Gareth Porter, investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy, discusses President Obama’s speech and the AIPAC convention’s creepy atmosphere; how Benjamin Netanyahu’s leverage on Obama increases as the presidential election nears; why the AIPAC-championed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports could be part of a plan to increase gas prices and influence the 2012 election; and why Israel risks being blanketed with rockets and missiles from neighboring countries...
03/08/12 – John Glaser – The Scott Horton Show
John Glaser, Assistant Editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Senator Lindsey Graham’s hissy fit about Hamid Karzai’s insistence that the US military stop night raids and hand over control of prisoners to the Afghans; the largely illiterate and drug-addicted Afghan police and army that will supposedly take over security of the country; Afghanistan’s paltry GDP, made up almost entirely of poppy cultivation and foreign aid, that can’t possibly support a strong central government; and Obama’s apparent...
03/07/12 – Lt. General Robert G. Gard, Jr. – The Scott Horton Show
Lt. General Robert G. Gard, Jr., Chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, discusses his endorsement of a full page ad in the Washington Post titled “Mr. President: Say No to War of Choice with Iran;” why the US should use sanctions to pressure Iran to adopt the Additional Protocol, allowing the IAEA to conduct more intrusive inspections; how the Obama administration earned the goodwill of Russia, China and Europe by reaching out to Iran diplomatically; and why war isn’t...
03/07/12 – Eric Phillips – The Scott Horton Show
Eric Phillips, writer and graduate student in economic history, discusses his article “Military Spending and Bastiat’s ‘Unseen;’” the opportunity costs (in terms of dollars and innovation) when money is taken from the private sector and spent on national defense; why frightened Americans support enormous military budgets far in excess of what’s needed for defensive purposes; Obama’s defense “cuts” that are just reducing the rate of increase; and the high unemployment rate for young veterans,...
03/06/12 – Robert Pallitto – The Scott Horton Show
Robert Pallitto, professor of political science and contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus, discusses his article “Psychologists and Torture, Then and Now;” post-9/11 US interrogation practices, adapted from Cold War-era techniques used for extracting false confessions; the professional psychologists who aided the CIA in coercive interrogations and torture, disregarding ethical constraints; the failure of state regulatory agencies or the APA in stripping the licenses of torture enablers; and...
03/06/12 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show
The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses Attorney General Eric Holder’s unpersuasive speech defending extrajudicial assassination; the new (government-friendly) definitions of “due process,” “imminent threat,” and “battlefield;” the minimal US effort in arresting and trying terrorism suspects living abroad; the geographical limitations of drone strikes (because collateral damage of Europeans is unthinkable,...
03/05/12 – Stephan Salisbury – The Scott Horton Show
Stephan Salisbury, author of Mohamed’s Ghosts: An American Story of Love and Fear in the Homeland, discusses his article “Weaponizing the Body Politic;” how the War on Drugs served as dress rehearsal for the current homeland security police state; the tanks and APCs providing “security” for the Republican National Convention in Tampa; how the freedoms of speech and assembly have become quaint notions from a bygone era; a cost-benefit analysis for the War on Terror (around 1 billion spent per...
03/05/12 – Glenn Greenwald – The Scott Horton Show
Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald discusses his article “The NYPD spying controversy: a microcosm for the 9/11 era;” the near-unanimous bipartisan support for spying on all Muslims in the NY City area – whether they are suspected of a crime or not; why there’s been little press coverage of the NYPD’s activities (since the issue can’t be framed as a Democrat v. Republican controversy); the eroding civil liberties of all Americans, including non-Muslims; Attorney General Eric Holder’s...
03/05/12 – Hillary Mann Leverett – The Scott Horton Show
Hillary Mann Leverett, former State Department official and co-founder of The Race For Iran, discusses President Obama’s interview with Jeffrey Goldberg – essentially a ploy to boost his pro-Israel credentials ahead of the AIPAC conference; why suffering Iranians are seen as a positive sign (to Obama) that sanctions are working as intended; the significance of defining the US “red line” on Iran’s nuclear program in terms of capability instead of action; the Obama administration’s fraudulent...
03/02/12 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy, discusses his article “Who Was Behind the Delhi Bombing;” the evidence that points to an Israeli false-flag operation instead of an Iranian revenge attack; US efforts to sabotage trade between Iran and India (the largest importer of Iranian oil); forever playing catch-up to lies that “travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes;” the seeming consensus between Mossad...
03/01/12 – Grant F. Smith – The Scott Horton Show
Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, discusses the “Occupy AIPAC” counter-summit in Washington, D.C. from March 2-6; his article “The Mossad Has Long Given Marching Orders to AIPAC;” the fine line between a domestic lobby and a foreign-controlled intelligence operation; and how constant warmongering and talk of “existential threats” gets AIPAC’s hardcore American donors to open their wallets.
03/01/12 – Andy Worthington – The Scott Horton Show
Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, discusses his efforts to get the last two Kuwaiti prisoners released from Guantanamo; why no prisoners have left Gitmo in 14 months (except in body-bags), even though over half have been cleared for release; losing hearts and minds with arbitrary detentions and lack of habeas rights at Bagram prison in Afghanistan; and how the Bush administration’s above-the-law attitude has prevailed and “normalized” under Obama.
03/01/12 – Kathy Kelly – The Scott Horton Show
Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, discusses her article “The Ghost and the Machine” about the lack of accountability and morality in remote-control drone warfare; her recent visit to Afghanistan, where children are starving and freezing in refugee camps across the street from enormous, well-provisioned US military bases; the myth of humanitarian wars; and the coming arms race in unmanned drone aircraft.
02/29/12 – Philip Giraldi – The Scott Horton Show
Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses the unusual NY Times headline acknowledging that Iran is not making nuclear weapons; the possible reasons why the Times ran James Risen’s piece instead of the usual scaremongering from David Sanger; next week’s AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington; the questionable wisdom of pushing regime change in Syria; and the politicians, think tanks and policy papers bankrolled by pro-Israel billionaire Sheldon Adelson.
02/29/12 – Doug Bandow – The Scott Horton Show
Doug Bandow, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, discusses North Korea’s acceptance of a deal to halt uranium enrichment and weapons testing in exchange for US food aid; why nobody should expect N. Korea to abandon their nuclear program or give up anything of military significance; closing US bases in S. Korea and Japan so the regional powers can resolve their own problems; and why China is more interested in trade than starting wars with its neighbors.
