Scott interviews Brandt Burleson about how he stumbled into his former job at an Israeli consulate, what they had him doing, why they were interested in him and what he thinks of all that now.

Discussed on the show:

Creative Chaos: Inside the CIA’s Covert War to Topple the Syrian Government
by William Van Wagenen
“The Alawite women taken as sex slaves in Syria” (The Spectator)
“Inside Syria’s state-backed cover-up of Alawite women’s kidnappings” (The Cradle)

Brandt Burleson holds a MA in International Affairs from American University. He worked as the Strategic Outreach Director for the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest United States for over eight years. Before that, he planned business and policy programs for Asia Society Texas Center. He now publishes regularly at The Libertarian Institute.

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Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine https://amzn.to/47jMtg7 (The audiobook of Provoked is being published in sections at https://scotthortonshow.com)

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11/12/21 Kelly Beaucar Vlahos on the Quincy Institute, Zalmay Khalilzad and Mark Perry

Scott interviews Kelly Beaucar Vlahos from Responsible Statecraft. For listeners unfamiliar with it, Vlahos gives an introduction to her place of work and the think tank behind it, the Quincy Institute. Next they discuss Zalmay Khalilzad who spoke at an event affiliated with the Quincy Institute. Scott and Vlahos discuss Khalilzad’s role in U.S. foreign policy. Finally Vlahos talks a bit about Mark Perry, her friend and coworker who passed away in August.

Discussed on the show:

“Zalmay Khalilzad, unrestrained at restrainer confab” (Responsible Statecraft)
The Pentagon’s Wars by Mark Perry

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: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Dröm; Free Range Feeder; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

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11/12/21 Hassan El-Tayyab on the Many Ways Congress Can End the War in Yemen

This last Sunday, Hassan El-Tayyab of the Friends Committee On National Legislation joined Antiwar Radio to talk with Scott about Yemen. El-Tayyab explains the numerous ways Congress could end the War in Yemen. He also points out that there are a solid number of Senators and Representatives who have demonstrated some degree of disapproval for our involvement in the war. Both Scott and El-Tayyab agree that real results could be close, and urge listeners to get involved and help push this antiwar effort over the finish line.

Discussed on the show:

“Iran’s Small Hand in Yemen” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
“US maintains intelligence relationship with Houthis” (Al-Monitor)
Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
Quincy Institute

Hassan El-Tayyab is a musician and peace activist, who works as the lead lobbyist on Middle East policy for the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

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11/12/21 Dave DeCamp with Updates on Russia, Iraq, Yemen and Taiwan

Scott is joined by Antiwar.com’s Dave DeCamp for a rapid fire review of what’s been happening around the world. They start with Russia where the U.S. has told its European allies an invasion of Ukraine could be imminent. DeCamp explains that, if there’s any truth to the Russian troop movements within Russia, it’s likely a response to NATO military activity in the Black Sea region. Next they discuss Iraq. The Iraqi Prime Minister was apparently the target of a drone attack that plenty of hawks were quickly, and baselessly, blaming on Iran. Then they talk about Yemen, where the war appears to have become a bloody stalemate with neither side likely to give in. Finally they discuss China and how the war drums in Washington are beating for Taiwan.

Discussed on the show:

Antiwar.com News

Dave DeCamp is the assistant news editor of Antiwar.com. Follow him on Twitter @decampdave.

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11/12/21 Daniel Davis: We Shouldn’t Send American Soldiers to Die for Taiwan

Scott interviews Daniel Davis about an article he recently published at 19fortyfive.com about Taiwan. Davis does believe there is a solid chance that China will invade Taiwan. At the same time, he does not think there is anything the U.S. can actually do about it. Davis explains that, while the American military is much more powerful on a global scale, the Chinese have enough firepower pointed off their coast to overwhelm the U.S. Navy if it gets close to Taiwan. Scott and Davis agree that it would be a costly and ultimately doomed fight. And both stress that the National Security “experts” pointing to nuclear deterrence as the answer are playing a very dangerous and very stupid game.

Discussed on the show:

“Why Should American Soldiers Die For Taiwan?” (1945)
“America Needs To Stop Demanding North Korea Give Up Its Nuclear Weapons” (1945)

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.

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11/12/21 Daniel Larison on Iran, Sanctions and Great Power Competition

Scott brings Daniel Larison back to the show to discuss a handful of articles he’s written recently for Antiwar.com. First they discuss his piece pointing out that there is no legal basis for any action the U.S. takes against Iran, a fact that ought to be brought up more in our public discourse. Scott and Larison also discuss how American foreign policy itself is a rather large incentive for Iran to become a nuclear power. We’ve killed leaders who gave up their nukes. And those who have them, we tend to just criticize from afar. Next they tackle sanctions. The pain caused by American sanctions is as real as the pain caused by American bombs, but it’s not as easy to visualize. Larison explains what we should picture. Lastly they discuss Great Power Competition and predict what will happen as America’s global military power shrinks.

