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USC professor Muhammad Sahimi returns to the show to discuss the latest developments in the protests in Iran,  describes how the current regime is responsible for the justified grievances of the people protesting, and explains why some people fear regime change given the opportunistic nature of .the Trump administration, the aftermath of post-Gaddafi Libya, and the role of the Iranian far right in fomenting the protests. Sahimi then explains how the Iran Deal has backfired for Rouhani who over-promised and under-delivered on the economic benefits and the potential consequences of Trump killing the deal. Finally Sahimi explains why he thinks full-scale revolution is unnecessary, that the Supreme Leader is the problem with Iranian politics, and what he believes is necessary for peaceful reformation.

Muhammad Sahimi is the NIOC Chair in petroleum engineering at the University of Southern California and a contributor at Antiwar.com and the Huffington Post.

Discussed on the show:

* Hassan Rouhani

* "The Iran Nuclear Deal Could Be Dead in 11 Days," by Spencer Ackerman (Daily Beast)

* "Tenth Anniversary of Iraq Invasion: Lessons & Warnings for an Illegal War on Iran," by Muhammad Sahimi (Antiwar.com)

* Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran

* Iranian Green Movement (2009)

* Mir-Hossein Mousavi 

Today’s show is sponsored by: NoDev, NoOps, NotIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; 3tediting.com; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Darrin’s Coffee.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Investigative journalist Gareth Porter returns to the Scott Horton Show to discuss his latest article "How Cheney and his allies created the North Korea nuclear missile crisis." Porter explains how the North Koreans have historically used their nuclear program as a negotiation tool with the United States and how Dick Cheney and his allies in the Bush administrations sabotaged deals that would have reduced tension and also stalled development of North Korea's nuclear program. Porter then goes into greater detail of the dynamics and tensions within the Bush administration onNorth Korea policy and how each U.S. administration has underestimated the staying power of the regime in Pyongyang. Scott then goes through the list of American provocations against North Korea leading them to leave the NPT. Finally, Porter compares Trump's approach to North Korea with the previous administrations' and gauges the likelihood of war.

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.

Discussed on the show:

*

Agreed Framework

*

"Norman Solomon: War Made Easy" (YouTube)

*

Robert Joseph

*

John Bolton

*

Axis of Evil

*

Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall, and Catastrophic Legacy by Andrew Cockburn 

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"Rummy's North Korea Connection: What did Donald Rumsfeld know about ABB's deal to build nuclear reactors there? And why won't he talk about it?" (Fortune Magazine)

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 Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center

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 "Israel’s Ploy Selling a Syrian Nuke Strike," by Gareth Porter (Consortium News)

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"War with North Korea would be 'catastrophic,' Defense Secretary Mattis says" (CBS News)

Today’s show is sponsored by: NoDev, NoOps, NotIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; 

Nasser Arrabyee returns to the show to discuss the latest war crimes committed by the U.S.-Saudi coalition, which included strikes on civilian areas in four different cities on markets, farms, and government buildings that killed entire families and more than 200 people. Arrabyee then explains why ISIS and Al Qaeda have been the big winners as a result of the U.S.-Saudi war in Yemen and why, on the ground in Yemen, ISIS and Al Qaeda are basically one entity.

Nasser Arrabyee is a Yemeni journalist based in Sana’a, Yemen. He is the owner and director of yemen-now.com. You can follow him on Twiiter @narrabyee.

Discussed on the show:

* "At least 109 civilians killed by Saudi coalition's raids, U.N. says" (Reuters)

* "Airstrikes in Yemen kill dozens of civilians in one day. But that’s just part of the country’s misery." (The Washington Post)

* "Trump calls on Saudis to lift Yemen blockade 'immediately'" (The Hill)

* "Statement by President Donald J. Trump on Yemen" (White House)

* "Al-Qaeda in Yemen Seen Stronger Than Ever as War Wears On" (Bloomberg)

* Tawakkol Karman

* "Yemen's Salafi warlord - armed by Riyadh, branded a terrorist by Riyadh" (Middle East Eye)

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.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Derek Davison returns to the show to discuss his latest article, "Clean Break II: Iran Hawks Decide To Burn It All Down." Davison details the latest neoconservative nightmare, explains his fear that Donald Trump is being quickly coopted by the neoconservatives, and considers what might happen if the U.S. walks away from the deal.

Derek Davison is a freelance writer. His work appears at LobeLog and Jacobin. Learn more about his work at his site And That’s The Way It Was and follow him on Twitter.

