2/12/18 Peter Van Buren explains why he’s optimistic about diplomacy with North Korea

2/12/18 Peter Van Buren explains why he’s optimistic about diplomacy with North Korea

Peter Van Buren returns to the show to discuss the American diplomatic tensions with North Korea and his article “Don’t Be Cynical About An Olympics Detente With North Korea.” Van Buren explains why he thinks that the United States is not moving towards war with North Korea, how the Koreans created a serious window for diplomacy with their Olympic delegation, and reflects on his time living in South Korea in the late 1990s. Van Buren then makes the case that the U.S. is in constant search of an enemy, and why North Korea is the perfect foil.

Peter Van Buren worked for 24 years at the Department of State including a year in Iraq. He is the author of “We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People” and the novel “Hooper’s War.” He is now a contributing editor at The American Conservative magazine. Follow him on Twitter @WeMeantWell.

Discussed on the show:

  • Kim Yo-jong
  • Kim Yong-nam
  • “U.S. Opens Door to North Korea Talks, a Victory for South’s President” (The New York Times)
  • Walter Duranty
  • Agreed Framework
  • “1/21/18 Gareth Porter on Donald Trump’s Bluff Towards North Korea” (The Scott Horton Show)
  • “North Korea Says It Might Negotiate On Nuclear Weapons. But The Washington Post Isn’t Reporting That.” by John Schwarz (The Intercept)
  • “A grand bargain with China could remove North Korea’s nuclear threat — but it would destroy America’s global influence” (Los Angeles Times)
  • “War with North Korea would be ‘catastrophic,’ Defense Secretary Mattis says” (CBS)

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Zen CashThe War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.comRoberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.LibertyStickers.comTheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

About Scott Horton

Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from ScottHorton.org. He's the author of the 2021 book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, the 2017 book, Fool's Errand:Time to End the War in Afghanistan, editor of the 2019 book The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019 and the 2022 book Hotter Than The Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. He’s conducted more than 5,800 interviews since 2003. Scott lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Larisa Alexandrovna Horton.

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