Scott interviews Ray McGovern about James Clapper’s new memoir, Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence. They touch on Clapper’s role in the buildup to the Iraq War, which he now admits, including one all-too-predictable phenomenon: Once a certain amount of time and money had been invested in mapping and other intel efforts in the Middle East, it became impossible to shut them down. Now determined to justify their own existence, these agencies were happy to provide whatever intelligence their superiors insisted they should be finding, including possible evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. McGovern warns that people like Clapper, as well as Donald Rumsfeld and new CIA director Gina Haspel, should take care when traveling abroad; some foreign governments have indicated that they are willing to arrest and indict them for their violations of international law, even though the U.S. seems unlikely to.

Discussed on the show:

• Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence
• National Imagery and Mapping Agency
• Ahmed Chalabi
• Downing Street memo
• “Clapper’s Credibility Collapses” (Antiwar.com)
• “Ray McGovern Questions James Clapper” (YouTube)
• Shock and Awe

Ray McGovern is the co-creator of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and the former chief of the CIA’s Soviet analysts division. Read all of his work at his website: raymcgovern.com.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Gareth Porter rejoins the show to talk North Korea, the New York Times, and the insidious influence of arms contractors on United States foreign policy decisions. Porter explains how easy it is for journalists to make claims like “North Korea has an illicit nuclear program” without needing to provide hard evidence. Most people don’t pay close enough attention to be able to question claims like that, but they can easily be used as evidence for the need for military intervention. Much of the media, claims Porter, hates that President Trump might help to bring about peace in Korea because they’re unwilling to give him credit for anything positive. Scott and Porter shift to discussing the dangers of the military-industrial complex in general, an institution that has been empowered by the transition of the pentagon from a huge government bureaucracy, to really more of a business. And just like any rent-seekers, arms manufacturers lobby for policies that will make them the most money. In this case that means more war from the United States.

Discussed on the show:

• David E. Sanger
• “What the New York Times Got Wrong About North Korea” (National Interest)
• Joint ComprehensiveS Plan of Action
• “North Korea ‘Deception’: NYT Malpractice or Laziness?” (American Conservative)
• Center for Strategic and International Studies
• “America’s Permanent-War Complex” (American Conservative)
• Eisenhower’s Farewell Speech
• “US: Lockheed Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (Corpwatch)
• Committee for the Liberation of Iraq
• “Top Secret America” (Washington Post)
• “10/17/18 Ben Freeman on the Saudi Lobby” (Libertarian Institute)
• “Yemen crisis: 85,000 children ‘dead from malnutrition'” (BBC)

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state, and author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter and listen to Gareth’s previous appearances on the Scott Horton Show.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

John Feffer joins the show for an update on the peace talks between North and South Korea. He optimistically describes the nascent process of dismantling parts of the DMZ, including guard towers and mine fields, and also establishing a no-fly zone there. As usual, the American media is happy to ignore all of this. Feffer reminds us that South Korean President Moon Jae-in is really the driving force behind the negotiations, but he seems happy to give lots of credit to President Trump, who probably really only deserves a little credit. All of this progress toward peace is reversible, explains Feffer, but one positive sign is that land prices around the DMZ have started to increase, signaling belief from entrepreneurs that the land will soon be usable.

Discussed on the show:

• “Is Korea’s Cold War About to End?” (Foreign Policy In Focus)
• September 2018 inter-Korean summit
• David E. Sanger
• CSIS on Korea
• “How ‘The New York Times’ Deceived the Public on North Korea” (The Nation)
• Agreed Framework
• Six-party talks
• Proliferation Security Initiative
• Axis of evil

John Feffer is the co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus and author of the dystopian novel Splinterlands. Follow Feffer on Twitter @JohnFeffer.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Patrick Martin, of the World Socialist Web Site, comes back on the show for an update on his last appearance. 11 of the democratic candidates he mentioned last time won their congressional races, and 7 more came very close, which he says is a fairly strong performance but probably not quite the one they had hoped for. These new representatives all come from backgrounds in the military or intelligence agencies, and instead of using their experience as a principled basis for opposing war, they are strong supporters of the U.S.’s military endeavors abroad. Martin laments the generally sad state of affairs on the American left when it comes to compromising on war, even among many so-called socialists.

Discussed on the show:

• “10/10/18 Patrick Martin on the Military Wing of the Democratic Party” (Libertarian Institute)
• “Mehring Books publishes The CIA Democrats” (World Socialist Web Site)
• VoteVets.org
• WithHonor.org
• Ray McGovern
• Tulsi Gabbard
• Max Shachtman
• Alternative for Germany

Patrick Martin is the senior national political writer for the World Socialist Web Site, where he is the author of numerous articles.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Sheldon Richman talks about his latest article for the Libertarian Institute, in which he spotlights a new documentary exposing the smear efforts of various pro-Israel groups against anyone standing up for the rights of Palestinians, particularly on American college campuses. These groups conflate anti-Zionism—which itself has allies among many secular and religious Jews—with outright anti-semitism or support for terrorism. Never mind the fact that Palestinians are also a Semitic people, and that most real anti-semites hate the Palestinians as well as the Jews, this comparison is extremely dishonest and fairly improbable. Even the Jewish student organizations on many campuses have come forward to defend the pro-Palestinian groups from false accusations of hatred toward Jews.

