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On FPF #260, I explain how the war on drugs impacts US foreign policy and countries around the world. Prohibition is proven to be a failed policy that leads to black market violence. In some countries, the black market created by drug prohibition is so massive it can corrupt and destabilize the entire political and justice systems. 

I also discuss Korean Peace, Syria, and Africa. 

Links

Moon of Alabama on Korean Peace

Gareth Porter's latest article, The Shaky Case That Russia Manipulated Social Media to Tip the 2016 Election, takes on a recent New York Times piece claiming to outline how exactly Russian actors sought to undermine the 2016 presidential election. Porter explains that the Times implies a very misleading conclusion from the data, namely that the Russian government must have been involved just because Russian social media accounts were active during the election. In fact, since Russia is a primary source of for-sale "bot" accounts, both sides had significant engagement from such accounts. Porter also points out that most of the activity from fake accounts actually happened after the election, and that their overall share of political discourse was miniscule.

Discussed on the show:

"The Shaky Case That Russia Manipulated Social Media to Tip the 2016 Election" (Consortium News)

"The Plot to Subvert an Election" (New York Times)

Facebook congress testimony

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: 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.

Attorney Joseph Margulies comes on the show to discuss his recent article about his client, Abu Zabaydah, who is currently being held by the CIA without charges. Zabaydah was one of the first men caught up in the chaos after 9/11, in this case mistakenly identified as a high ranking member of Al-Qaeda. Zabaydah is a former Mujahideen fighter but has no affiliation to Al-Qaeda or 9/11, maintaining that they, along with ISIS, are violating the teachings of Islam. He has been tortured extensively and has never gotten a trial.

Discussed on the show:

"The Innocence of Abu Zubaydah" (New York Review of Books)

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Joseph Margulies is an attorney and law professor. He is the author of Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power and What Changed When Everything Changed: 9/11 and the Making of National Identity. Follow him on Twitter @JoeMargulies.

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.

Attorney Joseph Margulies comes on the show to discuss his recent article about his client, Abu Zubaydah, who is currently being held by the CIA without charges. Zubaydah was one of the first men caught up in the chaos after 9/11, in this case mistakenly identified as a high ranking member of Al-Qaeda. Zubaydah is a former Mujahideen fighter but has no affiliation to Al-Qaeda or 9/11, maintaining that they, along with ISIS, are violating the teachings of Islam. He has been tortured extensively and has never gotten a trial.

Discussed on the show:

"The Innocence of Abu Zubaydah" (New York Review of Books)

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Joseph Margulies is an attorney and law professor. He is the author of Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power and What Changed When Everything Changed: 9/11 and the Making of National Identity. Follow him on Twitter @JoeMargulies.

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.

Ted Snider explains the "Periphery Doctrine", a foreign policy strategy by which a nation, in this case Israel, can either ally itself with its immediate neighbors against its more distant ones, or "leapfrog" its neighbors to be friends with those on the periphery instead. The history of Israel's foreign policy has been characterized by one of these two options, until now. Netanyahu, Snider explains, has created a new doctrine by which he tries to turn Palestinians and Arabs against each other at home, and uses alliances with countries like Egypt to help enforce "peace" with the Palestinians.

Discussed on the show:

"Outside In: The Trump administration’s plan to remake the Middle East" (Mondoweiss)

Alliance of the periphery

Yitzhak Rabin

Shimon Peres

"The U.S. Is Sidelining Itself in the Middle East" (The Atlantic)

Ted Snider has a graduate degree in philosophy and writes on analyzing patterns in U.S. foreign policy and history. He is a regular writer for AntiWar.com and ConsortiumNews.com.

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 #259, Will Porter joins the show to cover the Turkish/Russian agreement that has delayed the Syrian offensive of rebel-held Idlib. The agreement had a deadline for all rebels to be out of the buffer zone by October 15th. The deadline has passed, but Russia, Syria, and Turkey continue to work towards implementing the agreed steps. Will explains why he is optimistic about recent developments in Syria. 

We also discuss Nikki Haley and Yemen. 

Will Porter is a freelance journalist with a focus on Mideast Affairs and US foreign policy. His work can be found at Libertarian Institute, AntiWar.com, and Consortium News 

Links

Buzzfeed - American Mercenaries in Yemen

Moderate Rebels - Ali al-Ahmed

On FPF #258, I discuss how some close US allies have terrible human rights records. Recently, Egypt imprisoned a girl for discussing being sexually harassed in public, Israel has detained an American student for supporting BDS, and the UAE has held a UK researcher in solitary confinement for five months. Many of these countries are committing long-term atrocities, such as Turkey's persecution of the Kurds, the Saudi led genocide in Yemen, and the Ukrainian government's deep ties with neo-Nazis. 

I also discuss an article by Gareth Porter on the Internet Research Agency's limited impact on the 2016 election. 

Links

Gareth Porter on Russiagate

In a return to a more scholarly format of the podcast, I take a bit of a deep dive into Chapter 1 of "Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition" by Harold J. Berman. In this episode, we become acquainted with the Germanic Folklaw that existed throughout tribal Europe before the 11th and 12th centuries AD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COC1zBP1WlA

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Show Notes:

"Law and Revolution: the Formation of the Western Legal Tradition" By: Harold J. Berman (Amazon Affiliate Link)

Non-State Justice Systems: A Primer Ep. 36 The Liberty Weekly Podcast

The Real Magna Carta Ep. 58 The Liberty Weekly Podcast

Scott talks to Eric Eikenberry about the war in Yemen and the various efforts to stop it. A small cadre in the House of Representatives has been trying to introduce resolutions that would invoke the War Powers Act, but so far have met with little success. Eikenberry thinks that popular opinion is beginning to turn sharply against the war, thanks in part to the American media beginning to focus on it. If this shift continues, he thinks the resolutions have a chance at success.

Discussed on the show:

H.Con.Res.138

H.Con.Res.81

S.J.Res.54

Jamal Khashoggi

Mohammad bin Salman

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Win Without War

CODEPINK

Mwatana

Eric Eikenberry is the Director of Policy & Advocacy at the Yemen Peace Project and an advocacy associate at Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain. Follow him on Twitter @eric_eikenberry.

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.

Sheldon Richman returns to the show to talk about his latest TGIF article, "Trump’s Middle East Delusions Persist." He and Scott discuss the state of negotiations between Israel and Palestine and what can be done to make Americans see the truth of Israel's many abuses of the Palestinian people.

Discussed on the show:

"Trump’s Middle East Delusions Persist" (Libertarian Institute)

Jason Greenblatt

Mahmoud Abbas

"It's not a lie... if you believe it..." (YouTube)

Palestine Liberation Organization

Hamas

"2006 Audio Emerges of Hillary Clinton Proposing Rigging Palestine Election" (Observer)

"Outside In: The Trump administration’s plan to remake the Middle East" (Mondoweiss)

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

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.