The Scott Horton Show from The Libertarian Institute

Nasser Arrabyee is back with an update on the ongoing war in Yemen. Joe Biden, he says, has said some promising things about ending U.S. support for the Suadi war there, but both Arrabyee and Scott are skeptical that he will follow through at all. Supporters of the war, including Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia and Mike Pompeo in the U.S., are pushing for the international community to officially designate the Houthis as a terrorist group, which Arrabyee says would only make it even more difficult to get humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people. Yemen has now been identified as the world's worst humanitarian crisis for the third year running, and yet the mainstream media devotes almost no coverage to the situation. Change, says Arrabyee, must begin with widespread awareness.

Discussed on the show:

"Yemen most at risk of humanitarian catastrophe in 2021: IRC" (Al Jazeera)

"The Saudi Coalition’s Food War on Yemen" (MERIP)

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 Twitter @narrabyee.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTMI03zUAQs

Tim Shorrock analyzes the prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula under the upcoming Biden administration. President Trump, he and Scott agree, made some promising moves toward detente between North Korea, South Korea and the United States, shaking up the status quo that had long held under Bush and Obama. Sadly John Bolton, a neoconservative establishment loyalist, was able to move the administration toward the position that North Korea would first have to give up its nuclear weapons before any concessions on the part of America and its allies, like the easing of economic sanctions. This policy, says Shorrock, is a poison pill: Bolton knows that North Korea will never give up its nuclear program until it's entirely clear that America is acting in good faith, and so no progress is ever likely to be made if disarmament is America's first demand. Shorrock remains hopeful that the Biden administration will decide to follow through on the opportunities provided by Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and try to achieve peace once and for all.

Discussed on the show:

Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death, Beyond the Darkness of the Age

"Old Obama hands on Korea policy could pose new problems for peace" (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)

The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir

"Hillary’s Hawks Are Threatening Escalation Against North Korea" (The Nation)

Rage

Tim Shorrock is the author of Spies For Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing and a regular contributor to The Nation and the Korea Center for Investigative Reporting. Follow him on Twitter @TimothyS.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zly4ldMSaNg

Doug Bandow discusses the state of U.S. relations with Russia, an issue of increasing relevance these days as some figures in American government try to leverage Russophobia for political purposes. Bandow reminds us that Russia is virtually no threat to the United States, so long as we don't provoke them first, but that because of their nuclear stockpile, peace is absolutely critical for the safety of humanity. For some reason Trump's opponents seem to ignore this fact, jumping at every opportunity to score political points by attacking him on his Russia policies, with the result that he has governed in a way that is extremely hostile toward Russia. This is one of several ways in which Trump's irenic campaign promises belied what turned out to be a fairly aggressive administration.

Discussed on the show:

"Russia hasn’t just hacked our computer systems. It’s hacked our minds." (Washington Post)

"Joe Biden Confronts Russia: The Problem of Diplomacy Without Compromise" (Antiwar.com)

"Why America Must Lead Again" (Foreign Affairs)

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a regular contributor at Forbes Magazine, the National Interest, and elsewhere. He’s on Twitter @Doug_Bandow.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwlI0E0cftc

Scott talks to Dave DeCamp about a new audio recording of Julian Assange released by Project Veritas, which proves Assange's contention that he tried to warn the State Department before the famous leak of the state department cables in 2010. For years, government officials have claimed that Assange and Chelsea Manning endangered the lives of American agents by recklessly releasing these confidential documents. In reality, Assange and his team worked around the clock to redact personal information before they released the cables, and it was British journalist Luke Harding who first enabled the release of the unredacted version. Even so, not a single American death has been connected to the information leaked by Manning and published by Assange.

Discussed on the show:

"Trump expected to issue wave of pre-Christmas pardons today" (Axios)

"Baghdad War Diary" (WikiLeaks)

"Kabul War Diary" (WikiLeaks)

"State Department Cables" (WikiLeaks)

"Project Veritas Releases Audio of Assange Warning U.S. Government of Damaging Leak of Classified Information" (Project Veritas)

"Risk (2016)" (IMDb)

Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win

"Glenn Greenwald says Trump should use his pardon power to end 'abusive prosecution' of Julian Assange" (Fox News)

"Recording Proves Assange Warned State Department Ahead of Cable Dump" (Antiwar.com)

"IAEA Chief: New Agreement Needed to Revive Iran Deal" (Antiwar.com)

"Our Work with the DNC: Setting the record straight" (CrowdStrike)

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, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJwVnAOZ7f8

Ray McGovern reflects on the ways America's foreign policy and national security state have changed since his time in the CIA. In particular, he warns that Michael Morell, one of Joe Biden's top picks to head the CIA, is categorically unqualified to do so based on his record in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq and as an apologist for torture during the early years of the war on terror. In general, says McGovern, Biden's people conform far too much to the worst of the modern foreign policy establishment: aggressively committed to promoting Israel's interests in the Middle East, unwilling to end any of the wasteful and unjust foreign wars and far too eager to gin up tensions with Russia and China, the two countries with which it is most important that the U.S. have peaceful relations in the coming decades.