Discussed on the show:

“Attacking Iran Would Be a Crime” (Antiwar.com)
“Sanctions Are an Inherently Indiscriminate Weapon” (Antiwar.com)
“Dispensing With Indispensability: The US Failed To Improve the World” (Antiwar.com)
“The Bankruptcy of ‘Great Power Competition’” (Antiwar.com)
The Stupidity of War by John Mueller

Daniel Larison is a contributing editor at Antiwar.com, contributor at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and former senior editor at The American Conservative magazine. Follow him on Twitter @DanielLarison or on his blog, Eunomia.

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11/12/21 Hunter DeRensis on America’s History of Hating War Profiteers

Scott is joined by Hunter DeRensis to discuss a recent longform article he wrote for The American Conservative. The article was the culmination of months of research DeRensis did on the history of the American public’s perception of weapons manufacturers. DeRensis identifies the period between the World Wars as being the age with the most resistance to the war profiteers. Interestingly, that resistance was largely led by middle-class conservatives. Scott and DeRensis point to Joe Kent, who’s running for Congress in Washington State, as an example of the return of this right-wing resistance to the military-industrial complex.

Discussed on the show:

“Merchants Of Death” (The American Conservative)

Hunter DeRensis is communications director for BringOurTroopsHome.US and a regular contributor to The American Conservative. Find him on his website or on Twitter @HunterDeRensis.

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11/4/21 Peter Zeihan on American Power and China’s Coming Collapse

Scott interviews author and geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan. Zeihan does not believe China will be a nation state ten years from now. One reason, he argues, is that China’s economy is completely dependent on the disappearing American presence keeping the peace on the world’s oceans. This, of course, leads to a back and forth between him and Scott over just how much America’s presence overseas has been disappearing these last few decades. Zeihan also points to the policies the CCP used to regulate the birthrate, which he explains has led to an insufficient number of childbearing aged people to maintain the Chinese population. On top of that, the economy is built on a pile of debt that puts the country’s economy in jeopardy. Zeihan predicts the CCP will take an ultranationalist turn in response to all of these mounting problems. Something that may make war more likely.

Discussed on the show:

Zeihan’s Presentation on Youtube

Peter Zeihan is an American geopolitical analyst, author, and speaker. He analyzes data from geography, demographics, and global politics to understand economic trends and make predictions. His books and newsletter can be found here at his website.

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10/29/21 Ryan McMaken on the Economy, the Money Supply and the Labor Shortage

Scott is joined by Ryan McMaken from the Mises Institute to talk about the state of the economy. McMaken describes how we are still living with the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis as well as the response to it. However, while the government created a ton of new money back then, they took steps to avoid flooding the entire economy with those new dollars. But McMaken explains that those steps have been absent during the aggressive money printing that’s occurred since the pandemic began. Something that has likely played a major role in the inflating prices of goods we are seeing now. Lastly, McMaken touches on what’s going on with the national labor shortage and why it’s surprising him.

Discussed on the show:

The Creature from Jekyll Island by G.W. Griffin
Engine of Inequality by Karen Petrou
The Case Against 2 Per Cent Inflation by Brendon Brown
“Why the Fed’s 2 Percent Inflation Standard Is So Bad” (Mises Wire)

Ryan McMaken is a senior editor at the Mises Institute. He has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado, and was the economist for the Colorado Division of Housing from 2009 to 2014. He is the author of Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.

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Recent Episodes of the Scott Horton Show

12/5/25 Brandt Burleson on How He Helped Israel Propagandize American Christians

Recommended reading

11/12/21 Kelly Beaucar Vlahos on the Quincy Institute, Zalmay Khalilzad and Mark Perry

11/12/21 Hassan El-Tayyab on the Many Ways Congress Can End the War in Yemen

11/12/21 Dave DeCamp with Updates on Russia, Iraq, Yemen and Taiwan

11/12/21 Daniel Davis: We Shouldn’t Send American Soldiers to Die for Taiwan

11/12/21 Daniel Larison on Iran, Sanctions and Great Power Competition

11/12/21 Hunter DeRensis on America’s History of Hating War Profiteers

11/4/21 Peter Zeihan on American Power and China’s Coming Collapse

10/29/21 Ryan McMaken on the Economy, the Money Supply and the Labor Shortage

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