Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses the Israeli Mossad chief’s admission that a nuclear-armed Iran would not be an “existential threat;” the conflict between policy “realists” in Israel’s military and intelligence community and the “messianic” hawks aligned with Netanyahu and Ehud Barak; why a Republican presidential victory in 2012 (excepting Ron Paul) would advance Netanyahu’s push for war; how ever-harsher sanctions are leading to a complete shutdown...
12/29/11 – Jason Ditz – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s attempt to purge Sunnis from government; how Iraq’s central state is being challenged by Kurdish and Sunni autonomous regions; the thousands of Americans remaining in Iraq to staff the embassy and provide training; why most members of Congress still don’t understand that the US gave Iraq to Iran on a silver platter; and how the recent killing of 35 Kurds by the Turkish military resembles the US...
12/29/11 – Mark Sheffield – The Scott Horton Show
Mark Sheffield of the Policy on Point blog discusses his article “Skip the Turban, Check the Brain: It’s Called the Persian Gulf for a Reason;” why the Persian Gulf qualifies as US-occupied territory; the mainstream media’s spin on Iran’s naval war games and their bluff and bluster about closing the Strait of Hormuz; Iran’s asymmetrical options for counterattacking a US or Israeli airstrike; and the danger of Silkworm missiles to US naval vessels, especially aircraft carriers.
12/28/11 – Flynt Leverett – The Scott Horton Show
Flynt Leverett, former Senior Director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council, discusses Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, as a response to sanctions that may eventually cut off Iran’s oil exports; why the US and Israel don’t really have a problem with Iranian nuclear weapons, just Iran’s refusal to submit to US regional hegemony; Israel’s “red line” on Iran’s uranium enrichment at Qom; why US foreign policy planners don’t learn from prior mistakes (because...
12/28/11 – Anthony Gregory – The Scott Horton Show
Anthony Gregory, Research Editor at the Independent Institute, discusses his article “Non-Interventionism: Cornerstone of a Free Society;” why war is just legalized mass murder, made acceptable because a state – instead of an individual – does it; why Americans have a hard time seeing their own government as an aggressive war-maker (we’re the good guys!); the irony of veteran soldiers (who supposedly fought for our freedom) getting killed by cops while peacefully demonstrating; and getting...
12/27/11 – Jesse Trentadue – The Scott Horton Show
Jesse Trentadue, attorney and brother of Kenneth Trentadue (who was probably tortured and killed by FBI agents mistaking him for Richard Lee Guthrie – a.k.a. John Doe No. 2 – in the wake of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing), discusses Attorney General Eric Holder’s role (as Deputy AG during the Clinton administration) in quashing Senator Orrin Hatch’s planned hearing on Kenneth’s death; the foreknowledge of the Oklahoma City bombing by the FBI and DOJ; the FBI’s “Patriot Conspiracy” (PATCON)...
12/27/11 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses his article “Crackpot Anti-Islam Activists, ‘Serial Fabricators’ and the Tale of Iran and 9/11;” the US court judgement finding Iran liable for the 9/11 attacks in a civil lawsuit brought by victims’ families; the testimony of an Iranian defector, previously discredited as a “serial fabricator;” the alleged secret meeting between Iran’s leadership and OBL’s son, complete with miniaturized models of 9/11 targets and an...
12/26/11 – Adam Kokesh – The Scott Horton Show
Adam Kokesh discusses his Adam vs The Man YouTube channel; how foreign news (like Russia Today and Press TV) cut through US government propaganda, even if they are state-run news agencies; why online media broadcasting is the wave of the future; rehashing the "Ron Paul is a racist" allegations; how you can help Ron Paul win the Iowa caucuses by giving a speech; and why the GOP will quickly align against Paul after he wins a primary.
12/22/11 – Ray McGovern – The Scott Horton Show
Ray McGovern, member of Veterans For Peace and former senior analyst at the CIA, discusses his personal reasons for supporting heroic whistleblower Bradley Manning; McGovern’s own experience with classified information during the Vietnam War (like Daniel Ellsberg, he regrets not exposing the government lies sooner and perhaps curtailing the war – saving countless lives in the process); why exceedingly few government employees that will sacrifice their careers to tell the truth, even with...
12/22/11 – Stephen Zunes – The Scott Horton Show
Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, discusses the Arab Spring as the culmination of decades of peaceful rebellion against tyrannical governments; why nonviolent protests are more inclusive and tougher to eradicate; why the Libyan revolution was not in the Arab Spring mold (more like a foreign intervention/regime change); how violent revolutions tend to breed more violence and result in authoritarian governments; how the Bush...
12/22/11 – Jason Ditz – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the large bombings in Iraq after US withdrawal; Prime Minister Maliki’s attempt to arrest Vice President Tareq Hashemi as a “terrorist;” Iraq’s coalition government falling apart, as Maliki overreaches; the 700 US troops scheduled to remain behind as trainers; the military’s report justifying the fatal US air attack on Pakistani border posts; back-channel negotiations between the US and Pakistan’s civilian government to undermine the...
12/21/11 – Tom Engelhardt – The Scott Horton Show
Tom Engelhardt, creator of Tomdispatch.com and author of The United States of Fear, discusses why the US withdrawal from Iraq seemed a lot like defeat, despite the “success” story peddled by Obama; how the ambitious Bush administration, confident of a “cakewalk” victory, never got the “enduring bases” and tens of thousands of permanent occupation soldiers they wanted; a catalog of what the US took home, and what remains behind; Dick Cheney’s reasonable explanation (in 1994) why George H.W....
12/21/11 – Marcy Wheeler – The Scott Horton Show
Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses the conviction of US citizen Tarek Mehanna on material support of terrorism charges, in part for posting “jihadist” videos online; the SCOTUS ruling (Holder v. HLP) that defines “material support” so broadly a lawyer could be arrested for representing alleged terrorist organizations (except those favored by the government, like MEK); whether provisions in the NDAA authorize the indefinite detention of Americans or not; the legal precedents set by the Yaser...
12/21/11 – Barbara Slavin – The Scott Horton Show
Barbara Slavin, author of Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S. and the Twisted Path to Confrontation, discusses her article “Mass Tragedy Feared as Closure of MEK Camp Looms;” how MEK leader Maryam Rajavi is using the camp residents as pawns while pressuring the State Department to remove the group’s terrorist status; the proposed 2003 prisoner swap (MEK for al-Qaeda) between the US and Iran that was scuttled by Doug Feith and Paul Wolfowitz; and how UN interviews with MEK members (to...
12/20/11 – M.J. Rosenberg – The Scott Horton Show
M.J. Rosenberg, journalist and Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at Media Matters Action Network, discusses his article “The ‘Israel Firster’ Brouhaha” about the Politico article chiding Media Matters for supposedly trying to turn the Democratic Party establishment against Israel; AIPAC’s dossiers on journalists (including M.J.) unwilling to parrot Likud Party talking points; the political risk-reward calculation that makes almost the entire Congress rabidly pro-Israel; why even Tom Friedman...