Discussed on the show:

* "The Men From JINSA and CSP," by Jason Vest (The Nation)

* Office of Special Plans

* "One Way to Counter Iran's Aggression? Change the Map of the Middle East," by Michael Makovsky (Fox News)

* "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm by David Wurmser 1996" (ScottHorton.org)

* Amhed Chalabi

* Dual Containment

* "Land-bridge" from @MaxAbrahms

* "Plan B," by Seymour Hersch (The New Yorker)

* Kirkuk

* "Lebanese prime minister stays silent as Donald Trump mistakenly says he is fighting Hezbollah" (The Independent)

* Foundation for Defense of Democracies

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.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Co-founder of cryptocurrency Zen Cash Robert Viglione joins Scott on the show—and as the latest sponsor of the Scott Horton Show—to discuss the future of cryptocurrencies and his project Zen Cash. Viglione believes that Zen Cash is leading the way in privacy and anti-censorship in cryptocurrency in the name of creating a virtual free society. Viglione outlines the mission of Zen Cash and how it is differentiated not only from fiat money but also from other cryptocurrencies. Scott and Viglione then discuss the potential dangers of total reliance on public cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Viglione discusses the future risk to cryptocurrencies from the state and why, in his estimation, the threat to cryptocurrencies generally is small, but that the individual is always at risk from the arbitrary force of the state. Viglione then turns to another leading project he's working on: The Seasteading Institute, which aims to create voluntaryist communities offshore.

Robert Viglione is the co-founder of Zen Cash, which is a new sponsor of the Scott Horton Show. Follow Viglione on Twitter @robviglione. Visit Zen Cash at zencash.com or zensystem.io.

Discussed on the show:

* Zen Cash

* "Zen White Paper," by Robert Viglione, Rolf Versluis, and Jane Lippencott (Zen System)

* Steemit

* Blockchain

* Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn

* ZCash

* Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)

* Executive Order 6102

* The Seasteading Institute

* Zen Discord Channel

* Zen Telegram

Quote of the show: "Rather than argue with Mao just go ahead and create a Hong Kong." —Robert Viglione

Today’s show is sponsored by: Zen Cash, The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Co-director of FPIF.org John Feffer returns to the show to discuss his latest article, "North Korea: The Costs of War, Calculated." Feffer agrees that North Korea is not President Trump's Iraq War and explains why the geography of the Korean Peninsula make it clear what the consequences of a war with North Korea would be. Feffer explains why North Korea has little reason to trust American diplomatic guarantees, where sensible common ground for negotiations between the two countries should be, and considers whether a conventional conflict would necessarily lead to a nuclear conflict. Feffer then turns to the threat of war with Iran and how the Trump administration is clearly pushing toward war. Lastly Scott asks Feffer about his article on the Koch Brothers: "What Happens When Bad Money Supports Good Foreign Policy?"

John Feffer is the co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus and author of the dystopian novel Splinterlands. Follow Feffer on Twitter @JohnFeffer.

Discussed on the show:

* “North Korea Says It Might Negotiate on Nuclear Weapons. But the Washington Post Isn’t Reporting That.” by John Schwartz (The Intercept)

* "US believed it would 'undoubtedly win' war with North Korea in 1994 – but with huge casualties" (The Guardian)

* "The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook" (Politico)

* "Have Hawks Won a Round on Iraq Escalation?" by Gareth Porter (Anitwar.com)

* Charles Koch & David Koch

* "11/13/17 Stephen Walt on Charles Koch’s new institute for foreign policy research" (The Scott Horton Show)

* William Jennings Bryan

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.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

CEO of Bitcoin.com Roger Ver—aka "Bitcoin Jesus"—joins the show to discuss the explosion of bitcoin and the split in the bitcoin community between Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Cash. Ver details the problems with Bitcoin Core and predicts that a year from now it will no longer be the top global cryptocurrency. He then explains how he became interested in bitcoin in 2011 when he realized it could be a true alternative to fiat currencies and explains the connection between Bitcoin and the anti-war movement. Finally Ver makes the case why Bitcoin really can change the world and threaten the state's ability to wage war.

Roger Ver is an angel investor in Bitcoin who made the first investment in Bitcoin in 2011. He is now the CEO of Bitcoin.com and a thought leader in cryptocurrencies. Follow him on Twitter @rogerkver.

Discussed on the show:

* "A (brief and incomplete) history of censorship in /r/Bitcoin" (Medium.com)

* Gresham's Law

* Zero-Knowledge Proof

Quote of the show: "I'm antiwar: Don't go and kill people you've never met and certainly don't go and kill you've never met with money stolen from people in the form of taxation." —Roger Ver

Today’s show is sponsored by: Zen Cash, The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Afghan war whistleblower Matthew Hoh returns to discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan, recalls his thought process when he blew the whistle in the lead up to Obama's surge, and describes the perverse incentives created by the military for advancement. Hoh then discusses the brand new Trump security strategy and how it relates to the Untied States' nuclear rivals, China and Russia. Hoh concludes by pointing out that, as delusional and malleable as Trump appears, his outlook on the world is really no different from those of presidents.

