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Scott interviews Jim Bovard about an article he wrote on how the IRS influenced the 2020 election. They also talk about the presidential debate, the various factions of libertarianism, the assassination attempt on Trump and more.

Discussed on the show:

• “Did the IRS Manipulate the 2020 Election?” (Libertarian Institute)

Jim Bovard is a columnist and the author of Last Rights: The Death of American Liberty. Find all of his books and read his work on his website and follow him on Twitter @JimBovard.

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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Neta Crawford discusses her work on the Costs of War project, which tries to assess the costs, in both lives and dollars, of America’s wars in the Middle East. The project has estimated the 500 thousand have been killed due to combat, which includes American soldiers, enemy combatants, and civilians. It doesn’t include what’s known as “excess deaths,” meaning civilians who die from deprivation, lack of medical care, and destroyed or degraded infrastructure as a result of the war. These deaths are even harder to measure because they rely on survey data, which Crawford’s project does not use. The project also does not include Syria, Yemen, or Lybia. As a result these numbers are extremely conservative. Her work has also estimated the cost of these wars at over 5 trillion dollars, which includes money already spent, money that’s been promised to programs for veterans, and estimates for interest payments on the money the government has borrowed to finance the wars.

Discussed on the show:

• “Costs of War Project: The $5.6 Trillion Price Tag of the Post-9/11 Wars” (Watson Institute)
• Iraq Body Count
• Frontier Corps
• “PRESS RELEASE: Yemen War death toll now exceeds 60,000 according to latest ACLED data” (Acled Data)
• “11/11/18 Andrea Carboni on an Accurate Estimate of the Death Toll in Yemen” (The Libertarian Institute)

Neta Crawford is chair of the Political Science Department at Boston University. She is the author of Accountability for Killing: Moral Responsibility for Collateral Damage in America’s Post-9/11 Wars. Follow her project on Twitter @CostsOfWar.

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; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Alex Kane joins the show to talk about his latest article, which explores how the Leahy Law might be applied to U.S. assistance to the Israeli military. The Leahy Law is supposed to prevent American support to any military units that have committed human rights violations, which seems probable in the case of Israel given the number of Palestinian protestors that have been killed. The Leahy Law does not apply to American support for Israel in general, which is just as well since it seems unlikely that there is political will to end that. But certain humanitarian groups are interested in using the law to bring attention to specific violations by specific military units—this type of awareness may make Americans less likely to support military aid to Israel in general in the future.

Discussed on the show:

• “Inside Sources Say the State Dept Refuses To Trace Whether Israel Is Using U.S. Military Aid Illegally” (In These Times)
• “Leahy Fact Sheet” (State Department)
• Foreign Assistance Act Of 1961
• Ahed Tamimi
• “Bill to Expel Families of Palestinians Who Attack Israelis Pass 1st Reading in Knesset” (Al Bawaba)

Alex Kane is a freelance journalist who’s writing appears in Ha’aretz, the Intercept and elsewhere. He’s formerly an editor at Mondoweiss and Alternet. Read more of his work at his website and follow him on Twitter.

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; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Retired Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis joins the show to discuss President Trump’s announcements that he wants to pull troops out of both Syria and Afghanistan. Davis is pleased with this news, and addresses the common but unfounded concern that if America pulls out of certain countries, terrorist activity will rise up there. For one thing, he explains, terrorist planning and coordination still goes on under the nose of American troops even when they are occupying a country. More importantly, however, most of the major attacks were planned right here in the U.S., or in Europe, where the military clearly is not going to station troops on every corner or drone bomb neighborhoods. Finally, American occupation if anything only encourages more attacks, since the family members of civilian victims are often incited to radicalism when they would not otherwise have been.

Discussed on the show:

• 9/11 Report
• “60 Terrorist Plots Since 9/11: Continued Lessons in Domestic Counterterrorism” (The Heritage Foundation)
• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Daniel Davis did multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during his time in the army. He writes a weekly column for National Interest and is the author of the reports “Dereliction of Duty II: Senior Military Leaders’ Loss of Integrity Wounds Afghan War Effort” and “Go Big or Go Deep: An Analysis of Strategy Options on Afghanistan.” Find him on Twitter @DanielLDavis1.

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; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Doug Bandow joins the show to talk about all four of his recent articles, covering China, Cuba, Yemen, and Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan. The entire foreign policy establishment is melting down over the announcement, but Bandow says this is unequivocally the right move; American presence in the Middle East has accomplished basically nothing good and has only provoked more radicalism and unrest. Because everyone around Trump disagrees with him right now, Bandow thinks it’s vitally  important for people who do favor withdrawal to make themselves heard. Bandow and Scott also talk Yemen, Obama’s opening of relations with Cuba, and the recent arrest of Huawei’s finance chief.

