Antiwar Radio with Scott Horton » AIPAC

M.J. Rosenberg

Scott Horton — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 05:27:33 +0000

M.J. Rosenberg, journalist and Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at Media Matters Action Network, discusses his article “The ‘Israel Firster’ Brouhaha” about the Politico article chiding Media Matters for supposedly trying to turn the Democratic Party establishment against Israel; AIPAC’s dossiers on journalists (including M.J.) unwilling to parrot Likud Party talking points; the political risk-reward calculation that makes almost the entire Congress rabidly pro-Israel; why even Tom Friedman understands Netanyahu’s fawning reception in Congress was “bought and paid for by the Israel lobby;” Israel’s demographic change from secular liberal Jews to religious right-wing Russian immigrants; and why those who really love Israel oppose war with Iran.

MP3 here. (20:05)

M.J. Rosenberg is Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at Media Matters Action Network. Previously, he worked on Capitol Hill for various Democratic members of the House and Senate for 15 years. He was also a Clinton political appointee at USAID. In the early 1980s, he was editor of AIPACs weekly newsletter Near East Report. From 1998-2009, he was director of policy at Israel Policy Forum.

M.J. Rosenberg

Scott Horton — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 05:45:36 +0000

M.J. Rosenberg, journalist and Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at Media Matters Action Network, discusses his article “‘Attack Iran’ and AIPAC’s infamous chutzpah;” the AIPAC-sponsored bill in Congress that bans diplomacy or negotiations of any kind with Iran; how the “lobby” channels influence from Bibi Netanyahu straight to Congress; AIPAC’s ability to craft US foreign policy legislation, especially that pertaining to Iran sanctions; how a similar diplomatic prohibition in 1962 would have turned the Cuban Missile Crisis into WW III; the brief schism between the lobby and Israel’s government during Yitzhak Rabin’s peace process; and how an Iran war will endanger Israel and the US and force Iran to withdraw from the NPT and make a deterrent nuclear weapon for real.

MP3 here. (23:24)

Grant F. Smith

Scott Horton — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:59:14 +0000

Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C., discusses the clarification of his August article “Does AIPAC Have Only Two Major Donors;” how AIPAC has changed its mandatory disclosures and tax returns to obfuscate the organization’s donors and methods; how the American Israel Education Foundation (AIPAC’s “travel agency”) shuttles members of Congress to and from Israel, even though lobby-sponsored trips are supposed to be banned; the organizations (not just AIPAC) that constitute what is known as the “Israel lobby;” and how the Foreign Agents Registration Act is selectively enforced based on political concerns, not objective criteria.

MP3 here. (19:27)

Grant F. Smith is the author of the book America’s Defense Line: The Justice Department’s Battle to Register the Israel Lobby as Agents of a Foreign Government. He is a frequent contributor to Radio France Internationale and Voice of America’s Foro Interamericano. Smith has also appeared on BBC News, CNN, and C-SPAN. He is currently director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C.

M.J. Rosenberg

Scott Horton — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:02:58 +0000

M.J. Rosenberg, journalist and Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at Media Matters Action Network, discusses his two recent articles “If Tom Friedman can say it, you can too” about how criticism of the Israel lobby has gone mainstream and “On Israel & Palestine, Barack Obama Is Rick Perry;” the large percentage of Israelis who are OK with a Palestinian state, even though their government vehemently opposes one; why, when it comes to Israel, Obama wins the prize for most sycophantic US President in history; AIPAC’s excellent return on investment for its campaign contributions and lobbying efforts; and why Democrats are even more slavishly devoted to the Likud party line than Republicans.

MP3 here. (20:01)

Matt Barganier

Scott Horton — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 04:30:04 +0000

Antiwar.com editor Matt Barganier discusses the best Antiwar.com articles of the week, including Grant F. Smith’s “Does AIPAC Have Only Two Major Donors;” Becky Akers’ “The TSA Exposed for Exposing Us – Again;” Justin Raimondo’s “Barbarians With BlackBerrys” about the British riots; and Ran HaCohen’s “Israelis Sick and Tired – but of What?” about the protests in Israel, where the limits of “guns and butter” spending have been reached. He also discusses the possibility of riots in the US due to economic dislocation; Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversary articles, especially Ralph Raico’s piece; and Ivan Eland’s reasoning on why the MEK doesn’t belong on the State Department’s terrorist group list.

MP3 here. (19:07)

Matt Barganier is the editor of Antiwar.com.

Grant F. Smith

Scott Horton — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 06:33:25 +0000

Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C., discusses his article “Does AIPAC Have Only Two Major Donors?” about the change in AIPAC’s donation list in the last few years, which makes the organization appear to be nothing more than a lobbying tool for a couple billionaires; why Steven Rosen’s defamation lawsuit against AIPAC isn’t getting anywhere, even though the documents brought to light would justify indicting the whole lobby for espionage; and the evidence that Rosen used classified information to derail Jesse Jackson’s political career.

