The Scott Horton Show from The Libertarian Institute

Ron Enzweiler discusses the narratives surrounding domestic terrorist attacks like the one in Pensacola, Florida last December. Too often, these incidents are practically ignored, disappearing from the news before anyone can dig deeply into the details. When they are covered, the story often conveniently revolves around the idea that the attacker supposedly hated American freedoms or was simply radicalized by a dangerous form of Islam. In reality, says Enzweiler, these terrorists are often very specific in describing their motives: they are trying to strike back at America for its detrimental and unjust role in conducting aggressive wars in the Middle East, where it has no business. Talking about these motives is not in any way to excuse the murder of American citizens. But Enzweiler and Scott agree that if we want to prevent future attacks, we must first understand the conditions under which they are likely to take place.

Discussed on the show:

“Gaslighting of the American Public on Pensacola Terrorist Attack Continues” (Antiwar.com Original)

2009 Fort Hood shooting

“Do Saudi Arabs Really Love Americans?” (Antiwar.com Original)

“U.S. Policy in the Gulf: – Five Years of Dual Containment” (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

“The Middle East Isn’t Worth It Anymore” (WSJ)

“Pensacola: Blowback Terrorism” (Antiwar.com Original)

“The future of U.S.-Saudi relations” (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)

Ron Enzweiler is an air force veteran and worked for USAID in Iraq for seven years. He is the author of When Will We Ever Learn. You can follow his writing at Antiwar.com.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://dissentradio.com/radio/20_05_29_enzweiler.mp3Podcast (thescotthortonshow): Play in new window | Download

The following is an automatically generated transcript.

Show Transcript

Scott Horton 0:10

All right shall welcome Scott Horton show. I am the director of the libertarian Institute editorial director of anti war calm, author of the book fool's errand, time to end the war in Afghanistan. And I've recorded more than 5000 interviews going back to 2003, all of which are available at Scotthorton.org. You can also sign up to the podcast feed full archive is also [email protected]. Slash Scott Horton show.

Aren't you guys introducing Ron ends Wyler. He was in the State Department in Iraq and Afghanistan and also worked with us aid. But now he's a good guy and writes for us at anti war calm from time and this one is really important gas lighting of the American public on Pensacola. terrorist attack continues. Welcome back to the show. Ron, how are you doing?

Ron Enzweiler 1:04

Hey, Scott, great, great to be on your program again and supporting your journalism and the anti war con people. So thank you.

Scott Horton 1:13

Yeah, well, we're happy to have you around, you do good stuff. And this is, well, it's a crazy time all the way around. And our news cycle is dominated, of course, by the big germ. So it's important that we keep a spotlight on all this other stuff that is still also important, such as this terrorist attack at Pensacola and Naval Air Station, back on December the sixth of 2019 by a Saudi national who was in the US for pilot training at the Naval Air Station there. And as you remind us here, three Americans were killed and eight were injured. And then just last week, there was one right along these lines. I hope you know the details better than me because I don't kn...

Max Blumenthal discusses the outrageous treatment of Julian Assange during his time at the Ecuadorian embassy in London over the last few years, and since his arrest last year. Blumenthal has reported on the extensive spying Assange was subjected to at the embassy, and on the scandalous connection between the Sheldon Adelson-backed security firm, UC Global, and an espionage campaign overseen by the CIA that attempted to illegally gather information on Assange, and possibly even kidnap him from the embassy. UC Global CEO David Morales has since been charged with leading this illicit spy operation. Scott and Blumenthal also discuss the devastating aftermath of the “Russiagate” narrative, which has seen President Trump move toward a tougher stance on Russia, withdrawing from several nuclear treaties and supporting the expansion of U.S. and UN forces right up to Russia’s border. The mainstream media in America has been almost totally silent on both their role in pushing the phony “Russiagate” hoax, and also on the dangerous precedent of Assange’s persecution.

Discussed on the show:

“‘The American friends’: New court files expose Sheldon Adelson’s security team in US spy operation against Julian Assange” (The Grayzone)

Collateral Murder

The State Department Cables

“Lying not to make America ‘great again'” (CGTN)

Vault7

“How Comey intervened to kill WikiLeaks’ immunity deal” (The Hill)

“Trump to Withdraw U.S. From ‘Open Skies’ Treaty” (The New York Times)

Killing Gaza

Director and writer of “Killing Gaza,” Max Blumenthal is a senior editor of the Grayzone Project and the author Goliath, Republican Gomorrah, and The 51 Day War. Follow Max on Twitter @MaxBlumenthal.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://dissentradio.com/radio/20_05_22_blumenthal.mp3Podcast (thescotthortonshow): Play in new window | Download

The following is an automatically generated transcript.

