Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses Obama’s decision to get a UN Security Council declaration of war on Libya – and further marginalize Congress’s exclusive war-making authority; how the United Nations Participation Act, signed by President Truman in 1945, directly challenges the authority of the US Constitution; why the UN is less a peacekeeping organization than a means of consolidating power and applying it against enemies of the “international community;” why...
03/22/11 – Eric Margolis – The Scott Horton Show
Eric Margolis, foreign correspondent and author of War at the Top of the World and American Raj, discusses his article “Shock, Awe and Déjà Vu in Libya;” the self-inflicted political pressure on Sarkozy and Obama to force Gaddafi from power, lest they lose reelection themselves; why the West’s preferred successor will likely be chosen from London’s ample community of Libyan expatriates; the many questions left unanswered by hasty liberal interventionists; and the officers in AFRICOM who relish...
03/22/11 – Ahmed al-Assy – The Scott Horton Show
Ahmed al-Assy, an Egyptian-American living in Egypt and a participant in the Tahrir Square protests, discusses the solid turnout for Egypt’s constitutional referendum vote; their jumbled mess of a legal system, made from a hodgepodge of colonial remnants mixed with Sharia; misinformation and voter confusion about the actual issues on the ballot; replacing the old oppressive security state with a new one; and the latest Gaza excursion, where Ahmed and others will take building materials and raw...
03/22/11 – Scott Horton – The Scott Horton Show
The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses the “Two New OLC Opinions on Warrantless Surveillance;” the mysterious “program” of unspecified purpose related to NSA data mining; the (sometimes) conflicting legal opinions of OLC lawyers John Yoo and Jack Goldsmith; the NSA’s powerful surveillance algorithms; the differing Fourth Amendment protections for foreign and domestic communications; John Yoo’s...
03/18/11 – Mike Gogulski – The Scott Horton Show
Mike Gogulski, founder of the Bradley Manning Support Network, discusses the myriad events going on this weekend (March 19-20) in support of Bradley Manning; Obama’s decision to rely on Pentagon assurances that Manning was being appropriately treated in custody – after (former) State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley forced the issue; the mainstream media’s broad objection to Manning’s forced nudity and other degradations; and the incredible WikiLeaks revelations that have shaken corrupt...
03/18/11 – Juan Cole – The Scott Horton Show
Juan Cole, Professor of History, blogger and author of Engaging the Muslim World, discusses Gaddafi’s military offensive that began in earnest while outside forces were mobilizing against him; modeling intervention in Libya after the 2001 defeat of the Taliban, with US air support for Northern Alliance ground forces (and look how that turned out); why the no-fly zone is worth it to prevent massacres, like in Kosovo; why the terrorist Gaddafi can’t be allowed to stay in power, as he might...
03/18/11 – Jason Ditz – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the tendency of UN Security Council resolutions to greatly exceed their initial mandates in both time and scope; the token military contributions of Qatar and UAE; the UN critics in Congress who have nothing disparaging to say about world government when war is approved; Saudi Arabia’s fake GCC “coalition of the willing” in Bahrain; how excessive government violence has prompted some Yemeni tribes to ally with the protesters; another...
03/18/11 – Jesse Rosenfeld – The Scott Horton Show
Jesse Rosenfeld, a Canadian freelance journalist based in Ramallah and Tel Aviv, discusses why Israel doesn’t tolerate peaceful and democratic protests any more than armed resistance; the Palestinian grassroots movement for national identity and unity – in defiance of their corrupt leadership; Netanyahu’s warning that a Palestinian unity organization would kill the peace process; and the scarcity and unequal distribution of water in Israel and the occupied territories.
03/18/11 – Kelley B. Vlahos – The Scott Horton Show
This recording is from the KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles broadcast of March 18th. Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses the toxic legacy left by the US in Iraq, particularly in Fallujah and Basra; the numerous and severe birth defects caused by some combination of depleted uranium, water pollution and burn pits; doctors advising women in Fallujah to avoid bearing children, due to the high likelihood of deformities...
03/17/11 – Philip Giraldi – The Scott Horton Show
Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses CIA contractor Raymond Davis’s release from Pakistani custody after his “blood money” check cleared; the cheap and easy restitution for US killing in third world countries (aka: “Sorry about that, kid. Here’s $1500); how Col. Gaddafi’s tenacious hold on power has surprised many of his critics; how Obama’s reluctance to be “The Decider” has decreased US leverage in foreign policy negotiations; and the National Endowment for Democracy’s watchful eye on...
03/17/11 – Rep. Walter Jones – The Scott Horton Show
Rep. Walter Jones, eight term Congressman from North Carolina, discusses the talk of a 2014, instead of 2011, Afghanistan withdrawal deadline; the Kucinich-Jones cosponsored bill requiring Obama to get the troops out by year’s end; the elusive definition of “winning” the war (possibly meaning building roads and schools in Afghanistan while US infrastructure crumbles); why the US can’t continue as the world’s policeman while borrowing the money to do so; using smarter tactics (more bombs, fewer...
03/17/11 – Robert Naiman – The Scott Horton Show
Robert Naiman, Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy, discusses Gen. David Petraeus’s “progress” report (contradicted by US intelligence analysts) to Congress for the Afghan War review; polls that show Americans are turning against the war as the Paul-Kucinich-Jones resolution gains support; rhetoric vs. reality on the July 2011 troop drawdown; and why measurements of “success” are only cynically manipulated statistics, as everyone – especially Petraeus – knows the war is a lost...
03/17/11 – Jack Hunter – The Scott Horton Show
Jack Hunter, talk radio host and Charleston newspaper columnist, discusses his co-authored book with Rand Paul, The Tea Party Goes to Washington; how the Tea Party movement is breaking free from the stranglehold of talk radio propaganda and is receptive to a non-interventionist foreign policy; getting serious about Constitutional government and budget deficits – and in the process butting heads with GOP operatives who use the same rhetoric but don’t mean what they say; why the neocons will...
03/15/11 – Scott McConnell – The Scott Horton Show
American Conservative magazine editor Scott McConnell discusses his revisiting of the Camp David Accords in light of Egypt’s new government that no longer guarantees friendly relations with Israel; how Carter and Brzezinski failed, despite a sincere effort, to achieve a comprehensive Mideast peace agreement and a Palestinian state; how the Israel lobby’s power waxes and wanes according to the election cycle; the US government’s chronic lack of resolve in risking a serious rift with Israel in...
03/15/11 – Eric Margolis – The Scott Horton Show
Eric Margolis, foreign correspondent and author of War at the Top of the World and American Raj, discusses the battle in Libya between the militarily inept pro-Gaddafi army and the even more incompetent rebel opposition; sending in Western special forces soldiers without any sort of end-game plan; the small US base in Djibouti, used for operations in West Africa; the arbitrary colonial borders that plague most Arab countries; and how Saudi Arabia’s provocative action in Bahrain may risk a...
