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Scott is joined by Joseph Solis-Mullen to talk about China. They start with two articles Solis-Mullen published recently that examine the state of the economic war Washington is trying and failing to wage on Beijing along with the march towards a very real conventional war. They also take a step back and look at the precarious global situation we’re in, drawing connections to the outbreak of World War I and insights from libertarian theory.

Discussed on the show:

• “Washington Takes Another ‘L’ in China Policy” (Libertarian Institute)
• “Washington is Sprinting (Not Sleepwalking) Into War With China” (Libertarian Institute)
• “The Outbreak of World War I: A Libertarian Realist Rebuttal” (Mises.org)
• Wilson’s War by Jim Powell

Joseph Solis-Mullen is a political scientist and author of The Fake China Threat and Its Very Real Danger. Follow all his work at his website. 

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Roberts and Robers Brokerage Incorporated; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; Libertas Bella; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

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Mark Perry talks about the history of America’s near misses on war with Iran, starting with the 1983 Beirut barracks attack that almost led to an American bombing campaign against the Iranians. According to Perry, President Reagan realized that such an attack would be both ineffective, and also beneath the “dignity” of the United States military. The point of a strong military, says Perry, is to not use it, except against major powers in extreme circumstances. The excessive use of our military all over the world in the last 20 years only wastes blood and treasure while making the country look weak.

Discussed on the show:

• “1984: The Year America Didn’t Go To War” (The American Conservative)
• A Foreign Policy Of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, And Honest Friendship

Mark Perry is the author of Talking to Terrorists: Why America Must Engage with its Enemies and The Most Dangerous Man in America: The Making of Douglas MacArthur. His most recent book, The Pentagon’s Wars was released in October. Read his work at The American Conservative Magazine and follow him on Twitter @MarkPerryDC.

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

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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Scott talks to Reese Erlich about the demonstrations in Hong Kong against the country’s proposed extradition law. After a Hong Kong man brutally murdered his girlfriend in Taiwan, and then fled back to Hong Kong, knowing he couldn’t be extradited to the country where he had committed his crime, lawmakers thought it might be time to enact new extradition treaties, of which Hong Kong has very few with any countries. Even though the proposed law is fairly moderate in what it allows, protestors fear the ways it could be abused by the Hong Kong or Chinese governments.

Discussed on the show:

• “What’s Really Going On in Hong Kong?” (Antiwar.com Original)

Reese Erlich is a freelance journalist who has reported from the Middle East for decades. His nationally distributed column, Foreign Correspondent, appears every two weeks. He is the author of The Iran Agenda Today: the Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis. Find him on Twitter at @ReeseErlich or at his website.

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

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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Gareth Porter explains the latest lie being used to promote a war with Iran. This time, the old story from the mid-2000s that Iran was responsible for a certain type of roadside bomb that killed about 600 U.S. soldiers in Eastern Iraq has new life, thanks to John Bolton and his allies. Gareth Porter and many other friends of the Scott Horton Show debunked this idea when it first arose more than ten years ago. An extra bit of irony is the recent Army study finding that Iran is the only country that actually benefited from America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Discussed on the show:

• “Lies About Iran Killing US Troops in Iraq Are a Ploy to Justify War” (Antiwar.com Original)
• “POLITICS: U.S. Military Ignored Evidence of Iraqi-Made EFPs” (Inter Press Service)
• “The Truth About Iraqi EFPs by Philip Giraldi” (The Scott Horton Show)
• “ERROR: The request could not be satisfied” (LA Times)
• “Iraq’s Superbombs, Still Home Made” (WIRED)
• “Chlorine Gas Attack by Truck Bomber Kills Up to 30 in Iraq” (The New York Times)
• “U.S. Find Stokes Fears Of Iraqis’ Bomb-Making Ability” (WSJ)
• The Good Soldiers
• “Army’s long-awaited Iraq war study finds Iran was the only winner in a conflict that holds many lessons for future wars” (Army Times)
• Pentagon Papers
• “The Redirection” (The New Yorker)

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state, and author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter and listen to Gareth’s previous appearances on the Scott Horton Show.

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

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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Independent journalist Suzie Dawson joins the show to talk about Julian Assange’s continued plight for his freedom and credibility. Dawson details the many strategies that have been used to discredit and imprison him, including now-dubious claims of sexual assault and the ever-present charges of working for the Russians against the United States. Dawson herself had to move to Russia after relentless attacks on her privacy and safety by the governments of New Zealand and Germany that included stalking, break-ins, thefts, and revealing her personal information to the public.

