Scott talks to Alan MacLeod about the bizarre and troubling trend in both media and government where Russia is the automatic target of blame for everything these days. Every hack and cyber attack, of course, is automatically ascribed to the Russians, as are more mundane things, like CIA operatives getting mysterious migraines overseas. This reminds MacLeod of the old Cold War hysteria, where people thought Soviet agents were hiding in every area of American life. Increased hostility toward Russia is a tactic that the Democrats have used to score political points against President Trump for four years, which has had the additional side effect of forcing him into an aggressive foreign policy stance toward Russia to avoid allegations of treason and foreign allegiance. This is hardly a situation that Biden will be able to shrug off, and only sets America up for a new Cold War with Russia going forward.
Discussed on the show:
- “A CIA Officer Has a Headache. Media Blame Russia.” (FAIR)
- “The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion” (GQ)
- “Russia hasn’t just hacked our computer systems. It’s hacked our minds” (Washington Post)
Alan MacLeod is a member of the Glasgow University Media Group. He is the author of Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. Follow him on Twitter @AlanRMacLeod.
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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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 this website. He’s the author of the 2017 book, Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. Visit https://scotthorton.org