Download Episode.

Dave DeCamp was back on Antiwar Radio this week to talk about the latest news coming out of the Middle East and war in Ukraine. They discuss the Jihadist advance toward Syria’s capital city of Demascus, the ongoing slaughter and ethnic cleansing happening in Gaza and the pressure the US is putting on Ukraine to lower the conscription age.

Discussed on the show:

• “Al-Qaeda Linked Militants Seize Major Syrian City of Hama” (Antiwar.com)
• “Report: US Offered To Withdraw Troops From Syria in Exchange for Assad Cutting Ties With Iran” (Antiwar.com)
• “US Frames Syria Airstrikes as ‘Self-Defense’ Despite Happening Amid an Ongoing US-Backed Offensive” (Antiwar.com)
• Scott’s Thread on Syria from Enough Already
• “Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza” (Amnesty International)
• “Ben Gvir Says Netanyahu Is ‘Open’ To Expelling Palestinians From Gaza” (Antiwar.com)

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: Roberts and Robers Brokerage Incorporated; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; Libertas Bella; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

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: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjY

Matthew Hoh discusses the Biden administration’s Afghanistan policy. Trump, Hoh reminds us, had appointed Zalmay Khalilzad to negotiate a U.S. withdrawal with the Taliban; now it appears that Biden’s team is reversing that plan. Hoh says that this was to be expected: Biden represents the same entrenched interests that have kept America at war in the Middle East for more than 30 years, and so far his administration is issuing many of the same talking points as previous presidents have about keeping stability in the region, ensuring the flow of Middle Eastern oil and “fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here.” None of these, of course, are legitimate justifications for what Hoh describes as an incredibly dishonest and pointless endeavor.

Discussed on the show:

• The Best and the Brightest
  
• “U.S. Should Slow Withdrawal From Afghanistan, Bipartisan Panel Urges” (The New York Times)
• Rage
  
• Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam
  

Matthew Hoh is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and formerly worked for the U.S. State Department. Hoh received the Ridenhour Prize Recipient for Truth Telling in 2010. Hoh is a member of the Board of Directors for Council for a Livable World and is an Advisory Board Member for Expose Facts. He writes on issues of war, peace and post-traumatic stress disorder recovery at matthewhoh.com.

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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jim Bovard is back to discuss the tragic killing of Duncan Lemp, a Maryland man who was shot by police during a no-knock SWAT raid last year. Bovard has been covering the details of Lemp’s story ever since, including the ways that the police department’s story keeps changing and the fact that there’s no body cam footage to verify what happened. Bovard stresses that no-knock raids are complete overkill in almost all cases, and they only lead to senseless killings like this one. He and Scott also discuss many similar cases in recent American history, all of which highlight the need for a reform of the way policing is done in this country.

Discussed on the show:

• “The Official Whitewash of the Killing of Duncan Lemp” (The American Conservative)
• “Police killing of Maryland man shows dangers of SWAT, no-knock raids” (USA Today)
• “Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997)” (IMDb)

Jim Bovard is a columnist for USA Today and the author of Public Policy Hooligan: Rollicking and Wrangling from Helltown to Washington. Find all of his books and read his work on his website and follow him on Twitter @JimBovard.

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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Gareth Porter discusses U.S. relations with Iran, especially the ways the policies of the Biden administration might differ from those of the Trump administration. Even though the JCPOA was one of the signature accomplishments of the Obama presidency, and even though Trump came under sharp criticism from Obama supporters for pulling out of the agreement, Porter does not consider it at all a sure thing that Biden will simply rejoin the deal as it stands. The narrative that many Obama officials put forward at the time was that Iran was forced to come to the table because of America’s superior negotiating position; in reality, explains Porter, it was Iran’s advancing military technology that forced the U.S. to negotiate with them. He thinks it’s likely that rather than simply repudiate Trump by rejoining the deal, Biden’s team will now seek some new negotiating advantage, likely based on the destructive and unjust sanctions put into place by the Trump administration.

Discussed on the show:

• “Biden admin’s coercive Iran policy threatens serious new regional crisis” (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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Scott interviews Shuja Paul about his forthcoming documentary, Waiting to Explode: Forgotten Bombs of a Secret War Continue to Kill. Paul’s film tells the little-known story of the thousands of undetonated cluster bombs dropped by the U.S. during the Vietnam War, which continue to plague the people of Laos to this day. Although Laos didn’t receive the brunt of the bombing during the war, Paul says that that country has suffered more than anyone in the decades since, largely because it has remained an impoverished country of subsistence farmers, who lack the technological, medical and financial resources that some of their neighbors have. Laos has also received far less attention in the intervening years, leaving their people to suffer in obscurity. Paul hopes that by telling a few of the tragic stories from the more than 20,000 Laotians who have been killed by these bombs, he can help to bring international attention to this deadly humanitarian crisis.