Show Transcript

Scott Horton 0:10

All right, shall welcome it's Scott Horton Show. I am the director of the Libertarian Institute editorial director of antiwar.com, author of the book Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. And I've recorded more than 5000 interviews going back to 2003, all of which are available at ScottHorton.org. You can also sign up to the podcast feed full archive is also available at youtube.com/ScottHortonShow.

All right, you guys introducing max Blumenthal. He is the author of the book, Goliath, and also the 51 Day War. And his latest book is the management of Savitri, a great retelling of the War on Terrorism there. And of course, he runs the gray zone project. Where he co hosts the podcast, moderate rebels, and where he writes articles including this important one, the American friends, new court files expose Sheldon Adelson security team in US spy operation against Julian Assange. Welcome back to the show. How you doing Max?

Max Blumenthal 1:23

Good, good to be back.

Scott Horton 1:25

Great. Great to have here. So let's see, two or three months ago, we talked about this with Kelly flay hosts from the American Conservative magazine about this connection to Sheldon Adelson, which is very interesting, and which I'm not sure I completely understand. But first of all, can you give us the background here, starting with Assange holed up in the embassy and this security company that was providing supposedly security for the embassy, and then how that all change here Understand it right?

Scott interviews James Bradley about the growing threat of war with China, evinced by political rhetoric, public sentiment, and media coverage. The thing is, Scott and Bradley agree, this threat has no real basis in any bellicosity on China’s part. It is mainly the result of powerful interest groups who stand to gain from hostilities, and the rabble rousers who exploit a natural need in the American people to find a scapegoat for domestic problems. The problem, of course, is that an actual conflict with China would be nothing short of catastrophic for both countries, and likely for the rest of the world as well. Scott insists that there is simply no way to fight conventional wars between nuclear-armed countries. A small consolation is to be found in President Trump, who, despite his belligerent rhetoric, has actually not been as hawkish as his predecessors.

Discussed on the show:

“War With China?” (Accuracy.Org)

Wilson’s War: How Woodrow Wilson’s Great Blunder Led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and World War II

“What Happens to Hong Kong Now?” (The New York Times)

“From Death Camp to Civilization” (LewRockwell)

Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World

“The Coming War on China (John Pilger)” (YouTube)

The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner

“America’s Pacific Century” (Foreign Policy)

Agreed Framework

James Bradley is the author of Flags of Our Fathers, Flyboys, The China Mirage, and many others. He hosts the podcast, Untold Pacific. Follow him on Twitter @jamesjbradley.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

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The following is an automatically generated transcript.

Show Transcript

Scott Horton 0:10

All right, y'all welcome it's Scott Horton Show. I am the director of the Libertarian Institute editorial director of antiwar.com, author of the book Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. And I've recorded more than 5000 interviews going back to 2003, all of which are available at ScottHorton.org. You can also sign up to the podcast feed. The full archive is also available at youtube.com/ScottHortonShow. All right, you guys introducing James Bradley. He wrote the movie and the book Flags of Our fathers. And yes, the sequel was just called Eva Jima wrote the book Imperial cruise, and also fly boys and his latest is called the China Mirage the hidden history. American disaster in Asia. Welcome back to the show, James, how you doing?

James Bradley 1:06

Hey, Scott, thank you for having me again,

Scott Horton 1:08

good to talk to you. It's been a little while. And you know what, I am so busy fighting the last war in the Middle East all the time. I am way behind on our problems with China. But I gather we've got loads of them and that you would disagree about many of them being necessary conflicts. I have this great press release sent out by the Institute for Public accuracy. Talking about the danger of even real war with China and an unnecessary war, in your opinion. So what do you think about what's going on here recently?

James Bradley 1:50

Well, I, you know, I've been watching the news and the Chinese navy is not in San Francisco Bay and they're not in The Caribbean and they haven't built a base in Canada or Mexico. And it's a mirage and, you know, ridiculous to think they would. So what is the problem with China?

Scott talks to Gareth Porter about the decades-long attempt by neoconservative war hawks in the U.S. to link the Iranian government to terrorist activities, most notably those of al Qaeda in Iraq. This was the supposed justification for the killing of Qasem Soleimani earlier this year, a claim that Porter says is totally unfounded. Allegations that Iran knew about and supported al Qaeda operatives during America's war on terror have always been tenuous at best, and a recent analysis of documents found in Osama bin Laden's home prove that clandestine operatives hiding in Iran were doing so without the knowledge of that country's government, and knowing that they would be captured if discovered. As usual, such claims are simply used by those who want war with Iran for their own purposes.

