Karen Kwiatkowski was one of the whistleblowers on the malfeasance of intelligence agencies leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, recently documented in Rob Reiner’s film, Shock and Awe. Kwiatkowski explains that the American people are usually inclined toward an anti-war position, and they voted for candidates like Bush Jr., Obama, and Trump in part because all promised less war and no nation-building. She hopes that the obvious reality that none of them follow through on these promises will wake people up to the fact that it doesn’t much matter who’s in the white house. In fact, she explains that the dichotomy on war is no longer Left vs. Right, but young vs. old. There are newer coalitions among both Democrats and Republicans that oppose America’s foreign wars, while older senators and representatives support the war state regardless of their political parties. Kwiatkowski bemoans the fact that House Democrats are in such a good position to force President Trump to end the wars—or at least prevent him from starting new ones—but almost certainly will do no such thing.

Discussed on the show:

• Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence
• Shock and Awe
• “In Rumsfeld’s Shop” (The American Conservative)
• Abu Zubaydah
• Why We Fight
• Stand For The Troops
• LewRockwell.com archive
• “The new Pentagon papers” (Salon)
• “The Lie Factory” (The New Yorker)
• Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

Karen Kwiatkowski is the recipient of the 2018 Sam Adams Award for her work exposing the lies told in the lead-up to the Iraq War. She is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and worked in both the Pentagon and the NSA. Read her acceptance speech here.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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