Cliff Maloney of Young Americans for Liberty talks about the disaster of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and how to bring more Americans around to the antiwar position. Luckily, he says, a great majority of people already oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when asked, the trouble is that they don’t make it a priority—and neither, therefore, do most politicians. In an effort to change this, Maloney’s organization vets liberty-focused, antiwar candidates and helps them get elected...

Scott talks to Robert Naiman about the efforts in congress and the senate to oppose the war in Yemen and stymie any escalation in a conflict with Iran. Naiman is optimistic that a concurrent resolution against the war in Yemen, which Trump cannot veto, will have enough support to make it through congress. Republicans and many in the media maintain that a concurrent resolution is merely symbolic, with no power to bind the president. But Naiman assures us that the War Powers Resolution of 1973...

Francis Boyle explains why President Trump should be impeached—not for the charges of corruption and abuse of power in Ukraine, but for his war crimes in continuing the aggressive wars of the Bush and Obama administrations. Boyle thinks that Trump’s behavior with Ukraine probably constitutes an abuse of power, but mostly agrees that it’s just a continuation of the “Russiagate” witch hunt by the democrats. Clearly Trump’s real crime is allowing Saudi Arabia to perpetrate its war of genocide by...

Scott talks to Matthew Hoh about the claim that General Soleimani and the Iranians were directly responsible for 600 American deaths in the war in Iraq, which supposedly would justify the general’s recent assassination by President Trump. Hoh explains that although it’s generally true that some Iranian money supported certain militant groups that the U.S. fought against in Iraq, we have little to no concrete evidence of the Iranian military ordering, planning, or supporting any attacks on...

Patrick Cockburn discusses the recent killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani at an airport in Baghdad. Cockburn is surprised by the boldness of the move, and thinks Iran will respond, though not necessarily in a dramatic or immediate way. More likely, he says, Iran will try to increase its influence in Iraq and force the U.S. out, which should be easier now that the killing of Soleimani—generally unpopular with Iraqis—has actually made him a martyr of American authoritarianism. Discussed...

Scott talks with Brett Murphy about his recent USA Today article exposing a disastrous U.S. military raid in 2008 that killed 60 Afghan children. The U.S. government tried to cover up the incident and paint it as a perfect success, so it was not until now that Murphy and others have been able to expose what really happened. Scott reminds us to imagine how we would feel if a foreign government occupied our country, accidentally killed our children, denied it, and then tried to “win hearts and...

Mustafa Akyol talks about his latest New York Times op-ed, which describes a backlash among the people of the Muslim world to some of the political extremism that has recently become common in the Middle East. Scott and Akyol rehash the history of radical Islamist movements that have sprung up in response to the actions of the U.S., turning regimes like Libya, Iraq, and Egypt that were stable and secular—if not perfect by American standards—into murderous and chaotic theocracies. A decade or...

Peter Van Buren talks about the unlearned lessons from America’s last several decades of foreign policy failures. Although a presidential administration will occasionally make a blunder that results in something like ISIS or the empowerment of Iran, for the most part, says Van Buren, the endless and unwinnable wars, the bloated military spending, and a nation that worships its military are all part of the plan for the neocons, neoliberals, and the military industrial complex and its lobbyists....

Tim Shorrock discusses the negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea. Shorrock explains why the strategy pursued by American neocons—and therefore President Trump’s cabinet—of crushing economic sanctions until North Korea agrees to complete denuclearization, and a more gradual policy that both Koreas favor, are totally incompatible. To make things worse, democrats at home try to portray Trump as a lover of dictators, making it hard for him to negotiate with someone like Kim. On top of this...

Lyle J. Goldstein talks about the need for Russia and Ukraine to get along better, and in general for Europe to handle more of its military and foreign affairs without the involvement of the U.S. Much has been made in certain American circles of supposed Russian aggression in Crimea and Syria, two major pillars of the narrative that Russia is a dangerous enemy that must be met with strength. But these claims present a very slanted narrative, and are mostly used by those who want to keep the...

Scott interviews John Kiriakou about the history of the CIA’s secret torture program. Kiriakou was involved in the 2002 capture of Abu Zubaydah, who was initially interrogated with some success by the FBI, before his interrogation was eventually taken over by the CIA. Zubaydah was the first victim of the CIA’s torture regime, which, Kiriakou says, completely failed to produce any actionable intelligence. Kiriakou eventually blew the whistle on the program and served time in prison as part of a...

Jim Bovard talks about America’s lack of faith in the FBI, as represented by both the film Richard Jewell and also the Inspector General’s report about the Bureau’s failures in conducting the “Russiagate” probe. The FBI’s history of incompetence and outright malice goes back much further than that though, says Bovard, who remembers the malfeasance of the Nixon administration and the deliberate sabotage of the civil rights movement. Bovard and Scott find reason for hope, however, in...

Dave DeCamp discusses the latest leaks related to the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma in 2018, which continue to point to the fact that it was staged. The most recent leaker dissents from the conclusions of the OPCW investigators that the supposed chlorine gas canisters were dropped into the apartment building from planes or helicopters. He claims instead that they were planted to make the scene look like a chemical attack. Other dissenters have cast doubt on medical reports from the...

Sheldon Richman discusses America’s relationship to Israel in the wake of President Trump’s speech to Sheldon Adelson’s Israeli-American Council. Trump has received criticism as being anti-semitic for saying that American Jews, particularly democrats, do not “love Israel enough.” This is odd, says Richman, since usually allegations of anti-semitism are based on people claiming that American Jews might have a special loyalty to Israel. He laments the fact that nobody cares about...

Scott interviews Nasser Arrabyee about Yemen, where the U.S. continues to back Suadi Arabia in waging a war of starvation against the people of Yemen. Scott calls this the very worst thing our government is doing, and yet by and large the American people don’t much care about it. Arrabyee says that Houthi leaders are beginning to talk with the Saudis through backchannels, which could be the first step toward a deescalation of the bombing and a reopening of airports, which would allow...