John Kiriakou discusses an alarming new trend in the government and the media, in which the American right is freely compared to some kind of domestic terrorist or insurgent movement. Kiriakou describes the way that a small group of radicals like those who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January are being used to justify a crackdown on anyone on the right. So far this crackdown has manifested mostly in the controlling of speech online and calls for Donald Trump and his allies to be held directly accountable for the actions of a few. But Kiriakou warns that the situation could get even worse. Several high-ranking intelligence officials have recently made public statements likening Americans on “the far right” to insurgent groups that the U.S. military has fought in the war on terror, and implying that the same techniques ought to be used at home. Kiriakou is horrified by this suggestion, reminding us just what those tactics are: spying, no-knock raids, warrantless arrests and even torture and assassination.
Discussed on the show:
- “A Terrible Take on the Capitol Storming” (Consortium News)
- 88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary
John Kiriakou is a former CIA officer and author of The Convenient Terrorist: Two Whistleblowers’ Stories of Torture, Terror, Secret Wars, and CIA Lies and Doing Time Like A Spy. He is the host of Loud and Clear on Sputnik Radio. Follow him on Twitter @JohnKiriakou.
This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; Zippix Toothpicks; and Listen and Think Audio.
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