Antiwar Radio with Scott Horton » Torture

The Other Scott Horton

Scott Horton — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:04:38 +0000

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses his article “Yoo, Latif, and the Rise of Secret Justice;” the Ninth Circuit Court’s legally indefensible ruling that John Yoo is immune to Jose Padilla’s torture lawsuit because, at the time, torture was a confused legal issue; “torture memo” co-author Jay Bybee’s convenient new gig as a Ninth Circuit Court judge; why Italian prosecutors wish John Yoo would resume vacationing in Italy; the DC Circuit Court’s steadfast belief in secret and self-contradicting government evidence against ten-year Guantanamo inmate Adnan Latif; and how Republican judges are making radical changes in the rule of law to get their buddies off the hook.

MP3 here. (21:08)

The Other Scott Horton is a Contributing Editor for Harper’s magazine where he writes the No Comment blog. 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.

Cora Currier

Scott Horton — Tue, 15 May 2012 05:05:15 +0000

Journalist Cora Currier discusses her article “Timeline: How Obama Compares to Bush on Torture, Surveillance and Detention;” the government’s claim that there is oversight for the unprecedented expansion of executive power (it just can’t be verified because of state secrets); Obama’s duplicity on telecom immunity and his broken promise to prosecute the “warrantless wiretapping” Bush administration officials; evidence that CIA black sites are not actually closed; continuing proxy-torture with extraordinary renditions; and Obama’s legal case for drones strikes and assassinating US citizens.

MP3 here. (20:09)

Cora Currier is an intern at ProPublica. was previously on the editorial staff of the New Yorker. She has written for the New Yorker’s website, The European, Let’s Go guides, and other publications. During the 2008 presidential election, she covered the youth vote for The Nation. She has also worked as a researcher for several books on history and politics. Cora graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Social Studies.

Will Grigg

Scott Horton — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:23:17 +0000

Will Grigg, blogger and author of Liberty in Eclipse, discusses his article “The Everyday Evil of America’s Torture State;” Daniel Chong’s “accidental” 5 day incarceration during which he was without food or water, handcuffed and in complete darkness; the “Gitmo-ization” of the US justice system; other anecdotes of the cops torturing and killing Americans without being fired or prosecuted; the Michigan State Supreme Court’s unusual recognition of the right to resist unlawful arrest; the realization of Alan Dershowitz’s “torture warrants;” and how the prison-industrial complex profits from expanding the War on Drugs.

MP3 here. (38:07)

Will Grigg writes the blog Pro Libertate and is the author of Liberty in Eclipse.

The Other Scott Horton

Scott Horton — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:08:37 +0000

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses former #3 CIA boss Jose Rodriguez’s defense of torture and the destruction of interrogation videos (that he ordered); Rodriguez’s claim that the tapes were shredded to protect CIA agents from Al Qaeda retribution, not to coverup criminal acts; how the Department of Justice erodes the rule of law by failing to prosecute former officials bragging about their crimes on television; and the systemic torture practiced by US officials that extended far beyond waterboarding.

MP3 here. (19:48)

The other Scott Horton is a Contributing Editor for Harper’s magazine where he writes the No Comment blog. 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.

Jason Leopold

Scott Horton — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 05:22:50 +0000

Jason Leopold, lead investigative reporter of Truthout and author of News Junkie, discusses the FOIA-revealed “torture manual” that influenced John Yoo’s infamous torture memo; how the Bush administration, keen to go to war with Iraq, intentionally devised an interrogation program to produce false information that linked Iraq and al-Qaeda; the difference between SERE training for US military personnel (in safe, non-hostile environments) and the “enhanced interrogations” of unprotected prisoners; and how detainees were physically and psychologically broken down into a state of “learned helplessness,” where they would tell an interrogator anything he wanted to hear.

MP3 here. (17:42)

Jason Leopold is lead investigative reporter of Truthout. He is the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, News Junkie, a memoir.

Ray McGovern

Scott Horton — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:00:46 +0000

Ray McGovern, member of Veterans For Peace and former senior analyst at the CIA, discusses the prosecution of Poland’s former intelligence chief for helping the CIA set up a black-site torture prison; how Israel and Hillary Clinton sabotaged two Iran uranium swap deals; James Risen’s recent NY Times articles that cast doubt on Iran’s supposed nuclear threat; why Bibi Netanyahu doesn’t want Obama to win a second term; how veiled threats like “all options are on the table” violate international law; and the “high value targets” who were indefinitely detained and tortured, even after it was discovered they had, at most, minor roles in terrorist groups.

MP3 here. (38:18)

Ray McGovern was a CIA analyst for 27 years, from the John F. Kennedy administration to that of George H. W. Bush. His articles appear on Consortium News and Antiwar.com.

Jason Leopold

Scott Horton — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:44:54 +0000

Jason Leopold, lead investigative reporter of Truthout and author of News Junkie, discusses his article “US Subjected Manning to Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment, UN Torture Chief Concludes;” how Manning’s treatment highlights the State Department’s stunning hypocrisy when they finger-wag at other countries for human rights violations; why most Americans think Manning is a traitor and deserves whatever punishment he got in custody, even though he hasn’t been convicted of anything; and UN torture investigator Juan Méndez’s inability to talk with Manning without a government minder (like in some totalitarian state).

MP3 here. (19:30)

Jason Leopold is lead investigative reporter of Truthout. He is the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, News Junkie, a memoir.

Robert Pallitto

Scott Horton — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:09:49 +0000

Robert Pallitto, professor of political science and contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus, discusses his article “Psychologists and Torture, Then and Now;” post-9/11 US interrogation practices, adapted from Cold War-era techniques used for extracting false confessions; the professional psychologists who aided the CIA in coercive interrogations and torture, disregarding ethical constraints; the failure of state regulatory agencies or the APA in stripping the licenses of torture enablers; and why there is no exact torture “science” for extracting truthful statements – which is why rapport-building techniques should be used instead.

MP3 here. (19:34)

Robert Pallitto is an associate professor of political science at Seton Hall University, a former trial attorney, and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. He is the editor of Torture and State Violence in the United States (2011).

The Other Scott Horton

Scott Horton — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:09:14 +0000

The Other Scott Horton (no relation), international human rights lawyer and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine, discusses his article “Spanish Court Resumes Gitmo Prosecution;” the many other foreign courts, frustrated with the US’s refusal to act, restarting their own torture prosecutions; uncertainty of how high up the chain of command indictments will go, and whether the White House OLC lawyers enabling torture will be targeted; how WikiLeaks got the ball rolling again by exposing high-level US efforts to squash previous Spanish investigations of American political and military figures; the US’s repudiation of international law and universal jurisdiction, after helping establish them after WWII; and Ron Paul’s effort to repeal the NDAA’s indefinite detention provision.

MP3 here. (20:43)

Stephen Zunes

Scott Horton — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 05:01:02 +0000

Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, discusses his article “Obama to Aid Uzbek Dictatorship;” how the US went from arming Islamic extremists to fight Communism in the 1980s to arming Communists to fight Islamic extremists today; Islam Karimov’s dystopian Uzbekistan, where political parties and unsanctioned religions are banned, government farms are harvested by forced child labor, and exotic horrible tortures await dissidents; and why Congress and Obama have decided US supply lines to Afghanistan are more important than “exporting democracy.”

MP3 here. (18:02)

Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies. A native of North Carolina, Professor Zunes received his PhD. from Cornell University, his M.A. from Temple University and his B.A. from Oberlin College. He has previously served on the faculty of Ithaca College, the University of Puget Sound, and Whitman College. He serves as a senior policy analyst for the Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, and chair of the academic advisory committee for the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.