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.

Discussed on the show:

* Karl Eikenberry

* Richard Holbrooke

* "U.S. official resigns over Afghan war," by Karen DeYoung (Washington Post)

* Korangal Valley

* No Good Men Among the Living, by Anand Gopal

* Matthew Hoh addresses the democratic caucus Nov. 2009 Merth (PA)

* Obama's Wars, Bob Woodward

* The Best and the Brightest, by David Halberstam

* A Bright Shining Lie, by Neil Sheehan

* Public Choice Theory

* "Hillary Clinton, ‘Smart Power’ and a Dictator’s Fall," by Scott Shane (New York Times)

* "Finnish NATO membership would lead to crisis with Russia: government report" (Reuters)

* "Don't Forget About The Red Swan," by David Stockman (Daily Reckoning)

* Austrian Business Cycle Theory

* "China’s 'Fake' Cities Are Eerie Replicas of Paris, London and Jackson Hole, Wyoming" (ABC News)

* The Coming War on China, by John Pilger

* "There Is Still Time to Develop a Solution to the North Korea Crisis," by Doug Bandow (CATO)

* "Omnicide," by Daniel Ellsberg (Harper's)

Today’s show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; 

Eric Margolis joins Scott to discuss his latest article, "Sorry, Chump, You Didn't Have It In Writing" in which Margolis recalls the history of broken promises and lies made to Russia by NATO and the United States, and the subsequent increase in tension and near misses in Eastern Europe. Scott then asks Margolis: just how evil—and how ambitious—is Vladimir Putin? Margolis describes his visit in 1990 to the KGB headquarters and Putin-as-Russian-Pinochet, how U.S. corporate interests pillaged Russia after the fall of the wall, and how Vladimir Putin helped rebuild the country in the aftermath. Scott then transitions to Palestine and asks Margolis how he explains the Israel-Palestine conflict to people.

Eric Margolis is a foreign affairs correspondent and author of “War at the Top of the World” and “American Raj.” Follow him on Twitter @EricMargolis and visit his website, ericmargolis.com.

Discussed on the show:

* James Baker

* "Newly Declassified Documents: Gorbachev Told NATO Wouldn't Move Past East German Border" (The National Interest)

* Singing Revolution

* "The Birth of the Global Nation," by Strobe Talbott (Time)

* NATO-Russia relations

* Eduard Shevardnadze

* George Kennan

* "Foreign Affairs; Now a Word From X," by Thomas Friedman (The New York Times)

* "U.S. and Russia Reach Deal to Destroy Syria’s Chemical Arms" (The New York Times)

* "Putin the Patriot," by Justin Raimondo (Antiwar.com)

* "Palestinians, Get Out!" by Eric Margolis (EricMargolis.com)

* "685: The Great Scott Horton" (The Jason Stapleton Program)

* "12/18/17 Ramzy Baroud on the long-awaited death of the Two-State Solution" (The Scott Horton Show)

Today’s show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

National Interest's executive editor Harry Kazianis joins Scott to discuss his article for The American Conservative, "A War of Choice With North Korea is an Immensely Dumb Idea." Kazianis discusses the horrors that would follow from a war with North Korea, the difficulty of educating the broader public on the possible consequences, and why, even if Donald Trump is bluffing, pushing Kim Jung-Il into a corner is a terrible idea. Kazianis then discusses his previous work projecting what war with North Korea could look like and what he believes to be the status of North Korean chemical and biological weapons. Finally, he explains what he thinks the key is to diplomacy with North Korea and why he holds out some hope that Trump has some realist foreign policy views.

Harry Kazianis is director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest and executive editor The National Interest. He previously served as editor of The Diplomat, a fellow at CSIS, and on the 2016 Ted Cruz foreign policy team. Follow him on Twitter @GrecianFormula.

Discussed on the show:

* Mattis: This would be the most bitter fighting of our lifetimes

* "North Korea: The Costs of War, Calculated," by John Feffer (Antiwar.com)

* "North Korea proved allowing the Iran deal to collapse could lead to proliferation" (The Hill)

* "12/13/17 Doug Bandow on North Korea’s nuclear development" (Scott Horton Show)

* "Tillerson’s offer of talks with North Korea left hanging" (Washington Post)

* "US ready for talks with North Korea 'without preconditions', Tillerson says" (The Guardian)

* "8 million dead - what nuclear war with North Korea could look like," by Harry Kazianis (Fox News)

* "12/6/17 Robert Alvarez on the catastrophe of the Korean War (Scott Horton Show)

* "Kim Jong-nam killed by VX nerve agent, say Malaysian police" (The Guardian)

* In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, by Robert McNamara

Today’s show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.