Jeremy Sapienza, Senior Editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Antiwar.com’s 1995 origin and early opposition to Bill Clinton’s foreign interventions; looking beyond economics and domestic policy to unite a broad coalition devoted to a foreign policy of peace; the quarterly fund drive that helps pay the meager salaries of Antiwar.com staffers who basically devote their lives to the website; and a reminder that Randolph Bourne (despite his fancy-sounding name) was a writer who lived a hardscrabble...
05/23/11 – Jacob Hornberger – The Scott Horton Show
Jacob Hornberger, founder and president of the Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses how the Obama administration has ignored the War Powers Act and eschewed congressional authorization while continuing to wage war in Libya; the end of limited, representative, checked-and-balanced government; how the Supreme Court has made legal redress impossible for victims of US government rendition and torture; and the power of good ideas (like increasingly-popular libertarianism) to bring rapid,...
05/23/11 – David Bromwich – The Scott Horton Show
David Bromwich, Sterling Professor of English at Yale University, discusses his article “Obama’s Middle East: Rhetoric and Reality;” the degenerating US Middle East policy from Obama’s Cairo speech to George Mitchell’s resignation and the end of the “peace process;” and how Obama’s too-clever-by-half speechmaking takes the place of authoritative policy declarations – based on his belief that words can be substituted for actions.
05/23/11 – Angela Keaton – The Scott Horton Show
Angela Keaton, Antiwar.com Development Director and Antiwar Radio producer, discusses the quarterly Antiwar.com fundraising drive; how small regularly-scheduled monthly contributions make a big difference in sustaining Antiwar.com’s budget; and how your donation gives the best bang for your antiwar activist buck.
05/20/11 – Christopher Anders – The Scott Horton Show
Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel in the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office, discusses the stealthy attempt in Congress to give the president unlimited authority to wage war worldwide, far beyond what the AUMF allows; the expiration of the already-dubious 60 day grace period on waging war in Libya without Congressional consent; why you should take the opportunity to pester your representative while Congress is on recess; how a permanent state of war destroys civil liberties in...
05/20/11 – Philip Giraldi – The Scott Horton Show
Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses Obama’s underwhelming speech on Middle East policy, hyped by the NY Times because it broached the subject of Israel’s 1967 borders; how Obama’s speechwriters really earned their money this time, twisting language and logic to please multiple constituencies; Israel’s enduring and perplexing ability to influence US foreign policy; why war in Pakistan is too crazy to even consider; the few remaining options for NATO in Libya; why Osama bin Laden was not...
05/19/11 – Angela Keaton – The Scott Horton Show
Angela Keaton, Antiwar.com Development Director and Antiwar Radio producer, discusses the quarterly Antiwar.com fundraising drive; the tough times under President Obama, where the wars keep on keepin’ on and half the antiwar activists have their heads buried in the sand; why you can count on the libertarian-minded staff at Antiwar.com to stay antiwar, no matter who’s in the White House (because you know it’ll never be “our” guy/gal); and how supporters can call (323-512-7095), email...
05/19/11 – Steven Greenhut, Gene Berkman, and John Seiler – The Scott Horton Show
Steven Greenhut, Gene Berkman and John Seiler, friends and coworkers with the late Alan Bock, discuss Alan’s life and legacy; his libertarian roots dating from the late 60s; his advocacy of free market environmentalism; and his consistently good-humored nature – in contrast to the typical cantankerous libertarian – during a writing career dedicated to freedom and anti-interventionism.
05/19/11 – Mark Sheffield – The Scott Horton Show
Mark Sheffield of the Policy on Point blog discusses his article “Screwing the Swedes: Lockheed vs. SAAB;” how Lockheed’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter beat out SAAB’s JAS-39 Gripen fighter (with much lobbying help from the US government) for the contract to modernize Norway’s air force; a behind-the-scenes look at the cutthroat business of international arms dealing, courtesy WikiLeaks; how Russia has been surrounded by fleets of top-end jets in neighboring Western-allied and NATO countries; and...
05/19/11 – John Feffer – The Scott Horton Show
John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, discusses the Afghanistan debate following Osama bin Laden’s death; his disagreement with Jonathan Landay, who says we can’t withdraw for fear of the terrible consequences; the sea-change in public opinion (and even in Congress and among elite opinion-makers) on the wisdom of staying in Afghanistan; why Syria may be a bridge too far for US intervention; the failed “kill the chicken to scare the monkey” US...
05/16/11 – Grant F. Smith – The Scott Horton Show
Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C., discusses his article “Obama vs. Reagan on AIPAC: documents reveal Ronald Reagan’s response to Israel lobby invitation;” how Israel’s constant state of emergency makes negotiated concessions impossible; the counter AIPAC convention in Washington during May 21-24; and how Israel has earned more international scorn (but not in the US) by shooting Nakba protesters.
05/16/11 – Dean Ahmad – The Scott Horton Show
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, founder of the Minaret of Freedom Institute, discusses the typically sycophantic White House response to Israel’s shooting of peaceful Nakba protesters; Israel’s core founding myth, especially to Americans: no indigenous population existed (a.k.a. there is no such thing as a Palestinian); Palestinian peace activists initiating a third, peaceful, intifada in the spirit of the Arab Spring revolutions; the unquestioned absurdity of Israel “defending its borders” of the...
05/16/11 – Jason Leopold – The Scott Horton Show
Investigative reporter Jason Leopold discusses his article “Filling in the Gaping Holes in WikiLeaks’ Guantanamo Detainee Files;” how the FBI emails (available here) on Guantanamo prisoner detention conditions indicate torture was the primary means of extracting “evidence;” the torture of Mohammed al-Qahtani, choreographed in the White House by top Bush administration officials; Bush speech writer Marc Thiessen’s admission that KSM was tortured for compliance, not actionable intelligence...
05/13/11 – Thomas E. Woods – The Scott Horton Show
Thomas E. Woods, author of Rollback: Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse, discusses Ron Paul’s preference for a joint police action to arrest and try Osama bin Laden, rather than a covert military operation/execution; Paul’s unhesitating subversion of the popular propaganda line, even though support for the rule of law is a political liability right now; why this may be Paul’s “Giuliani moment” for the 2012 presidential campaign; the conservatives who think civil...
05/13/11 – Andy Worthington – The Scott Horton Show
Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, discusses the resurgent torture propaganda in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death; why torture is still only useful for gathering false confessions and bad information; the unedifying nationalistic chest thumping over bin Laden; how civilian criminal trials sufficed for the 1993 World Trade Center bombers, but somehow are no longer tough enough for terrorism since 9/11 and Guantanamo “changed everything;” and how government lawlessness, torture...
