The Libertarian Institute - All Podcasts

On FPF #229, I look at the difference between the US media portrayal of the Korean peace process and what is actually happening in the region. The US media has focused on stories that indicate North Korea and Trump are ruining the peace process. However, North and South Korea military leaders are meeting to discuss reducing conventional weapons near the DMZ. Japan is removing anti-missile systems citing a reduction in the threat from North Korea. 

Links 

SHS - Nassar Arraybee

Peter van Buren is interviewed on his new article for the American Conservative "Donald Trump is Not the 'Manchurian Candidate'" and the modern McCarthyism of the neoconservative and establishment attacks on the Trump Administration.

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. Follow him on Twitter @WeMeantWell.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Iona Craig discusses her recent report for the Intercept on a Saudi airstrike in Yemen and civilian casualties in the ongoing 3 1/2 year U.S.-Saudi-UAE war there.

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

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Arnold Isaacs talks "Islamophobia", and whether the alarmists who claim Muslim operatives are scheming to take over the country have legitimate cause for concern. He explains that most of this talk is nothing more than conspiracy, and that Muslim activists generally conduct their advocacy in the open. Not to mention that for the most part they are strong proponents of personal freedoms—in fact, the real extremists know better than to agitate for Sharia Law, because that could out them as such. So why is so-called "Islamophobia" (a dubious term) so widespread? Scott and Isaacs are convinced it's because spreading animosity among Americans is in the interest of the warmakers and the Israel lobby.

Discussed on the show:

"American Islamophobia’s Fake Facts" (Antiwar.com)

"The Muslim Brotherhood’s Strategic Plan For America" (Clarion Project)

"Advocates of Anti-Shariah Measures Alarmed by Judge's Ruling" (Fox)

Muslim Brotherhood

Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development

Foreign Terrorist Organizations List

Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam

Grover Norquist

Frank Gaffney

Pamela Geller

The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism

Arnold Isaacs is a writer, educator, and the author of From Troubled Lands: Listening to Pakistani Americans and Afghan Americans in post 9/11 America. His website is ArnoldIsaacs.net, and you can read his work at antiwar.com and tomdispatch.com.

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

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

On FPF #228, I discuss the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. Congress recently passed the 2019 NDAA, authorizing $716 billion in defense spending. The spending is largely for offensive purposes and does not benefit the protect the American people. I break down some of the mandates Congress placed on the money. 

Links 

FPF #226 - NDAA with Will Porter

Nasser Arrabyee, reporter from Sana'a, Yemen, is interviewed on the status of the current battle of Al Hudaydah on the Red Sea. The Saudi war in Yemen is also discussed, as is the US's support for the Saudis and regional tensions with Iran and the Saudi coalition.

 

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

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Daniel Davis, retired Lt. Col. from the US Army, and veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq War 2, discusses his new article for the American Conservative Magazine, "Time to Talk to the Taliban". The history of the US's involvement in Afghanistan, Obama's surge, and Trump's escalation is discussed in detail.

 

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

On FPF #227, I discuss Trump's foreign policy. It appears Trump is using the same plan with Iran that he believes brought North Korea to agree to denuclearize. I explain how Trump misunderstands how the peace process developed in North Korea and why a similar US policy in Iran will have far different results. 

I break down recent talks between the US and the Taliban and how Pakistan's new prime minister may impact the Afghan War. 

Links

Moon of Alabama - Afghan Talks

Rand Paul's Middle East Peace Plan

Moon of Alabama - Imran Khan

SHS - Eric Margolis on Imran Khan

Stu Smallwood comes back on the show to talk about President Trump's negotiations with North Korea and what the media is saying about them. One thing that's frequently omitted is President Moon's leading role in the talks, which Smallwood sees as fulfillment of Moon's years-long promise to seek peace on the peninsula. Smallwood is skeptical that we'll see total denuclearization, given that North Korea seems to see their nuclear weapons as one of the only deterrents against military action by the U.S. and its allies, but seeking peace is certainly better than the "Washington consensus" of sanctions and animosity.

Discussed on the show:

"US Maximalist Stance on Denuclearization Holds Korean Peace Process Hostage" (Antiwar.com)

"North Korea Criticizes ‘Gangster-Like’ U.S. Attitude After Talks With Mike Pompeo" (New York Times)

"Did John Bolton Leak Intelligence to Sabotage a Trump-Kim Deal?" (Truthdig)

"North Korea: US blocks sanctions exemption for sports equipment" (The Guardian)

"North Korea Hands Over Possible Remains Of U.S. Servicemen Killed In Korean War" (NPR)

"North Korea Starts Dismantling Key Missile Facilities, Report Says" (New York Times)

Korean Armistice Agreement

No Gun Ri massacre

Non-Proliferation Treaty

Agreed Framework

Sunshine Policy

Stu Smallwood lived in Korea for eight years and now writes about the US empire in Korea for Antiwar.com and Global Research. Follow him on Twitter @stu_smallwood.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen Cash; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; LibertyStickers.com; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and .

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Tom Streithorst joins Scott to talk about his latest article, "War Doesn't Make Sense Anymore," in which he outlines his theory of America's modern wars: We no longer care about winning wars at all, we just do it to make money. Of course, it's only the political class and the military industrial complex who make any money, never mind the innocent foreigners—and Americans—we kill along the way.

Discussed on the show:

"War Doesn’t Make Sense Anymore" (The American Conservative)

Fool's Errand

Slant drilling

Ali al-Sistani

Badr Brigade

Tom Streithorst is a journalist and former cameraman for Fox News. He writes about foreign policy and economics.

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

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.