The Libertarian Institute - All Podcasts

Former Congressman Ron Paul discusses his argument with Rudy Giuliani during the 2007 Republican presidential debates about the link between US foreign policy and 9/11 (Rudy denied there was such a thing). Paul was the only one of 10 candidates on stage who opposed the Iraq War, and he stuck to his principles even after the crowd’s thunderous approval of Giuliani’s patriotism-laden rebuke. Paul’s debate answer has stood the test of time, and helped popularize the idea that an interventionist foreign policy causes violent blowback.

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Sonia Kennebeck, an investigative journalist and filmmaker, discusses her film National Bird about the people most effected by America’s legally and ethically questionable drone wars. The US-based operators and analysts who pick targets to kill with missiles from half a world away suffer from guilt and increased rates of suicide. Many survivors of attacks have seen their families killed and wonder why women and children were targeted as suspected terrorists.

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Retired Lt. Col. Daniel L Davis discusses why previous US troop increases didn’t help win any battles for the hearts and minds of Afghans, and why this newest mini-surge being considered by the Trump administration won’t either. Over 15 years after the US occupation of Afghanistan, the Taliban is still a dominant force in much of the country, the US has no idea what conditions would constitute “victory” and merit withdrawal, and the rationale that further intervention is critical to the American national interest isn’t remotely believable – yet America’s longest war continues anyway.

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Conn Hallinan, a Foreign Policy In Focus columnist, discusses how improvements in the accuracy of US submarine-based nuclear missiles are ending an era of mutually assured destruction (MAD) nuclear policy, and leading to a dangerous first-strike doctrine. Other nuclear-armed rival states like Russia and China will be forced to counter with more missiles armed with more warheads – leading to a new arms race and increasing the odds of an accidental launch leading to a widespread humanity-ending nuclear war.

John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer and author of Doing Time Like A Spy: How the CIA Taught Me to Survive and Thrive in Prison, discusses why he refused to participate in the CIA’s so-called enhanced interrogation program after 9/11, and why he – as a whistleblower – was the only CIA officer to be jailed over it. Kiriakou also discusses his 30 month sentence and how he survived the brutality of the American prison system.

David D’Amato, an adjunct law professor and policy advisor at the Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses the 1953 Supreme Court case United States v. Reynolds, and how the decision gave the State Secrets Privilege formal recognition, effectively removing judicial oversight and allowing the government to withhold evidence and exempt itself from lawsuits by claiming they endanger national security.

Chris Deliso, author of Migration, Terrorism, and the Future of a Divided Europe: A Continent Transformed, discusses the indications that US Ambassador to Macedonia Jess Baily is trying to orchestrate a coup without the knowledge or approval of the Trump administration; how a select few insiders are getting rich off the refugee migration industry, with George Soros-funded NGOs leading the way; and how US intervention in MENA has created instability, increased terrorism, and allowed the revival of a slave-trade in Africa.

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Nasser Arrabyee, a Yemeni journalist and film-maker, discusses Saudi Arabia’s apparently imminent attack on the port of Hodeida, where much of Yemen’s desperately-needed humanitarian supplies come from; why the UAE no longer supports Saudi-backed President Hadi; the separatist forces that defy the popular will of Yemenis to remain a united country; and why the continuing war’s only beneficiary is Al Qaeda/ISIS.

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Ramzy Baroud, a journalist, author, and editor of Palestine Chronicle, discusses why Palestinians in Israeli jails are on a hunger strike; Israel’s Orwellian attempt to rewrite history by prohibiting the 1948 Nakba’s commemoration and attempting to change the occupied West Bank to its biblical name; and how Jewish and non-Jewish critics alike are challenging Israel’s founding myths.

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Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council, discusses the continued attacks by war hawks on the Iran nuclear deal and the whole idea of diplomatic give-and-take. Politico writer Josh Meyer’s recent article makes a big deal about the American-Iranian prisoner swap that happened at the same time the nuclear deal was implemented, and implies that the Obama administration made undisclosed and excessive concessions to secure it.

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