Monthly Archives: October 2011

Antiwar Radio: Eric Margolis

Eric Margolis, internationally syndicated columnist and author of War at the Top of the World and American Raj, discusses how a Libyan-style regime change in Syria could give the neoconservatives a backdoor-to-war with Iran; talk of securing Netanyahu’s legacy through a Churchill-like “moment of greatness” where he attacks Iran and saves Israel from another holocaust; behind-the-scenes fighting by British and French special forces in Libya; why Turkey is harboring an anti-Syrian “army” of deserters; why Iraq will fall apart (even more) when the US completely withdraws; the former Pakistani cricket player leading protests against US influence; and why the Haqqani network is just the latest excuse for the failing war in Afghanistan.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:35 — 8.8MB)

Antiwar Radio: Charles Goyette

Charles Goyette, former Antiwar Radio host and author of the upcoming new book Red and Blue and Broke All Over: Restoring America’s Free Economy, discusses why America’s economic and political problems can’t be solved until the red-blue paradigm is rejected; irreconcilable economic headlines where consumer spending is up while income drops – and nobody asks why; why the demand (Keynes) and supply-siders (Friedman) are two sides of the same government monetary intervention coin; a summary of the global debt crisis and European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF); the other PIIGS countries teetering on insolvency while Greek rescue plans founder; how “military Keynesianism” has bankrupted the US; the intertwined fates of US empire and the dollar; and why Americans prefer a stern father-figure for president, even one as clueless as Herman Cain.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:08 — 7.8MB)

Antiwar Radio: Tom Porteous

Tom Porteous, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch, discusses the outgoing Gadhafi regime’s many human rights violations in Libya; why the Benghazi massacre threat (used to justify the no-fly zone and “civilian protection” NATO campaign) was for real; why Libya’s NTC needs to quickly get a functional government in place before the country descends into factional violence; and why investigations are needed for crimes committed by rebel groups, as well as NATO’s exceeded mandate.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:02 — 4.6MB)

Antiwar Radio: Mark Sheffield

Mark Sheffield of the Policy on Point blog discusses his article “I Drink Your Milkshake! Checking the Chinese in Central Africa;” learning geography by tracking US military interventions the world over; deploying troops to central Africa to fight a has-been Christan millenarian cult – though curiously Uganda has lots of oil resources and no cultists; how US access to DRC (Congo) rare earth minerals could counter the current Chinese stranglehold on the market; the not-too-surprising increase in African deployments since AFRICOM‘s founding; and how Obama’s Libyan intervention seems to have emboldened him to begin new conflicts without even asking Congress.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:54 — 4.6MB)

Antiwar Radio: James Bovard

James Bovard, author of Attention Deficit Democracy, discusses the PATRIOT Act’s ten year anniversary and its legacy of unlimited government power; why there’s nothing more permanent that a temporary government program; the silence of Democrats who stopped protesting the PATRIOT Act’s provisions once Obama took office; why a large majority of Americans have no problem with their government assassinating “bad guys” deemed too inconvenient or difficult to prosecute; and why the MSM thinks Ron Paul is crazy for challenging unlimited police powers, even while the TSA turns Tennessee into East Germany.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:08 — 4.6MB)

Antiwar Radio: John Glaser

John Glaser, Assistant Editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Obama’s “let this be a lesson to the rest of you dictators (except the ones we like)” comment about the beaten, sodomized, executed Gadhafi; the doctors and nurses in Bahrain who were arrested and tortured for helping injured protesters; the continuing Bahrain protests despite the crackdowns – although the media ignores them anyway; why the Libya War was essentially waged as a PR campaign to showcase the US as a benevolent actor instead of the Arab spring antagonist; and how continued friendly relations with Uzbekistan show the Obama administration is more concerned with Afghanistan War logistics than human rights.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:47 — 6.8MB)

Antiwar Radio: Will Grigg

Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses his article “‘Rising’ to Empire, Falling from Grace;” why the “United State” of America is indeed an empire and has the Founding Fathers turning in their graves; why America’s elite are little different than the Soviet Union’s nomenklatura; the strengths and shortcomings of the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements, and how their minor differences keep them divided and conquered; how Oakland police – disinterested in property or violent crimes – found time to nearly kill IVAW member and Occupy Oakland protester Scott Olsen; and redefining political centrism as something resembling libertarianism, rather than the radicalism of John McCain and Joe Lieberman.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:11 — 4.6MB)

