Scott talks to Danny Sjursen about the many catastrophic failures of American foreign policy, and most recently the proposed plan to carve out an autonomous Sunni region in western Iraq, which the U.S. could use to help control the Middle East and prevent Iranian influence from spreading to the eastern Mediterranean. The plan, says Scott, would be a reversal of everything the American military has spent much of this century doing in its wars in Iraq, and could lead to the deaths of thousands of U.S. troops. Sjursen also brings up the utter failure of the American Left to show up in important ways in the antiwar movement, something that in theory they are actually supposed to be good on. Most “activists” today seem content to post on social media about gender politics and let the political elites forge ahead with their bipartisan pro-war agenda.
Discussed on the show:
“US seeking to carve out Sunni state as its influence in Iraq wanes” (Middle East Eye)“2/7/20 Suadad al-Salhy on the Insane Plan to Divide Iraq in Two” (The Libertarian Institute)Britain and France conclude Sykes-Picot agreementA Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm“Coping with Crumbling States: A Western and Israeli Balance of Power Strategy for the Levant by David Wurmser 1996” (The Scott Horton Show)Tyranny’s Ally: AMERICA’S FAILURE TO DEFEAT SADDAM HUSSEIN“The New Yorker” (The New Yorker)Yinon PlanOslo AccordsPerils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam“World War I as Fulfillment: Power and the Intellectuals” (Mises Institute)The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963
Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. army major and former history instructor at West Point. He writes regularly for TomDispatch.com and he’s the author of “Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.” Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.
This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.
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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