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Scott talks with Trita Parsi who just wrote an article for Responsible Statecraft about the path to a new war breaking out in the Middle East. In the article, Parsi runs through the history of tension between Israel and Iran to demonstrate that, while certainly not being partial to Iran, the American government has often stepped in and pushed back against the worst of Israel’s warmongering. However, that is no longer the case. Parsi and Scott examine what geopolitical dynamics have changed to get us to a point where war could conceivably break out soon. 

Discussed on the show:

• “By caving to Israel, Biden opens the door to war” (Responsible Statecraft)
• “CIA Chief: Iran Not Resuming Nuclear Weapons Program” (Antiwar.com)

Trita Parsi is the Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the author of Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy. Parsi is the recipient of the 2010 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. Follow him on Twitter @tparsi.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

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Gareth Porter is an award-winning independent journalist and historian.

This is the eighth part in a series of interviews on Porter’s new book Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Porter discusses the CIA’s flawed assessment of Iran’s nuclear program; re-using the “fix the facts around the policy” strategy from the Iraq war; the good guys in the CIA like Paul Pillar; why wrongheaded National Intelligence Estimates go unchallenged; and the high-level coverup of a “John Doe” CIA operative’s discovery that Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons.

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Gareth Porter is an award-winning independent journalist and historian.

This is the seventh part in a series of interviews on Porter’s new book Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Porter discusses the mystery of the MEK-delivered “smoking laptop” documents, the circumstantial case that the documents were Mossad forgeries based on flawed assumptions on Iran’s uranium enrichment and Shahab-3 missile programs; and the German intelligence officials who advised the Bush administration against using the documents for policy decisions.

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Robert Blumen, an independent enterprise software consultant based in San Francisco, discusses his article “Say’s Law and the Permanent Recession” at Mises.org; the macroeconomic balance of supply and demand; Keynes’ thoughts on recessions and stimulus spending; the merits of social support in a kleptocratic economy; and Robert Higgs’ “regime uncertainty” theory.

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Sheldon Richman, vice president of The Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses Robert Kaplan’s article “In Defense of Empire” in The Atlantic; why the US uproar over Russia’s anti-gay law is only making it worse for gay Russians; how the NED and other “pro-democracy” groups make legitimate opposition parties look like American stooges; and whether team Obama blundered or conspired in Ukraine.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Gareth Porter is an award-winning independent journalist and historian.

This is the sixth part in a series of interviews on Porter’s new book Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. This interview covers the IAEA’s failed attempts to “catch” Iran violating the NPT and pursuing nuclear weapons, and debunks the many accusations leveled at Iran’s nuclear program over the years by Olli Heinonen, David Albright, and other Iran-hawks.

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J.P. Sottile, journalist and founder of NewsVandal, discusses whether Ukraine’s revolution is about democracy and EU integration or the corporate pillaging of Ukraine’s resources; Chevron’s 50-year shale gas lease and Big Agribusiness’ plans to make Ukraine Europe’s breadbasket; and how a small, incestuous neocon cabal fomented Ukraine’s conflict and stands to profit from the aftermath.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Gareth Porter is an award-winning independent journalist and historian.

This is the fifth part in a series of interviews on Porter’s new book Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Porter discusses the blown opportunity to reconcile with Iran after 9/11 and work together against the al-Qaeda and Taliban common enemies; the incredibly naive, magical thinking of the neocon gang that planned and executed the Iraq invasion/occupation; Iran’s doomed-to-failure nuclear negotiations with the EU3; John Bolton’s game plan to make Iran quit the NPT and throw out IAEA inspectors in disgust; and how US pressure counter-productively turned Iran’s nuclear program into a source of nationalistic pride for Iranians.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Gareth Porter is an award-winning independent journalist and historian.

This is the fourth part in a series of interviews on Porter’s new book Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Porter discusses how Israeli Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin created an Iranian nuclear bogeyman to give himself political cover for negotiations with the PLO; Iran’s long-range (conventional) missile development program for deterring an Israeli attack; Netanyahu’s initial dovishness on Iran in his first stint as Prime Minister; and how the missile defense lobby influenced US and Israeli policy on Iran.

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