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...
12/19/11 – John Feffer – The Scott Horton Show
John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, discusses his article “Two Leaders, Two Deaths,” comparing the legacies of former Czech president Vaclav Havel and N. Korean “dear leader” Kim Jong Il; Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution and Havel’s mixed-bag presidency, where his aspiration of “moral government” fell short in implementation; Kim Jong Il’s ability to defy the US and maintain his hermit kingdom (paid for by Koreans who suffered a repressive...
12/19/11 – Adam Morrow – The Scott Horton Show
IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses his article “Muslim Brotherhood Looks Beyond Tahrir;” the Islamic political parties sweeping Egypt’s parliamentary elections; continuing protests from Egyptian liberals, frustrated at getting trounced in the polls; the meeting with US Ambassador Anne Patterson, Senator John Kerry and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party; and whether Egypt’s second-place – and very conservative – Islamic party will inspire more paranoid talk of a...
12/19/11 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses his article “How Maliki and Iran Outsmarted the US on Troop Withdrawal;” the Iran-brokered deal that protected Moqtada al-Sadr’s militia, granted Prime Minister Maliki much-needed political support, and united Iraq’s power structure against US occupation; how the US screwed up plans for an Iraqi client state (you support the minority faction with a tenuous hold on power, not the majority that doesn’t need propping up);...
12/16/11 – Karen Greenberg – The Scott Horton Show
Karen Greenberg, Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University, discusses her article “How terrorist ‘entrapment’ ensnares us all;” setting a dangerous precedent by allowing law enforcement and paid informants to manufacture terrorist plots, ideology and materials; making the already-difficult entrapment legal defense even less likely to succeed; why terrorism suspects can’t expect to get fair trials; why preventive law enforcement is needed to some degree after 9/11; and...
12/16/11 – Aaron Glantz – The Scott Horton Show
Aaron Glantz, Bay Citizen reporter and author of The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle against America’s Veterans, discusses how the US quickly squandered the goodwill of Iraqis who were glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein; the disasters in Abu Ghraib, Fallujah and Najaf; a personal retrospective on the individual casualties of war; why the giant US embassy and small remaining mercenary force aren’t nearly enough to dominate Iraq; and why Obama deserves some credit for making good on Bush’s...
12/16/11 – Jack Hunter – The Scott Horton Show
Jack Hunter, talk radio host, Charleston newspaper columnist and Ron Paul 2012 blogger, discusses the Michele Bachmann/Ron Paul debate on Iran policy; why David Frum is (sort of) correct that Republicans live in an alternate reality quite apart from the real world; the consistency of pro-war pundits, from the Reagan era to today; why Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are both responsible for a million Iraqi deaths; and how a timely release of the 2011 National Intelligence Estimate could help...
12/15/11 – Glenn Greenwald – The Scott Horton Show
Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald discusses his article “Obama to sign indefinite detention bill into law;” our return to the McCarthy era when indefinite detention was last codified in law; how the Levin/McCain bill just ties up legal loose ends to 10 years of official government policy previously justified by the AUMF; the broadened definition of terrorism, such that the president could target just about anyone; why we shouldn’t mistake Obama’s initial NDAA objections as a defense of liberty...
12/14/11 – John Glaser – The Scott Horton Show
John Glaser, Assistant Editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Obama’s “mission accomplished” speech heralding the Iraq War’s “successful” end; a closer look at what nine years of US war and occupation has wrought (a million dead and a budding Maliki dictatorship); how an Iraqi strongman makes US imperial strategy easier; the brewing troubles in Pakistan; and why the Afghan National Police (ANP) is being expanded, despite a clear record of brutality and lawlessness.
12/14/11 – Will Grigg – The Scott Horton Show
Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses how a cattle-trespass dispute between a North Dakota farmer and the local sheriff escalated into a “full spectrum military response,” including a Predator drone used for surveillance, and the arrest of the farmer, his wife, daughter and three sons; the greatly expanded scope and definition of domestic terrorism laws from the post-Oklahoma City AEDPA through 9/11 and the PATRIOT Act; why private citizens targeted by the government...
12/12/11 – Eric Margolis – The Scott Horton Show
Eric Margolis, internationally syndicated columnist and author of War at the Top of the World and American Raj, discusses the conflict in Syria, where Western-backed instigators and a legitimate domestic opposition face off against the Assad regime – which still enjoys widespread popular support; the consequences of Syrian regime change for Palestinians, Iran and Hezbollah; how Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are exporting homegrown Islamic radicals to fight in Syria (shades of 1980s...
12/12/11 – Lew Rockwell – The Scott Horton Show
Lew Rockwell, founder and Chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, discusses how big government, big business, militant nationalism and a belligerent foreign policy have given the US a “galloping” case of fascism; the real difference between Obama and Newt Gingrich (former owned by the banks, latter by big pharma); the public cheers and standing ovations for uniformed military going about their business; and the re-colonization of mineral and energy-rich Africa.
12/12/11 – Sheldon Richman – The Scott Horton Show
Sheldon Richman, senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses his article “Newt Gingrich: Demagogue, Pseudointellectual” about Gingrich’s assertion that Palestinians are an “invented” people (who therefore have no rights); the NY Times article that debunks Gingrich’s warnings on a doomsday EMP attack; the Republican primary candidates competing to be president of Israel’s fan club; and why Israel can be either a Jewish state or democratic – but not both.
12/09/11 – Kate Gould – The Scott Horton Show
Kate Gould, Legislative Associate for the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), discusses her article “End of ‘Brown Rice Diplomacy’ with Iran?” that refers to the 45 total minutes spent in direct talks with Iran in the past 30 years; how Congress bill H.R. 1905 makes war more likely by outlawing diplomacy with any Iranian official who “presents a threat to the United States;” why there’s plenty of common ground for a uranium swap deal – if only the US would engage in meaningful...
12/09/11 – Jason Ditz – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the Egyptian military leadership’s latest attempts at subverting the transition to civilian rule and constitutional reform; the soon-to-be reverse engineered US drone captured in Iran; why a new Libyan civil war may be coming soon; learning the wrong lessons from the Iraq War; and the hundreds of dead soldiers who received “honorable” burials in landfills, courtesy of the Air Force.