Discussed on the show:

• “The Fateful Arrest That Could Poison America’s Relationship With China” (The American Conservative)
• “It’s Time for a Policy Change on Cuba” (The National Interest)
• “Why Trump Is Right to Withdraw Troops” (Cato Institute)
• “It’s Time to End U.S. Support for the Saudi War on Yemen” (Cato 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: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Aaron Maté talks about the latest with the Russian collusion investigation, which he looks at skeptically. He observes that the aim of the investigation does not seem to be to get to the truth, but rather to scare people, which generates clicks and views for the media and helps justify the existence of the military-industrial complex. Maté also points out that factually the case doesn’t add up—certain incidents might seem plausible, like Russian hacking of the DNC email server, but each of the allegations of actual collusion between President Trump’s team and the Russians falls apart under close scrutiny. Indeed the whole investigation bears this quality: taken together, the large number of allegations looks very serious, but since each one is flimsy on its own, they don’t add up to much of anything at all. Not to mention the fact that Trump’s policies have been fairly hawkish toward Russia, so it’s hard to claim Putin has a “puppet” in the White House, as Trump’s detractors continually claim.

Discussed on the show:

• “Don’t Let Russophobia Warp the Facts on Russiagate” (The Nation)
• “Collateral Murder” (Wikileaks)
• “Russian propagandists targeted African Americans to influence 2016 US election | US news” (The Guardian)
• “Clinton’s ‘superpredators’ comment most damaging by either candidate” (TheHill)
• “The Death of Ricky Ray Rector” (Jacobin)
• “Bill Clinton’s Sister Souljah moment – JUNE 13, 1992” (YouTube)
• Logan Act

Aaron Maté is a former host and producer at The Real News and writes regularly at The Nation. Follow him on Twitter @AaronJMate.

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; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Sharon Tennison of the Center for Citizen Initiatives tells her incredible story of citizen diplomacy in the 1980s, when she made dozens of trips to the Soviet Union hoping to meet and befriend regular Russian civilians. She reminds us that over 90 percent of Russians were not Communist Party members—by and large they were just like the average American, and were eager to get along with American visitors. Although Tennison’s focus was not on Russian politicians, she did meet some, including a young Vladimir Putin long before he became President. Tennison says he was intellectual, introverted, and (unlike most of the politicians and bureaucrats she met) not at all corrupt. She believes he cares deeply about following the laws of the country, and advises us not to believe his portrayal in the American media.

Discussed on the show:

• “How one woman’s citizen diplomacy has strengthened US-Russia ties for decades” (The Christian Science Monitor)
• The Power of Impossible Ideas: Ordinary Citizens’ Extraordinary Efforts to Avert International Crises
• Mikhail Gorbachev

Sharon Tennison focuses on strengthening ties between America and Russia by traveling there and befriending Russians directly. She works with the Center for Citizen Initiatives.

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; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Philip Weiss of Mondoweiss.net joins the show to talk about the Israel Lobby’s influence over Bill Clinton’s 1992 defeat of George Bush Sr., and the ways the lobby continues to assert itself in American politics. Weiss tells the story of Bush deliberately standing up to Israeli lobbyists, thinking he didn’t need their support to win, but ended up realizing that the move probably cost him the election—to this day the lobby has a tight hold on the Republican Party, and even many democrats. Opposition to Israeli influence today is much more prominent in the form of the BDS movement. Scott explains that when Israel and its lobbyists loudly decry BDS, it only draws attention to them. More importantly, it makes Americans, and American Jews in particular, start looking into why anyone would want to oppose Israel in the first place. Indeed the anti-Zionist movement enjoys many supporters among American Jews.

Discussed on the show:

• Bush’s opposition to Israel in ’91 hurt his bid for second term, and skewed U.S. foreign policy right (Mondoweiss)
• “The Lobby – USA” (Libertarian Institute)
• Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
• “The Zion Game” (nymag.com)
• Oslo Accords
• Timber Sycamore

Philip Weiss is the long-time editor of Mondoweiss.net. Follow him on Twitter @PhilWeiss.

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; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Eric Margolis gives an update on the “yellow vest” protests in France over recent fuel taxes announced by President Macron. The protests have caused Macron to back down from some of his policies, which Margolis says has left him looking weak. Macron’s future as leader of France looks uncertain. Margolis explains that Americans, conservatives in particular, have a skewed image of the French, remembering only that America “saved them” in two World Wars—never mind the fact that U.S. intervention in World War I prevented a likely negotiated resolution, gave the Allies an overwhelming military victory, and set up catastrophic economic conditions for Germany that would later give rise to Hitler and World War II. We also forget about France’s long history as a military and imperial power before the 20th century, including their indispensable aid to American revolutionaries in defeating the British. Scott and Margolis also talk about the first Iraq War, and the history of America’s military intervention in the Middle East.

Discussed on the show:

• Wilson’s War: How Woodrow Wilson’s Great Blunder Led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and World War II
• “A Big Step for a Greater Israel” (Unz.com)
• Deterring Democracy
• April Glaspie
• “12/3/18 Barry Lando on the First Iraq War” (Libertarian Institute)
• “The Redirection” (The New Yorker)
• “Baghdad Delenda Est.” (National Review)
• A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm
• The 9/11 Commission Report
• Sykes–Picot Agreement

Eric Margolis is a foreign affairs correspondent and author of War at the Top of the World and American Raj. Follow him on Twitter @EricMargolis and visit his website, ericmargolis.com.

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; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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