Another Failed 20-Year War: America vs. Somalia

Another Failed 20-Year War: America vs. Somalia

This essay is adapted from the Libertarian Institute's Executive Director Scott Horton's new book, Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism. Freedom Works The name "Somalia" has somehow become a slur against Americans who prioritize political liberty. "Oh, you think freedom works, huh? Well, why don’t you just move to Somalia?" This nonsense may have originated from the fact that some libertarian economists, such as Michael van Notten and Peter T. Leeson, noticed that when Somalia’s government ceased to exist after various warlords had exhausted themselves fighting over control of...

read more

7/2/21 Andrew Cockburn on the Catastrophic Legacy of Donald Rumsfeld

Scott interviews Andrew Cockburn about his new book, Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall, and Catastrophic Legacy. Scott and Cockburn discuss Rumsfeld's ascent to power through various presidential administrations, with special focus on his role in the disastrous post-9/11 terror wars. In addition to the historical events, Cockburn shares many private anecdotes about Rumsfeld's character from those who knew him. Discussed on the show: Rumsfeld: His Rise, Fall, and Catastrophic Legacy "A Letter to Paul Wolfowitz, by Andrew J. Bacevich" (Harper's Magazine) "War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits...

read more

7/2/21 Mark Perry on the Pentagon’s Latest Corporate Welfare Boondoggle

Mark Perry discusses the bizarre case of the Stryker, a vehicle used by the U.S. army to transport infantry troops to the battlefield. The Stryker, Perry explains, is a deathtrap: it isn't heavily armored enough to stand up to real combat, it rolls over easily and it can't withstand IEDs or tank rounds. What's more, everyone seems to know this. And yet the Pentagon is spending nearly a billion dollars on a new contract, not to give the Stryker better armor, but to put machine guns on it. Perry describes this as putting a tourniquet on the wrong part of the body, and is emblematic of the kind...

read more

7/2/21 Matthew Hoh on Veteran Suicides, Afghanistan and America’s Failed War on Terrorism

Scott and Matthew Hoh have a wide-ranging conversation about America's war on terrorism. The latest news is that the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is essentially complete, with the exception of a small number of soldiers, contractors and CIA operatives ostensibly remaining behind for diplomatic purposes. Hoh is optimistic about the possibility of the American military really being finished with Afghanistan now, though he and Scott both fear that the resulting instability could be used as an excuse to lobby for continued intervention. Hoh also discusses veteran suicide rates from the...

read more

7/2/21 Phil Weiss on Israel’s Declining Influence in American Liberal Politics

Phil Weiss comes back on the show to talk about Israel-Palestine. Now that Netanyahu has been ousted, Weiss is hopeful about the Biden administration's ability to work with Israel's new coalition government on issues like settlements and the Iran nuclear deal. Although Israel's new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, is possibly even further to the right than Netanyahu, he is working closely with centrist Yair Lapid and, for the first time ever, with an Arab party in the Knesset. Weiss is also optimistic about the international community: the Israelis have gone too far, he thinks, in...

read more

7/2/21 James Carden on the Internal EU Division Over Russia Policy

Scott interviews James Carden, Adviser to The American Committee for US-Russia Accord, about relations between Russia and the European Union. In recent years, Carden explains, some EU states have shown themselves unwilling to even sit down to cordial negotiations with Russia, who has been getting a reputation—largely thanks to Western media—for aggressive territorial expansion. This depiction could hardly be further from the truth. With the exception of Russia's annexation of Crimea, which was mostly peaceful and explicitly called for by the residents of that region, Russia has shown no...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest