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Grant Smith discusses his new book, The Israel Lobby Enters State Government, which tells the scandalous story of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, a branch of the Virginia state legislature tasked with promoting Israeli business interests in the state. Unlike a chamber of commerce, says Smith, VIAB is quite literally a part of Virginia's government, so its members can use political power to obtain contracts for businesses that they choose, with special provisions that businesses in the free market would never get. This has led to failure after failure, with much of the taxpayer money that funds these companies simply lost forever.

Discussed on the show:

The Israel Lobby Enters State Government: Rise of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board

"Israel and Its US Lobby Finally Achieve a Long-Term Objective: Direct US-Iranian Military Conflict" (Antiwar.com Blog)

Grant F. Smith is the author of a number of books including Big Israel: How Israel’s Lobby Moves America and Divert!. He is director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C.

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=_DRP-4BF3Zs

Will Porter returns to Foreign Policy Focus to talk about Trump's 'maximum pressure' strategy. Will covers the recent news that Iran shot down the Ukrainiahttp://traffic.libsyn.com/foreignpolicyfocus/FPF442.mp3n civilian flight, killing 176 people. Will and Kyle explain how Trump's maximum pressure against Iran created the tensions leading to the deadly event. Will and Kyle breakdown their recent article Maximum Failure: Trump’s Convulsive North Korea Strategy Can’t Bring Kim to the Table. The article explains how Trump squandered his opportunity to bring peace to North Korea with maximum pressure and poor staffing decisions. 

Will Porter is a staff writer at RT.  His work as been published at Consortium News, Antiwar.com, and the Libertarian Institute.

41 Minutes

PG-13

Pete invited John Baeza to come on the show. John recently wrote an article for LewRockwell.com entitled, "How I Survived 3 Years as a Libertarian Cop." John details his successes in applying libertarian principles to monopolistic policing and talks about what ultimately led to his separation. He also talks about police reforms he'd like to see now that could drastically reduce violence and harm to all parties involved.

John Baeza was was involved in hundreds of criminal investigations in his 20 year law enforcement career. Det. Baeza began his career as a New York State Correction Officer at Sing-Sing Prison; worked patrol in Harlem's 32nd Precinct; and served as an undercover Police Officer and Detective in the Manhattan North Narcotics and Major Case Units. He transferred to the Manhattan Special Victims Squad, where he was responsible for the investigation of sex crimes, serial rape, sexual homicide, and child abuse. During his tenure in this assignment he expanded his knowledge of law enforcement investigation procedures. Det. Baeza has been published in the Journal of Behavioral Profiling and books such as the Rape Investigation Handbook, among other publications, and he maintains a large reference library including many of the seminal investigative textbooks.

How I Survived 3 Years as a Libertarian Cop

John's Writings at LewRockwell.com

Donate at the Libertarian Institute

Pete's Link to Sign Up for the LP

Lions of Liberty Podcast

Link to Richard Grove's Autonomy Course

Pete's Patreon

Pete's Books on Amazon

Pete's Books Available for Crypto

Pete on Facebook

Pete on Twitter

Gareth Porter joins Scott once again to discuss what he calls Mike Pompeo's "Gulf of Tonkin incident." In the real Gulf of Tonkin incident, McNamara intentionally misled President Johnson in order to incite war between the U.S. and North Vietnam. Porter says that Pompeo pulled a similar maneuver in deceiving President Trump about the extent to which Soleimani and the Iranians were behind the recent embassy attacks in Iraq in order to persuade him to carry out Soleimani's assassination. For the time being, at least, it appears that Trump is satisfied to let the Iranians save face with their missile strike and is not interested in further escalation.

Discussed on the show:

The CIA Insider's Guide to the Iran Crisis: From CIA Coup to the Brink of War

"Pompeo’s Gulf Of Tonkin Incident" (The American Conservative)

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state, and author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter and listen to Gareth’s previous appearances on the Scott Horton Show.

