Scott Horton | The Libertarian Institute

4/16/21 William Arkin: Why America Can’t End its ‘Forever Wars’

by Scott Horton | Apr 18, 2021 | The Scott Horton Show

William Arkin discusses the changing nature of America's military, specifically the way that operations have shifted away from traditional "boots on the ground" and toward drone strikes, special forces, civilian contractors and intelligence analysts. In fact, for every soldier on the ground in the Middle East today, Arkin estimates that there are at least one hundred other people around the world to support that soldier. This has led to a Faustian bargain for the American people: the number of American troops getting killed and injured overseas is relatively low—on the other hand, this...

4/15/21 Dan McKnight on America’s Ascendant Bipartisan Antiwar Coalition

by Scott Horton | Apr 16, 2021 | The Scott Horton Show

Dan McKnight talks about the “Defend the Guard” movement, a set of bills that would mandate that a state’s national guard troops not be deployed overseas without an official declaration of war from congress. The legislation has sponsors in 31 states so far, and that number is growing. None of this, McKnight stresses, is a radical reinterpretation American law—it is just an attempt to follow the process that the constitution already lays out. It’s ridiculous, he says, that national guard troops are spending their time helping the American empire occupy countries halfway across the globe when...

4/14/21 Grant Smith on the Upcoming Israel Apartheid Conference

by Scott Horton | Apr 15, 2021 | The Scott Horton Show

Scott talks to Grant Smith about the upcoming Israel Lobby Con, the annual conference hosting a range of expert speakers who offer opposing views to the mainstream zionist position that dominates American polite society. This year's conference consists of two sessions, the first on Saturday 4/17 and the second on Saturday 4/24, and will be hosted on Zoom. Sign up for the conference at www.IsraelApartheidCon.org, watch live on YouTube or listen to the podcast afterward. Discussed on the show: "Expert Speakers to Discuss Israel, its U.S. Lobby and Apartheid April 17 & 24" (PR Newswire)...

18 years, 5,500 interviews.

by Scott Horton | Apr 14, 2021 | Blog

I started the old Weekend Interview Show on Radio KAOS 95.9 FM in Austin, Texas on April 12, 2003, three days after the fall of Baghdad. First up was Antiwar.com's heroic Alan Bock. Number 5,500 was of course with the Great Gareth Porter. Full archives here and at YouTube.

4/13/21 Gareth Porter on Staying in Afghanistan, the Iran Deal and Getting Shut Out of Vietnam

by Scott Horton | Apr 14, 2021 | The Scott Horton Show

Interview #5,500! Scott talks to Gareth Porter about a range of U.S. foreign policy issues, beginning with the Biden administration's announcement that it will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11. To some extent, this is good news, but it obscures what the headline should be—that Biden has decided to break the Trump administration-brokered peace deal to leave by May 1 of this year. Since the Taliban have promised to start fighting again if that deadline is not met, staying another six months could seriously complicate things. Porter also brings us up to speed on America's...

Expert Speakers to Discuss Israel, its U.S. Lobby and Apartheid April 17 & 24

by Scott Horton | Apr 14, 2021 | Blog

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Experts will speak and take questions at the only annual national conference challenging the Israel lobby's repressive agenda while proposing better alternatives for America. IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep). Celebrated Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa reveals how U.S. taxpayers and readers are beginning to understand that their tax dollars are supporting ethnic cleansing and apartheid....

4/12/21 Ted Carpenter on Putin’s Ukraine Red Line

by Scott Horton | Apr 12, 2021 | The Scott Horton Show

Scott interviews Ted Carpenter about America's dangerous Ukraine policy. Carpenter explains how ever since the Obama administration helped right-wing extremists in Western Ukraine overthrow the elected Russian-aligned government in 2014, the U.S. has been behaving as though it had the right to dictate policy all over Eastern Europe. Thus when Russia moves troops around at its bases on the Western border, the story becomes about Russia threatening our allies in Ukraine, and how the U.S. must be ready to intervene. This is not only a ridiculous policy, Carpenter says, but also a dangerous one....

4/12/21 Jacob Sullum: Biden Loves Gun Control by Fiat

by Scott Horton | Apr 12, 2021 | The Scott Horton Show

Jacob Sullum discusses the Biden administration's possible moves on gun control. Thanks to recent mass shootings, says Sullum, gun control is back in the public eye, resulting in some proposed new laws like background checks, increased "red flag" rules, an "assault weapons" ban and the reclassification of certain firearm accessories. Most of these laws, Sullum says, would do very little to reduce gun violence: most mass shooters, for instance, use common handguns—many also obtained them legally and would pass a background check. Leaving mass shootings aside, which constitute a tiny fraction...