Discussed on the show:

• “TGIF: The Art of the Smear — The Israel Lobby Busted” (Libertarian Institute)
• Electronic Intifada
• Suppressed documentary The Lobby Parts 1&2
• Suppressed documentary The Lobby Parts 3&4

Sheldon Richman is the executive editor of the Libertarian Institute and the author of America’s Counter-Revolution: The Constitution Revisited. Follow him on Twitter @SheldonRichman.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

The great Tom Woods joins the show in honor of the hundred-year anniversary of Armistice Day to give a rundown of World War I. Decades of complex alliances and arms races, he explains, led to the powder keg that erupted catastrophically in 1914 with a single assassination. After many bloody months with little to show for it, the countries of Europe were on the breaking point, and a “peace without victory” looked imminent…that is, until the U.S. entered the war. Because the politics of Europe so clearly had nothing to do with America, it took a massive propaganda campaign to solidify American involvement. This allowed an overwhelming victory for the allies and the disastrous peace agreement that followed. So much of the ensuing horror of the 20th century, Scott and Woods contend, resulted directly from Wilson’s foreign policy.

Discussed on the show:

• Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
• Zimmermann Telegram
• Russian Provisional Government
• AIG Bailout
• G. Edward Griffin with Norman Dodd
• “World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals” (Mises Institute)
• “11/5/18 Stephen Walt on a Realist Foreign Policy” (libertarian Institute)
• J. P. Morgan
• Thomas W. Lamont
• The War for Righteousness: Progressive Christianity, the Great War, and the Rise of the Messianic Nation
• Beer Hall Putsch
• Fourteen Points
• Blockade of Germany
• Wilson’s War: How Woodrow Wilson’s Great Blunder Led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and World War II
• Domino theory

Tom Woods is the host of the Tom Woods Show and the author of numerous books including Real Dissent. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEWoods.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Andrea Carboni from ACLED Data comes on the show to talk about their casualty estimates for the war in Yemen. “10,000” is the number that has been used for the last few years, but that’s exactly why it can’t possibly be right. ACLED estimates that there have actually been at least 50,000 combatant plus civilian deaths, but that is a very conservative estimate and the number is likely much higher, perhaps around 80,000. Of course, accurate counts are difficult, particularly in remote and rural parts of the country.

Discussed on the show:

• “1/5/18 The UN’s Jamie McGoldrick on the state of affairs in Yemen” (Libertarian Institute)
• Iraq Body Count
• “Targeting Islamists: Assassinations In South Yemen” (ACLED)

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

James Carroll discusses President Trump’s intent to withdraw from the INF treaty, which he thinks could usher in a new age of nuclear expansion. The INF helped reverse the buildup of nuclear weapons that was taking place between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and its reversal might mean a return to the same kind of arms race we saw during the cold war. Most alarmingly of all, nobody in the mainstream seems to care about this and no media outlets will give it much attention.

Discussed on the show:

• “Tomgram: James Carroll, Entering the Second Nuclear Age?” (TomDispatch)
• Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
• START II
• The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner

James Carroll is the author of twenty books, including House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power. He is also a novelist and former columnist for the Boston Globe. Find him at his website jamescarroll.net.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Cato’s John Glaser joins the show to talk about the new oil sanctions on Iran. He and Scott discuss what this means for U.S. relations with Iran, beginning with the fact that sanctions only achieve the policy desired by the imposing nation about 30% of the time, and a dismal 5% of the time when the concern is security, as opposed to economic. In general, says Glaser, President Trump has taken the wrong approach to negotiating with foreign countries, even though his instincts are often good. He seems to believe that bluster and threats are the way to make a deal, instead of just trying to make friends outright.

Discussed on the show:

• “Failure Forecast: Sanctions Won’t Work on Iran” (Cato)
• Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
• Trita Parsi
• Sunset clause
• Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists

John Glaser is the director of Foreign Policy Studies for the Cato Institute. Follow him on Twitter @jwcglaser.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Arnold Isaacs joins the show to discuss the flawed ways the Vietnam War is remembered and commemorated. All too often, he explains, American crimes are whitewashed or left out altogether. If we don’t face up to the deeds of our military and government in previous wars though, we risk repeating the same mistakes in future ones.

Discussed on the show:

• “8/1/18 Arnold Isaacs on Fake Islamophobia in America” (Libertarian Institute)
• “Tomgram: Arnold Isaacs, Misremembering Vietnam” (Tom Dispatch)
• Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

Arnold Isaacs is a writer, educator, and the author of From Troubled Lands: Listening to Pakistani Americans and Afghan Americans in post 9/11 America. His website is ArnoldIsaacs.net, and you can read his work at antiwar.com and tomdispatch.com.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS