The Scott Horton Show from The Libertarian Institute

Joe Dyke from Airwars.org joins the show to discuss his new report, coauthored with Imogen Piper, which attempts to count civilian deaths resulting directly from U.S. airstrikes during the Terror Wars. Dyke says he and his colleagues want civilian deaths to be part of the broader ongoing discussions about the cost of these wars. Scott and Dyke discuss the difficulties involved with trying to count civilian deaths and examine the costs and benefits of different methods. Both agree, regardless of method, it’s important work. Especially since the U.S. government has made no official estimates. 

Discussed on the show:

 “Tens of thousands of civilians likely killed by US in ‘Forever Wars’” (Airwars.org)

Cost of War Project at Brown University 

“The Other Afghan Women” (New Yorker)

“Looser rules, more civilian deaths, a Taliban takeover: Inside America’s failed Afghan drone campaign” (Connecting Vets)

“The Drone Papers” (The Intercept) 

George W. Bush speech after 9/11 

“The Iraq War Logs” (Wikileaks) 

 “Iraq war logs reveal 15,000 previously unlisted civilian deaths” (The Guardian) 

Joe Dyke is Senior Investigator at Airwars. He has a decade of experience living and working in the Middle East, carrying out in-depth investigations into conflict-related civilian harm. Follow his work on Twitter @joedyke.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0L0VcEtDiE

This week on Antiwar Radio, Scott talked with Dave DeCamp. DeCamp gives an update on Afghanistan where the Taliban are attempting to form a government. Both Scott and DeCamp agree that the Taliban are likely to face difficulties as they try to govern the country, especially if they continue to only appoint Pashtun men to positions of power. Both point to the retaliatory drone strike that killed civilians in Kabul as a preview of what “over the horizon” operations will look like if Biden is serious about continuing them. Lastly, DeCamp provides an update on Syria where insiders appear to be happy with the status quo. And both Scott and DeCamp point to northern Syria as a perfect example of Washington’s hypocrisy on “terrorist safe-havens.” 

Discussed on the show:

Bill Roggio at the Long War Journal

Emily Horne’s statement about Taliban cooperation

 “Tens of thousands of civilians likely killed by US in ‘Forever Wars’” (Airwars.org)

“The Other Afghan Women” (New Yorker)

“Looser rules, more civilian deaths, a Taliban takeover: Inside America’s failed Afghan drone campaign” (Connecting Vets)

Dave DeCamp is the assistant news editor of Antiwar.com. Follow him on Twitter @decampdave.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gXOqV7NIeo

Scott interviews Clive Stafford Smith about a recent article written by his client Ahmed Rabbani. Rabbani has been in custody for 19 years without a single charge being brought against him. In 2002 he found himself in the hands of the CIA who allegedly believed he was a man named Hassan Ghul. But even after the real Ghul was captured and brought to the same prison Rabbani was being kept in, the CIA kept trying to extract information from Rabbani. Ghul cooperated and was freed. But Rabbani was sent to Guantanamo Bay where he remains today. Smith explains some of the difficulties facing him as he argues Rabbani’s case and sheds some light on how common his story really is.

Discussed on the show:

“The U.S. Has Held Me For 19 Years Without A Charge. I Have Just One Chance To Be Freed” (Huffington Post)

The Senate Torture Report

Clive Stafford Smith is founder of Reprieve, and is now director of his new non-profit the 3DCentre. He is the author of Bad Men: Guantánamo Bay and the Secret Prisons and Injustice: Life and Death in the Courtrooms of America. Follow him on Twitter @CliveSSmith.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPGGqQ_c12o

Scott sits down with Magnus Panvidya to discuss the upcoming antiwar protests that will take place all over the country on September 11th. All indications point to a sizable turnout that is, importantly, not monopolized by any one party or idealogy. Just as the antiwar movement ought to be. Further information can be found in the link below. 

Discussed on the show:

https://www.endthedamnwars.org/ 

Magnus Panvidya is an activist based out of Michigan. Follow him on Twitter @PanvidyaMagnus

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ae0olkvHlY

Scott speaks with FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley about the institutional failures that occurred before and after the 9/11 attacks. Rowley believes that there are many ways the attacks could have been prevented ranging from better information sharing between agencies to the locking of cockpit doors. After the attacks, Rowley says bureaucratic changes alone would have been enough to prevent similar attacks from occurring again and been a lot less costly than launching wars and spying on the world’s population. But both Scott and Rowley observe that instead the tragedy was seized upon by people with predefined agendas, something they both find just as morally reprehensible as prior knowledge of the attacks. 

