Scott interviews Joe Kent, the former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, about what drove him to resign. Kent explains how he saw the Israelis mislead Trump about an Iranian nuclear threat and the supposed fragility of the regime. He also backs up some of the widely attacked claims in his resignation letter about Israeli involvement in getting the US into previous wars in the region, reflects on what the real goals of the Israeli government are with this war, sheds light on Scott’s concerns about significant blowback terrorism in the US and more.

Discussed on the show:

Kent’s letter of resignation

Joe Kent is a retired Army Special Forces soldier who served as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in Trump’s second term until he resigned in 2026 over the war with Iran. Follow him on Twitter @joekent16jan19

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1/5/23 Dave DeCamp on Putin’s Ceasefire and the Strikes on Russian Barracks

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Scott is joined by Dave DeCamp of Antiwar.com to run through the latest news about the war in Ukraine. They talk about Putin’s announcement today that Russian forces would be observing a 36-hour ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas. They also touch on the Ukrainian strikes on Russian barracks that killed a number of sleeping soldiers and other news about the ongoing war and the prospects for peace.

Discussed on the show:

“No Sign of Peace in Ukraine as New Year Approaches” (Antiwar.com)
“Ukraine Claims Heavy Russian Losses in Waves of Missile Strikes” (New York Times)
“The CIA Is Using A European NATO Ally’s Spy Service To Conduct A Covert Sabotage Campaign Inside Russia Under The Agency’s Direction” (JackMurphy)

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com and the host of Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp. Follow him on Twitter @decampdave

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

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12/30/22 David Hathaway on the Border, the Drug War and the OKC Bombing

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Scott interviews David Hathaway, the libertarian sheriff of Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Hathaway recently made news by calling attention to the video surveillance blimps that the border patrol is flying about a half mile north of the border with Mexico. Hathaway criticizes these blimps as infringements on the privacy of the people living in his county, who now have federal government cameras floating above their houses. They then talk about the immigration debate more broadly, and Hathaway makes the case for why right-leaning libertarians and conservatives should oppose a more militarized border. Next they discuss the failed war on drugs and the CIA’s relationship with the drug cartels. Hathaway brings in some insights from his experience working for the DEA to discuss the war on drugs and later the OKC bombing. The interview wraps up with a discussion of what it’s like being a voluntarist working as a county sheriff.

Discussed on the show:

Nogales Eye in the Sky
Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA by Terry Reed
American Made (IMDb)
The Last Narc (IMDb)
“Once Upon a Time” (LewRockwell.com)
OKC Bombing Archive (Libertarian Institute)

David Hathaway is a rancher and homeschooling father of nine children. He is the elected sheriff of Santa Cruz County, Arizona.

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

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12/30/22 John Kiriakou on the CIA, FBI, JFK and 9/11

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Scott talks with John Kiriakou—former CIA officer, whistleblower and author— to discuss revelations, old and new, about the CIA’s connections to Lee Harvey Oswald as well as the agency’s awareness of 9/11 hijackers before the attacks. They also look at the Saudi regime’s connections to the attacks and explore possible motives for the purported ally to help attack the United States. Throughout the interview, Scott and Kiriakou explore the bad blood between the CIA and the FBI. Kiriakou tells some personal stories to illustrate how this rivalry manifested before and after 9/11.

Discussed on the show:

John Kiriakou is a former CIA officer and author of The Convenient Terrorist: Two Whistleblowers’ Stories of Torture, Terror, Secret Wars, and CIA Lies and Doing Time Like A Spy. He is the host of Loud and Clear on Sputnik Radio. Follow him on Twitter @JohnKiriakou.

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

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12/30/22 Ted Galen Carpenter on the Arrogance Behind Washington’s Foreign Policy

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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.

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12/30/22 Eli Clifton on Twitter’s Hypocritical Acceptance of US Information Operations

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Scott brings Eli Clifton of Responsible Statecraft on to discuss the recent revelations about Twitter’s boosting of U.S. military information operations. They go over some of the details outlined in Lee Fang’s thread, which served as part 8 of the ongoing Twitter Files. Fang reveals Twitter’s hypocrisy as the firm publicly exposed and censored disinformation campaigns by foreign governments while it worked to amplify specific fake propaganda accounts at the request of the Pentagon. Scott and Clifton go through what we learned and then zoom out. Although they see a lot of value in these Twitter Files disclosures, the two also voice concern over the lack of action Musk appears to be taking beyond just exposing past behavior. They point out how financially dependent Musk is on the government which serves as a natural ceiling to how much he can expose and upset the military and intelligence agencies. They also talk about the enormous scale and efficacy of foreign lobbying on the government, DC think tanks and America’s largest companies.