Discussed on the show:

"Washington’s tall tale of Iranian-Al Qaeda alliance based on questionably sourced book ‘The Exile’" (The Grayzone)

The Exile: The Stunning Inside Story of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in Flight

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: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFjcSdkTk1k

Braden Chapman discusses his time serving in Afghanistan with Australia's SAS, a special forces unit that worked closely with American troops to go after high profile targets. Chapman has recently come forward with allegations of war crimes by some of his fellow soldiers, a pattern that many others have now supported. The Australian government has made some moves investigating conduct like this, but Chapman says this kind of malfeasance usually goes unpunished.

Discussed on the show:

"Killing Field: Explosive new allegations of Australian special forces war crimes" (YouTube)

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErQlmBiYCh8

Scott talks to Brett Wilkins about Project SHAD, a Cold War era bioweapons test program that exposed thousands of American sailors to chemical and biological weapons. These veterans have been seeking redress for a slew of ailments allegedly caused by exposure to these weapons, but the government continues to evade culpability. Sadly, SHAD is only one of many incidents where the U.S. government deliberately tested dangerous substances on its soldiers, and even on its civilians. On top of such programs, the American military has left behind a wake of chronic health problems and generations of birth defects in places like Vietnam, Iraq, and Pakistan because of the toxic chemicals and heavy metals used to wage its wars.

Discussed on the show:

"Veterans Exposed in Cold War Bioweapons Testing Still Awaiting Answers — and Help" (CounterPunch.org)

Project 112/Project SHAD

Unit 731

MK-Ultra

"Wormwood (TV Mini-Series 2017)" (IMDb)

War is a Racket

Brett Wilkins is the editor-at-large for US news at the Digital Journal and a contributor at The Daily Kos. Follow him on Twitter @MoralLowGround.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjkmtNP8NEU

Scott interviews Trevor Timm about a recent U.S. senate vote that would grant the government access to Americans' browser history without a warrant. This shameful vote is surprising to those who thought that even Washington insiders would have stood up to a civil liberties violation this egregious. Timm and Scott also discuss Julian Assange's extradition case, which has the potential to set a dangerous precedent not just for iconoclasts exposing scandalous government secrets, but for anyone who does investigative journalism as we know it.

Discussed on the show:

"The US Senate voted to let Trump spy on your search history. But all is not lost" (The Guardian)

"State Department Cables" (WikiLeaks)

"Iraq War Logs" (WikiLeaks)

The Shadow Factory: The NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America

Trevor Timm is a co-founder and the executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. He is a journalist, activist, and lawyer whose writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, USA Today, The Atlantic, and many others. Follow him on Twitter @trevortimm.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q6n82mtkrE

Mike Maharrey of the Tenth Amendment Center discusses a recent U.S. Supreme Court case that overturns a Kansas Supreme Court decision concerning a potentially unconstitutional traffic stop. The police officer in the incident in question pulled a car over because his computer showed that the owner had a suspended driver’s license. This was seen as probable cause, even though it’s obviously quite possible that someone other than the owner was driving the car. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the officer’s actions did not violate the Fourth Amendment, overturning the Kansas court’s decision that the stop had been unconstitutional. Maharrey laments the tendency, even among some libertarians, to turn to the federal government as a safeguard of liberty. The pattern, he says, is clear: the more you centralize power, the more it will erode our rights.

Discussed on the show:

“Supreme Court Rules Against Fourth Amendment” (The Libertarian Institute)

Mike Maharrey is National Communications Coordinator for the Tenth Amendment Center. He is the author of three books on nullification and hosts the Thoughts from Maharrey Head podcast. Find him on Twitter @mmaharrey10th.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://dissentradio.com/radio/20_05_15_maharry.mp3Podcast (thescotthortonshow): Play in new window | Download

The following is an automatically generated transcript.

Show Transcript

Scott Horton 0:10

All right, y'all welcome it's Scott Horton Show. I am the director of the Libertarian Institute editorial director of antiwar.com, author of the book Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. And I've recorded more than 5000 interviews going back to 2003, all of which are available at ScottHorton.org. You can also sign up to the podcast feed. The full archive is also available at youtube.com/ScottHortonShow. All right, you guys introducing Michael Maharrey. From the 10th amendment center. He is the National communications director there at the 10th amendment center and he also writes for us at the Institute, libertarian institute.org including one on the front page today. Supreme Court rules against Fourth Amendment? Well, I'm not sure you could be referring to a great many different cases there. So we'll have to get into the details. Welcome back to the show, Mike. How you doing?

Mike Maharrey 1:11

Thanks, God. It's always a pleasure to be on the show. It's one of my favorites.

Scott Horton 1:15

Cool, man. Well, happy to have you here. So a Kansas versus Glover film in?

