Hassan El-Tayyab is back with an update on a Senate vote taking place later this week that aims to block the Biden Administrations' $600 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia. The resolution is the result of Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee teaming up with Bernie Sanders. And so, with both parties already being represented, it’s the perfect time to attack the Left from the left and the Right from the right. El-Tayyab has already seen members of Congress react positively to pressure from their...
11/24/21 Aaron Maté on the Award-Winning Lies Still Propping up Russiagate
On Antiwar Radio this Sunday, Scott was joined by Aaron Maté to discuss an article he wrote for Real Clear Investigations. Amidst the collapse of the Steele dossier, Maté wrote about five articles that either won the Pulitzer prize or were written by journalists who had won a Pulitzer, all of which were about disproven aspects of Russiagate unrelated to Christopher Steele. They discuss the framing of Michael Flynn, the fictional calls between Trump officials and Russian intelligence, the...
11/19/21 Peter Van Buren on Why China’s Not Invading Taiwan and How Absurd the Russiagate Story Was From the Beginning
On Antiwar Radio this past Sunday, Scott interviewed Peter Van Buren about two articles he wrote on Taiwan. Van Buren laid out the reasons he believes a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is unlikely. Scott’s slot of airtime only runs 30 minutes. But they ended up talking for an additional hour about the absurdity of Russiagate. The entire interview is presented here in full. Discussed on the show: “Taiwan Is Not About China” (The American Conservative) “Taiwan Means War Only If We Want It To” (The...
11/19/21 Samantha Melamed on the Epidemic of Coerced Confessions in the Philadelphia Police Department
Scott is joined by Samantha Melamed of the Philadelphia Inquirer to talk about a series of articles she wrote called The Homicide Files. Since 2018, a total of 22 people convicted of murder have been exonerated. Melamed tells a couple of these stories and ties them into the broader historical context of the decades of gross misconduct in the Philadelphia Police Department. Discussed on the show: “The Homicide Files” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Samantha Melamed has been a reporter at the...
11/19/21 Russell Wray on the Antiwar Movement, Protesting and the Military’s Impact on the Environment
Scott interviews activist Russel Wray from Ellsworth Maine. Wray has been protesting the wars every Sunday since 2002. He discusses his journey to the antiwar movement and how it’s changed since he began his weekly protests. Wray is also a member of a group that’s trying to fight back against the Navy’s sonar practices, which he says are unnecessarily dangerous to marine life. Discussed on the show: Earth’s Greatest Enemy Documentary Russel Wray is an anti-war activist from Ellsworth Maine...
11/15/21 Lyle J. Goldstein on How the US Would Lose the Battle for Taiwan
Scott interviews Lyle J. Goldstein, who now works at Defense Priorities. Goldstein challenges the idea that a war with China over Taiwan would be fundamentally different from the war in Afghanistan. In fact, he thinks the U.S. had a better chance of victory in Afghanistan. He explains how China could render all U.S. carrier groups useless and force the Americans to rely completely on their submarines. But neither would that be a path to victory because of China’s anti-submarine capabilities....
11/12/21 Joe Lauria Explains Julian Assange’s Situation
Scott is joined by Joe Lauria of Consortium News. Lauria gives us a detailed account of Assange’s eventful past year. A British judge, who despite agreeing that Assange had violated the Espionage Act by publishing secrets handed to him, refused to extradite him to the U.S. out of concern for his safety. Lauria explains all of this and puts these events in a broader context. Discussed on the show: “What’s next for Julian Assange?” (NewAge) Joe Lauria is the editor-in-chief at Consortium News....
11/12/21 Aaron Maté on the Further Collapse of Russiagate
Aaron Maté is back to give an update on Russiagate as the years-long conspiracy theory continues to fall completely apart. Maté fills us in on the indictment of Igor Danchenko, who was a major source for the Steele Dossier. Danchenko’s claims were just about all fiction. However, he made the mistake of lying to the FBI about some of the more embarrassing ways information made its way into the dossier. Scott and Maté talk about the details of what happened and observe how the conspiracy...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
