Jacob Hornberger, president of The Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses his effort to educate more African-American college students about the evils of the war on drugs, since they are disproportionately effected by racist drug laws, yet typically make up a small part of his lecture audiences. Upcoming FFF events: End the War on Drugs – free program at Florida A&M University College of Law on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. The National Security State and JFK – $99 admission to “one of the...
03/13/17 – Samuel Oakford on keeping count of the civilian casualties from international airstrikes in Iraq and Syria – The Scott Horton Show
Samuel Oakford, an investigative journalist and contributor to Airwars.org, discusses the grossly underreported official number of civilians killed by coalition and Russian airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in the ongoing fight against ISIS; and why the Airwars estimates are much more realistic.
03/13/17 – Cynthia Storer on the Trump administration’s (mis)understanding of Islamic extremism – The Scott Horton Show
Former CIA terrorism analyst Cynthia Storer discusses the credentials of Sebastian Gorka, President Trump’s deputy advisor on national security affairs, who claims to be an expert on Islamic terrorism; Cynthia’s earlier CIA work tracking Osama bin Laden and warning about Al-Qaeda’s intent to target the US; and why labeling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization would be a stupid thing to do.
03/12/17 – Joost Hiltermann on Trump’s deluded reasoning for ramping up the fight in Yemen – The Scott Horton Show
Joost Hiltermann, program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, discusses the Trump administration’s mistaken view that the Houthis in Yemen are an Iranian proxy-militia like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hiltermann also debunks claims that Iran is allied with Al-Qaeda, and examines the clan-based divisions in Yemen, the country’s unique religious makeup, and what kind of political solution could end the war.
03/10/17 – Andrew Cockburn on Trump’s escalation of Obama’s support for the Saudi war in Yemen – The Scott Horton Show
Andrew Cockburn, the Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine and the author of Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins, discusses the history of Yemen’s (sort of) civil war, the different factions and foreign backers, and why President Trump is escalating US support for Saudi Arabia and its Al-Qaeda allies (yet fighting them at the same time).
03/10/17 – Jason Ditz on the latest US troop deployments in Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Ditz, news editor for Antiwar.com, discusses why a few thousand more US troops in Afghanistan won’t stop the steady loss of ground to the Taliban; President Trump’s deployment of troops all over the Middle East/North Africa to fight ISIS; and the official understatement of civilian casualties from US air strikes in Iraq and Syria.
03/10/17 – Zaid Jilani on Trump’s selection of Russia-hawk Richard Grennell for NATO ambassador – The Scott Horton Show
Zaid Jilani, a writer for The Intercept, discusses President Trump’s apparent concessions to critics accusing him of being soft on Russia, including his selection of Richard Grennell (who is in favor of arming Ukraine and leaving direct military confrontation with Russia “on the table”) for NATO ambassador, H.R. McMaster for national security adviser, and Nikki Haley for UN Ambassador.
03/08/17 – Marcy Wheeler on the WikiLeaks document release about CIA hacking tools – The Scott Horton Show
Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses WikiLeaks’s exposure of the CIA’s powerful hacking toolkit, what devices are most vulnerable to being exploited, and why this leak might be a Russian operation using WikiLeaks as a cutout to release sensitive documents.
03/06/17 – Doug Bandow gives advice to Trump on North Korea and Russia policy – The Scott Horton Show
Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, discusses what a responsible North Korea policy would look like after successive US administrations have failed to gain anything from isolating the regime and eschewing diplomacy; and why we should look to Europe for clues about Russia’s so-called threatening intentions – if France and Germany aren’t furiously expanding their military budgets, why should the US?
03/03/17 – Raeford Davis on the seven Baltimore cops indicted on federal racketeering charges – The Scott Horton Show
Raeford Davis, a speaker for Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and a former North Charleston police officer, discusses how drug prohibition and gun control laws create both dangerous criminals and corrupt cops, like the seven Baltimore “high-profile gun unit” officers, who all stand to profit from government-created black markets.
03/01/17 – Daniel McCarthy on “Reviving Libertarianism” in a time of political transformation on the left and right – The Scott Horton Show
Daniel McCarthy, editor-at-large of The American Conservative, discusses the poor showing of libertarian politicians in 2016, despite Ron and Rand Paul’s national prominence and two strongly disliked presidential candidates in Clinton and Trump; and how “virtue libertarianism” can revive the American commitment to liberty, keep the left and right more intellectually honest, and provide a means to punish vice and reward virtue without getting the government involved.
03/01/17 – Brian McGlinchey on Saudi Arabia’s sneaky lobbying against 9/11 lawsuit legislation – The Scott Horton Show
Brian McGlinchey, the director of 28Pages.org, discusses how American veterans were used as unwitting pawns in a Saudi-sponsored lobbying campaign to weaken the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a law allowing 9/11 victims’ families to pursue civil lawsuits against Saudi Arabia’s government.
02/28/17 – Gareth Porter on the coordinated campaign to destabilize Trump’s administration and weaken his resolve to improve Russia ties – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, an independent investigative journalist, discusses how the US media and intelligence community are attempting to portray Trump as a Russian stooge, in an effort to keep the pressure on Russia, the New Cold War brewing, and the money flowing to the military/industrial complex. Porter dissects the 25-page assessment from the CIA, FBI and NSA claiming Russia tried to help Trump win the election; as well as the leaked phone conversation between former National Security Adviser...
02/27/17 – James Carden on Senator John McCain’s war cries in Ukraine and Syria – The Scott Horton Show
James Carden, a contributing writer at The Nation and the executive editor for the American Committee for East-West Accord, discusses John McCain and Lindsey Graham’s visit to the front lines in Ukraine, where they offered support for Ukrainian soldiers against the rebels, seriously undermining the 2015 Minsk cease-fire agreement. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard returned from Syria, claimed “there are no moderate rebels,” and questioned why the US is supporting the same terrorist...
02/27/17 – Conn Hallinan on the Trump administration’s belligerent and unpredictable foreign policy – The Scott Horton Show
Conn Hallinan, a writer for Foreign Policy in Focus, discusses Trump’s bombastic rhetoric and ever-changing policy pronouncements on Iran, Yemen, and North Korea; and how he could blunder into war with China if he follows through on threats to blockade China from islands it controls in the South China Sea.