Antiwar Radio: Gareth Porter

Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses the 20 year US campaign of death and destruction in Iraq, seemingly coming to an end after the Iraqi government rejected a troop extension beyond 2011; how Ahmed Chalabi convinced the neoconservatives a post-Saddam Iraq would be emphatically pro-Israel; why it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the current Iraqi government – composed largely of former exiles living in Iran – would be closely allied with Iran; how Nouri al-Maliki tricked the Bush administration into negotiating a troop withdrawal deadline (that became the definitive SOFA); and why the gigantic US embassy is destined to become a museum of US atrocities.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:06 — 6.0MB)

Antiwar Radio: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the election results in Tunisia (birthplace of the Arab spring) that produced a victory for a conservative Islamist party; why any new Middle East/North Africa government with “Muslim” or “Islamic” in its name should worry about a US regime change scheme; Senator Lindsey Graham’s overt plan to bribe Libya’s rebel government with foreign aid and grab their oil; and how Somalia’s mass-starvation problem is related to the multiple invasions of US-proxy forces from neighboring African countries.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:42 — 4.5MB)

Antiwar Radio: Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman, senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation, discusses his article “Drone Warfare Is Fraught with Danger;” setting a new “Libya precedent” of cheap and easy regime change with US drones in the air and indigenous fighters on the ground; forgetting the quick “victories” in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 that later went sour; the case for impeaching Barack Obama for violating the War Powers Act; why a commander in chief less removed from the field of battle might not conduct warfare so casually; and why the US is severely tempting fate (and blowback) by conducting such an aggressive and violent foreign policy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:12 — 4.6MB)

Could it be that the show matters?

Chris writes:

“I’ve been meaning to write to you for a while, but I just now got around to it.

“I grew up in Texas as a typical “Conservative Christian.” As recently as a year or so ago, I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh on a regular basis. I started listening to him back in the early 1990s. I agreed with Rush on almost everything and equated his brand of conservatism to liberty.

“Fortunately, because of resources such as Mises.org and people such as Tom Woods and Lew Rockwell, I have found true liberty. (btw, I first heard of you from an interview of Tom Woods)

“These days I spend my 11am-2pm hours listening to Antiwar Radio. I really appreciate what you do. I have learned so much from you over the past year. Now I am a fellow Anarcho-Capitalist.

“I wanted to keep this short, but I thought you would like to know that you are influencing people.”

I would. Thanks Chris.

Antiwar Radio: Luc Cote

Luc Côté, director of the film You Don’t Like the Truth: 4 days inside Guantanamo, discusses the interrogation videos of 16-year old prisoner Omar Khadr, taken by Canadian intelligence agents inside Guantanamo; how the same American interrogator who killed Dilawar the taxi driver at Bagram prison also interrogated the badly-injured Khadr about 50 times; and how sleep deprivation of prisoners (through the “frequent flyer program“) made extracting false confessions much easier for interrogators.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:07 — 4.6MB)

Antiwar Radio: Gareth Porter

Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses how the Obama administration pushed hard for an extended Iraq troop presence, got rejected, then spun it as fulfillment of a campaign promise; why the Iraq War’s principal aim was to establish a massive military garrison from which to project power in the Middle East; the long-term training of Iraqi pilots on US fighter jets; and why the huge US embassy in Baghdad may not have enough force protection to secure it – conjuring images of rooftop helicopter rescues in Saigon.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:45 — 4.5MB)

Antiwar Radio: Kevin Zeese

Kevin Zeese, Executive Director of VotersForPeace and Co-Chair of Come Home America, discusses whistleblower Bradley Manning’s treatment at Fort Leavenworth prison; why the UN torture investigator is still being denied a private interview with Manning; how Manning’s chance for a fair military trial has been greatly impaired by Obama’s pronouncement of his guilt; the common ground shared by protesters – from the Left and Right – against government corruption; and why relying on the UN to enforce the rule of law isn’t ideal, but is almost required while all means of legal redress are denied.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:01 — 4.6MB)

Robert P. Murphy

Robert P. Murphy discusses the “boom and bust” business cycle and what exacerbates it; why the Federal Reserve – with a primary mandate of ensuring price stability – is a demonstrable failure; how Ron Paul popularized the Austrian school of economics and removed the aura of infallibility from Fed chairmen Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke; why we shouldn’t focus solely on the Fed – lest we forget the pernicious roles of big banks and insurance companies; whether Bernanke is an academic doggedly pursuing failed theory or a banker stooge who knows better; and the virtues of the movie “Inside Job.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:55 — 4.6MB)