Antiwar.com Blog

[audio:http://dissentradio.com/radio/07_08_28_horton.mp3]

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer, heroic crusader against the American government’s use of torture and author of the renowned No Comment blog at the Harper’s magazine Website, explains how the Bush/Cheney administration continues to fight for their right to torture people, the roles played by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and likely replacement Michael Chertoff in crafting U.S. torture policy, the overall politicization of the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney scandal and bogus prosecutions of political opponents, NSA/AT&T wiretaps and the “State’s Secrets Privilege,” the Stab in Maliki’s back in Iraq, preparations for war with the Iranians and the legal framework being set up in order for the government to torture them too.

MP3 here. (47:24)

Scott Horton is a contributing editor at Harper’s magazine and pens the blog No Comment. A New York attorney known for his work in emerging markets and international law, especially human rights law and the law of armed conflict, Horton lectures at Columbia Law School. A life-long human rights advocate, Scott served as counsel to Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner, among other activists in the former Soviet Union. He is a co-founder of the American University in Central Asia, and has been involved in some of the most significant foreign investment projects in the Central Eurasian region. Scott recently led a number of studies of abuse issues associated with the conduct of the war on terror for the New York City Bar Association, where he has chaired several committees, including, most recently, the Committee on International Law. He is also a member of the board of the National Institute of Military Justice, the Andrei Sakharov Foundation, the EurasiaGroup and the American Branch of the International Law Association.

Yesterday, the California State Assembly approved a proposal to allow voters to express their opinion on the “immediate, complete, safe and orderly withdrawal of United States forces” from Iraq. The bill goes back to the State Senate, which had approved a slightly different version of the bill in June.

The bill will go to the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who will decide whether to allow Californians to express their opinion on Iraq. If he signs the bill, or lets it go into effect without his signature, the measure will appear on the February ballot along with the Presidential primary.

Schwarzenegger has tried to avoid taking a firm stance on the issue, saying he supports the troops and the war on terror but also backs a “timetable for withdrawal.” A spokesman for the governor, Aaron McLear, said Schwarzenegger had not taken a position on the bill.

Please contact the Governor’s office and urge him to allow voters to express their position on this important measure.

PS: More good news — while the Assembly was debating whether to pull out of Iraq, the Senate approved a resolution urging the president to stop sending National Guard troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Finally.

Later: Here’s your one-stop shop for real time coverage of Abu’s departure. Skeletor? A recess appointment? Ugh….

Even later: Bush: “…the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act bear his imprint…..” Like that’s a good thing.
Later still: The buzzards smelll roadkill. You knew that would happen.

An interesting talk by one of today’s leading experts on the Middle East. The talk was given Friday at the New America Foundation. Based on Cole’s new book, Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East.

PS: Anyone know how they got YouTube to run 71 minutes in a single video clip?

This weekend on Antiwar.com, Justin Raimondo’s Behind the Headlines column “Home Front ‘Surge’: War Party’s Ad Campaign Will Boomerang,” concerns the Israel Lobby’s pushing of $15 million worth of propaganda ads to run on TV, shaming the Democrats for their supposedly weak Stay in Iraq Forever policy.

Is this ‘too little, too late’ for the War Party? Do the American people’s opinion’s even count?

[audio:http://dissentradio.com/radio/07_08_24_bandow.mp3]

Doug Bandow, policy analyst and author of Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire, discusses the dangerous vision of Rudy “I was there that day” Giuliani as described in his recent Foreign Affairs article.

MP3 here. (20:51)

Doug Bandow is a Washington-based political writer and policy analyst and a member of the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy. He served as a special assistant to President Ronald Reagan and as a senior policy analyst in the 1980 Reagan for President campaign.

He has been widely published in leading newspapers and periodicals and has appeared on numerous radio and television shows. He has written and edited several books, including Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire (Xulon Press), The Korean Conundrum: America’s Troubled Relations with North and South Korea (Palgrave/Macmillan, coauthor), Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changed World (Cato), Perpetuating Poverty: The World Bank, the IMF, and the Developing World (Cato, coeditor), and Military Manpower and Human Resources (National Defense University). His latest book is Foreign Follies (Xulon Press).