Scott Horton | The Libertarian Institute

8/31/20 Gareth Porter on Israel’s Ammonium Nitrate Terror Plot Delusion

by Scott Horton | Aug 31, 2020 | The Scott Horton Show

Gareth Porter debunks a series of bogus incidents in which Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, has accused various Lebanese men over the years of being Hezbollah agents attempting to orchestrate terrorist plots all around the world. In each of the cases that Porter explains, false evidence for the possession of ammonium nitrate was used to sell the idea that these men were trying to make bombs. And in the wake of the recent explosion in Beirut, Israel has been selling the old narrative even harder, citing the accidental explosion as proof that Hezbollah is more active than ever. Discussed...

8/31/20 Phil Weiss on Ultra-Pro-Israel Presidential Candidate Joe Biden

by Scott Horton | Aug 31, 2020 | The Scott Horton Show

Scott interviews Phil Weiss about the deplorable state of the Democratic Party when it comes to Israel policy. Weiss calls Joe Biden the most pro-Israel candidate of all time, which is somewhat ironic given that he's running against the most pro-Israel president of all time in Donald Trump. Unlike in the Republican base, where support for Israel enjoys near universal popularity, Weiss says that among Democratic voters support for Israel is actually very controversial. Generally the more establishment wing of the party, represented by candidates like Biden and Harris, is staunchly in favor of...

8/28/20 Alan MacLeod on the Tight Relationship Between the US and Israel

by Scott Horton | Aug 31, 2020 | The Scott Horton Show

Alan MacLeod discusses a recent round of bombing by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, which as usual is either being completely ignored by mainstream media outlets, or is being described as justified retaliation for initial Palestinian aggression. MacLeod says that kind of language is consistently used by pro-Israel voices when trying to whitewash Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people. The extent of the dissimulation is so great that most Americans have no idea whatsoever of the real state of things for Palestinians, whom Scott describes as essentially living in open-air prisons....

8/28/20 Doug Bandow on America’s Failures as the World’s Police

by Scott Horton | Aug 30, 2020 | The Scott Horton Show

Scott talks to Doug Bandow about the baffling failure of U.S. policymakers to learn from any of America's recent foreign policy blunders. In particular, despite widespread consensus that the invasion of Iraq was a total calamity, politicians at the highest levels—and on both sides of the aisle—continue to advocate for the same pattern of meddlesome interference in the Middle East. During his presidential campaign, Trump occasionally said things that made it seem like he realized how foolish all of America's recent foreign interventions have been, but during his time as president, he has...

8/28/20 Giorgio Cafiero on the Ongoing Catastrophe in Yemen

by Scott Horton | Aug 29, 2020 | The Scott Horton Show

Scott talks to Giorgio Cafiero about the ongoing situation in Yemen, where complex Middle Eastern alliances and rivalries are playing themselves out on the battleground of Yemen. In particular, Cafiero explains the latest controversy between Turkey and the UAE, who in other circumstances actually tend to get along. In this case the claim is that Turkey is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood group al-Islah in Yemen in an effort to gain influence in the region, an allegation that Cafiero doubts. This factional conflict represents yet another case in which the world's worst humanitarian disaster...

8/28/20 Gilbert Doctorow on the Situation in Belarus

by Scott Horton | Aug 29, 2020 | The Scott Horton Show

Gilbert Doctorow discusses the political unrest in Belarus, where opposition protesters are demanding a new round of elections after President Lukashenko claimed to have won 80% of the vote this most recent time around. Lukashenko has served as president for 26 years, and until now, explains Doctorow, has faced very little opposition. Doctorow says there is good reason to believe that Lukashenko remains popular in Belarus—but probably not popular enough to explain an apparent 80% electoral landslide. As usual there is a faction in American and European politics that supports regime change,...