott Horton Show
Featured Antiwar.com columnist Kelley B. Vlahos discusses her article 'Julian Assange: Man of the Decade;' why WikiLeaks — inspired by a culture of open source software, free exchange of information, high technology and distrust of authority — is the natural antagonist of a US-led global security state; dossier collections on 'suspicious' Americans who have not been charged with, or even suspected of committing, a crime; the 'who is a journalist' debate that presumes a press pass is required...
12/29/10 – RayMcGovern – The Scott Horton Show
Ray McGovern, former senior analyst at the CIA, discusses the likely CIA involvement in the 2009 Jundallah suicide bombing that killed several Revolutionary Guards officers and disrupted promising negotiations on an Iranian LEU fuel-swap deal; how the (predictable) Iranian backtracking after the terrorist attack gave the US a pretext to end talks and push for further sanctions; why we should expect whistleblowers to leak contradictory information if the 2010 Iran NIE reverses the previous...
12/24/10 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
This recording is excerpted from the KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles broadcast of December 24th. The original program can be heard here. Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses the New York Times story about a leaked military proposal for snatch and grab raids targeting Afghan insurgent leaders inside Pakistan (in the hopes that interrogations would yield an intelligence bonanza); the severe consequences this 'cockamamie' idea would have for Pakistan’s already weak...
12/22/10 – Jason Ditz – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the pending executive order authorizing indefinite detention; why Congress's refusal to close Guantanamo isn't being challenged by Obama (who seems to have forgotten his promise); the vague domestic terrorism threats that have Attorney General Eric Holder shaking in his loafers; how the alliance of opposition groups in Somalia portends more violence and threatens the Western-backed government; and why Somalia was better off without a...
12/22/10 – Stephen Webster – The Scott Horton Show
Stephen Webster, Senior Editor at RawStory.com, discusses the WikiLeaks-revealed diplomatic cable that shows how the US got troops stationed in Colombia by dodging legislative review; close cooperation between the US embassy and then-President Ãlvaro Uribe Vélez to escalate the US military presence (that regional rival Venezuela viewed as war preparation); how the mainstream media proves its worthlessness by refusing to properly investigate the gold mine of WikiLeaks revelations; evidence of...
12/22/10 – Michael Hastings – The Scott Horton Show
Michael Hastings, author of the infamous article 'The Runaway General' in Rolling Stone magazine, discusses the seeming resolution of Iraq’s incredibly lengthy government-formation process; the firm Shi’ite grip on power and long-term marginalization of Sunnis (exemplified by their go-to man in government, the Shia Ayad Allawi); Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s conflicted and complicated relationship with Iran; and the remarkably successful Gen. Petraeus Iraq surge (narrative).
12/21/10 – Lew Rockwell – The Scott Horton Show
Lew Rockwell, author of The Left, The Right and The State, discusses the life and work of Ludwig von Mises, who integrated business cycle theory into a comprehensive Austrian School of economics; how Murray N. Rothbard helped make opposition to war a core principle of libertarianism; and why Ron Paul's appointment as Chairman of the Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee should make for some interesting conflicts with the Fed and Wall Street banks.
