Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for The Independent, discusses the four major political coalitions vying for power in Iraq, why sectarian conflicts (despite what most Iraqi’s say) remain the basis for Iraq’s political disputes, the multitude of forces working against a US presence in Iraq beyond 2011 and how the Marjah offensive marks a return to propagandized embedded journalism.

MP3 here. (28:13)

Patrick Cockburn was awarded the 2009 Orwell Prize for political writing in British journalism. He is the Middle East correspondent for The Independent and a frequent contributor to CounterPunch.org. Cockburn is the author of The Occupation: War, Resistance and Daily Life in Iraq and Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Battle for the Future of Iraq.

Coleen Rowley, retired FBI agent and 9/11 whistleblower, discusses the myth that FISA restrictions (and not incompetence at FBI and CIA headquarters) prevented critical intelligence sharing prior to 9/11, CIA Director George Tenet’s August 2001 “Islamic Extremist Learns to Fly” powerpoint briefing about Zacarias Moussaoui and why the creation of the DHS and increased centralization of intelligence organizations did nothing to fix 9/11 failures.

MP3 here. (29:17)

Coleen Rowley grew up in a small town in northeast Iowa. She obtained a B.A. degree in French from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa and then attended the College of Law at the University of Iowa. She graduated with honors in 1980 and passed the Iowa Bar Exam that summer.

In January of 1981, Ms. Rowley was appointed as a Special Agent with the FBI and initially served in the Omaha, Nebraska and Jackson, Mississippi Divisions. In 1984, she was assigned to the New York Office and for over six years worked on Italian-organized crime and Sicilian heroin drug investigations. During this time, Ms. Rowley also served three separate temporary duty assignments in the Paris, France Embassy and Montreal Consulate.

In 1990, Ms. Rowley was transferred to Minneapolis where she assumed the duties of Chief Division Counsel, which entailed oversight of the Freedom of Information, Forfeiture, Victim-Witness and Community Outreach Programs as well as providing regular legal and ethics training to FBI Agents of the Division and additional outside police training.

In May of 2002, Ms. Rowley brought several of the pre 9/11 lapses to light and testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee on some of the endemic problems facing the FBI and the intelligence community. Ms. Rowley’s memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller in connection with the Joint Intelligence Committee’s Inquiry led to a two-year-long Department of Justice Inspector General investigation. She was one of three whistleblowers chosen as Person of the Year by TIME magazine.

In April 2003, following an unsuccessful and highly criticized attempt to warn the Director and other administration officials about the dangers of launching the invasion of Iraq, Ms. Rowley stepped down from her (GS-14) legal position to resume her position as a (GS-13) FBI Special Agent. She retired from the FBI at the end of 2004 and now speaks publicly to various groups, ranging from school children to business/professional/civic groups, on two different topics: ethical decision-making and “balancing civil liberties with the need for effective investigation.”

Ms. Rowley authored a chapter in a book published in 2004 by the Milton Eisenhower Foundation entitled, Patriotism, Democracy and Common Sense: Restoring America’s Promise at Home and Abroad. She is also now an avid blogger on the Huffington Post.

Larisa Alexandrovna, Managing Editor of investigative news for RawStory, discusses the lies told about the US push for war with Iraq in Karl Rove’s new book, how the Bush administration “fixed the facts” around their Iraq policy, US bellicosity on Iran that is meant to assuage Israel’s fears of a competing regional power, Russian geopolitical successes against lightweight US strategists, why purple fingers are not necessarily indicative of democracy, the media’s obsession with “balance” at the expense of presenting facts or telling the truth and the difficult task of assigning appropriate blame to the public and media for complicity in Iraq War lies.

MP3 here. (49:55)

Larisa Alexandrovna is an investigative journalist, covering mostly national security and intelligence. She is currently the Managing Editor of investigative news for the Raw Story. She is a contributor to Alternet, The Huffington Post, and other publications.