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.

Cliff Maloney of Young Americans for Liberty talks about the disaster of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and how to bring more Americans around to the antiwar position. Luckily, he says, a great majority of people already oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when asked, the trouble is that they don't make it a priority—and neither, therefore, do most politicians. In an effort to change this, Maloney's organization vets liberty-focused, antiwar candidates and helps them get elected in local races all around the country.

Discussed on the show:

"Five lessons Afghanistan teaches us about Iran" (The Hill)

"The Afghanistan Papers" (Washington Post)

"Terrorism: Ron Paul vs. Giuliani @ SC Debate" (YouTube)

"For Liberty: How the Ron Paul Revolution Watered the Withered Tree of Liberty (2009)" (IMDb)

"Dan 'McCain 2.0' Crenshaw Says He NEVER Wants the Troops to Come Home From Afghanistan" (Big League Politics)

"Report: US Drone Strike Kills 60 Afghan Civilians, Taliban Commander" (Antiwar.com Original)

bringourtroopshome.us

Cliff Maloney is President of Young Americans for Liberty. Before serving as President of YAL he was the National Youth Director for the Rand Paul Presidential Campaign. Follow him on Twitter @LibertyCliff.

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=FWAzIo0Y62A

Yan Pritzker graces me with his presence and knowledge. Welcome to understanding bitcoin for dummies...not really. Bottom line is, if you're confuzzled on how bitcoin works, Yan is your man. Enjoy.

Follow me @MrPseu 

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Buy Inventing Bitcoin

Scott talks to Robert Naiman about the efforts in congress and the senate to oppose the war in Yemen and stymie any escalation in a conflict with Iran. Naiman is optimistic that a concurrent resolution against the war in Yemen, which Trump cannot veto, will have enough support to make it through congress. Republicans and many in the media maintain that a concurrent resolution is merely symbolic, with no power to bind the president. But Naiman assures us that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 specifically cites a concurrent resolution as the means by which congress can end an unauthorized war. Those who deny this, he says, are living in their own fantasy.

Robert Naiman is Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy and president of the board of Truthout. He helped write The WikiLeaks Files: The World According to US Empire. Find him on Twitter @naiman.

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; Washinton Babylon; Liberty Under Attack Publications; 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=uOqPrf9viSM

Francis Boyle explains why President Trump should be impeached—not for the charges of corruption and abuse of power in Ukraine, but for his war crimes in continuing the aggressive wars of the Bush and Obama administrations. Boyle thinks that Trump's behavior with Ukraine probably constitutes an abuse of power, but mostly agrees that it's just a continuation of the "Russiagate" witch hunt by the democrats. Clearly Trump's real crime is allowing Saudi Arabia to perpetrate its war of genocide by starvation against Yemen, which is only possible with American equipment, intelligence, and consent. Scott and Boyle agree that Trump could end that war today simply by announcing that the U.S. will no longer support it. By not doing so, he is just as guilty as those waging the war.

Discussed on the show:

"Why Not Impeach Trump for War Crimes?" (Accuracy.Org)

Francis Boyle is a human rights lawyer and a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. He is the author of Defending Civil Resistance Under International Law and Protesting Power: War, Resistance, And Law.

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; Washinton Babylon; Liberty Under Attack Publications; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

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

Scott talks to Matthew Hoh about the claim that General Soleimani and the Iranians were directly responsible for 600 American deaths in the war in Iraq, which supposedly would justify the general's recent assassination by President Trump. Hoh explains that although it's generally true that some Iranian money supported certain militant groups that the U.S. fought against in Iraq, we have little to no concrete evidence of the Iranian military ordering, planning, or supporting any attacks on American soldiers. In fact by the evidentiary standards of the anti-Iran hawks, there is far more evidence for the guilt of gulf states like Saudi Arabia supporting America's enemies, and these countries are supposed to be our allies. Those really responsible for these 600 dead Americans—and for the tens of thousands who come home with physical and psychological wounds, the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis, and the entire nations that have been destroyed in America's war on terror—are our elected politicians and "selfless" public servants who advocate these policies and face little repercussion.