Discussed on the show:

Pete Seeger: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright

Press For Truth Movie

Ray Nowosielski interview with Richard Clarke

The Shadow Factory by James Bamford 

Coleen Rowley’s Memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller

Her second letter to Mueller, right before the invasion of Iraq in 2003

The Fall by Camus 

Coleen Rowley is a retired FBI agent and lawyer who helped expose the FBI’s pre-9/11 failures. She was honored with TIME magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 2002. Find her on Twitter @ColeenRowley.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDfzIR5iy4k

Scott interviews Danny Sjursen and gets his reaction to the Taliban victory in Afghanistan. Sjursen thinks the Taliban’s campaign to take control of the country may soon be studied in war colleges. He also thinks that Scott’s book Fool’s Errand should be studied at war colleges, or at least books just as critical of the wars. Sjursen then talks about how this is a tough time for veterans, but that that isn’t a reason to hold back criticism of the war. That the idea that being antiwar implies a hatred of the troops is ridiculous and convenient for those in power.  Lastly, Sjursen reflects on the counterinsurgency mission he took part in Afghanistan.

Discussed on the show:

The Hunt for Red October

Redeployment by Phil Klay 

“American Purpose After the Fall of Kabul” (New Yorker)

Curb Your Enthusiasm clip 

The Operators by Michael Hastings 

War Machine 

Reign of Terror by Spencer Ackerman 

Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. army major and former history instructor at West Point. He is the author of Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge, Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War and A True History of the United States: Indigenous Genocide, Racialized Slavery, Hyper-Capitalism, Militarist Imperialism and Other Overlooked Aspects of American Exceptionalism. Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

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

Gareth Porter joins Scott on Antiwar Radio to discuss his latest piece about the media’s reaction to Afghanistan. Porter lays out how virtually the entire media ecosystem is arguing the withdrawal was done prematurely from both a counterterrorism standpoint and in terms of the evacuation of American citizens and allies. However, the media is ignoring the root of the problem was the overconfidence the U.S. Military and Intelligence Community had in the Afghan National Army. Porter argues that that is where the blame ought to lie, rather than squarely on Biden. Now Porter thinks we’ve reached an inflection point, with historic calls for those responsible for these disastrous wars to be held accountable. 

Discussed on the show:

Gareth Porter’s page at the Grayzone

“Afghanistan collapse reveals Beltway media’s loyalty to permanent war state” (Grazone)

news.antiwar.com — better than CIA briefings according to Chalmers Johnson

“Surprise, panic and fateful choices: The day America lost its longest war” (Washington Post)

“Top defense firms spend $1B on lobbying during Afghan war, see $2T return” (Responsible Statecraft)

Joe Kent on Tucker

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state. He is the author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare and, with John Kiriakou, The CIA Insider’s Guide to the Iran Crisis. 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: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7sBhWmTreU

Scott talks with Dan McKnight about the effort to pass Defend the Guard legislation, which would block the use of National Guard troops in foreign combat operations without a declaration of war. McKnight gives background on what led him to become involved in political activism and how the absence of the Louisiana National Guard during Hurricane Ida is yet another reason for this legislation. Scott and McKnight also talk about the value veterans bring to the movement to end wars. Lastly, McKnight explains that despite being relieved the war is over, he believes the Afghanistan withdrawal was handled disgracefully. 

Discussed on the show:

Bring Our Troops Home

Defend the Guard

Dan McKnight is the founder and Chairman of Idahoans to Bring Our Troops Home. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, three years active duty with the U.S. Army and ten years with the Idaho Army National Guard, including a one-year deployment to Afghanistan in 2006.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaoaSLWpEP8

Scott talks with Jack Murphy about the piece he wrote detailing the surge in drone strikes that took place under President Trump.  Murphy explains how the whole project started when a distraught drone operator approached him. It quickly became clear that that drone operator was not alone. Murphy details how Rules of Engagement (ROE) are formulated and how they evolved during the Obama and Trump presidencies. This leads to a discussion of the ruthless drone campaign that the U.S. carried out against the Taliban during negotiations. A campaign that killed numerous Afghan men for the crime of simply using a radio. 

Discussed on the show:

“Looser rules, more civilian deaths, a Taliban takeover: Inside America’s failed Afghan drone campaign” (Audacy)

“The Uncounted” (New York Times)

Rand Corporation Study on Limited Intervention 

Jack Murphy is an eight-year Army Special Operations veteran. After returning to civilian life in 2010, he graduated from Columbia University in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Find his memoir here and follow him on Twitter @JackMurphyRGR

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

Scott interviews attorney and writer Ashraf Nubani about his recent piece making a case for releasing Robert Kennedy’s convicted assassin Sirhan Sirhan. Nubani explains that Sirhan meets all the stated requirements of the parole board and that the pressure to keep him in prison is mainly political. 

Note: This interview was recorded hours before the news broke that the California Parole Board recommended Sirhan’s release. Governor Newsom’s office will now review the case and can still block parole. 

Discussed on the show:

“It’s time for Sirhan Sirhan to go free” (The Electronic Intifada)

“Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of Robert F. Kennedy assassination, seeks parole with no opposition from prosecutors” (Washington Post)

Ashraf W. Nubani is an attorney and a Palestinian American and Muslim community leader in the Washington, DC, metro area.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.