Gareth Porter, investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy, discusses his article “US Rejected 2005 Iranian Offer Ensuring No Nuclear Weapons;” the Bush administration’s hardline stance against even a single Iranian centrifuge; how the MEK “laundered” Israeli intelligence on the Natanz facility, providing enough disinformation for years of anti-Iran propaganda; and Iran’s offer to have all its low-enriched uranium converted into fuel-rods, which cannot...
06/05/12 – Nick Turse – The Scott Horton Show
Nick Turse, associate editor of TomDispatch.com, discusses his article “A Drone-Eat-Drone World;” the Pentagon’s eager anticipation of autonomous drones that decide when and where to rain death from above; why drones are rapidly proliferating even though they aren’t effective in fighting and winning wars; the 1-to-1 UAV flight time to maintenance ratio; and the ability of drones to evade rifle-wielding tribesmen – but not semi-modern air defenses (or Pakistani public opinion).
06/05/12 – Eric Margolis – The Scott Horton Show
Eric Margolis, internationally syndicated columnist and author of American Raj, discusses Pakistan’s potential for dissolution; the Lebanonization of Syria; why Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is urging India to get more involved in Afghanistan; India’s big-spending on Afghanistan’s ethnic minorities; and what a foreign military “trainer” really is.
06/04/12 – Robert Naiman – The Scott Horton Show
Robert Naiman, Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy, discusses his article “Yes, Virginia, We Can Do Something About the Drone Strikes;” the US government’s determination that military-age males killed by drones are always enemy combatants; targeting people for assassination that aren’t even on the “kill list” (as if the list itself wasn’t bad enough); opposition to Obama’s drone program from within his own administration and Congress; how regular people can (indirectly) change federal...
06/04/12 – Patrick Cockburn – The Scott Horton Show
Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for The Independent, discusses his article “Why War is Marching on the Road to Damascus;” assigning blame for the Houla massacre and whether it will spark US intervention; why Syria looks like Lebanon before its disastrous 15-year civil war; Saudi Arabia’s continued fight against Iran’s 1979 revolution and the Shia revival; why NATO “safe haven” zones would exacerbate conflict in Syria and lead to wider war; Iraq’s export of suicide bombers; how...
06/04/12 – Nikolas Kozloff – The Scott Horton Show
Nikolas Kozloff, author of Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics and the Challenge to the U.S., discusses his article “What’s Behind Obama’s New Military Base in Chile;” doubts about the base’s official purpose as peacekeeper training facility, considering the recent history of US interference in South America; the Chilean government’s fight (aided by the FBI) with the Mapuche Indians over control of natural resources; US worries about Brazil as a future near-peer competitor; why the School of the...
06/01/12 – Stephen Zunes – The Scott Horton Show
Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, discusses his article “Bipartisan Assault on Middle East Peace;” the overwhelming passage of H.R. 4133, which commits the US to defend Israel as a “Jewish state;” the lunatics in Congress that make the Obama administration look downright rational in comparison; how the US raises the bar on Arab concessions to Israel in order to prevent a peace deal; and Congress’s contempt for the Arab...
06/01/12 – Will Grigg – The Scott Horton Show
Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses his article “What to Remember on Memorial Day;” Westward expansion and the 19th century genocide of American Indians; the different negotiating tactics of private and government-subsidized railroads; Dr. Seuss’s anti-Japanese propaganda during WWII; historical revisionism and the sometimes-counterproductive American Indian activism in the 1960s and 70s; and how the state demonizes its enemies to justify their extermination – from...
05/30/12 – Marcy Wheeler – The Scott Horton Show
Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses the NY Times puff piece article on President Obama’s secret kill list; the government’s fuzzy math in calculating civilian casualties from drone strikes; assassinating the bakers who may or may not sell bread to the Taliban; journalists (a.k.a. “terrorist sympathizers”) who dare gather information on drone strike casualties; more evidence that counterterrorism advisor John Brennan is a liar; how the US helped create the AQAP threat in Yemen; why the...
05/30/12 – Jason Leopold – The Scott Horton Show
Jason Leopold, lead investigative reporter of Truthout and author of News Junkie, discusses his exclusive article on Hesham Abu Zubaidah, brother of the infamous “high-value detainee” al-Qaeda member; the two years Hesham spent in jail for an immigration violation after 9/11 – during which he was constantly questioned about his long-estranged brother; our total reliance on government-sourced information on (terrorism suspect) Abu Zubaidah; the indispensable Andy Worthington; and how the FBI...
05/30/12 – John Glaser – The Scott Horton Show
John Glaser, Assistant Editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the going-nowhere P5+1 Iran talks; the domestic political considerations that influence Obama’s foreign policy decisions; how US Iran Policy is Intended to Leave Open ‘Avenues for Regime Change;’” why the US and Israel won’t tolerate Iran’s nuclear breakout capability (even though nearly all nations with civilian nuclear programs have one); and the contradictory media reports on Syria’s Houla massacre.
05/29/12 – Adam Morrow – The Scott Horton Show
IPS News journalist Adam Morrow discusses his article “From Mubarak to Worse;” the final two candidates - a Muslim Brother and a former Mubarak official – in Egypt’s presidential run-off election; why Egyptians are more concerned with Islamic dress codes than Gaza policy or foreign meddling; the Muslim Brotherhood’s history of cooperation with the West; Egypt’s unfinished constitution; and why Egypt’s socialist/leftist groups haven’t had any electoral success.
05/25/12 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy, discusses his article “US Hard Line in Failed Iran Talks Driven by Israel;” the deal-breaking US positions on sanctions relief and Iran’s Fordow enrichment facility; the US’s tried-and-true model for justifying military action, from Kosovo to Iraq, that works by sabotaging any diplomatic alternatives; the Obama administration’s seeming opposition to war with Iran; and how the neoconservatives...
05/24/12 – Flynt Leverett – The Scott Horton Show
Flynt Leverett, former Senior Director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council, discusses the latest negotiations on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program at the just-concluded P5+1 Baghdad summit; why the US will never agree to lift sanctions on Iran, no matter the concessions; how the US negotiating position makes Obama look like an idiot; Richard Nixon’s observation that the same political price is paid for going half way as all the way – so you might as well go to China; why...
05/24/12 – Gareth Porter – The Scott Horton Show
Gareth Porter, investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy, discusses his article “Was Afghan Massacre Linked to IED Attack;” the confusing events and timeline during Sgt. Robert Bales’s alleged massacre; the Special Forces assassination raid that took place in the same village, on the same night, as the massacre; and how the US military uses collective punishment (a war crime) on civilians suspected of aiding the insurgency.
