Scott and Patrick Cockburn speculate about the future of Afghanistan as the United States ends its military involvement there. Cockburn reminds us that although the Taliban are making gains in parts of the country, they are far from universally popular, and the likelihood of an entirely Taliban-controlled Afghanistan seems somewhat low. This, he stresses, means that “the war in Afghanistan” is not going to be over anytime soon, just because the U.S. is leaving—and fighting between the various powers there may continue indefinitely without us.
Discussed on the show:
“The forever war in Afghanistan is far from over” (Independent)
Scott talks to Nasser Arrabyee about Yemen, where despite the Biden administration’s assurances almost six months ago that the U.S. would be ending its support for “offensive operations,” the Saudi coalition continues to terrorize the Yemeni civilian population, with crucial American support. The biggest problem facing Yemenis right now, of course, is the Saudi blockade on the Hodedah port, which prevents food and other basic supplies from making it into the country. Until the blockade is lifted, Yemen will remain what according to the UN is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
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.
Scott interviews Justin Cornett and Josh Eakle about their organization, For All Tennessee, which they describe as a lobbying group for the people. Cornett and Eakle target specific reforms that just about everyone in their state can agree on, bringing together moderate liberals, Trump supporters and democratic socialists on issues like ballot access, civil asset forfeiture, police chokeholds, no-knock SWAT raids and excessive emergency gubernatorial powers. For All Tennessee met with great success this year, and they hope to do even better going forward.
Scott talks to Kevin Gosztola and John Kiriakou about the trial of drone whistleblower Daniel Hale, who was just sentenced to 45 months in prison for crimes under the espionage act. Hale’s case is unlike some other recent whistleblowers, in that he freely pled guilty to an espionage charge but maintained that his actions were morally justified. Kiriakou stresses that with good behavior, time served and substance abuse recovery programs, 45 months really means more like a year and a half. And while that’s a long time to sit in prison, he says this is a big victory for Hale, considering what could have happened. In fact, the judge in his case seemed not to buy the prosecution’s bogus case at all, namely that Hale was a petty self-aggrandizer, who leaked these documents for reasons of personal ambition. The judge dismissed four other charges that the prosecution might have tried to bring against Hale, securing a relative victory compared to what could have been.
Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof. He also produces and co-hosts the weekly podcast, “Unauthorized Disclosure.” Follow him on Twitter @kgosztola.
Scott interviews Gareth Porter about the tenuous and secretive relationship between the U.S., China and Taiwan. Since the Nixon administration, Porter explains, America has had an official, but mostly tacit, policy of supporting the “one China” principle—but U.S. officials rarely say so publicly. This has left an ambiguity surrounding Taiwan’s status, and during the Obama administration one top Taiwan official in particular suddenly broke with America’s longstanding policy of urging the Taiwanese not to push too hard against the mainland Chinese government. This encouragement has helped erode cross-Strait relations in recent years and has made Taiwan a potential hotspot for U.S. involvement in an open conflict with China. Such a conflict between nuclear superpowers, of course, would be utterly disastrous for all mankind.
Discussed on the show:
“How Washington’s top Taiwan specialist embraced separatist party leader and opened new cross-Strait crisis” (The Grayzone)
“How a key Pentagon official turned China policy over to arms industry and Taiwan supporters” (The Grayzone)
David Swanson discusses the new congressional and presidential war powers legislation that’s been proposed by Senators Murphy, Lee and Sanders. Swanson describes his initial fears about the bill, given how bad previous attempts to modify congressional war powers and AUMFs have been in recent years. And yet this bill is surprisingly good: it addresses issues like cutting off funding for unauthorized wars, shortening the time that a president can wage such a war before seeking congressional approval and ensuring that the U.S. has a specific enemy any time it wants to start some new conflict. The legislation still leaves room for some of the loopholes and ambiguities we’ve come to expect, but in general, Swanson is pleased with the effort and optimistic about its future.
Discussed on the show:
“War Powers Reform Bill Far Better Than Feared” (Scoop News)
Scott talks to Dave DeCamp about what’s going on in the various corners of America’s would-be empire. In Afghanistan, as predicted, the Taliban have been making gains against the Afghan government as the U.S. military withdraws—but the Biden administration’s withdrawal is still tepid, as they plan to keep a small number of troops to protect the embassy and to keep funding the Afghan military until at least 2022. In Iraq, things might be even worse, since DeCamp thinks the recent announcement that the U.S. is ending its “combat mission” is nothing more than a PR move that redefines the mission without actually changing it. Scott and DeCamp also touch on Yemen, Russia, China and Israel.
