Download Episode.

Scott talks with Cato Senior Fellow Ted Galen Carpenter about American interventions in Ukraine and Syria. They dig into the likeliest escalation scenarios in Ukraine and imagine how both sides would react to defeat. That leads to a discussion about the social psychology behind Washington’s foreign policy decisions. They also look to the terror wars and tie their talk on American foreign policy psychology to the ongoing war in Syria. 

Discussed on the show:

• “How Will the Blob React if Ukraine Faces Defeat?” (Antiwar.com)
• “What Do Think Tanks Think? Proximity to Power and Foreign Policy Preferences” (Foreign Policy Analysis)
• “Washington’s Dubious Syria Intervention Continues” (Cato.org)

Ted Galen Carpenter is a senior fellow for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. Carpenter has written 10 books including America’s Coming War with China: A Collision Course over Taiwan and most recently NATO: Dangerous Dinosaur. He is a contributing editor at The American Conservative Magazine and the National Interest.

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

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: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses Egypt’s difficult transition to democratic government; why President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood haven’t been given a fair chance to turn the country around; the Egyptian media’s open hostility to the current government; and how the 2012 killing of 16 Egyptian border guards ended talk of opening the Gaza border.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jason Leopold, journalist with Truthout, discusses the growing Guantanamo hunger strike; the previous hunger strikes and “suicides” of three prisoners in 2006; the government’s dismissal of prisoner complaints as petty concerns; and Obama’s broken promise to close Guantanamo and release the prisoners who have been cleared by two administrations.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Eric Margolis, journalist and author of American Raj, discusses his article “War Risk Rises Sharply in Korea;” the USAF’s provocations that brought on North Korea’s threat to nuke the US; why Americans shouldn’t lose any sleep worrying about a North Korean invasion; and the admirable Dennis Rodman-Harlem Globetrotter diplomatic outreach to the Hermit Kingdom.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Philip Giraldi, executive director of the Council for the National Interest, discusses Obama’s recent visit to Israel and Palestine; why Israel really apologized to Turkey for the flotilla massacre; Obama’s speech calling on Israelis to push their government toward peace; and why Obama won’t seriously pursue diplomacy with Iran, even though he doesn’t want war.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Lynne Jackson, cofounder of Project SALAM, discusses her organization’s support and legal advocacy for Muslims caught up in FBI sting operations and other dubious prosecutions for “material support for terrorism;” the security theater shows designed to influence juries in terrorism trials; pressure on the FBI to justify it’s multi-billion dollar budget for fighting terrorism; and the Communication Management Units within prisons that primarily target Muslims.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

David Enders, a special correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers, discusses the Syrian opposition’s appointment of US citizen Ghassan Hitto to the prime minster post; infighting between Syria’s many rebel factions; and why Nusra Front – one of the strongest rebel groups – is essentially al-Qaeda in Syria.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Globetrotting journalist Pepe Escobar discusses the invasion of Iraq, 10 years on; the events leading to the height of sectarian violence in 2006-2007; Iran’s willingness to supply military aid to allied governments under threat in Syria and Iraq; how the US unintentionally made Muqtada al-Sadr Iraq’s most influential religious leader; and why Israel’s formal apology to Turkey for the flotilla massacre may indicate a new unity on Syrian regime change.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Mark Thornton, Senior Fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, discusses the Cypriot banking crisis; how a loss of faith in deposit insurance could spark a global run on banks; how currency wars lead to shooting wars; and Austrian economics applied to the housing bubble and inflation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download