MP3 here. (20:00)

Grant F. Smith is the author of the new book America’s Defense Line: The Justice Department’s Battle to Register the Israel Lobby as Agents of a Foreign Government. He is a frequent contributor to Radio France Internationale and Voice of America’s Foro Interamericano. Smith has also appeared on BBC News, CNN, and C-SPAN. He is currently director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C.

Grant F. Smith

Scott Horton — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:02:58 +0000

Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C., discusses his piece “AIPAC Pushes Hard for War With Iran,” Keith Weissman’s breaking of his media silence to (badly) defend AIPAC, claiming there is no official program for regime change in Iran, the consistently evil John Bolton (but what a great foil he could serve for Ron Paul during the Republican primaries if he ran), how the US forgoes a necessary waiver when sending aid to Israel – required of all states with clandestine nuclear programs, how AIPAC uses leverage on domestic US issues (like Obamacare) to get their way on foreign policy issues, and the difference between Rosen/Weissman/Franklin espionage and Bradley Manning/WikiLeaks whistleblowing.

MP3 here. (20:09)

Karen Kwiatkowski

Scott Horton — Thu, 26 May 2011 04:08:26 +0000

Karen Kwiatkowski, columnist at lewrockwell.com and retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel, discusses her decision to run for Congress in Virginia’s 6th district; looking at foreign aid to Israel from the perspective of a US taxpayer; how foreign aid (and not just to Israel) lines the pockets of US arms manufacturers, props up autocratic regimes and undermines the Palestinian peace process; the dustup at the National Press Club between Israel critics and short-tempered Israel supporters; and why AIPAC’s cadre of extremist, inflexible old men might just run the lobby into the ground.

MP3 here. (42:48)

Karen Kwiatkowski, Ph.D., is a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel, who spent her final years in uniform working at the Pentagon’s Near East/South Asia bureau (NESA). Her assignment was to work on policy papers for the Secretary of Defense and other top brass at the Pentagon. Shortly thereafter, she was assigned to a newly-formed bureau inside the Pentagon called the Office of Special Plans, which was created to help the Pentagon deal with issues in Iraq.

Deeply frustrated and alarmed, Kwiatkowski, still on active duty, took the unusual step of penning an anonymous column of internal Pentagon dissent that was posted on the Internet by former Colonel David Hackworth, America’s most decorated veteran. She lives with her freedom-loving family in the Shenandoah Valley, and among other things, writes for lewrockwell.com.

Grant F. Smith

Scott Horton — Tue, 17 May 2011 07:30:22 +0000

Grant F. Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C., discusses his article “Obama vs. Reagan on AIPAC: documents reveal Ronald Reagan’s response to Israel lobby invitation;” how Israel’s constant state of emergency makes negotiated concessions impossible; the counter AIPAC convention in Washington during May 21-24; and how Israel has earned more international scorn (but not in the US) by shooting Nakba protesters.

MP3 here. (20:34)

Grant F. Smith is the author of Spy Trade: How Israel’s Lobby Undermines America’s Economy, America’s Defense Line: The Justice Department’s Battle to Register the Israel Lobby as Agents of a Foreign Government and Foreign Agents: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee from the 1963 Fulbright Hearings to the 2005 Espionage Scandal. He is a frequent contributor to Radio France Internationale and Voice of America’s Foro Interamericano. Smith has also appeared on BBC News, CNN, and C-SPAN. He is currently director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C.

Scott McConnell

Scott Horton — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:53:33 +0000

American Conservative magazine editor Scott McConnell discusses his revisiting of the Camp David Accords in light of Egypt’s new government that no longer guarantees friendly relations with Israel; how Carter and Brzezinski failed, despite a sincere effort, to achieve a comprehensive Mideast peace agreement and a Palestinian state; how the Israel lobby’s power waxes and wanes according to the election cycle; the US government’s chronic lack of resolve in risking a serious rift with Israel in order to break her diplomatic intransigence; how the lobby’s growth has been mirrored by a strengthened and increasingly well-informed opposition; and why, despite large numbers of settlements in the West Bank, a 2-state solution remains possible but difficult.

MP3 here. (25:00)

Scott McConnell founded The American Conservative with Pat Buchanan and Taki Theodoracopulos in 2002. A Ph.D.in history from Columbia University, he was formerly the editorial page editor of the New York Post and has been a columnist for Antiwar.com and New York Press. His work has been published in Commentary, Fortune, National Review, The New Republic, and many other publications.