Ray McGovern, co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, discusses CIA Director-to-be John Brennan's "Tenet-Like Testimony" about Iran's nuclear program to the Senate Intelligence Committee; Brennan's apparent willingness to "fit the facts around the policy" and lie Americans into yet another war; why Brennan knows much more about CIA torture, rendition, and black sites than he admits; and the spectacle of Obama and Brennan casually giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down - like...

Adil Shamoo, senior analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus, discusses why Iraq is heading toward civil war; how nationalist Iraqis fought both the American occupation and Al-Qaeda's foreign fighters; Prime Minister al-Maliki's near-dictatorial powers; how Western oil companies create conflict by cutting out Iraq's national government and making deals directly with the Kurds; and how the formation of a Kurdish nation would ignite a regional war involving Turkey, Iran, and Syria.

Amrit Singh, senior legal officer with Open Society Foundations, discusses OSF's report "Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition;" the dozens of countries that broke international law to cooperate with US kidnapping and torture after 9/11; the disgraceful history of the CIA's black site in Poland; the 6000 page Senate report that supposedly proves torture doesn't work; and why it's time to follow Italy's lead and start prosecuting government officials.

Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter and War Is Not Over When It's Over, discusses the end game for Afghanistan as the US prepares to withdraw in 2014; what Ann learned during her several years volunteering with NGOs; how the US squandered a "fresh start" for Afghans by allowing warlords to fill the power vacuum after the Taliban's ouster; the flood of people and money fleeing Afghanistan for greener pastures abroad; and the epidemic of crimes against Afghan women (and the impunity of their...

John Knefel, freelance writer and co-host of Radio Dispatch, discusses his article "Meet the Contractors Turning America's Police Into a Paramilitary Force;" how L3 Communications, Harris Corporation, and BI2 Technologies are turning "public safety" into private profits; and the biometric identification and surveillance technologies that are taking the US by storm.

David Enders, a journalist with McClatchy Newspapers, discusses Syrian opposition leader Sheik Mouaz al Khatib's half-serious offer to negotiate with the government; the large gap between Khatib's moderate-sounding talk and the frightening extremism of some opposition fighters; the tens of thousands of estimated casualties; the myriad regional militias joining in the fight; and why voting has been substantially delayed in Iraq's Kurdistan region.  

Rob Warden, executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, discusses the catalog of exonerated Americans who (cumulatively) served more than 10,000 years in prison; how DNA testing has helped overturn wrongful convictions and reveal flaws in the US justice system; ignorant jurists who have no idea what "reasonable doubt" or "presumption of innocence" mean; the big problems with eyewitness testimony, police investigation practices, jailhouse...

Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses why the DOJ white paper doesn't adequately explain the OLC memos or the Obama administration's legal justification for targeted killings; how the AUMF is used as a fallback when the government is painted into a legal corner; why John Brennan is probably the "senior official" signing off on kill lists; the media's silence on the drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki's son; why the drones operating in Yemen are based in Saudi Arabia; why the white paper leak...

The Other Scott Horton, Columbia law professor and Harper's Magazine journalist, discusses the DOJ's abbreviated explanation to Congress why the Obama administration has the right to assassinate US citizens; Constitutional protections against secret government interpretation of the law; the Open Society Foundations report on international cooperation with the CIA's extraordinary rendition program; and how the government is redefining terms to fit their dubious legal arguments....

Rob Prince, lecturer in International Studies at the University of Denver, discusses the background of the Mali-Algeria crisis; France's economic interests in north Africa; the long history of warm US-Algeria relations - despite outward appearances; how the In-Amenas gas facility hostage fiasco badly hurt Algeria's terrorism-fighting credentials; and the US's militarization of Africa as part of the "Asia pivot" change in foreign policy.

Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses the life and death of ex-Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle; doubts about the bravery and heroism of soldiers in a war of occupation; Ron Paul's controversial tweet (he who lives by the sword dies by the sword) on Kyle's death; why many conservative Christians revere authoritarian government violence instead of the teachings of Christ; how WWII ushered in a new era of state-worship for Americans; and how guilt contributes to PTSD.

Libertarian icon Lew Rockwell discusses why the Right is all aflutter about the Red Chinese menace; China's remarkable rise from death camp to civilization; why the US is pushing a Japan-China confrontation; the virtues of made-in-China products and free market trading; and why any country aspiring toward economic or military improvement is automatically a "threat" to the US.

Philip Giraldi, executive director of the Council for the National Interest; discusses Obama's apparent endorsement of Israel's airstrike in Syria; the 2011 presidential "finding" authorizing covert action against Damascus and Tehran; why Saudi Arabia and Qatar are undermining Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood; the arms-smuggling angle of the Benghazi scandal; and the US's increasing disregard for national sovereignty.

Will Grigg, author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses why we shouldn't be too excited about country sheriffs opposing the federal assault weapons ban; how Waco became the template for law enforcement operations; the state's openly-declared monopoly on the use of force; why local TV news is always on the cops' side; and why even Idaho sheriffs think constitutionalists are little more than domestic terrorists.

Daniel Larison, senior editor at The American Conservative, discusses Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel's poor performance in his Senate Armed Services Committee hearing; how the neoconservatives continue to hold sway over the Republican Party on foreign policy; why conservatives keep voting Republican even though they are continually stymied on immigration and abortion issues; and how the GOP has become a political dinosaur.