Discussed on the show:

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany

Matthew Hoh is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and formerly worked for the U.S. State Department. Hoh received the Ridenhour Prize Recipient for Truth Telling in 2010. Hoh is a member of the Board of Directors for Council for a Livable World and is an Advisory Board Member for Expose Facts. He writes on issues of war, peace and post-traumatic stress disorder recovery at matthewhoh.com.

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; Washinton Babylon; Liberty Under Attack Publications; 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=E9NZxGkBDV8

On FPF #441, I cover the assassination of Soleimani and the subsequent Iranian missile attack. The Iranian missile attack did not kill anyone, and that appears to have been the Iranian intention. The symbolic response to Trump's act of war, allowed Trump to back away from the brink of a shooting war with Iran. However, I argue it is incorrect to believe Trump is a strategic mastermind playing 3D chess. Heightened tensions with Iran only exist because Trump withdrew from the Nuclear Deal and started an unprovoked economic war against Iran. The US economic war put the US and Iran on the path to a shooting war, and the US will remain on that path until it abandons sanctions. 

Links

Maximum Failure by Will Porter and Kyle Anzalone

Trump addresses the nation on the Iranian missile attack against Iraqi bases housing US soldiers. Trump says it appears Iran is standing down and no Americans were injured or killed. [Link] In his address, Trump said he is placing powerful new sanctions on Iran. [Link] Rand Paul said the Trump invoking Congressional authority given in 2002 to assassinate Soleimani is absurd. [Link]

Senator Mike Lee bashes the Trump admin’s briefing on the Soleimani assassination saying, “probably the worst briefing at least on a military issues I’ve ever seen.” [Link]

The House will vote on a War Powers Resolution this week that condemns Trump’s assassination of Soleimani and emphasizes that Congress has not given the president authority for war with Iran. The White House is dismissing the resolution as not constraining the president’s authority to start a war with Iran. [Link]

Vice President Pence said the US has received intelligence that Iran instructed Shia militias not to attack US forces. [Link]

China says it shares highly similar views with Russia on the Middle East. [Link]

Iraq’s Prime Minister received a verbal notification from Iran that Iran was going to carry out a missile attack on two Iraqi bases before the bases were hit. He then informed the Americans of the coming attack. [Link]

Some Iraqi leaders, with ties to Iran, respond to the missile attack by saying Iran had a right to respond. [Link]

The Iraqi military say none of its forces were wounded or killed by the missile attack. [Link]

Satellite photos show the damage done to two Iraqi bases hit with Iranian missiles. [Link]

Trump responded to the missile strikes in a tweet that said “all is well.” [Link]

After the Iranian missile attack, the Iranian government put out several statements saying it will respond if the US strikes back. The Iranian statements were similar to statements made by the US government after the assassination of Soleimani. [Link]

Influential Iraqi Shia Cleric Sadr calls on Shia militias to stand down while the US and Iran work towards de-escalation. [Link]

Congressman Duncan Hunter announces he will resign his seat on January 13th. [Link]

In December of 2018, two US warplanes collided during a training mission, killing six. The initial report on the issue pointed out problems of soldiers at low ranking levels like drug use and affairs. However, the squadron of F-18s had frequently reported to the chain of command problems with the planes. The squadron did not have enough parts for their planes and pilots could not get enough flight time. [Link]

A plane crashed in Iran shortly after taking off. The plane was a Boeing 737-800 owned by a Ukrainian airline. The plane was scheduled to travel to Ukraine and was mostly carrying Iranian, Ukrainian, and Canadian passengers. [Link]

Spain has imprisoned several Catalan leaders who held an independence vote in 2017. One of those imprisoned is also a member of the European Parliament. As a member of Parliament, he should have immunity. However, the Spanish high court says he will not be released.