Mike Maharrey 1:24

Yeah. So this was a case from a couple of years back and involves search and seizure. As all these Fourth Amendment cases do, basically, the deputy pulled over a car because the driver came back as having an expired driver's license. So he used that as probable cause and dude ended up getting arrested. And the defense was and I think this is a legitimate defense. Just because the driver of an automobile has a suspended license doesn't mean or just because the Winter has a suspended license. That doesn't mean the person driving has a suspended license. You know, a lot of people drive cars, you know, especially like if you're in a family, my wife drives my car, I drive her car. And so the argument was that the police couldn't really assume that there was a crime being committed, so therefore had no justification in pulling over the driver. And interestingly, the the states started out in state court and the state court agreed and it ended up w...

John Kiriakou discusses his time at the CIA during the lead up to and aftermath of 9/11, given the recent revelations about the identity of a Saudi official connected with the attack. This is the first time the American people have seen any concrete evidence tying the Saudi government to the hijackers, which Kiriakou finds ridiculous. The families of the victims have been seeking justice for almost two decades, and ought to be allowed to know the truth. He also recounts some of the reasons why America's intelligence apparatus should have seen the 9/11 attacks coming, and the dysfunction that let them through.

Discussed on the show:

"In court filing, FBI accidentally reveals name of Saudi official suspected of directing support for 9/11 hijackers" (Yahoo News)

The 28 Pages

"The '28 Pages' Explained" (Antiwar.com Original)

"Press for Truth (2006)" (IMDb)

The Shadow Factory: The NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America

"Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)" (IMDb)

John Kiriakou is a former CIA officer and author of The Convenient Terrorist: Two Whistleblowers’ Stories of Torture, Terror, Secret Wars, and CIA Lies and Doing Time Like A Spy. He is the host of Loud and Clear on Sputnik Radio. Follow him on Twitter @JohnKiriakou.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhjFW9ey15U

Scott interviews Ben Freeman about his report, "The Qatar Lobby in Washington D.C." Freeman goes over the recent history of Qatar's efforts to influence U.S. policy, including their apparent success in winning over the Trump administration to their side in a dispute with Saudi Arabia. In this case and in others, Freeman is astounded by how easy it is for lobbyists representing foreign governments to buy off American politicians. Small campaign donations of a few thousand dollars can be enough to buy a senator's vote. Equally shocking, this is perfectly legal.

Discussed on the show:

"Report: The Qatar Lobby in Washington" (Center for International Policy)

"Report: Foreign Funding of Think Tanks in America" (Center for International Policy)

Ben Freeman is director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative with the Center for International Policy. Read his work at AntiWar.com and follow him on Twitter @BenFreemanDC.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1KGye7S3pk7XXJT6TzrbFephGDbdhYznTa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-acsNr33No

The following is an automatically generated transcript.

Show Transcript

Scott Horton 0:10

All right, y'all welcome it's Scott Horton Show. I am the director of the Libertarian Institute editorial director of antiwar.com, author of the book Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. And I've recorded more than 5000 interviews going back to 2003, all of which are available at ScottHorton.org. You can also sign up to the podcast feed. The full archive is also available at youtube.com/ScottHortonShow.

Okay, guys, introducing Ben Freeman. He is the director of the foreign influence Transparency Initiative over there at the Center for International Policy, and they have a brand new study out the cutter lobby in Washington. Welcome back to the show, Ben. How are you? Doing.

Ben Freeman 1:01

I'm doing great, Scott. Thanks for having me.

Scott Horton 1:03

Great. Well, really happy to have you here and you do such great work. I'm glad I get a chance to interview you about all of it. So, cutter, tiny little island barely Island right off the coast of the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf. They call it the Arabian Gulf. Now, when they're pro Saudi partisans. That's right. But then, so your, your article begins here. You mentioned that America, of course, has a massive airbase there in Qatar and have for a long time. But you start with the story of the dust up between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and their blockade against Qatar back in the summer of 2017. So can you please remind us what was going on there and then talk about the results?

Ben Freeman 1:57

Yeah, absolutely. So in In 2017, if folks remember, Donald Trump, the newly elected as president, and he makes the decision to go to Saudi Arabia as his first trip abroad, you know, has a good trip and everything and then meets with a lot of Middle East powers, it comes back to the US. And within a couple weeks, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and a bunch of other countries in the Middle East, they launched this blockade against Qatar. And they're, they're accusing Qatar of effectively funding terrorism, which to me was, you know, supremely ironic coming from Saudi Arabia, which of course, most of the hijackers on 911 came from Saudi Arabia. So the fact that they're slinging mud about terrorism financing is ironic to say the least. But but the accusation from them was that Qatar was financing terrorist groups Hamas,