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Kyle Anzalone was on Antiwar Radio this week to talk about the news coming out of the Middle East. They discuss the coming assault on Rafah in southern Gaza, developments at the ICJ, the conduct of IDF soldiers when raiding Palestinian homes, the broader regional violence and more.

Discussed on the show:

• “Israel Intensifies Airstrikes in Rafah as Invasion Looms” (Antiwar.com)

• “US Tells UN Court Israel Must Be Allowed to Continue Occupation of Palestine” (Libertarian Institute)
• “Israeli forces fired on food convoy in Gaza” (CNN)
• “Israeli Airstrikes Kill a Woman and Child in Southern Lebanon” (Antiwar.com)

Kyle Anzalone is news editor of the Libertarian Institute, opinion editor of Antiwar.com and co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Will Porter and Connor Freeman. Follow him on Twitter @KyleAnzalone_

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

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The ACLU’s Jonathan Hafetz joins Scott to shed light on the situation in Iraq where an American citizen has been held by the United States military for nearly three months. According to Hafetz the military has not released the man’s name, and hasn’t given him access to a lawyer despite his requests for one. The ACLU is now fighting in court in order to speak with him and and advise him on his rights. According to Hafetz there are three options the state is considering: 1) Hold the man in military custody as an enemy combatant; 2) try to bring charges against him in federal court; or 3) move him to another country. Hafetz explains the nuances of the legal proceedings, including the important fact that U.S. law enforcement read the man his Miranda Rights. Scott then turns to the latest horrific police shooting and asks Hafetz about the legal precedent set by cases involving police shootings.

Jonathan Hafetz is a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Center for Democracy. He teaches at Seton Hall Law School and has published many books. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanHafetz.

Discussed on the show:

• “A Captured American ISIS Fighter Could Undermine the Whole War” (The Daily Beast)
• “American Detained by Military Wants a Lawyer, Government Acknowledges,” by Charlie Savage (The New York Times)
• Lackawanna Six
• “At judge’s order, Pentagon confirms American ISIS suspect caught in Syria asked for lawyer” (Washington Post)
• “Court releases DOJ memo justifying drone strike on US citizen” (The Hill)
• Hamdi vs. Rumsfeld
• Scott Greenfield
• Graham vs. Conner

Today’s show is sponsored by: NoDev, NoOps, NotIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; 3tediting.com; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Darrin’s Coffee.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Robert Alvarez joins Scott to discuss his latest article for CommonDreams.org “Korea: End the 67-Year War.” According to Alvarez there’s no political will on either side to end the war—instead, the United States believes tensions between the two countries further U.S. national interests. Alvarez explains why he doesn’t believe that the North Korean nuclear threat is as significant as it’s been portrayed. He then takes on the argument that North Korea serves as a convenient excuse for the U.S. to exert its power and control over the region. Scott asks: “if the U.S. made nice with Mao Zedong, why can’t they do it with Kim?”

Alvarez then returns to his days in the Department of Energy in 1994 when he traveled to North Korea to help hammer out the Agreed Framework. Alvarez describes the progress the Clinton administration made with North Korea, before George W. Bush unraveled all the progress in the aftermath of 9/11. Scott then asks Alvarez about the debate about North Korea’s uranium enrichment program—did they have one, and if so, what was it used for? The two then discuss the horrors of the Korean War, which, counter to popular belief was a catastrophic failure.

Robert Alvarez is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies. He served as a senior policy adviser in the Department of Energy from 1993 to 1999.

Discussed on the show:

• “Deadly Lessons: The Last Time China and America Went to War” (National Interest)
• 38th Parallel
• Korean DMZ Conflict (1966-69)
• “North Korea Says It Might Negotiate On Nuclear Weapons. But The Washington Post Isn’t Reporting That.” by John Schwartz (The Intercept)
• “A grand bargain with China could remove North Korea’s nuclear threat — but it would destroy America’s global influence” (LA Times)
• “Kim Jong Un wants to join Trump’s club,” by David Ignatius (Washington Post)
• Agreed Framework
• “Carter Visit to North Korea: Whose Trip Was It Really?” (New York Times)
• “Americans once carpet-bombed North Korea. It’s time to remember that past,” by Bruce Cumings (The Guardian)
• “Why Do North Koreans Hate Us? One Reason — They Remember the Korean War.” (The Intercept)
• Korean Armistice Agreement
• “North Korea: The Rubicon is crossed,” by Charles Krauthammer (Washington Post)
• “War with North Korea would be ‘catastrophic,’ Defense Secretary Mattis says” (CBS)