Discussed on the show:

"RAY McGOVERN: Why Michael Morell Cannot Be CIA Director" (Consortium News)

The Putin Interviews

Downing Street memo

"Our Work with the DNC: Setting the record straight" (CrowdStrike)

Scott Horton: "I’m Here for My Bill of Goods" (Antiwar.com)

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.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djLwVvgm59E

Aaron Maté is back with yet another update on the cover-up of the investigation into the supposed chemical attack in Douma, Syria. An initial investigation by the OPCW appeared to verify that the 2018 attack was indeed a chlorine gas attack, which must have been carried out by the Syrian government. This report justified the retaliatory American bombing of Syrian government targets. But it quickly emerged, thanks to whistleblowers within the OPCW, that the official report contradicted the actual findings of the investigators on several key points. These whistleblowers were immediately smeared as discredited and disgruntled former employees, but as time goes on, that narrative becomes less and less tenable. The latest leaks, explains Maté, show conclusively that members of the OPCW were very concerned at the time about the fact that the report may have been compromised, and praised the whistleblowers for trying to tell the real story.

Discussed on the show:

"OPCW executives praised whistleblower and criticized Syria cover-up, leaks reveal" (The Grayzone)

"Russiagate Archives" (The Grayzone)

Aaron Maté is a former host and producer at The Real News and writes regularly at The Nation. Follow him on Twitter @AaronJMate.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfdUwpDpw0k

Scott talks to Chris Woods from Airwars about some of the difficulties in assessing civilian casualties from U.S. bombs in Iraq. Woods estimates very conservatively that between eight and thirteen thousand civilians have been killed during the war in Iraq, but coalition governments only admit to about 1,400. When factoring in excess deaths from the secondary consequences of war, some have estimated that civilian deaths could be as high as one million. Sadly this is not an issue that receives attention in most circles—the war in Iraq is too far away, and for the most part people in the west simply don't notice its consequences. Woods' organization works hard to change that perception.

Discussed on the show:

"The Uncounted" (The New York Times)

Iraq Body Count

"The Redirection" (The New Yorker)

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: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myh8VSCGYr8

Danny Sjursen is back for a look at Biden's foreign policy team, in particular his new National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. Sjursen says that Sullivan fits right in with many of Biden's other cabinet picks: extremely talented, well-credentialed, respectable people who use their talents to advance horrible policies while deflecting criticism for them. Sullivan, a war hawk, worked closely with Hillary Clinton during Obama's presidency, especially on the intervention in Libya. He appears to favor all the same foreign policies from those years now that he's a part of the Biden Administration. Sjursen bemoans the Democratic voters who feel relieved to be "returning to normal," reminding us that "normal" is years and years of unilaterally-decided, unofficial drone campaigns and regime change wars that have been disastrous both for the countries America has destroyed, and for the American taxpayer.

Discussed on the show:

"Biden’s Hawk: The Case Against Sullivan" (scheerpost.com)

The Management of Savagery: How America's National Security State Fueled the Rise of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Donald Trump

Fear

Rage

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 and Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War. Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox0jqBI-pPs

Scott talks to Grant Smith about the case of Jonathan Pollard, an American intelligence analyst who pled guilty to espionage on behalf of Israel in the 1980s. Pollard has been imprisoned for his crimes since then, until he was recently released on parole by the Trump administration. For years working in intelligence, Pollard stole secret documents for the Israeli government, something other American figures have done in recent memory, but for which few other than Pollard have been punished. Now Pollard is on the verge of joining those others who walked free for their crimes.

Discussed on the show:

"The Jonathan Pollard Exception" (Antiwar.com Original)

"The Traitor" (The New Yorker)

The Samson Option: Israel, America and the Bomb

Grant F. Smith is the author of a number of books including Big Israel: How Israel’s Lobby Moves America, Divert!, and most recently The Israel Lobby Enters State Government: Rise of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board. He is director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

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

Gilbert Doctorow talks about Biden's pick for Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, particularly his famous stepfather, Samuel Pisar. Pisar is well-known these days for being a holocaust survivor rescued by American GIs during World War II, but is less known for his decorated international career afterward. Doctorow brings up Pisar's past because of his prominent role as a representative for American companies in Europe, and especially in the Soviet Union. Pisar's view was that commerce is an important feature of peaceful diplomatic relations, even with semi-hostile countries. Doctorow hopes that this will be Blinken's attitude as well as he is tasked with taking the lead in America's foreign policy toward countries like Russia and China. But with the general hawkishness of Biden's cabinet, the future remains in doubt.

Discussed on the show:

Memoirs of a Russianist, Volume I: From the Ground Up

"Will Antony Blinken's Past Catch Up With Him?" (Antiwar.com Original)

Gilbert Doctorow is an independent political analyst and was the European Coordinator of The American Committee for East-West Accord. He writes regularly for Consortium News. His latest book is Does the United States Have a Future?

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; and Listen and Think Audio.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hQkd1eALMI