Ep 290: Naked Empire: Scott Horton Exposes American Interventionism

Naked Empire: Scott Horton Exposes of American Interventionism

Summary

Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, joins Dr. Norman Horn to discuss war and the U.S Government’s failed foreign interventionism. They discuss several key current events including ongoing tensions between Israel and Palestine, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and whether China is truly poised to be the next world power.

Horton illuminates the history behind the recent violence in the Gaza Strip, that killed 44 people, including 15 children, and injuring 311. The history of the Israel-Palestine conflict is muddle with intentionally confusing narratives since the State of Israel was established in 1947. Horton makes clear that involved a violent cleansing of about 750,000 Palestinians to maintain a 80/20 Israeli political majority. Palestine has been under Israeli control since 1967. Horton also references 2005 where then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon disengaged the Gaza Strip, but did so to prevent any further discussions of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

Dr. Horn and draws out the connection with Horton about how US foreign aide has contributed to the destruction of nations both in Palestine and across the world in numerous conflicts including the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South Asia. Horton brings in the focus the reality that Israel really keeps picking fights and then gets the US involved to do the dirty work. Israel’s PR campaign in America involves continuing to persuade American evangelicals that God wants them to support poor Israel.

Let’s not forget China! Many of wondered if the Communist Party in China is in a position to become the next world power. Scott Horton says, no! He explains China’s own military position and how it’s ill-equipped to fulfill the monumental task of becoming a dominating global power militarily. Horton explains how America was only in position to become a global power after World War II due to our economic wealth. Other nations in the world had been pummeled (comparatively) by the war.

While America may have had some greater moral high ground at the end of WWII, they certainly exhausted for the past several decades, turning it into a moral hazard. The US Government also had to paint perpetually new narratives to sell it’s foreign interventionism to the American people. They milked the post-WWII victory for all it could while simultaneously becoming the very monster it said it was fighting: global authoritarianism.

You can only “keep the peace” if you ignore all the violence.
– Scott Horton

Listen to this episode especially if you haven’t been in the loop on foreign affairs. It is an eye-opening episode that should leave you embracing an end to all entangling alliances as founders like George Washington insisted.

Main Point of Discussion

Resources Mentioned

Libertarian Institute

Anti-war Radio

Antiwar.com

ScottHorton.org

Scott’s Books:

• Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan
• Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism
• The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019
• Hotter Than the Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Scott Horton interviews Daniel Ellsberg, Seymour Hersh, Gar Alperovitz, Hans Kristensen, Joe Cirincione and more.