Discussed on the show:

“How Twitter hid US-military info ops from the public” (Responsible Statecraft)
“The Twitter Files Part 8: How Twitter Quietly Aided the Pentagon’s Covert Online PsyOp Campaign” (Twitter)
“DC think tank puts hawkish former Aussie PM on China Center board” (Responsible Statecraft)

Eli Clifton is a senior advisor at the Quincy Institute and Investigative-Journalist-at-Large at Responsible Statecraft. Follow him on Twitter @EliClifton.

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

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Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

12/30/22 Daniel Davis: A Look at Where Things Stand in Ukraine

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Scott interviews Daniel Davis about the state of the war in Ukraine. Davis has been watching the war closely and works hard to correct for the biases of both sides. He gives Scott a rundown of where he thinks things stand and what developments are likely in the near future. They also talk about the political situation between Washington and Moscow and highlight some of the flaws at the heart of the establishment narrative of this war.

Discussed on the show:

“The Russia-Ukraine War Of 2022: What We Learned — Part I” (19FortyFive)
“The War In Ukraine Is A Bloodbath. Could It End In 2023? — Part II” (19FortyFive)
“The CIA Is Using A European NATO Ally’s Spy Service To Conduct A Covert Sabotage Campaign Inside Russia Under The Agency’s Direction” (JackMurphy)
“How Will the Blob React if Ukraine Faces Defeat?” (Antiwar.com)

Daniel Davis did multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during his time in the army. He is a Senior Fellow at Defense Priorities and is the author of the reports “Dereliction of Duty II: Senior Military Leaders’ Loss of Integrity Wounds Afghan War Effort” and “Go Big or Go Deep: An Analysis of Strategy Options on Afghanistan.” Find him on Twitter @DanielLDavis1.

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.

12/22/22 Kelley Vlahos on Zelensky’s Visit to Washington DC

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Next on Antiwar Radio this week was Kelley Beaucar Vlahos of Responsible Statecraft. Scott and Vlahos talk about Zelensky’s visit with Biden and address to Congress on Wednesday. The visit highlighted the evolving politics of aid to Ukraine and gave a window into the mainstream Washingtonian narrative of Ukraine’s current situation. Scott and Vlahos also examine the possibility of negotiations in the face of such high stakes.

Discussed on the show:

Rage Against the War Machine Protest

Kelley Beaucar Vlahos is Editorial Director of Responsible Statecraft and Senior Advisor at the Quincy Institute. Follow her on Twitter @KelleyBVlahos.

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.

12/22/22 Connor Freeman: Biden Escalates Toward War With Russia

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Scott’s first guest on Antiwar Radio this week was Connor Freeman, the Assistant Editor at the Libertarian Institute. They talk about the Ukrainian strikes deep in Russian territory, and the apparent green light Washington gave Kyiv to carry out more. Their reasoning? Putin hasn’t dropped a nuke yet, so there’s room to escalate. Scott and Freeman talk about the danger of this mindset and also touch on the recent Washington Post story about the lack of evidence that Russia attacked its own gas infrastructure back in September.

Discussed on the show:

Rage Against the War Machine Protest
“Washington Erases Red Lines, Escalates Proxy War with Russia” (Libertarian Institute)
Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp
“Road to war: U.S. struggled to convince allies, and Zelensky, of risk of invasion” (Washington Post)
“For Western Weapons, the Ukraine War Is a Beta Test” (New York Times)
“No conclusive evidence Russia is behind Nord Stream attack” (Washington Post)

Connor Freeman is the Assistant Editor of the Libertarian Institute, primarily covering foreign policy. He is a co-host on Conflicts of Interest. His writing has been featured in media outlets such as Antiwar.com and Counterpunch, as well as the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. You can follow him on Twitter @FreemansMind96

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