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On FPF #294, I discuss new updates in the Russiagate conspiracy theory and Syria. New information reveals Gen Flynn's trip to Russia in 2015 was in accordance with US intelligence. A court document shows an associate of John McCain gave he Steele Dossier to BuzzFeed in 2016. Bolton claims the US withdraws in Syria is conditioned on protection for the Kurds and the defeat of ISIS. The Assad government is now talking with the Syrian Kurds. The US and Russian military are also engaged in talks. 

Links

Mark Perry - Syria withdraw

Elijah Magnier - Syria updates

Journalist Elijah Magnier joins the show for his analysis of President Trump's pulling troops out of Syria. Although Trump has backed down from his original demands and acquiesced to a slower timeline for withdrawal, Magnier explains that it doesn't matter much in terms of the overall war; ISIS really is all but defeated, and now the Kurds have made their own deal with Assad, getting protection from him in exchange for their support. Other insurgent forces are still active all over the region however, says Magnier, and there's very little the U.S. and its allies can do about it. After all, if 100,000 troops couldn't quell the insurgency in Iraq, maybe nothing can.

Discussed on the show:

"Trump bows to domestic pressure by delaying his withdrawal from Syria; a storm is gathering in the Levant" (ejmagnier.com)

Jamal Khashoggi

Elijah Magnier is a Senior Political Risk Analyst with over 32 years’ experience covering Europe & the Middle East. Find him at his website, ejmagnier.com or on Twitter @ejmalrai.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Matthew Hoh talks about Trump's move to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan, something Hoh hoped President Obama would do instead of sending even more troops into Iraq. Hoh explains the difficulties of "winning" any kind of war in Afghanistan. The main problem is that most Afghans see Americans as an occupying force, and they'll even support the Taliban over a foreign occupation. He thinks a war in Iran would go the same way, except probably even worse. Danny Sjursen also joins the call, and he and Hoh discuss the fallout from America's wars, especially the physical and psychological damage so many veterans suffer when they come home from war. Both agree that the best way to support veterans is to "create fewer of them."

Discussed on the show:

Zalmay Khalilzad

"Life under the Taliban shadow government" (Overseas Development Institute (ODI))

"C.I.A.’s Afghan Forces Leave a Trail of Abuse and Anger" (The New York Times)

Civilian Deaths in Iraq and Syria - Airwars

CODEPINK

Iran Air Flight 655

National Security Act of 1947

Give an Hour

Semper Fi Fund

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.

Danny Sjursen is a major in the U.S. army 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: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

On FPF #293, I discuss Trump seeming to waver on his decision for a rapid withdraw of US troops from Syria. CNN reports a Pentagon official says the US troop withdraw from Syria will take 120 days. 

I cover what we know about the arrest of US citizen Paul Whelan in Russia. Whelan has been charged with spying. 

Links

Glenn Greenwald on the alleged Manafort and Assange meeting

Caitlyn Johnston on the resignation of William Arkin 

NYT - Child soldiers in Yemen

NYT - CIA sponsored Afghan war criminals

FPF #281 - Will Porter on the Propaganda war on Assange

On FPF #292, Will Porter returns to discuss Trump's best foreign policy decisions of 2018. Trump met with North Koren leader Kim Jong-un. He ordered the withdraw of US forces from Syria. The president is reported to be planning the withdraw of US troops from Afghanistan. We also discuss the resignations of Nikki Haley and James Mattis.

Links

FPF #213 - Russiagate with Dan Write and Joanne Leon

FPF #287 - Syria

FPF #288 - Afghanistan  

Seymore Hersh Rat Line

Peter Van Buren on Mattis' resignation

Gareth Porter on Mattis' resignation

On FPF #291, Will Porter returns to the show do break down Josh Rogin's article in the Washington Post attacking Senator Rand Paul. Will and Kyle argue Paul's influence over Trump is good. Will debunks the lies Rogin tells about Paul. 