Raed Jarrar, Iraq consultant for the American Friends Service Committee, discusses the Iraqi political landscape in the wake of recent elections, the reemergence of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in a popular non-sectarian nationalist coalition, how the US occupation has distorted Iraqi politics and prevented the formation of functional government, unfounded fears that a US withdrawal will incite a civil war and why Iraq’s “sectarian” strife is better understood as a political struggle between nationalists and separatists than a religious fight between Sunni and Shia.

MP3 here. (50:12)

Raed Jarrar maintains the In the Middle blog and is the Iraq consultant for the American Friends Service Committee.

Nate Cardozo, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Open Government Legal Fellow, discusses the military’s illegal spying on Americans revealed in Department of Defense documents obtained through FOIA requests, EFF’s attempt to challenge the constitutionality of telecom immunity, the Obama administration’s use of “state secrets privilege” to stymie politically embarrassing lawsuits, the NSA’s massive and unaccountable electronic data-mining capability and the common practice of cops obtaining cell phone location information without a warrant.

MP3 here. (21:06)

Nate Cardozo is EFF’s Open Government Legal Fellow, focusing on the FOIA Litigation for Accountable Government (FLAG) Project. A refugee from BigLaw, Nate spent all of five months practicing corporate law before coming to his senses. Nate has a B.A. in Anthropology and Politics from U.C. Santa Cruz and a J.D. from U.C. Hastings.

Anthony Gregory, Editor-in-Chief at Campaign for Liberty, discusses Obama’s rhetorical differences and policy similarities with the Bush administration, why the PATRIOT Act has (unfortunately) been around too long to be repealed, apologists who blame the “tough guy” Republican political trap for Obama’s hawkishness and why public support for torture and war has increased since Bush left office.

MP3 here. (29:26)

Anthony Gregory is Editor-in-Chief at Campaign for Liberty, a research analyst at the Independent Institute, a columnist at LewRockwell.com, a policy adviser for the Future of Freedom Foundation, a freedom activist, and a musician.

This interview is jointly conducted by Scott Horton and Antiwar Radio producer Angela Keaton.

David R. Henderson, author of The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, discusses the “Across the Political Spectrum Against War and Militarism” conference in Washington, D.C., Milton Friedman’s prominent opposition to the draft in the late 60s, the need to minimize divisive fringe issues during antiwar protests and why conservatives squirm when they hear the words “peace” and “imperialism.”

MP3 here. (21:31)

David R. Henderson is a research fellow with the Hoover Institution and an associate professor of economics in the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is author of The Joy of Freedom: An Economist’s Odyssey and co-author, with Charles L. Hooper, of Making Great Decisions in Business and Life (Chicago Park Press). His latest book is The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (Liberty Fund, 2008).

David has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, the Jim Lehrer Newshour, CNN, and C-SPAN. He has had over 100 articles published in Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Red Herring, Barron’s, National Review, Reason, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Christian Science Monitor. He has also testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for Inter Press Service, discusses the US military’s descriptive excesses that preceded their offensive on the Afghan “city” of Marjah, the US counterinsurgency strategy of establishing a favorable narrative to shape domestic public opinion, the winners and losers in the global war on terrorism and the military-industrial complex’s goal of permanent occupation.

MP3 here. (25:22)

Gareth Porter is an independent historian and journalist. His writes for InterPress Service News Agency Counterpunch, Huffington Post, and Antiwar.com.

Meryl Nass, a practicing physician and blogger on anthrax-related issues, discusses the FBI’s flawed anthrax investigation, the persecution of innocent suspects (Ayaad Assaad, Steven Hatfill) that may have been set up as patsies, deliberately misrepresented evidence in the FBI’s case against Bruce Ivins and the possible link between anthrax vaccine and Gulf War Syndrome.

MP3 here. (25:33)

Meryl Nass is a doctor of internal medicine and an expert on bioterrorism, biodefense, anthrax and anthrax vaccine injuries. She has testified before Congress on the subjects of Gulf War illness, anthrax vaccines and bioterrorism. Her blog and anthrax-information websites can be found at AnthraxVaccine.org.