Discussed on the show:
“U.S. Troops to Withdraw From Iraq—on Paper at Least” (Foreign Policy)
“British Warships Enter South China Sea” (Antiwar.com)
“US Air Force to send dozens of F-22 fighter jets to the Pacific amid tensions with China” (CNN)
“Opinion | What Ben & Jerry’s Has to Do With Israel and Cybersecurity” (The New York Times)
“‘It shows that BDS works’: Wafic Faour on how a group of Vermont activists got Ben & Jerry’s to move” (Mondoweiss)
“Poll finds a quarter of US Jews think Israel is ‘apartheid state’” (The Times of Israel)
Dave DeCamp is the assistant news editor of Antiwar.com. Follow him on Twitter @decampdave.
Scott interviews journalist Mark Curtis about his investigations into the UK role in the wars in Syria and Yemen. Regarding Yemen, Britain has long denied any involvement in that war, says Curtis, but it’s now been revealed that they, like the U.S., have been helping the Saudi coalition for years. The precise nature of the help the British government is giving isn’t exactly clear, but it likely involves the same things the Americans have been doing all along: training Saudi troops, assisting them with bomb targeting and providing weapons and spare parts, without which they could never wage this war. Curtis also reiterates just how desperate the situation is for the civilian population of Yemen, who have been facing what the UN calls the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Curtis and Scott also discuss the British government’s efforts to promote regime change in Syria.
Discussed on the show:
“Revealed: The UK has spent £350-million promoting regime change in Syria” (Declassified UK)
Peter McCormack discusses the latest developments in the world of Bitcoin. The most important news is that El Salvador moved to make Bitcoin legal tender, alongside the U.S. dollar, which McCormack says is huge for its viability as a mainstream currency. Bitcoin should help to solve several problems that have long plagued El Salvador’s economy, and other Latin American countries may well follow suit. More and more people are also spending and accepting Bitcoin around the world, rather than just using it as an investment, especially as payment networks get better. Of course, the U.S. government isn’t terribly happy about any of this, since it threatens the position of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The beautiful thing about Bitcoin, McCormack says, is that there’s nothing they can do to stop it.
Discussed on the show:
“How Bitcoiners Are Working With El Salvador’s Leaders” (Decrypt)
US News The National Guard remains deployed to fight wars in the Middle East. [Link] SkyNews Australia was banned for a week by YouTube for misinformation. [Link] China The US sent Patriot missile experts to Taiwan. The US budgeted $14.15 million for the experts to...
Listen to Scott's discussion from Freedom Fest with Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Abby Hall Blanco about whether the war on terrorism can be justified. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods'...
Listen to Scott's speech at Freedom Fest, where he explains that the war on terrorism is all the Democrats' fault. 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;...
Man, this one really infuriated the commenters on Imgur for some reason. It's almost like you can't speak your mind on the Internet or something. More comics at the Webcomic Factory.
Daniel Hale has been sentenced to nearly four years of prison for documenting what other drone operators had spoken out about: that military-aged males killed by missiles launched by drones were assumed guilty until proven innocent. Under President Obama, thousands of...
George Mason University Professor Donald J. Boudreaux has written an article worthy of everyone's attention: "'Externality' Is No Good Excuse for Mandatory Vaccination." Some people think the case for mandatory vaccination is irrefutably made by simply saying that the...
Scott and Patrick Cockburn speculate about the future of Afghanistan as the United States ends its military involvement there. Cockburn reminds us that although the Taliban are making gains in parts of the country, they are far from universally popular, and the...
Scott talks to Nasser Arrabyee about Yemen, where despite the Biden administration's assurances almost six months ago that the U.S. would be ending its support for "offensive operations," the Saudi coalition continues to terrorize the Yemeni civilian population, with...
Scott interviews Justin Cornett and Josh Eakle about their organization, For All Tennessee, which they describe as a lobbying group for the people. Cornett and Eakle target specific reforms that just about everyone in their state can agree on, bringing together...
Scott talks to Kevin Gosztola and John Kiriakou about the trial of drone whistleblower Daniel Hale, who was just sentenced to 45 months in prison for crimes under the espionage act. Hale's case is unlike some other recent whistleblowers, in that he freely pled guilty...
