The Scott Horton Show from The Libertarian Institute

Gareth Porter explains the overblown claims of Iran's threat to the United States, which are constantly being used as a pretext for war by American and Israeli neocons.

Discussed on the show:

"John Bolton's Nefarious Plot for War With Iran" (Truthdig)

"Did Iran Kill 600 Americans in Iraq War II?" (The Libertarian Institute)

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Andrew Cockburn comes back on the show to discuss his recent piece, "The Military-Industrial Virus." Cockburn describes how the war planners, and even many of the officers, don't care all that much about the men they're sending off to fight and die in America's wars. Mostly they're waiting to cash in on comfortable pensions or work on the civilian side at a firm like Raytheon or Boeing. Cockburn laments how President Trump ran against the wars and the military-industrial complex, but hasn't turned any of his good instincts into policy.

Discussed on the show:

Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall, and Catastrophic Legacy

"The Pentagon Syndrome, by Andrew Cockburn" (Harper's Magazine)

Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis

Perils of Dominance

Andrew Cockburn is the Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine and the author of Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins. Follow him on Twitter @andrewmcockburn.

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Ray McGovern and Bill Binney, both of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for sanity, discuss their findings on the supposed Russian hack of the DNC email server. They explain their detailed testing of the claim that the emails were hacked and transferred over the internet, in which they conclude that it wouldn't have been possible to do it this way, and it must have been done physically and in person. Most analysts are more concerned with making the facts fit the narrative they are already convinced of, not the other way around.

Ray McGovern is the co-creator of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and the former chief of the CIA’s Soviet analysts division. Read all of his work at his website: raymcgovern.com.

Bill Binney is a retired senior NSA official and whistleblower. He has been a high-profile critic of both the George W. Bush administration, and later of the NSA's data collection policies under Barack Obama.

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Scott talks to Steven Woskow about recent anti-BDS legislation at both the state and federal level. The issue has been going back and forth in the courts because on the one hand, a boycott is just an expression of personal first amendment freedoms, but on the other, it could be argued that it constitutes discrimination against a religious group. Scott and Woskow, however, agree that the religious discrimination argument is totally illegitimate because this is a political and human rights issue, not a religious one.

Discussed on the show:

"Anti-BDS Laws vs the First Amendment" (The Libertarian Institute)

"Text - S.1 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019" (Library of Congress)

85(R) HB 89 - Introduced version

Bahia Amawi v. Pflugerville Independent School District

Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall, and Catastrophic Legacy

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Scott talks to Daniel Lazare about the ongoing fiasco of the Mueller report, this time digging deeper into Mueller's past as FBI director. Lazare says even though the report is now out, the fun is just beginning.

Discussed on the show:

"Top Ten Questions About the Mueller Report" (Consortiumnews)

"4/26/19 Daniel Lazare on Julian Assange and Guccifer 2.0" (The Libertarian Institute)

Operation Mockingbird

Daniel Lazare is the author of The Frozen Republic: How the constitution is Paralyzing Democracy and a regular contributor at Consortium News. Find all of his work at his website and follow him on Twitter @dhlazare.

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Scott talks to Ken Silverstein about what's really going on in Venezuela. The mainstream media will tell you that the country is starving and in chaos, but Silverstein has been there himself and says that most people actually have food and support Maduro more than the opposition. The negative coverage, says Silverstein, is an attempt to build support for a U.S.-backed coup, which he thinks is unlikely to actually ever succeed.

Discussed on the show:

"Why a Coup Is Unlikely in Venezuela" (The New Republic)

"Caracas Chronicles, Part I of an Ongoing Series" (Washington Babylon)

Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media

Ken Silverstein is a DC-based investigative journalist and the creator of washingtonbabylon.com. He is the author of The Secret World of Oil and Private Warriors. Follow him on Twitter @KenSilverstein1.

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Airwars' Chris Woods joins the show to discuss the recent findings that coalition airstrikes recently killed over a thousand civilians in Raqqa. The UN also estimates that although most residents were able to escape the city, 70% lost all their property in the bombings. The casualty numbers are 10 times higher than what U.S. officials have admitted.

Discussed on the show:

"Syria: Unprecedented investigation reveals US-led Coalition killed more than 1,600 civilians in Raqqa ‘death trap’" (Amnesty International)

Chris Woods is the author of Sudden Justice: America’s Secret Drone Wars and the recipient of the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. Follow him on Twitter @chrisjwoods.

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Scott talks to Congressman Ro Khanna about the bipartisan efforts in congress to end the war in Yemen. Despite a lack of popular awareness of this issue, explains Khanna, the humanitarian disaster in Yemen is horrific, and the U.S. should end its support for the Saudis immediately. He says that President Trump's good instincts on getting out of pointless wars have not carried through into sound policy, probably because the cabinet and the national security state actually control his foreign policy.

Ro Khanna has served as the U.S. Representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. He has worked with Thomas Massie, Mark Pocan, Walter Jones, and others to introduce legislation that would end the war in Yemen.

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

David Swanson joins the show to talk about the decline in military recruitment, which the secretary of the navy recently tried to explain away by falsely claiming that thousands of high schools have started denying access to recruiters, something they are legally barred from doing. Swanson points out, however, that the real reason for low recruitment is that the American people are getting fed up with the endless wars. The young people coming of age today were born during the wars we're still fighting, so they grew up with a sense of their futility and an understanding that they might never end.

Discussed on the show:

"The Secretary of the Navy Lied to Congress – Let's Try Democracy" (davidswanson.org)

"Do US High Schools Bar Military Recruiters? Activists Try to Call Pentagon’s Bluff" (Military.com)

"Former Director of Selective Service Says It's Time To End Draft Registration" (Antiwar.com)

National Coalition to Protect Student Privacy

Downing Street memo

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, radio host, and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. He is the author of War is a Lie and When the World Outlawed War. Find him on Twitter @davidcnswanson.

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Robert Gaines, an Afghan war combat veteran and co-author with Scott of a few recent articles for Breitbart.com and The National Interest, discusses America's continuing war in Afghanistan and the possible reasons for hope, as peace talks there are advancing further than they ever have. Scott and Gaines agree that it would probably make the most sense not to try to have a single state at all. If the various tribes and ethnic groups were allowed to govern their own areas, instead of a central government from Kabul, there would probably be much less reason for fighting and political unrest.

Discussed on the show:

"It’s Time to Stop Fighting Osama bin Laden’s War" (Breitbart)

"Trump Is Right, It’s Time to End the Afghan War" (Brietbart)

"America Cannot Save Afghanistan" (The National Interest)

"Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires?" (The Libertarian Institute)

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.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.