Links

Josh Rogin

Neta Crawford discusses her work on the Costs of War project, which tries to assess the costs, in both lives and dollars, of America's wars in the Middle East. The project has estimated the 500 thousand have been killed due to combat, which includes American soldiers, enemy combatants, and civilians. It doesn't include what's known as "excess deaths," meaning civilians who die from deprivation, lack of medical care, and destroyed or degraded infrastructure as a result of the war. These deaths are even harder to measure because they rely on survey data, which Crawford's project does not use. The project also does not include Syria, Yemen, or Lybia. As a result these numbers are extremely conservative. Her work has also estimated the cost of these wars at over 5 trillion dollars, which includes money already spent, money that's been promised to programs for veterans, and estimates for interest payments on the money the government has borrowed to finance the wars.

Discussed on the show:

"Costs of War Project: The $5.6 Trillion Price Tag of the Post-9/11 Wars" (Watson Institute)

Iraq Body Count

Frontier Corps

"PRESS RELEASE: Yemen War death toll now exceeds 60,000 according to latest ACLED data" (Acled Data)

"11/11/18 Andrea Carboni on an Accurate Estimate of the Death Toll in Yemen" (The Libertarian Institute)

Neta Crawford is chair of the Political Science Department at Boston University. She is the author of Accountability for Killing: Moral Responsibility for Collateral Damage in America's Post-9/11 Wars. Follow her project on Twitter @CostsOfWar.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

On FPF #290, I explain that the US Empire is operating as usual even though the mainstream media is focused on the shutdown. The US continues to slow the Korean Peace Process with sanctions. Defense Secretary James Mattis will be out on January 1st and weapon makers exec Patrick Shanahan will take over. I discuss the impact of the announced US troop withdrawal from Syria.

Alex Kane joins the show to talk about his latest article, which explores how the Leahy Law might be applied to U.S. assistance to the Israeli military. The Leahy Law is supposed to prevent American support to any military units that have committed human rights violations, which seems probable in the case of Israel given the number of Palestinian protestors that have been killed. The Leahy Law does not apply to American support for Israel in general, which is just as well since it seems unlikely that there is political will to end that. But certain humanitarian groups are interested in using the law to bring attention to specific violations by specific military units—this type of awareness may make Americans less likely to support military aid to Israel in general in the future.

Discussed on the show:

"Inside Sources Say the State Dept Refuses To Trace Whether Israel Is Using U.S. Military Aid Illegally" (In These Times)

"Leahy Fact Sheet" (State Department)

Foreign Assistance Act Of 1961

Ahed Tamimi

"Bill to Expel Families of Palestinians Who Attack Israelis Pass 1st Reading in Knesset" (Al Bawaba)

Alex Kane is a freelance journalist who’s writing appears in Ha’aretz, the Intercept and elsewhere. He’s formerly an editor at Mondoweiss and Alternet. Read more of his work at his website and follow him on Twitter.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis joins the show to discuss President Trump's announcements that he wants to pull troops out of both Syria and Afghanistan. Davis is pleased with this news, and addresses the common but unfounded concern that if America pulls out of certain countries, terrorist activity will rise up there. For one thing, he explains, terrorist planning and coordination still goes on under the nose of American troops even when they are occupying a country. More importantly, however, most of the major attacks were planned right here in the U.S., or in Europe, where the military clearly is not going to station troops on every corner or drone bomb neighborhoods. Finally, American occupation if anything only encourages more attacks, since the family members of civilian victims are often incited to radicalism when they would not otherwise have been.

Discussed on the show:

9/11 Report

"60 Terrorist Plots Since 9/11: Continued Lessons in Domestic Counterterrorism" (The Heritage Foundation)

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Daniel Davis did multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during his time in the army. He writes a weekly column for National Interest and is the author of the reports “Dereliction of Duty II: Senior Military Leaders’ Loss of Integrity Wounds Afghan War Effort” and “Go Big or Go Deep: An Analysis of Strategy Options on Afghanistan.” Find him on Twitter @DanielLDavis1.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.