Scott interviews Doug Bandow about his recent article for the National Interest, which discusses the effects of the coronavirus on U.S. relations with North Korea. Bandow explains how after years of hand-wringing over the imminent threat posed by Kim Jong-un’s aggressive nuclear posturing, and the need for America to respond strongly, everyone forgets all about it as soon as an actual emergency like the current pandemic emerges. If North Korea really posed an existential threat to the United States, we would probably still be concerned. Scott and Bandow also discuss America’s role in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the war in Yemen. The onset of the rainy season there threatens to bring another outbreak of cholera, an easily preventable disease that thousands have already died from thanks to intentional targeting of critical civilian infrastructure. Saudi Arabia would not be able to wage this war without explicit U.S. approval.

Discussed on the show:

• “How the Coronavirus Shows North Korea Doesn’t Matter That Much to America” (The National Interest)
• “Yemen Is Shattered and the U.S. Helped the Saudis Break It” (Cato Institute)
• “3/20/20 Scott Paul on Yemen’s Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis” (The Libertarian Institute)

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a regular contributor at Forbes Magazine, the National Interest, and elsewhere. He’s on Twitter @Doug_Bandow.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

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