Discussed on the show:

• “Fred Branfman, Who Exposed Bombing of Laos, Dies at 72” (The New York Times)
• “Vietnam: American Holocaust” (IMDb)

Shuja Paul is an actor, writer and director, currently working on the documentary Waiting to Explode: Forgotten Bombs of a Secret War Continue to Kill.

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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Steve Ellner discusses the economic and political situation in Venezuela, and the U.S. role in pushing the country to where it is today. Ellner dispels a common misconception, which is that foreign influence has had little to do with Venezuela’s recent problems compared to mismanagement by the socialist governments of Chavez and Maduro. This has certainly played some role, Ellner concedes, as have falling oil prices, but he insists that by far the greater factor has been U.S. meddling during the Obama and Trump administrations. Under the Trump administration in particular, says Ellner, multiple coup attempts and the constant threat of military force have scared international companies out of Venezuela, on top of official sanctions on things like Venezuelan gold and the cryptocurrency they tried to develop when the bolivar collapsed. Ellner argues that the Trump administration was uniquely bad on Venezuela policy, and hopes that Biden’s presidency will bring a change for the better—but with Biden appearing to still endorse the radically unpopular opposition government of Juan Guaidó, he’s off to a less than promising start.

Steve Ellner is Associate Managing Editor of Latin American Perspectives and the editor of Latin America’s Pink Tide: Breakthroughs and Shortcomings.

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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Scott interviews Gareth Porter about the competing attitudes toward Iran in American foreign policy. During his presidency, Trump was sometimes the voice of restraint against those who favored a more aggressive stance toward Iran and in some cases even advocated outright war. In particular, says Porter, CENTCOM chief General Kenneth McKenzie was constantly moving to keep troops on the ground in Iraq and American ships in surrounding waters, all to demonstrate U.S. power and increase tensions with Iran. Trump was able to curb some of this, but was ultimately ineffective when it came to defying the intelligence state and the military. It remains to be seen whether President Biden will be able to do so.

Discussed on the show:

• “How CENTCOM Chief McKenzie Manufactured an Iran Crisis to Increase His Power” (Antiwar.com Original)
• The Plot Against the President: The True Story of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Political Scandal in U.S. History
  

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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Hassan El-Tayyab discusses the prospects for an end to the war in Yemen under the incoming Biden administration. President Biden and Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken have both signaled that they’d like to end U.S. participation in the war right away, though as of this interview, the new administration hasn’t made any moves yet. Still, opponents of the war are hopeful that Biden will follow through on his promise, especially given the renewed efforts in Congress to end both the war and the U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia that make such conflicts possible. Whereas Trump could resist these congressional efforts, it will be politically very difficult for Biden to do so, given his public stance on the war, and the fact that it is mainly Democrat representatives leading the way. Yemen remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with severe famine, cholera and polio on top of the covid pandemic that the whole world is facing.

Discussed on the show:

• “Biden Must Address Yemen on Day One and Move Immediately to Prevent Future Wars” (Truthout)
• H.J.Res.15
• “War Crime Risk Grows for U.S. Over Saudi Strikes in Yemen” (The New York Times)
• “In Strategic Shift, U.S. Draws Closer to Yemeni Rebels” (WSJ)
• “Biden’s Defense Secretary Pick Lloyd Austin Isn’t Who You Think” (Foreign Policy)

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.

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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Scott talks to Matt Agorist about police violence in America. Agorist is adamant that although police brutality is disproportionately a problem in black communities, this is an issue that affects us all, and Americans should be unified in opposition to growing police power. If anything, movements like Black Lives Matter end up deflecting the blame from where it should be aimed: rather than admitting that there’s a widespread problem with the way police are empowered to abuse Americans without consequences, opponents to systemic reform can simply claim that the problem is a few racist apples. Moreover, it has become easy for bad actors to intentionally stir up animosity between the right and the left, when really both sides of the political spectrum should be united against a small group of oppressors.

Discussed on the show:

• “Prosecuting Trump for Incitement Would Set a Dangerous Precedent” (Reason)
• “Cops Go Back to Where They Killed Elijah McClain, Take Photos Sadistically ‘Reenacting’ His Murder” (The Free Thought Project)
• “Police Release Heavily Edited, Propagandized Video to Justify Killing Unarmed Dad in Front Yard” (The Free Thought Project)

Matt Agorist is an independent journalist and Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. He is also a former marine and NSA intelligence operator. Follow him on Twitter @MattAgorist.

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.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download