Scott is joined by Antiwar.com contributing editor Daniel Larison to discuss his most recent piece. Larison argues that the period following the peaceful breakup of the USSR was the best moment for the U.S. to shed the militaristic blob it had built up in the name of fighting communism. Instead, the military-industrial-congressional complex scrambled to find a new enemy. And the next thirty years of meddling in the Middle East and Eastern Europe have resulted in today’s messy geopolitical status quo. Discussed on the show: “US Militarism Should Have Died With the Soviet Union”...
Militarism
12/2/21 Patricia Hynes Explains How the US Military Poisoned Its Own Soldiers
Scott interviews Patricia Hynes about a piece she wrote back in 2017 highlighting the devastation caused by burn pits on American military bases over the last thirty years. Scott wanted to discuss this now because the Federal Government has finally started looking for ways to help the veterans exposed to these toxic fumes. They also lay out why Biden likely feels he has a personal stake in this effort. Discussed on the show: “The Burn Pits” (Truthdig) “Burn Pits: Federal Government Finally Helping Vets Suffering from Military Pollution” (Institute for Public Accuracy) The Burn Pits: The...
The State is the Health of War, and War is the Health of the State. Chris Coyne & Keith Knight
https://youtu.be/Od-djgYHnqM Lacking the direct test of success or failure, the voter tends to turn, not to those politicians whose policies have the best chance of success, but to those who can best “sell” their propaganda ability. Without grasping logical chains of deduction, the average voter will never be able to discover the errors that his ruler makes. Murray N. Rothbard Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market, p. 887 Christopher Coyne is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and the Associate Director of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy,...
COI Bonus Ep: End the Damn Wars guest Magnus Panvidya
On the first-ever Conflicts of Interest bonus episode, Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter sit down with Magnus Panvidya to discuss the ‘End The Damn Wars’ project, an effort to unite anti-war voices across the political spectrum and organize street actions opposing US militarism. Magnus explains the origins and aims of the new initiative, and argues that internet activism alone is not enough to stand in the way of Empire. Calling for cooperation between all dissident movements – left, right and libertarian – Magnus makes the case that ‘bottom unity’ is the best hope for reining in the war...
The Secret to Refuting Propaganda: Understanding Economics. Abigail R. Hall, Ph.D. & Keith Knight
https://youtu.be/rorurOdpCe4 ... political economy is not to be considered, as had Smith and the classicals, a study of wealth; it is instead a study of human exchanges. Murray N. Rothbard Classical Economics, p. 120 Abigail R. Hall, Ph.D. is an associate professor of economics Bellarmine University & coauthor of "Manufacturing Militarism" and "Tyranny Comes Home". Find Abigail R. Hall, Ph.D. here: Website: https://www.abigailrhall.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Abigail_R_Hall Collection of Research Papers: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1877234 ...
COI #131: The Deep State’s Role in Facebook’s Anti-Extremist Warnings
On COI #131, Kyle and Will delve into the US case against Julian Assange, which was dealt a major blow after a key witness against the WikiLeaks founder admitted to lying to the FBI. An Icelander, the witness is a convicted pedophile and financial fraudster, but provided testimony for the DOJ's superseding indictment against Assange. Facebook is asking users to rat out their right-wing uncles, sending prompts to certain accounts warning that somebody they know might be flirting with an "extremist" ideology. As part a new effort against so-called "extremism," the platform has partnered...
Paying Respects to Reese Erlich
Longtime antiwar activist Reese Erlich passed away on April 6 after a long battle with cancer. He was 73. Reese was most recently a bi-weekly columnist at a number of publications, including Antiwar.com. He wrote his last column two weeks ago saying goodbye to his friends and readers. I met Reese in 1980 when we worked together in the Bay Area Mobilization Against Militarism and the Draft. Reese was arrested in 1969 as part of the “Oakland Seven,” for organizing anti-draft demonstrations. His arrest and trial (resulting in his acquittal) are the subject of a documentary, Movement on...
2/19/21 Eli Clifton on the Arms Industry Money Behind Biden’s Afghanistan Study Group
Eli Clifton discusses the Biden Administration's Afghanistan study group, a panel of national security experts and former officers giving recommendations on whether the U.S. should get out of Afghanistan on the Trump administration's withdrawal timeline. Some of these experts have recommended that we pull troops out soon, but the majority have counseled against a hasty withdrawal—which of course in practice could very well mean staying indefinitely. Clifton points out the obvious problem with this group: most of its members have current or former financial ties to the arms industry. Even...
Biden Assembles His War Pigs
On COI#39, Kyle talks about Biden's picks for Secretary of Defense and State. For State, Biden selected long-time aid Antony Blinken. Blinken is a career hawk who has supported wars in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Libya. Blinken may help push the US back into the JCPOA and extend New Start, however, he will face pressures from his own party if he hopes to get it done. Biden named Michele Flournoy to be his nominee for Secretary of Defense. Flournoy is a DC Swamp creature who founded CNAS, and West End Execs with Blinken. Flournoy is a promoter of the US government, think tank, arms makers...
9/11/20 Danny Sjursen: America in the Age of Endless War
Scott interviews Danny Sjursen about his new book, which chronicles his own story of disillusionment with America's endless wars, in addition to outlining what he believes should be the new attitude of true American patriotism. He calls this type of patriotism "patriotic dissent," explaining that when one's country has become an empire of military adventurism founded on lies, the truly patriotic thing to do is to oppose these trends. Part of the way he does so is by offering historical examples of figures often held up as champions of militarism, like Eisenhower and Grant, and showing...