Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for The Independent, discusses the enforcement power of Iraq’s Status of Forces Agreement in light of comments by General Ray Odierno, the influence Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani still has over the major decisions on Iraq’s future, the disappearance of Iraq as a media topic since the “successful surge” narrative became definitive, the instability in Kurdistan, how the U.S. inadvertently aided Iran’s rise as a regional power and the perils of not learning from history’s blunders.
Antiwar Radio: Philip Giraldi
Posted by Scott on December 23rd, 2008
Former CIA counter-terrorism agent Philip Giraldi discusses his Antiwar.com article “Israel’s ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ Card” on Antiwar.com, discusses the degradation of law and order when Dick Cheney can admit that he authorized torture and not fear prosecution, the long delayed Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman espionage trial, rumors of a Bush pardon for Jonathan Pollard, the disconnect between federal agents who aggressively pursue espionage cases and their department heads who don’t follow through, Steven Rosen’s new day-job blogging for Daniel Pipes’ Middle East Forum and the disappearance of indicted spy-for-Israel Ben-Ami Kadish.
Antiwar Radio: Glenn Greenwald
Posted by Scott on December 23rd, 2008
Glenn Greenwald, former constitutional law and civil rights litigator, discusses Noam Chomsky’s theory of “concision” in the context of the limited parameters of discussion on television, the ease of spouting platitudes and the difficulty of challenging conventional wisdom on cable news shows, how the Georgian conflict highlighted the unwillingness of the mainstream media to challenge a false premise that has bipartisan support and how Obama’s cabinet appointments were foreshadowed by his support for Joe Lieberman’s Senate candidacy.
Antiwar Radio: Thomas Woods
Posted by Scott on December 23rd, 2008
Thomas E. Woods, senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, discusses the evidence that contradicts Paul Krugman’s opinion that war is good for the economy, the renewed skepticism on the cause-and-effect relationship between WWII production and U.S. economic recovery, the stifling of private investment during the Depression due to erratic governmental interventions, the centrality of managerial intransigence to current Big-3 automaker woes and the debate on the benefits of a global division of labor.
Antiwar Radio: Gareth Porter
Posted by Scott on December 17th, 2008
Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist, discusses his recent visit to Iran to determine the receptivity of government officials to U.S. diplomatic overtures, the divide in Iranian opinion over Obama, how U.S. interference abroad allows defiant nationalistic governments stay in power, Obama’s potential to learn from his foreign policy mistakes despite the influence of hawkish advisers and how Iran’s increased regional influence and friendly relations with Iraq make nuclear weapons less likely.