Discussed on the show:

• “We are Women Against Rape but we do not want Julian Assange extradited | Katrin Axelsson and Lisa Longstaff | Opinion” (The Guardian)
• Collateral Murder
• “John Kiriakou on Twitter: “A fair trial in the Eastern District of Virginia, under Judge Leonie Brinkema, is utterly impossible. They don’t call EDVA the “Espionage Court” for nothing.”” (Twitter)
• “5/31/19 Trevor Timm on the Century’s Greatest 1st Amendment Threat” (The Libertarian Institute)
• “DNC email database” (Wikileaks)
• “Climatic Research Unit emails, data, models, 1996-2009” (WikiLeaks)
• “Freeing Julian Assange: Part One” (ContraSpin)
• “Conspiracyland: The Russian connection to Seth Rich conspiracies” (Yahoo News)

Suzie Dawson is a citizen journalist who writes regularly for Consortium News, Contraspin, The Daily Blog NZ, and many others. Follow her on Twitter @Suzi3D.

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

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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Daniel Lazare gives an update in the indictment of the Russain Internet Research Agency, who actually showed up in American court, contrary to the expectations of Robert Mueller. In Mueller’s report, he alleges that the firm conducted their activity on American social media sites at the behest of the Putin Government. The first part of that allegation is true, but there is no evidence that the firm has any connection to the Russian government. The judge in the case recently issued an order saying as much, which completely undermines any case of government collusion.

Discussed on the show:

• “Concord Management and the End of Russiagate” (Consortiumnews)
• “The Parallax View (1974)” (IMDb)
• Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign

Daniel Lazare is the author of The Frozen Republic: How the constitution is Paralyzing Democracy and a regular contributor at Consortium News. Find all of his work at his website and follow him on Twitter @dhlazare.

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

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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Mike Maharrey explains how the United States government uses the pressure of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency to get its way in foreign policy. One method is by forcing the global SWIFT payment system to lock out countries that don’t want to play ball with the American world order. For daring to utter this forbidden truth, Maharrey has been smeared by the mainstream media as an “isolationist”. In reality he just doesn’t want the U.S. military to intervene in everyone’s wars—a position that the mainstream cannot tolerate.

Discussed on the show:

• “US is using SWIFT as a kind of ‘billy club’ in its foreign policy, expert tells RT” (RT Business News)
• “RT Falsely Claims U.S. Uses SWIFT as Weapon” (Polygraph)
• “A Majority of Military Veterans Think the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq Were a Mistake – Mother Jones” (Mother Jones)
• “Toys (1992)” (IMDb)

Mike Maharrey is National Communications Coordinator for the Tenth Amendment Center. He is the author of three books on nullification and hosts the Thoughts from Maharrey Head podcast. Find him on Twitter @mmaharrey10th.

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

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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Stu Smallwood discusses the latest meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, which has resulted in the possibility that the United States may offer to temporarily reduce economic sanctions in exchange for the start of the denuclearization process on the part of North Korea. This is essentially the opposite of what John Bolton has called “the Libya model”, i.e. complete denuclearization before any concessions are made. The problem, of course, is that everyone—including Kim—knows that after Gaddafi agreed to give up his country’s nuclear program, he was overthrown, tortured, and killed in the streets in an American-backed coup. Democrats, meanwhile, are claiming that Trump is a puppet and a dupe, which makes it almost impossible for him to negotiate with Kim while saving face at home.

Discussed on the show:

• “Trump-Kim DMZ Meeting a Victory for Peace, Though Pompeo-Bolton Sabotage Looms Large” (Antiwar.com Original)
• “US mulls suspending sanctions if North Korea agrees to denuclearisation, Yonhap reports” (South China Morning Post)
• “A Majority of Military Veterans Think the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq Were a Mistake – Mother Jones” (Mother Jones)
• “It’s time we saw economic sanctions for what they really are – war crimes” (Independent)
• “Trump tells confidants he’s eager to remove Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats” (Axios)

Stu Smallwood lived in Korea for eight years and now writes about the US empire in Korea for Antiwar.com and Global Research. Follow him on Twitter @stu_smallwood.

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

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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Nasser Arrabyee discusses the news that UAE troops will soon be pulling out of Yemen. Arrabyee speculates that the Emirati government might realize the international stance on the war is finally turning against the Saudi coalition, and they want to get out in time to save some face. He also believes that Saudi Arabia won’t be able to prosecute the war without the UAE, even with American support. Part of the shifting tide may have to do with the fact that the United Nations finally released an estimate of over 200,000 civilian deaths there, after years of claiming that only around 10,000 had died.

Discussed on the show:

• “U.A.E. Moves to Extricate Itself From Saudi-Led War in Yemen” (Wall Street Journal)
• “US arms sold to Saudi Arabia and UAE end up in wrong hands” (CNN)

Nasser Arrabyee is a Yemeni journalist based in Sana’a, Yemen. He is the owner and director of yemen-now.com. You can follow him on Twitter @narrabyee.

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

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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