Danny Sjursen explains the complicated situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, a piece of Azerbaijani territory that has been under de facto Armenian control since the 1990s. Nagorno-Karabakh is the result of Stalin’s territorial divisions, which very often failed to conform to ethnic lines, leaving an ethnic Armenian supermajority in what had become a foreign country. Both sides have fought over the territory for years, but an uneasy truce has held ever since the conclusion of a six-year war in the 80s and 90s. In the last few days, however, violence has broken out again, and Sjursen fears that war hawks in the U.S. will call for American intervention. He is adamant that America has no dog in this fight, and as with most conflicts this far from home, we should do the sensible thing and just stay out of it.

Discussed on the show:

• “No Dog in the Fight: Nagorno-Karabakh’s Conflict Isn’t About Us (or Russia)” (Antiwar.com Original)
• “Born on the Fourth of July (1989)” (IMDb)
• “The New Cold War With Russia Is All America’s Fault” (Antiwar.com Original)

Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. army major and former history instructor at West Point. He is the author of Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge and Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War. Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download