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Jason Ditz returns to the show to discuss the potential for escalation in the Middle East. Ditz has been following developments on Israel’s northern border closes and talks with Scott about the potential that Israel faces a direct war with Hezbollah. They then zoom out to the broader region and talk about the American troops in Iraq and the risk of a U.S. war with Iran.

Discussed on the show:

• News.Antiwar.com
• Ditz’s recent articles
• “As U.S. and Militias Engage, White House Worries About a Tipping Point” (New York Times)

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: Moon Does Artisan Coffee; Roberts and Robers Brokerage Incorporated; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; Libertas Bella; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

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Eric Margolis, a journalist and author of American Raj: Liberation or Domination, discusses the Obama administration’s retaliation against alleged Russian interference in the US election; why the CIA is due for a major shakeup; and why the US didn’t veto (as it usually does) a UN resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.

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Gareth Porter, an independent investigative journalist and winner of the 2012 Gellhorn Prize for journalism, discusses President Obama’s decision to help arm the Syrian opposition to appease Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar; then-CIA Director David Petraeus’s role in smuggling guns out of Benghazi to Turkey; and the failure of Obama’s advisors to anticipate direct Iranian and Russian support for the embattled Assad regime.

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“Emptywheel” Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses why the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) report on Edward Snowden is so “inexcusably shitty;” whether Snowden is actually working for Russia during his exile there; and how the government’s failure to implement data security measures after Chelsea Manning’s leaks allowed Snowden to exploit the same weaknesses.

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Retired US Army colonel Daniel L. Davis discusses why the Iraqi coalition’s progress in retaking ISIS-held Mosul isn’t as impressive as it seems, and the implications for the Iraqi government and incoming Trump administration if there is no decisive victory in early 2017.

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Jim Lobe, a veteran journalist and founder of Lobelog.com, discusses the wacky, conspiratorial worldview of Trump’s national security adviser Michael T. Flynn; the relatively level-headed secretary of defense nominee James “Mad Dog” Mattis; and how a Trump administration will deal with the Middle East, Israel, Russia and China.

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Conn Hallinan, a Foreign Policy In Focus columnist, discusses why the conflict between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan is the most dangerous in the world; the disastrous global effects of nuclear war; and why the US is partly responsible for the situation.

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Yakov Hirsch, a writer for Mondoweiss.net, discusses how Israel’s support for “murdering medic” Elor Azaria shows how much Israelis have internalized their own ethnocentric propaganda; Jeffrey Goldberg’s alternate reality where every critic of Israel is anti-Semitic; and why Netanyahu is going to have big problems getting Donald Trump to put Israel’s interests ahead of America’s.

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Scott Paul, Senior Humanitarian Policy Advisor for Oxfam America, discusses how the Saudi coalition blockade and Yemen’s central bank failure have created a dangerous shortage of food and money for Yemenis.

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