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Scott talks with Bjorn Handeen, a long-time listener who is now the Idaho Republican Party Region 1 Chairman. The two talk about Handeen’s efforts to translate his knowledge of American foreign policy into results by focusing on local politicians. Unlike some of the big names in today’s Congress, politicians on the county and state levels are often totally uninformed about international issues, which can make them relatively open-minded if only you’re able to get in their ear. Handeen says you’ll be surprised how much access you’ll get to local legislators if you just start showing up. They talk about when democratic institutions can be an effective tool in the non-interventionist effort. And they also look back and reflect on Scott’s early interviews. 

Discussed on the show:

• The Sorrows of Empire by Chalmers Johnson 
• Nemesis by Chalmers Johnson 
• Newspapers.com
• “Korean War at 69: Truman, Treaties, and the Bricker Amendment” (Antiwar.com)

Bjorn Handeen is the Idaho Republican Party Region 1 Chairman representing Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah Counties. He’s also a longtime listener of the Scott Horton Show. Follow him on Twitter @BjornHandeen

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

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Lew Rockwell, founder and chairman of the Mises Institute, discusses the Federal Reserve System’s disastrous 100-year history; the rising popularity of Austrian economics thanks in large part to Ron Paul; achieving a brighter future by eschewing Keynes and taking away the government’s control of the money supply; the problem with artificially low interest rates; and why central banking is nearly the worst thing to ever happen to mankind.

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Max Blumenthal, author of the upcoming book Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel, discusses his article “How Law Enforcement and Media Covered Up the Plan to Burn Christopher Dorner Alive;” the online police scanner recordings that prove the cops (using “burners”) were intent on extrajudicial assassination, not capture and arrest; the media’s failure to provide coverage and ask important questions; and how Dorner exposed the deep animosity many Americans feel toward cops.

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Ira Chernus, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, discusses Secretary of State John Kerry’s frank admission that “foreign policy is economic policy;” how the US came to dominate and “impose order” in the global marketplace; how the government manufactures the consent of Americans to start wars; individualism versus global citizenship and responsibility; and why antiwar activists waste energy when they try divining the government’s “true motive” for waging war.

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Ray McGovern, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, discusses CIA Director-to-be John Brennan’s “Tenet-Like Testimony” about Iran’s nuclear program to the Senate Intelligence Committee; Brennan’s apparent willingness to “fit the facts around the policy” and lie Americans into yet another war; why Brennan knows much more about CIA torture, rendition, and black sites than he admits; and the spectacle of Obama and Brennan casually giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down – like Roman emperors – deciding the fate of “kill list” victims.

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Adil Shamoo, senior analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus, discusses why Iraq is heading toward civil war; how nationalist Iraqis fought both the American occupation and Al-Qaeda’s foreign fighters; Prime Minister al-Maliki’s near-dictatorial powers; how Western oil companies create conflict by cutting out Iraq’s national government and making deals directly with the Kurds; and how the formation of a Kurdish nation would ignite a regional war involving Turkey, Iran, and Syria.

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Amrit Singh, senior legal officer with Open Society Foundations, discusses OSF’s report “Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition;” the dozens of countries that broke international law to cooperate with US kidnapping and torture after 9/11; the disgraceful history of the CIA’s black site in Poland; the 6000 page Senate report that supposedly proves torture doesn’t work; and why it’s time to follow Italy’s lead and start prosecuting government officials.

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Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter and War Is Not Over When It’s Over, discusses the end game for Afghanistan as the US prepares to withdraw in 2014; what Ann learned during her several years volunteering with NGOs; how the US squandered a “fresh start” for Afghans by allowing warlords to fill the power vacuum after the Taliban’s ouster; the flood of people and money fleeing Afghanistan for greener pastures abroad; and the epidemic of crimes against Afghan women (and the impunity of their attackers).

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John Knefel, freelance writer and co-host of Radio Dispatch, discusses his article “Meet the Contractors Turning America’s Police Into a Paramilitary Force;” how L3 Communications, Harris Corporation, and BI2 Technologies are turning “public safety” into private profits; and the biometric identification and surveillance technologies that are taking the US by storm.

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