Peter Van Buren talks about the unlearned lessons from America’s last several decades of foreign policy failures. Although a presidential administration will occasionally make a blunder that results in something like ISIS or the empowerment of Iran, for the most part, says Van Buren, the endless and unwinnable wars, the bloated military spending, and a nation that worships its military are all part of the plan for the neocons, neoliberals, and the military industrial complex and its lobbyists. It is really the well-intentioned but gullible American people who keep falling for the same lies, eagerly sending their sons and daughters off to die in pointless conflicts. And so long as they do so, things will continue just as they are.

Discussed on the show:

• “This American Died For Our Lies In Afghanistan” (The American Conservative)
• “U.S. officials misled the public about the war in Afghanistan, confidential documents reveal” (Washington Post)
• “Pentagon Papers” (HISTORY)
• OPCW Douma Docs

Peter Van Buren worked for 24 years at the Department of State including a year in Iraq. He is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People and the novel Hooper’s War. He is now a contributing editor at The American Conservative magazine.

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; Washinton Babylon; Liberty Under Attack Publications; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

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