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Matt Taibbi returns to the show in an interview recorded while he was at the Republican National Convention. He and Scott talk about the Trump assassination attempt, likely replacements for Joe Biden (the interview was recorded before Biden officially announced he is stepping down from the race), how the media’s coverage of Donald Trump has evolved and more.

Discussed on the show:

• “Illa in Manila: Will History Demand Trump-Hillary II?” (Racket News)
• “The Surrender” (Racket News)

Matt Taibbi is a journalist, author and political commentator. Subscribe to his Substack publication: Racket News and follow him on Twitter @mtaibbi.

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

Get Scott’s interviews before anyone else! Subscribe to the Substack.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjY

Former U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Dennis Halliday, who resigned over the Iraq sanctions in 1998, joins Scott to discuss Madeleine Albright’s new book and the true figures of the total deaths of Iraqi children due to the U.N. sanctions. Halliday describes his experience in Iraq and the violations of international law leading to mass casualties that he witnessed—which he classified as sanctions with genocidal intent, leading to his resignation from the U.N.

Dennis Halliday was the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq in 1997 and 1998. In 2003, Halliday was presented with the Gandhi International Peace Award for his work to expose the horrors of the U.S. sanctions program.

Discussed on the show:

• “Madeleine Albright – The deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children was worth it” (YouTube)
• “Morbidity and Mortality Among Iraqi Children from 1990 Through 1998: Assessing the Impact of the Gulf War and Economic Sanctions” (CASI)
• “When Iraq Was Clinton’s War” (Jacobin)
• “Changing views on child mortality and economic sanctions in Iraq: a history of lies, damned lies and statistics” by Tim Dyson (BMJ Global Health)
• Hans-Christof von Sponeck

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.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Army major Danny Sjursen returns to the show to discuss his latest work for antiwar.com including “American Empathy Gap: Massacres in Gaza and US Silence.” Sjursen begins by breaking down the situation in Gaza and Palestine and makes the case that Israel-Palestine is the third rail in U.S. politics. Sjursen describes his experience on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan and the continual gripe against Israeli domination of Palestine. He then offers his solution that would allow Israel to maintain its 1967 borders and remain a democracy—so long as Israel gives up its desires for expansion. Scott and Sjursen then turn to Saudi Arabia and his article, “US Should Do the Opposite of What the Saudis Want.” According to Sjursen, you can pick any country in the world and the Saudi position will both align with the U.S. position and be contrary to the U.S. national interest.

Sjursen is a major in the U.S. army and former history instructor at West Point. He writes regularly for TomDispatch.com and he’s the author of “Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.” Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.

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.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Editor-in-chief of the Palestine Chronicle Ramzy Baroud joins Scott to discuss his latest article “Why Israel Feels Threatened by Popular Resistance in Palestine,” and his new book, “The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story.” Baroud’s goal is to change the narrative about the Palestinian people, which has been divided only between the extremes of terrorist and victim—but in reality the Palestinian people existed long before the birth of Zionism, and they’ll exist long after as well, Baroud says. Despite the popular resistance and the unwavering spirit of the Palestinian people, the on-going challenge remains to solidify leadership and a popular plan to secure freedom and a lasting peace.

Ramzy Baroud is a US-Arab journalist and is the editor-in-chief of the Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of “My Father Was A Freedom Fighter: The Untold Story of Gaza.” His new book is “The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story.” Follow Ramzy on Twitter @RamzyBaroud and read his work at RamzBaroud.net.

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.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan returns to the show to discuss the history of her son Casey’s death in Iraq in light of the new TV miniseries The Long Road Home. Sheehan recaps the story of her son’s life and death in Iraq and the fallout from her anti-war protests. Sheehan then describes her response to the Women’s March—the Women’s March on the Pentagon. Sheehan then discusses the dynamics of the antiwar movement and her disappointment with the factional character of the left.

Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Casey Sheehan who was tragically killed in Iraq in April, 2004. Visit her website at CindySheehansSoapbox.blogspot.com.

Discussed on the show:

• The Long Road Home
• Martha Raddatz
• “Even Cindy Sheehan can go too far,” by Ben Shapiro (Townhall)
• Siege of Sadr City
• Thomas Young
• Muqtada al-Sadr
• 2004 Fallujah ambush
• Ahmed Yassin
• “Trump Bowed to Pentagon Restraint on Syria Strikes” (Wall Street Journal)
• Women’s March on the Pentagon

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.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Journalist and author Daniel Lazare returns to the show to discuss the latest issues facing Saudi Arabia and his latest article for The American Conservative, “Will the Saudi Kingdom Collapse Under the Resource Curse?” Lazare compares the Saudi Arabian kingdom to 16th Century Spain, which discovered the new world and was overwhelmed with the sudden flow of gold and silver, which, despite its incredible resources was ruined and needed to file bankruptcy in order to limp along. Lazare then explains why he refers to the Saudi-American alliance in the Middle East as “a marriage made in hell.” Scot then asks Lazare: Why on earth would Saudi Arabia go along with the plan to get rid of Saddam Hussein and empower their enemy Iran in the process? Lazare then explains why diversifying the economy, as Mohammad bin Salman desires, will be far more difficult done than said. Finally, Scott wonders whether the Saudis believe the propaganda they spread about Iran’s global evil or whether it’s politically expedient for the regime.

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: Zen Cash, The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Ted Snider returns to the show to discuss his recent article “Accusing Russia – Listening to History” about the recent history of US-Russian relations. Snider makes the case that most of the US’s accusations against Russia, such as expansionary foreign policy and election meddling, accurately describe the US’s own policy toward Russia since the end of the Cold War.

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.; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

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

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Grant Smith returns to the show to discuss his latest articles, “Why Gallup Overstates American Sympathy for Israel” and “Israel Advocacy Groups Demand Questionable Changes to Virginia Textbooks.” Smith explains the problems with Gallup’s polling methodology and why the real sentiments of Americans are less favorable to Israel than they’re made out out to be by Gallup. Smith then touches on his second article about how a group of pro-Israel groups are trying to pressure the Department of Education into changing the maps of the Middle East to reflect Israeli political goals and propaganda.

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.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Investigative reporter and historian Gareth Porter returns to the show to discuss Donald Trump’s decision to bomb the Assad government in Damascus. Porter explains how the evidence has been repeatedly massaged to misconstrue what is ambiguous as what is clear—and that this case, of all the previous, might be the most egregious. Scott and Porter then discuss the ways in which Trump’s strikes differ from one another and how the Trump policy toward Syria compares with Obama’s. Finally they discuss the origins of American intervention in Syria and the role anti-Iran sentiments play at the heart of it all.

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.

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