This interview was broadcast on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles on August 26th. Pepe Escobar, journalist and author of Obama Does Globalistan, discusses his article “R2P is now Right 2 Plunder” about the great fortunes to be made rebuilding Libya and extracting its natural resources; how al-Qaeda operative Abdelhakim Belhadj led the rebel onslaught on Tripoli; concern in Washington about the outcome of NATO regime change – helping install a Taliban-like regime in N. Africa won’t help Obama’s...
08/25/11 – Will Grigg – The Scott Horton Show
Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses the AP news story about the CIA/NYPD joint venture into “mapping” minority neighborhoods – essentially domestic spying; rendering moot the prohibitions on domestic CIA intelligence gathering and military law enforcement; why recruiting government informants through blackmail is a sign of creeping totalitarianism; why Americans are not protected by the rule of law, so long as the government can ignore it at will; and why the real...
08/25/11 – Lew Rockwell – The Scott Horton Show
Lew Rockwell, founder and Chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, discusses why Ron Paul is the first real peace candidate for president since Eugene McCarthy in 1968; the prime importance of foreign policy, since waging imperial wars abroad inevitably harms liberty and prosperity at home; Paul’s bold challenge to Rick Santorum’s Iran warmongering in the Iowa debate; why the US unnecessarily provoked the Cold War and kept it going; why democratic wars fail to differentiate between soldiers...
08/24/11 – Francis Boyle – The Scott Horton Show
Francis Boyle, Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, discusses how in 2004 the FBI and CIA tried to make him an informant to betray his Arab and Muslim legal clients; how his refusal landed him on several terrorism watch lists, guaranteeing him a lifetime of harassment when traveling; the list of five thousand Arabs, Muslims and their sympathizers that the FBI interrogated and attempted to “turn;” the US government’s habit of rounding up entire groups of Americans (or...
08/24/11 – Nick Turse – The Scott Horton Show
Nick Turse, author of The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives, discusses his article “Uncovering the Military’s Secret Military;” how JSOC became “an almost industrial-scale counterterrorism killing machine” and the president’s own private army; rebuilding US special operations after the 1980 Iran hostage embarrassment and greatly expanding them after 9/11; how SOCOM has developed the clout and influence of an independent military branch, like the Navy or Army; the war-porn...
08/24/11 – Pepe Escobar – The Scott Horton Show
Pepe Escobar, journalist and author of Obama Does Globalistan, discusses his article “Welcome to Libya’s ‘democracy’” and whether Gadhafi’s apparent defeat is instead a strategic retreat – presaging a guerrilla war; how NATO filters all information from Libya’s National Transitional Council, making it very difficult for outsiders to determine what’s really going on; why eastern Libya may become an emirate ruled by heavily armed Islamists, much to the delight of the Persian Gulf monarchies; how...
08/23/11 – Reza Marashi – The Scott Horton Show
Reza Marashi, Research Director for the National Iranian American Council, discusses the eight year prison sentence for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, the American hikers accused of crossing the Iranian border and spying; why they are casualties of the non-existent diplomatic relations between the US and Iran; the hard work behind the scenes by lower level American diplomats seeking their release; and why a goodwill pardon by Iran’s President or Supreme Leader, timed for the 2011 UN General...
08/23/11 – Trevor Aaronson – The Scott Horton Show
Trevor Aaronson, Investigative Reporting Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses his article “The Informers” that looks at the FBI’s prosecution of terrorism cases in the US; the huge increase of government informants since 2004, and whether they are exposing terrorist plots or manufacturing them; why an “entrapment” legal defense simply doesn’t work, even when it really should; and several specific cases of informants-run-amok, from Lodi, California to Miami,...
08/23/11 – Marcy Wheeler – The Scott Horton Show
Blogger Marcy Wheeler discusses her article “FBI Conducts Threat Assessment on Antiwar.Com Journalists for Linking to Publicly Available Document;” the convoluted chain of events that led the FBI to investigate Antiwar.com; how the file ended up in a FOIA request for the “Israeli Movers” sidebar to the 9/11 attacks; the few barriers to intrusive government investigation into the lives and businesses of private US citizens, thanks in part to the PATRIOT Act; and why the FBI viewed Justin...
08/23/11 – 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 ragtag Libyan rebels entering Tripoli and seizing Gadhafi’s compound (courtesy of massive NATO air support); the similarity with Egypt’s governmental reforms, where the head autocrat is deposed yet former ministers and the power structure remain intact; why the disparate rebel factions, united in hatred of Gadhafi, will splinter and fight amongst themselves; and the...
08/22/11 – Adam Morrow – The Scott Horton Show
Adam Morrow, journalist with IPS News, discusses his article “Sinai Simmers in Security Vacuum;” how the killing of Egyptian border guards has further soured relations with Israel; why the Rafah crossing might close again, trapping residents of Gaza and enabling another “Cast Lead” type operation; why the 2004-06 Sinai resort bombings blamed on Islamic groups could have been false-flag attacks; and Egypt’s increasing displeasure with the Camp David Accords, which prevents troop deployments...
08/22/11 – Eric Garris – The Scott Horton Show
Eric Garris, founder and director of Antiwar.com, discusses Justin Raimondo’s column “The FBI vs. Antiwar.com” about FOIA documents detailing a 2004 FBI investigation of Antiwar.com, its staff and particularly Raimondo himself; the FBI’s apparent interest in “Urban Movers” and the Israeli connection to 9/11; how the FBI got a FISA warrant to essentially conduct a counterterrorism investigation against Antiwar.com, a US-based non-profit media outlet; holding our collective breath until the...
08/22/11 – John Glaser – The Scott Horton Show
John Glaser, Assistant Editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the seemingly victorious Libyan rebels (or was NATO the victor?); imagining Libya post-Gadhafi, with a devastated infrastructure, East/West schism, wrecked economy and human rights abuses galore; whether this is the end of foreign intervention or just the beginning; and the manic, self-destructive US empire, where limited resources are spread ever thinner.
08/19/11 – Angela Keaton – The Scott Horton Show
Antiwar.com Development Director Angela Keaton discusses firing up the blog with new assistant editor John Glaser and intern Brian Beyer; the quarterly fundraising drive, now accepting silver/gold, livestock (space permitting), and old cars; how you can buy stuff at Cafe Press and Amazon or use a Capital One credit card to benefit Antiwar.com; and why you can’t get Antiwar.com’s intensive coverage of foreign policy from a news aggregator.
08/19/11 – Stephen M. Walt – The Scott Horton Show
Stephen M. Walt, professor of international affairs at Harvard University and co-author of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, discusses his article “When did the American empire start to decline;” locating the peak of US global dominance during the first Gulf War rout of Iraqi forces, following the Soviet collapse and “unipolar moment;” the big mistakes and missed opportunities that have degraded US power since then; the Clinton administration’s failed dual-containment policy on Iran...
