Interview #5,500! Scott talks to Gareth Porter about a range of U.S. foreign policy issues, beginning with the Biden administration’s announcement that it will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11. To some extent, this is good news, but it obscures what the headline should be—that Biden has decided to break the Trump administration-brokered peace deal to leave by May 1 of this year. Since the Taliban have promised to start fighting again if that deadline is not met, staying another six months could seriously complicate things. Porter also brings us up to speed on America’s relations with Iran, Vietnam and China.

Discussed on the show:

• “Biden to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021” (The Washington Post)
• Obama’s Wars
  
• “Pentagon campaign to recruit Vietnam as military ally against China exposed delusions of US war strategy” (The Grayzone)

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state. He is the author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare and, with John Kiriakou, The CIA Insider’s Guide to the Iran Crisis. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter and listen to Gareth’s previous appearances on the Scott Horton Show.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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