Scott talks to Peter Ford about the latest in Syria and Iraq. America and the allied “coalition” have made the same mistake over and over again in the Middle East, says Ford, and President Trump seems to be walking the same path; he claims one day that he wants to pull U.S. troops out of Syria and Afghanistan, and then changes his mind on the next. Ford is also concerned about worsening tensions with Iran, but finds it credible that they really could have been behind the recent attacks on...

Antiwar.com news editor Jason Ditz discusses recent Japanese tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman, which the Trump administration is claiming were perpetrated by Iran. Trump officials say they have solid evidence for this claim, but nothing has been released except for a grainy video supposedly showing Iranians interfering with a tanker after the attack. Ditz points out that the supposed motive for the attack makes little sense, since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe is visiting Iran right...

Scott talks to the great Patrick Cockburn about war and politics in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, and the general disaster that has resulted from America’s thinking it could completely remake the Middle East. Patrick Cockburn is the Middle East correspondent for The Independent and the author of The Age of Jihad and Chaos & Caliphate. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War...

Ron Paul talks about his storied political career and the prospects for liberty under the Trump presidency. Paul is skeptical of Trump’s trade strategies, but holds out hope that his good instincts on certain foreign policy issues will translate into an actual reduction of the American empire. Paul says that although socialism has become fashionable in some parts of the country, many Americans are surprisingly receptive to the libertarian message that what we really need is more liberty, less...

Scott interviews Ramzy Baroud about the conundrum Israel finds itself in today. On the one hand, they claim to be the only liberal democratic regime in the middle of a hostile region, and that they are committed to reaching peace with the Palestinians. On the other hand, Netanyahu’s government has no real intentions of a two state solution, or even of a single Israeli state where Palestinians are given full citizenship. Israel is quickly slipping into apartheid, says Baroud, with a clear...

Scott and Sheldon Richman announce some of the projects the Libertarian Institute has underway, including the late Will Griggs’ book, No Quarter. They also discuss the “family tree” of libertarianism, and why the popular idea that conservatives and libertarians are natural allies is completely incorrect. Discussed on the show: No Quarter: The Ravings of William Norman Grigg USS Liberty incident “Libertarian Party Promotes Interventionism and Regime Change in Venezuela” (Liberty Conservative...

Reason’s Jim Epstein joins the show to discuss the Brazilian libertarians who are trying to influence the Bolsonaro government. Brazil has the largest and fastest growing libertarian community in the world, and though this arrangement can be seen as a major political victory, Epstein worries that the alliance could hurt the reputation of libertarians in the country and in the United States. Discussed on the show: “Libertarians Forged an Alliance With Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Was It...

Gareth Porter joins the show to explain the latest event being sold as evidence for the need to attack Iran. Evidenceless as usual, the claim that Iran is behind the sabotage of Saudi ships is based only on the fact that they had motive to do it. Porter’s theory? This could have really been a false flag attack by Israel, hoping it would provoke an American response against Iran. Discussed on the show: “Pentagon’s phony Iran “evidence”: New rationale for U.S. intervention?” (Salon.com) “UAE...

Scott interviews Patrick Eddington about the surveillance of U.S. citizens and the legislation that allows it. Although the USA Freedom Act ostensibly rolls back the NSA’s metadata program, it really only tweaks a technicality of whom the organization allowed to spy on, and has done nothing to limit the overall amount of data collected. Similar efforts to curtail the surveillance apparatus have met with concerns of increased terrorism. But Eddington reminds us that there’s never been a single...

Jim Bovard reflects on the legacy of Barack Obama’s presidency in light of Donald Trump’s. Obama is garnering favorable comparisons now, explains Bovard, but we shouldn’t forget all of the horrible things he did, especially on civil liberties and foreign wars. The cycle of corruption and lies continues with President Trump, whose presidency will more than likely lead to the reactionary election of yet another charlatan. Discussed on the show: “Obama’s Forgotten Frauds and Debacles” (The Future...

Scott talks to Doug Bandow about North Korea, China, Russia, and the rest of eastern Europe. Bandow holds out hope for the negotiations with North Korea, but fears the dangerous rhetoric coming from neoconservatives about America’s relationship with China. They are not America’s enemies, he explains, they just want their own region to be free of U.S. influence. Discussed on the show: “China Isn’t an Enemy and Hawks Shouldn’t Turn It Into One” (The American Conservative) “Forget the U.S.-China...

Eli Clifton discusses the influence of the Israel lobby over American politics. Even for President Trump, who famously claimed he didn't need money from big donors, Israeli and Jewish-American money is important because it can win congressional elections, and Trump needs a Republican congress if he wants to get his agenda through. Discussed on the show: "FDD Aligned With State Department To Attack Supporters Of Iran Diplomacy" (Lobe Log) "Watch the film the Israel lobby didn't want you to see"...

Scott interviews William Astore about his recent TomDispatch piece on American air power. Astore, a retired Air Force officer, explains what he was and was not taught about bombing as a strategy in war, most notably the fact that the perception of the U.S. military by the people getting bombed is rarely considered. Air power, and particularly unmanned drones, explains Astore, creates a tremendous amount of blowback from people living under the constant threat of death from the skies. This has...

Joe Lauria discusses the dangerous legal precedent set by the case against Julian Assange, whose actions in leaking government documents are not categorically different from those of a journalist. As Glenn Greenwald points out, there’s no “license” that makes someone a journalist, and no way to definitively identify an act of journalism—the first amendment must apply to everyone, regardless of their character and especially of the impact to the government of what they write. Discussed on the...

Mike Swanson joins Scott to talk about President Trump’s latest tariff announcement against Mexico. Trump and his team may think these trade policies are good for the economy, says Swanson, but they may also just be using the trade war as a way to shift blame elsewhere, should the U.S. have a bad recession during Trump’s presidency. Yet another possibility is that Trump knows protectionism is deleterious overall, but believes the effect may be worse on countries like Mexico and China, so that...