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Danny Sjursen is back for part two of his conversation with Scott about America's foreign policy disasters, this time focusing on what Sjursen calls "the coming battle for Eurasia." According to an old theory of geopolitics, the power that controls central Eurasia—that is, eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East, with all its natural resources and strategic position—will be the dominant global hegemon. Obviously, certain figures in the American government would like to be in that position. The problem, Sjursen points out, is that America is way too far away to have any business trying to do this, especially while countries like Russia and China might have an interest in trying to stop us. He says that based on his experience in the military, people seem to think the U.S. could wage a conventional war with tanks, infantry, and aircraft carriers against other world powers, without resorting to nuclear weapons. He thinks this is almost certainly untrue, and to gamble on it is to risk the survival of all humanity.

Discussed on the show:

"Beyond Ukraine: America's Coming (Losing) Battle for Eurasia" (Antiwar.com Original)

Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War

Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan

"War Machine (2017)" (IMDb)

Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. army major and former history instructor at West Point. He writes regularly for TomDispatch.com and he’s the author of “Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.” Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.

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.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuOtVtF9pFk

44 Minutes

Suitable for All Ages

Pete invited Campaign for Liberty head, Norman Singleton, to come on the show. Norman worked for Congressman Ron Paul from 1997-2012. Mr. Singleton served as Legislative Aide on Education and Workforce issues for Congressman Paul from 1997-2001, when he became Congressman Paul’s Legislative Director, a position he held until Congressman Paul left Congress this month. Mr. Singleton also served as volunteer policy director for the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign.

Pete and Norman discuss the revelations that the FBI may have been spying on Campaign for Liberty, the impending renewal of the PATRIOT ACT and they look at the economy and discuss numbers outside of the typical corporate media narrative.

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Scott talks to Danny Sjursen about the many catastrophic failures of American foreign policy, and most recently the proposed plan to carve out an autonomous Sunni region in western Iraq, which the U.S. could use to help control the Middle East and prevent Iranian influence from spreading to the eastern Mediterranean. The plan, says Scott, would be a reversal of everything the American military has spent much of this century doing in its wars in Iraq, and could lead to the deaths of thousands of U.S. troops. Sjursen also brings up the utter failure of the American Left to show up in important ways in the antiwar movement, something that in theory they are actually supposed to be good on. Most "activists" today seem content to post on social media about gender politics and let the political elites forge ahead with their bipartisan pro-war agenda.

Discussed on the show:

"US seeking to carve out Sunni state as its influence in Iraq wanes" (Middle East Eye)

"2/7/20 Suadad al-Salhy on the Insane Plan to Divide Iraq in Two" (The Libertarian Institute)

Britain and France conclude Sykes-Picot agreement

A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm

"Coping with Crumbling States: A Western and Israeli Balance of Power Strategy for the Levant by David Wurmser 1996" (The Scott Horton Show)

Tyranny's Ally: AMERICA'S FAILURE TO DEFEAT SADDAM HUSSEIN

"The New Yorker" (The New Yorker)

Yinon Plan

Oslo Accords

Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam

"World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals" (Mises Institute)

The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963

Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. army major and former history instructor at West Point. He writes regularly for TomDispatch.com and he’s the author of “Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.” Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.

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.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv9QlVJNiCI

On FPF #453, I discuss Trump's firing of impeachment witnesses, insider attacks in Afghanistan, and Iraq. Trump fired EU Ambassador Sondland and NSC Ukraine expert Vinland. Both men testified in the House impeachment hearing providing Democrats with great soundbites and little evidence. In Afghanistan, two US soldiers were killed by an insider attack. The attack is further proof the war is failing. Iraq says the attack that Trump used as an excuse to assassinate Soleimani was carried out by ISIS and not a Shia militia group. If the Iraqi military and intelligence is correct, then Trump was duped by jihadists into a conflict with Iran.

77 Minutes Some Strong Language Ryan Dawson of The Anti-NeoCon report did an exclusive Ask Me Anything for Pete's supporter group that included discussions about the Democratic party, Trump's "Deal of the Century" to the Palestinians, the Civil War and a few other topics.

