Monthly Archives: April 2009

Antiwar Radio: Philip Weiss

Investigative journalist Philip Weiss discusses all the implications of the Jane Harman wiretap story the MSM hasn’t run with yet, the evidence of Israeli attempts to dominate U.S. policy decisions on Iran to start a war, the J Street lobby’s moderating influence and how Israeli leaders are oblivious of the political re-evaluation of Israel by American Jews.

Antiwar Radio: Gareth Porter

Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for Inter Press Service News Agency, discusses the connection between PNAC and the U.S. empire of bases, how beltway foreign policy advisers changed Obama’s antiwar rhetoric, the rumors of a U.S.-sponsored Iraqi coup d’etat to replace Nouri al-Maliki and the tendency of empires to enter costly military quagmires that bring their downfall.

Antiwar Radio: Andy Behlen

Andy Behlen, philosophy student at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX, discusses his class project Website devoted to exposing and preventing torture.

Antiwar Radio: Patrick Cockburn

Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for The Independent, discusses the duplication of (illusory) successful U.S. strategies in Iraq for use in Afghanistan, the U.S. drone missile strikes that kill a few Taliban but anger millions of Pakistanis, Nouri al-Maliki’s continued assertion of Iraqi sovereignty and how the Iraqi Sunnis are squeezed between contradictory political pressures from Islamic radicals and the Iraqi government.

Antiwar Radio: George McGovern

Former senator George McGovern discusses the danger to the U.S. in continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, why the damage to Iraq is already done and can’t be fixed by the U.S., Eisenhower ended the Korean war as promised, the lessons he learned flying a B-24 in World War II, the extraordinary cost of maintaining a world empire and the difficulty of unraveling the influence of the permanent warfare economy.

Antiwar Radio: Eric Margolis

Eric Margolis, author of American Raj: Liberation or Domination, discusses the causes of instability in Pakistan, the unrealistic expectations the U.S. places on its puppet governments, the Taliban’s inability to fill the Pakistan power vacuum and why the U.S. can’t resist the lure of imperialism.

I don’t usually do this, but

Here’s a nice comment someone posted on my Facebook page.

Betsy Stevens: “Scott, you conduct the very best interviews on the radio/internet bar none except maybe Chuck Mertz of This is Hell. You are well read and insightful, and we listen to every program, even if you are an avowed Libertarian.

“Your choice of interviews is amazing. We are addicted to your program and have been since we searched for ANYTHING that was ‘anti-war’ and sane back in the days when the deafening war drums were beating. Thank you!”

And here’s another one from the Antiwar Radio comments section:

Louise Ann Donahue Says:

“Antiwar.com rocks! As in the rock of truth. It seems the foundations of society have turned to gravel. Scott you are amazing, your grasp of affairs floors me (and scares the hell out me). It seems everyone in the government has made a bargain with the devil? And we are just tax paying saps!”

Update: One more:

Via Facebook, William writes: “Haven’t missed a show in 2 and a half years and really like your interview style and choice of music. Confirm me as a friend and you’ve always got a drink waiting for you in Cracow Poland, in the wannabe 51st state.”

Antiwar Radio: Ray McGovern

Ray McGovern, former senior analyst at the CIA, discusses the emotional aversion CIA agents developed for their own torture tactics, the moral bankruptcy of torture apologists, the barriers to an effective Senate Intelligence Committee torture investigation and the reemergence of long time cover-up artist Warren Rudman.

Oh, Poor Judge Bybee!

Pravda reports that Federal Judge Jay Bybee, who “interpreted” the law to mean that it was perfectly okay for George W. Bush to slam people against the wall 30 times in a row after keeping them awake for a month chained to the ceiling and forced to evacuate on themselves when they weren’t being locked in tiny little boxes or drowned almost to death over and over again, feels really, really bad about it! He was under a lot of time pressure!

That’s right. Bybee now says he “regrets that the memo was misused,” and that “the spirit of liberty has left the republic.”

Well, let’s just hope that when this most guilty of law-breaking felons finally dies in prison (if not the Salt-Pit torture dungeon outside of Kabul), someone will make sure to etch on his gravestone that “Here Lies the Man Who Tortured and Murdered the Spirit of Liberty in the Republic.”

Oh, who am I kidding? For him to go to jail would require the spirit of liberty in the republic he killed. It’s too late. There is no law.

And another thing: None of this is hyperbole. Jay Bybee is a criminal. He is a disgrace to mankind. These are just plain facts. No proud, red-blooded American should be too shy to say so. The fact that he’s sending his friends out to say boo hoo for him now means absolutely nothing. Plenty of convicted murderers and torturers claim they regret it. Find Jesus and everything. The only difference between them and him is that he’s a government employee. That’s all. See? No law. Just will. And torture.

Antiwar Radio: Doug Bandow

Doug Bandow, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, discusses the very minimal threat North Korea poses to the U.S., how South Korea is more than capable of defending itself against the North, the troubled history of the U.S./N. Korea Framework Agreement and the horrible Law of the Sea Treaty.