Today’s show is sponsored by: NoDev, NoOps, NotIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; 3tediting.com; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Darrin’s Coffee.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Nasser Arrabyee returns to the show to discuss the latest developments in Sana’a where ex-Houthi leader Ali Abdullah Saleh was assassinated by his former Houthi allies. Arrabyee explains that the Saleh-Houthi alliance was always one of convenience and was bound to end—but that no one was expecting it to happen during the war. Arrabyee believes that the beginning of the conflict goes back to August when Houthis clashed with Saleh supporters. Arrabyee now sees two possible options in the wake of Saleh’s death: 1) Yemenis will continue to fight Saudi Arabian aggression behind a united Houthi front or 2) they will attempt to disband the Houthi movement altogether. Arrabyee believes that Saleh made a massive miscalculation in his dramatic about-face—and that none of his many supporters came to his defense—but that Saudi Arabia made an even bigger one. Arrabyee then does his best to predict what will happen next. Finally Scott asks about the reported cases of close to a million cases of cholera and the new outbreak of diphtheria.

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 Twiiter @narrabyee.

Discussed on the show:

• Ali Abdullah Saleh
• Houthis
• August 26, 2017: “Houthis and Saleh forces clash in Sanaa, at least two dead” (Reuters)
• “Yemen’s Saleh says ready for ‘new page’ with Saudi-led coalition” (Reuters)
• Aden
• Southern Movement (Yemen)
• Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
• “Ravaged by Cholera, Yemen Faces 2nd Preventable Scourge: Diphtheria” (New York Times)

Today’s show is sponsored by: NoDev, NoOps, NotIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; 3tediting.com; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Darrin’s Coffee.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Author and whistleblower Peter van Buren returns to the show to discuss Rex Tillerson’s apparent impending firing/resignation, how Americans have been fooled into thinking they have a Donald Trump problem and not an empire problem, and what the role of the State Department is supposed to be vs. the reality of what it is. Van Buren details the core problems facing the state department, including why its power and influence abroad are severely curtailed by the Pentagon, CIA, and American militarism generally. Van Buren then turns to North Korea and Iran. He explains why the North Korean state believes nuclear weapons are essential to their safety and potential prosperity and why war with either North Korea or Iran would be devastating. Finally, Scott asks van Buren what he knows about the latest developments in Yemen.

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. Follow him on Twitter @WeMeantWell.

Discussed on the show:

• “Dismantling the Foreign Service,” by Nicholas Burns (New York Times)
• The Sorrows of Empire, Chalmers Johnson
• Islam Karimov
• “Throwing H20 on the Pompeo to State Move,” by Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel)
• “White House Plans Tillerson Ouster From State Dept., to Be Replaced by Pompeo” (New York Times)
• State vs. Defense: The Battle to Define America’s Empire, by Stephen Glain
• “Intelligence veterans blast Tom Cotton as pro-torture, ‘partisan,’ and ‘wholly unfit’ to lead the CIA” (Business Insider)
• “‘Abused’ Tillerson loses clout on world stage, diplomats say” (Politico)
• Operation Mockingbird
• “Talk To, Don’t Provoke, North Korea,” by Sheldon Richman (Antiwar.com)
• 2017 Global Thinker: Haider al-Abadi (ForeignPolicy)
• Garet Garrett

Quote of the show: “I have a feeling if you and I were roommates, Scott, we’d both end up as alcoholics in about a week.” —Peter van Buren

Today’s show is sponsored by: NoDev, NoOps, NotIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; 3tediting.com; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Darrin’s Coffee.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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Legendary journalist Eric Margolis returns to the show to discuss the escalated tensions in North Korea. Margolis explains why the threat of nuclear war is all the greater with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Margolis says that tension with North Korea really demonstrates that South Korea is just a vassal of American foreign policy. According to Margolis the road to peace requires the U.S. to officially end the Korean War, end economic sanctions, agree to a non-aggression treaty, and, finally, open serious diplomatic relations between the two countries. Scott then pivots to the breaking news from Yemen, where former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was assassinated, and the latest news out of Afghanistan.

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.

Discussed on the show:

• “Clinton says U.S. could ‘totally obliterate’ Iran” (Reuters)
• “U.S. Air Force ‘Hundred Percent’ Ready to Strike North Korea, Commander Says” (Newsweek)
• “How safe is the U.S. from a North Korea nuclear attack?” (USA Today)
• “A grand bargain with China could remove North Korea’s nuclear threat — but it would destroy America’s global influence” (LA Times)
• Korean Armistice Agreement
• “Houthi Forces Kill Former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh,” by Jason Ditz (Antiwar.com)
• Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
• “No Longer a Haven for International Terrorists” (New York Times)
• Anastasio Somoza García
• “No One Man Should Be Able to Trigger Nuclear War,” by Eric Margolis (Unz.com)
• “Brand New: Washington Runs Amok While Kim Smiles,” by Eric  Margolis (Unz.com)

Today’s show is sponsored by: 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.