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Scott interviews Suadad al-Salhy about her recent piece on the proposed U.S. plan to create an autonomous Sunni state in western Iraq. This would theoretically allow the U.S. to continue to exert control in the country, preventing the dreaded "land bridge" connecting Iran to Syria and other allies in the Mediterranean. But this plan is idiotic for a number of reasons, say Scott and al-Salhy, not least of which being that America has been fighting on behalf of the Iraqi Shiites for years, and would have to turn on them to ally themselves with the Sunnis who used to rule the country. This is likely to put the U.S. troops who are still in Iraq at great risk, which al-Salhy fears in turn could be used as further justification for more intervention.

Discussed on the show:

"US seeking to carve out Sunni state as its influence in Iraq wanes" (Middle East Eye)

"Was U.S. Wrong About Attack That Nearly Started a War With Iran?" (The New York Times)

"The Redirection" (The New Yorker)

A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm

Suadad al-Salhy is freelance journalist covering Iraq's politics and security. She is a former Reuters correspondent who has written for Al Jazeera, Newsweek and Lebanon's Daily Star. Follow her on Twitter @suadadalsalhy.

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.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIgwhkFAuE0

Scott talks to Peter Van Buren about impeachment and the fiasco at the Iowa Caucuses, and what they mean for the Democrats' political prospects heading into the election. Van Buren says that although President Trump's behavior with respect to Ukraine seems a little sleazy, nothing even remotely impeachable happened, and the trials in the House and Senate were little more than shows of partisan hatred or loyalty. He also says this victory for Trump will clearly be detrimental to the democrats in 2020, as will the complete screw-up of the recent presidential voting in Iowa. He and Scott discuss the way these two events demonstrate America's failure to even pretend to be a free, liberal democracy anymore, instead letting pretty much everyone know that the country is controlled by political elites who get their way no matter what. When someone does defy the will of the deep state, they are thrown in prison and shunned by the media, as in the cases of Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.

Discussed on the show:

"The campaign to impeach President Trump has begun" (The Washington Post)

"Dems Don’t Realize How Much Impeachment Hurts Them" (The American Conservative)

"Clinton Remark on Kennedy’s Killing Stirs Uproar" (The New York Times)

"Who's Got the Rocks to Stand Up to Government?" (Peter Van Buren)

Collateral Murder

Baghdad War Diary

Peter Van Buren worked for 24 years at the Department of State including a year in Iraq. He is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People and the novel Hooper’s War. He is now a contributing editor at The American Conservative magazine.

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.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

On FPF #452, I discuss Trump's acquittal and the special guest at his State of the Union address. I explain how impeachment turned into dangerous anti-Russia propaganda. Adam Schiff and the Democrats used undying zombie of Russiagate to try to remove Trump from office. As predicted before impeachment started, Trump was acquitted by Senate votes almost entirely along party lines.

Trump invited failed Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaido to his SOTU. The failed coup attempt has led Trump to place deadly sanctions on Venezuela. The invite to the SOTU indicates the US will continue to support Guaido's illegitimate and weak claim to power.

46 Minutes

Some Strong Language

Pete asked Scott Horton to come on the show and comment on the close of the Trump impeachment trials and what its legacy may be.

Scott Horton is Managing Director of The Libertarian Institute, host of Antiwar Radio for Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles and KUCR 88.3 in Riverside, podcasts the Scott Horton Show from scotthorton.org, and is the Editorial Director of Antiwar.com. He’s conducted more than 5,000 interviews since 2003. He is also the author of Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan (2017).

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Sheldon Richman discusses President Trump's new "Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People," which is really just an update of last year's "Deal of the Century." The plan presents itself as generous and fair, but really, says Richman, it simply codifies much of the settlement and annexation of Palestinian land that Israel has been engaged in for decades, and would create what in practice would be an apartheid state. Richman says this plan is, for the most part, probably a ploy to paint the Palestinians as unwilling to cooperate after they inevitably refuse. Indeed, Palestinian authorities have thus far not even been involved in the negotiations.

Discussed on the show:

"Trump Lays an Egg: The Israel/Palestine Vision" (The Libertarian Institute)

"Trump Would Make Palestinian Subjugation Permanent" (Antiwar.com Original)

Oslo Accords

The Invention of the Jewish People

"Israel can no longer shake off the Apartheid label " (Mondoweiss)

Sheldon Richman is the executive editor of the Libertarian Institute and the author of Coming to Palestine and America’s Counter-Revolution: The Constitution Revisited. Follow him on Twitter @SheldonRichman.

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.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpkikbhjP6Q