40 Minutes Some Strong Language Stacie is an attorney and host of The Stacie4Truth channel on Odysee. Stacie joins Pete to provide details of an investigation she did into the 2016 House seat election in Broward County Florida between Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Tim...
93 Minutes Not Safe For Work Andrew is the host of the Popular Liberty channel on YouTube and the mind behind the concept of Archotropism. Andrew returns to the show to go over the first three of his six laws of Archotropism but this time he applies them to our...
51 Minutes Safe For Work Craig Harguess is the head of the Bad Roman Project Craig asked Pete to come on share his opinion of modern Christianity. Pete uses the opportunity to also send a message to the Right about their heroes the police. The Bad Roman Project Get...
55 Minutes Some Strong Language David Spuria is the host of the 'Radical Independent' YouTube channel, as well as the very popular channel "The Real Music Observer." David joined Pete to discuss why he stopped calling himself a libertarian and to give his thoughts on...
On COI #143, Kyle and Will break down the latest quarterly report from the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which paints a bleak picture for the country as the US' 20-year war and occupation finally appear to be winding down. A major...
On COI #142, Kyle Anzalone breaks down Biden’s Iran policy. Trump took a stark turn from Obama when it came to Tehran. Rather than looking to build on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Trump tore the deal to shreds and embarked on a “maximum pressure”...
On COI #141, Kyle breaks down the leak, arrest, and sentencing of drone whistleblower Daniel Hale. While working for a defense contractor at the National Geostrategic Intelligence Agency, Hale handed scores of important documents exposing the drone program to the...
On COI #140, Kyle and Will return to the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer last year. New reporting and court filings show that the FBI used no less than 12 undercover agents and confidential informants to infiltrate the plot, most paid...
https://youtu.be/rvti8k793W8 ... the libertarian stands foursquare for what are generally known as “civil liberties”: the freedom to speak, publish, assemble, and to engage in such “victimless crimes” as pornography, sexual deviation, and prostitution (which the...
https://youtu.be/Esa0N156csY ... the privileged beneficiaries of inflation and depreciation are, largely, the central banks themselves and their stockholders, as well as merchants who borrow from these banks, and exporters who benefit by the depreciation of foreign...
https://youtu.be/ldmXyqAnbmI Mankind is a mixture of good and evil, of cooperative and criminal tendencies. In my view, the anarchist society is one which maximizes the tendencies for the good and the cooperative, while it minimizes both the opportunity and the moral...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFtlXIfwfQ0 ...the Austrian theory of the trade cycle reveals that only the inflationary bank credit expansion that enters the market through new business loans (or through purchase of business bonds) generates the over-investment in...
https://youtu.be/arKN0-K05BU Returning guest Scott Spaulding joins us the first episode in a planned four-part series to discuss his deployment experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode, Scott recounts his entire first deployment as a Civil Affairs Marine,...
In 1996 Lt. Col. Dave Grossman authored “On Killing,” a seminal study on “the psychological cost of learning to killing in war and society.” In it, Grossman documents the unheralded history of man’s inherent resistance to taking fellow human life. This history is so...
https://youtu.be/kFwjOrInBYU Connor Freeman is a writer at the Libertarian Institute, where he covers issues in noninterventionist foreign policy, focusing on the middle east and America's new cold war footing against Russia and China. His writing has also appeared at...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-RacyNx7nE I was glad to be joined by Etienne de la Boetie² to discuss how he, with the help of others, was able to organize civil disobedience during the height of the COVID lockdowns. We also discuss his book, "'Government' The...
Buck joined me once again to dive into tribalism and ideology by examining the history of nations and Higgs’ writing on ideology as catalogued in his book Crisis and Leviathan. Buck Twitter Counterflow 19 Skills Pdf Autonomy Course Critical Thinking Course Donate...
There have been many interesting conversations on the praxis of libertarianism, aka post-libertarianism, and Adam Patrick, though he doesn't like the label, has found himself a significant contributor to the conversations of praxis. Adam Twitter Yer Talkin Over Me 19...
Jay of Slurpgang joined me to talk age of consent, sexual culture, deviancy, and fulfillment. Jay twitter Slurpgang 19 Skills Pdf Autonomy Course Critical Thinking Course Donate Patreon RyanBunting.com
Angela McArdle joined me once again to talk about the government cracking down on Bitcoin, letter writing campaigns, and ways in which she's seen activism work. Angela on Twitter Angela Website 19 Skills Pdf Autonomy Course Critical Thinking Course Donate Patreon...
