Scott interviews Andrew Cockburn about Russia’s supposed new

hypersonic missiles, which are said to have the ability to elude

conventional missile defense systems, potentially making the U.S. a

target for a nuclear strike with little that could be done to defend

ourselves. The problem? These missiles almost certainly can’t exist.

Cockburn explains all the problems that American engineers have faced in

trying to design hypersonic weapons, inferring that the Russians must

have come up against the same problems. Instead, he says, programs like

this serve two purposes. First, they are good for Putin’s domestic

popularity, since he will be perceived as standing up to the Americans.

Second, they are a great way to funnel money from the Russian taxpayers

to Putin’s friends in the arms industry, just like American politicians

do. The good news, says Cockburn, is that the world isn’t under a

greater threat than before due to these weapons. The bad news is that

the people of America and Russia will continue to get exploited by their

governments for the benefit of special interest groups.

Discussed on the show:

“Andrew Cockburn · Like a Ball of Fire · LRB 23 February 2020” (London Review of Books)“Putin Flaunted Five Powerful Weapons. Are They a Threat?” (The New York Times)

Andrew Cockburn is the Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine and the author of Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins. Follow him on Twitter @andrewmcockburn.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWf9Z9I-N3w