Scott talks to Kelley Vlahos about America’s 30-year nonstop bombing campaign of Iraq, and the prospects for ending it. The destruction of Iraq, says Vlahos, has followed a familiar trend: American politicians sell the public on the need to get involved in some country with what looks to be a brutal dictator in charge, then the military intervenes, usually by bombing indiscriminately, and finally the country is left far worse than it was before. In recent memory, America has done this to Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, though Iraq is perhaps the most egregious example. And while Scott and Vlahos hold out some hope for Joe Biden’s willingness to make peace in Yemen and Afghanistan, they are skeptical that he will do anything to disentangle America from its role in Iraq.
Discussed on the show:
- “Iraq today is a nightmare that Americans largely sleep through” (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft)
- “In Iraqi camps, refugees of ISIS war fear going home” (The Washington Post)
- “Iraq’s Post-ISIS Campaign of Revenge” (The New Yorker)
- “‘We Think the Price Is Worth It’” (FAIR)
Kelley B. Vlahos is the executive editor of The American Conservative. Follow her on Twitter @KelleyBVlahos.
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