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Scott interviews Antiwar.com’s Jason Ditz about various developments in the Middle East. They discuss recent escalations on the Israel-Lebanon border, the power breakdown in Syria, the latest concern over the Iranian nuclear program and more. 

Discussed on the show:

• “As Israel Talks Lebanon War, Officials Evacuate a Border Town” (Antiwar.com)
• “Israeli Drone Strike Slays Military Officer in South Syria” (Antiwar.com)
• “US Threatens to ‘Increase Pressure’ on Iran Over Nuclear Program” (Antiwar.com)

Jason Ditz is senior editor of Antiwar.com. Read all of his work at news.antiwar.com and follow him on Twitter @jasonditz.

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 rejoins the show to talk about General Mattis’ position in the Trump administration, particularly in relation to Iran. Perry explains that although Mattis seems to have strong negative feelings toward Iran, he is unlikely to advocate military action there because he knows that it would be incredibly expensive in both lives and dollars, and probably still not have the desired effect of regime change. Trump has taken a more bellicose stance on Iran, but Mattis has shown that he’s willing to stand up to the president, on this and other issues.

Discussed on the show:

• • “Mattis’s Last Stand Is Iran” (Foreign Policy)
  • 1983 Beirut barracks bombings
  • “The Battle For Iran: Policy Or Regime Change?” (Lobe Log)
  • “Lost at Tora Bora” (New York Times)
  • Battle of Tora Bora
  • “Iran Dissent Cost Fallon His Job” (Time)

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: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Max Blumenthal is interviewed on the Congressional meetings of Andriy Parubiy, Ukrainian Fascist Leader and Neo Nazi. Parubiy’s connections to Ukrainian Nationalists, Neo Nazis, and AntiSemitic groups is explored in detail, as is the history of the conflict and especially the US’s role in supporting these groups in Ukraine and the new Ukrainian state’s connections with these groups.

Max Blumenthal is the author of Goliath, on the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and made the documentary Killing Gaza with Ben Norton.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, a syndicated columnist and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer. He is interviewed on the wide ranging regional conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and how the Trump Administration fits in to all of the goings on.

James M. Dorsey is also A veteran, award-winning foreign correspondent whose career focused on ethnic and religious conflict, James focuses at RSIS on political and social change in the Middle East and North Africa, the impact of change in the Middle East and North Africa on Southeast and Central Asia and the nexus of sports, politics and society in the Middle East and North Africa and Asia.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Sheldon Richman, Executive Editor of the Libertarian Institute, is interviewed on his new article for the Libertarian Institute, “The Trump-Kushner Delusion on Palestine“.  The history of the peace deals in between Israel and Palestine, Kushner’s connections to the conflict, and why the current deal is a poison pill is discussed.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Scott hosts a joint interview with Jeffrey Kaye and Thomas Powell, who have both written about U.S. use of biological weapons during the Korean War. Because of Korea’s status as America’s “forgotten war”, most Americans are simply unaware of the brutality the United States inflicted on the Korean people, in the way many are with the Vietnam War. In particular, the military dropped “dud” bombs full of bugs carrying deadly diseases, something they had long alleged the Koreans to be doing, but had vowed not to do themselves. In many cases the pilots carrying these bombs had strong misgivings about the practice, and had to be propagandized into going along with it. Their testimony is some of the only source material we have.

Discussed on the show:

• Milton Leitenberg
• “Suppressing US War Crimes: The Cold War Denial Machine Lives On” (Truthout)
• The United States and Biological Warfare: Secrets from the Early Cold War and Korea
• Report of the international scientific commission for the investigation of the facts concerning bacterial warfare in Korea and China, 1952
• Wormwood
• Unit 731

Jeffrey Kaye is the author of Cover-up at Guantanamo: The NCIS Investigation into the “Suicides” of Mohammed Al Hanashi and Abdul Rahman Al Amri. Kaye is a retired psychologist, blogger, and author. Read his blog and follow him on Twitter @jeff_kaye.

Thomas Powell is an artist and writer. He is the author of numerous articles on foreign policy and American politics.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Grant F. Smith rejoins the show to talk about the Israeli nuclear weapons program, and why no one seems willing to talk about it. He explains the scandalous facts that every American president quite literally agrees not to mention Israeli nukes, and that the U.S. government gives hundreds of billions in aid to Israel, even though U.S. law prohibits aid to countries that haven’t signed the Non-proliferation Treaty. Grant and Scott discuss anecdotes about Presidents Clinton and Trump meeting with Netanyahu for the first time, and being surprised with his presumptuousness—the U.S. president supposedly learns very quickly just how powerful Israel is in the American government, and where the presumptuousness comes from. Even President Obama, who entered office on a non-proliferation platform, quickly caved to Israel’s interests.

Discussed on the show:

• Netanyahu corruption allegations
• Project Pinto
• “Four Presidents Conspired To Give $100 Billion to Israel” (Antiwar.com)
• Mali coup
• “Guidance on Release of Information Relating to the Potential for an Israeli Nuclear Capability“

Grant F. Smith is the author of a number of books including Big Israel: How Israel’s Lobby Moves America and Divert!. He is director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C. Follow the institute on Twitter @IRMEP.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Patrick Cockburn joins Scott to talk about daily life in Baghdad. He explains that although things have gotten better now that Isis has been pushed back somewhat, people still fear for their return—it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened. One of the central questions for Iraq has been figuring out who will take power in the many majority-Sunni areas in the aftermath of Iraq War III. The Sadrists did well in recent elections on a platform of limiting U.S. and Iranian influence, and trying to have Sunnis and Shiites get along instead of fighting.

Discussed on the show:

• “Iraq executes 13 and orders hanging of hundreds more amid fears of Isis resurgence” (Independent)
• “Iraq isn’t as dangerous as it was – but many still live in fear” (Independent)
• Muqtada al-Sadr

Patrick Cockburn is the Middle East correspondent for The Independent and the author of The Age of Jihad and Chaos & Caliphate.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Sheldon Richman, Executive Editor of the Libertarian Institute, is interviewed on his new article for the Libertarian Institute, “Why Palestine Matters“. The history of the conflict is discussed, the current state of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is examined, and what the potential outcomes could be for peace in a wide ranging discussion.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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