Jason Ditz discusses a recent Taliban suicide attack in Kabul and a report finding that about 40,000 soldiers on the books of the Afghan army don’t really exist. These so-called “ghost soldiers” often abandon their posts, but army officials don’t report it, since it’s in their interest to appear to have as many soldiers as possible. Ditz sees this report as a good sign that the government is trying to clean house before a peace deal with the Taliban. He and Scott lament the fact that so few...
8/9/19 Pete Quinones on Gun Control, Health Care, and the War on Drugs
Pete Quinones, formerly Mance Rayder, discusses some of his recent articles for the Libertarian Institute, covering gun control, Trump’s election in 2016, and Bernie Sanders’ proposed health care laws. After the shootings last week in El Paso and Dayton, many Americans have been calling for stricter gun control laws. Quinones reminds us that anything approaching the full confiscation of guns across the entire country that would be required to actually stop those who are desperate to get a gun...
8/9/19 Eric Margolis on the Dangers of Nuclear War Between India and Pakistan
Scott interviews Eric Margolis about the recent legal change that will now allow non-Kashmiris to buy land in Kashmir. Kashmir is majority Muslim, and has been the subject of territorial disputes between India and Pakistan for years. The fear is that the legal change will allow the Indian government to slowly annex pieces of Kashmir away from (at least nominally) independent control by sending settlers there. Scott stresses the added danger that since both sides of the conflict have nuclear...
8/9/19 Hunter DeRensis on the Dangerous Foreign Policy of ‘National Conservatism’
Scott interviews Hunter DeRensis about the National Conservatism Conference, part of a movement that DeRensis describes as trying to come up with intellectual rationalizations for Trumpism after the fact. Crucially, this new national conservatism movement did not exist to support Trump as a candidate, nor did it foresee or advocate something like Trump’s policies. It has instead emerged as a means to make them seem wise and acceptable by coming up with justifications that may or may not be...
8/8/19 Ben Freeman on the Military-Industrial Jobs Scam
Ben Freeman talks about President Trump’s friendship with Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and what it means for the military-industrial complex. Trump likes to boast about keeping businesses—particularly those related to military industries—open and hiring in the United States, but Freeman explains the reality that these companies do not create any net jobs at all. Scott references David Stockman’s “Great Deformation”, a concept describing the unseen effects on the economy when politicians...
8/2/19 Ray McGovern on ‘Deep State-Gate’
The great Ray McGovern talks about the real dangers behind the phony Russia collusion probe, namely the near-impossibility of detente with Russia thanks to the democrats’ insistence that any of President Trump’s inclinations in that direction must be based on his being a traitor to America. Scott and McGovern both think the premise is ridiculous, of course, but more importantly it increases the risks of a global nuclear war. McGovern says he would be perfectly fine impeaching Trump, but not...
8/2/19 Muhammad Sahimi on the Truth Behind Economic Sanctions
Scott interviews Muhammad Sahimi about President Trump’s new sanctions on Iran, which are even stricter than those imposed by President Obama, since they eliminate some of the previous waivers and cover even necessary goods like food and medicine because, even though not technically sanctioned, the financial institutions necessary to broker any kind of deal are not willing to operate in Iran for fear of legal action by the U.S. government. Sahimi likens these sanctions to those placed on Iraq...
8/2/19 Mike Swanson on the Coming Financial Catastrophe
Mike Swanson discusses the recent announcement that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates again. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said this is a precautionary measure against a possible recession, of which there have been early signs over the last few months. The dangerous thing, says Swanson, is what happens if there is a recession even after this move—with rates already so close to zero percent, what more can the Fed do? Unfortunately it would probably mean huge inflationary...
7/30/19 David Stockman on the End of the Mueller Probe
David Stockman reminds us how flimsy the “Russiagate” case has been from the very beginning, and that we should really be focusing on how the investigation even got started in the first place. Stockman claims that President Trump’s idea that it would be better to cooperate with Russia rather than continue a new Cold War with them was intolerable to the ruling class, who want America to remain undisputed atop the world geopolitical hierarchy, which means policing the globe and flexing our...
7/30/19 Danny Sjursen on Trump Ending the War in Afghanistan
Danny Sjursen explains why President Trump could end the war in Afghanistan if he wanted to. When it comes to foreign policy, the president is basically a dictator, and Trump in particular is pugnacious enough to cover his right flank at all times, just like Nixon was able to meet with Mao in the 1970s. Negotiations with the Taliban have also continued without falling apart, which is a good sign for the possibility of ending the war on agreeable terms. By the same token, Hillary Clinton felt...
7/30/19 Tim Shorrock on the Democrats Attacking Trump from the Right
Tim Shorrock joins the show to discuss U.S. negotiations with Korea and the status of the relations between North and South. Lately soldiers from the North and South have begun patrolling together, one of several important symbolic gestures in the process of reconciliation between the two nations. Recently Donald Trump became the first president to visit the North, and Shorrock thinks his willingness to participate in negotiations, which previous presidents have not, has been hugely important....
7/30/19 Gareth Porter on John Bolton’s Role in the Iranian Tanker Crisis
Scott interviews Gareth Porter about John Bolton’s most recent efforts to raise tensions with Iran. He and Scott speculate about Iran’s ability to disrupt international trade in the region by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, and the likelihood that they would do so given the risks of inciting more serious conflict as a result. Discussed on the show: “Did John Bolton Light the Fuse of the UK-Iranian Tanker Crisis?” (The American Conservative) “Britain Rejects Iran’s Offer to Swap Seized...
7/29/19 Dave DeCamp on This Generation’s WMD
Dave DeCamp discusses the latest in the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy, which at this point has all but completely fallen apart. Democrats continue to cling to anything that will keep the narrative alive, and the mainstream media has fallen in line by putting out extremely misleading headlines. DeCamp explains one by one why the stories are incorrect. Discussed on the show: “MSM Coverage of Senate Intelligence Report Is Misleading” (Antiwar.com Original)”Senate Intelligence report:...
Tulsi Gabbard’s Chance to Make the Race About the Wars
Reprinted from Antiwar.com. Don't waste it! Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Representative from Hawaii, is running for president. She’s one of the only Democrats in the race who says anything meaningful or interesting about foreign policy. Unlike the rest of them, she’s decided to make it the center of her campaign. Gabbard was for Iraq War II before she was against it, serving two tours overseas during the war, one at Balad air base north of Baghdad and another in Kuwait. But she has done the very best...
7/26/19 Hassan El-Tayyab on Congress’ Unusually Good Antiwar Efforts
Hassan El-Tayyab summarizes the efforts in congress to end America’s various wars in the Middle East, led mostly by democrats, but also with the support of some liberty-oriented republicans. Democrats have been accused of slashing the military because their proposed NDAA budget is smaller than the republicans’. But the critics leave out the fact that it too would mean an increase from last year, and is almost as large as the republican proposal. Scott theorizes that this multi-pronged campaign...
