Charles Featherstone, regular writer at LewRockwell.com, discusses a possible quid pro quo arrangement between the US and Saudi Arabia, where Saudi support for a Libya no-fly zone is exchanged for US permission to crush the Bahrain protests; why those concerned with the Libyan rebels’ safety should remember the often-disastrous consequences of US “humanitarian” missions; the unfortunate habit of classifying US foreign policy actions in terms of public relations outcomes; and why a bloody...
03/14/11 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses his recent visit to Lebanon; the hybrid UN-Lebanon tribunal on Rafiq Hariri’s assassination that is rumored to have indicted Hezbollah members; allegations that the special tribunal is a politically motivated tool of the US and Israel; how Israel has fabricated telephone records and used them as evidence against her enemies; and how US operations in Pakistan are destabilizing the country.
03/14/11 – Pepe Escobar – The Scott Horton Show
Asia Times columnist Pepe Escobar discusses the Mideast uprisings in terms of rebellion against neoliberal economic policy; Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on Bahrain protesters and steadfast support for the minority Sunni monarchy; why Turkey stands to win considerably more regional influence than does Iran, following successful revolutions; the hypocrisy of US foreign policy laid bare; why it’s time to end the empire and put the money to a more constructive use, as the US has lost the “beacon of...
03/11/11 – Rep. Dennis Kucinich – The Scott Horton Show
This recording is from the KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles broadcast of March 11th. The full archive is here. Rep. Dennis Kucinich discusses the runaround he’s been getting from the Department of Defense after requesting a visit with Bradley Manning; why Manning’s draconian pretrial treatment raises serious questions about the US criminal justice system and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; and the Kucinich-Walter Jones co-sponsored resolution requiring the president to get the troops out of...
03/11/11 – Marcy Wheeler – The Scott Horton Show
Marcy Wheeler, blogging under the pseudonym “emptywheel” at firedoglake.com, discusses Obama’s weasel-worded disagreement with State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley’s (who has since resigned) candid assessment of Bradley Manning’s mistreatment in custody; why lax security in the Department of Defense – responsible for the leaked State Department cables – may have created a rift between the two agencies; Manning’s subjection to techniques designed to create “learned helplessness” and generate...
03/11/11 – Matthew Harwood – The Scott Horton Show
Washington DC-based writer Matthew Harwood discusses his truthout article “Peter King: Reactionary, Rash and Wrong,” on the greatly exaggerated threat of Muslim extremists in America; the “partners in counterterrorism” relationship between law enforcement and CAIR; the ridiculous conclusions drawn by terrorism analysts who ignore foreign policy implications; and why Rep. Peter King would gladly take your liberty in exchange for more false security.
03/11/11 – David Swanson – The Scott Horton Show
This recording is from the KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles broadcast of March 11th. The full archive is here. David Swanson, author of War is a Lie, discusses Bradley Manning’s mistreatment in military custody, including 23-hour a day solitary confinement and forced nudity; the upcoming pro-Manning rally and protest planned for March 18-20; the failure of veterans Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John McCain to stick up for Manning; and the depressing thought that a majority of Americans abhor WikiLeaks and...
03/10/11 – Robert A. Pape – The Scott Horton Show
Robert A. Pape, coauthor of Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It, discusses the extremely high correlation of suicide terrorism with foreign military occupation; why it’s no coincidence that the surge in Afghanistan has increased violence while the drawdown in Iraq has lessened it; why those advocating no-fly zones in Libya should look at the terrible record in 1990s Iraq; the “asymmetrical” warfare, up to and including suicide attacks, that could be...
03/10/11 – Andy Worthington – The Scott Horton Show
Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, discusses the quarterly fund drive that helps keep his website going; Obama’s decision to resume Military Commissions for Guantanamo prisoners; how plea bargains allow the government to avoid embarrassing issues of prisoner torture and bogus “war crimes” charges, yet may be the only way Guantanamo will ever be emptied; and Obama’s executive order that essentially recreates Bush’s Combatant Status Review Tribunals, which the Supreme Court found...
03/10/11 – David Bronwich – The Scott Horton Show
David Bromwich, professor of literature at Yale University, discusses the Mideast protests that threaten US-allied autocrats and embarrass the empire; the mealy-mouthed government statements borne of an hypocritical foreign policy; burdensome obligations of the omnipresent US empire; and those interventionist think-tank writers who advocate a Libyan no-fly zone without knowing squat about the forces in play.
03/09/11 – Jason Ditz – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the differing reports on whether Libyans want outside intervention or not; the media’s acceptance that the US government is with the Mideast protesters, though the autocrats were supported right up to the end; the Algerian protests that succeeded in getting the Emergency Law repealed but not the corresponding restrictions; why Israel may now be powerless to stop an Egypt-style Palestinian uprising demanding independence; the potential...
03/09/11 – 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 generally positive reception for Egypt’s new Prime Minister and Foreign Minister; rumors that new attacks on Coptic Christians are yet again the work of agent provocateurs; the discovery of Egypt’s wiretapping program; roaming gangs of thugs returning to Tahrir Square; the hotbeds of activism within recently reopened universities; and Ahmed’s successful journey to Gaza, where he...
03/09/11 – Kelley B. Vlahos – The Scott Horton Show
Kelley B. Vlahos, featured Antiwar.com columnist and contributing editor for The American Conservative magazine, discusses the police accountability and prison reform website criminaljustice.change.org; why the protests in Iraq – so far met with arrests, beatings and torture – make Washington squirm; and the fate of Antiwar Radio guest Shane Bauer, who has been in Iranian custody since being arrested for suspected espionage in July 2009.
03/08/11 – 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 Quantico brig’s confiscation of Bradley Manning’s underwear and flip flops (and the rest of his clothes), supposedly to prevent his suicide; why this is punitive treatment for Manning – a model prisoner who has been cleared by the brig psychiatrist as non-suicidal; the theoretical possibility of prosecuting Manning’s jailers; how the mistreatment of...
03/08/11 – Les Roberts – The Scott Horton Show
Les Roberts, Associate Clinical Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University, discusses the hundreds of thousands of unreported Iraqi deaths, 80% of which were previously uncounted; how “excess deaths” are inferred from statistical sampling; the changing cause of death in Iraq during 2004-06, from US bombs to Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence; how lazy journalists failed to cross check fatalities and assumed newly reported deaths were already accounted for; and the lying US...