Former CIA and DIA officer Philip Giraldi discusses the usual suspects who are calling for war with Iran, the practical limitations on the U.S. military’s ability to fight a third concurrent war, the ploy of letting Israel start a war with Iran so the U.S. will be obligated to finish it, likely U.S. sponsorship of the terrorist organization (and former al Qaeda satellite group) Jundallah, birth defects in Iraq linked to depleted uranium and the terrible U.S. network news shows exemplified by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell’s conflicted reporting.

MP3 here. (30:48)

Philip Giraldi, a former CIA officer, is a contributing editor to The American Conservative and a fellow at the American Conservative Defense Alliance. His Smoke and Mirrors column is a regular feature on Antiwar.com.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) discusses the budgetary limitations that expansive U.S. foreign policy imposes on domestic programs, the Dennis Kucunich resolution (co-sponsored by Rep. Paul) that will require a House of Representatives debate on the war in Afghanistan, wrongheaded government action on the coming dollar crisis and why the peace and liberty movement is best served by setting a good example and avoiding the politics of personality.

MP3 here. (13:34)

Congressman Ron Paul represents Texas’s 14th district. He is the author of The Revolution: A Manifesto, A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship and Freedom Under Siege. His archived columns for Antiwar.com appear at http://original.antiwar.com/paul

Nat Hentoff, senior fellow at the CATO Institute, discusses the Elizabeth Cheney and William Kristol-backed Keep America Safe ad that implies Attorney General Eric Holder is a jihadist, widespread contempt and ignorance of protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, Obama’s “looking forward not backward” anti-prosecution policy that validates Richard Nixon’s thoughts on presidential impunity and why the Constitution can’t be preserved without an active and informed citizenry.

MP3 here. (24:42)

Nat Hentoff is a senior fellow at the CATO Institute and one of the foremost authorities on the First Amendment. His column, Sweet Land of Liberty, has been distributed by the United Feature Syndicate since 1992.

Hentoff has earned numerous awards and is a widely acknowledged defender of civil liberties. In 1980, he was awarded an American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award for his coverage of the law and criminal justice in his columns. In 1983, the American Library Association awarded him the Imroth Award for Intellectual Freedom. In 1995, he received the National Press Foundation Award for Distinguished Contributions to Journalism, and in 1999, he was a Pulitzer finalist for commentary.

Hentoff was a columnist and staff writer with The Village Voice for 51 years, from 1957 until 2008. A jazz expert, Hentoff writes on music for The Wall Street Journal and Jazz Times. He has lectured at many colleges, universities, law schools, elementary, middle and high schools, and has taught courses in journalism and the Constitution at Princeton University and New York University. Hentoff serves on the Board of Advisors of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (F.I.R.E.) and is on the steering committee of the Reporters’ Committee for the Freedom of the Press.

Jim Lobe, Washington Bureau Chief for Inter Press Service, discusses Obama’s current timidity in addressing the Palestinian problem despite his initial assertiveness, how Hillary Clinton’s lack of diplomatic skill has weakened Obama’s leverage with Israel, increased Palestinian and US interest in a “one state” solution and why ordinary Israelis won’t support a peace process unless the US is firmly committed to it.

MP3 here. (13:14)

Jim Lobe has served as correspondent and chief of the Washington bureau of Inter Press Service (IPS), an international news agency specializing in coverage of issues and events of interest to developing countries, from 1980 to 1985, and again from 1989 to the present. He blogs about foreign policy at Lobelog.com.

Since 9/11, Jim has focused much of his coverage on U.S. policy in the Middle East and the influence of neo-conservatives in the Bush administration. In addition to IPS, Jim has written for a number of internet publications, including Alternet, TomPaine.com, Foreign Policy in Focus, RightWeb, The American Prospect, the Asia Times, and the Daily Star of Beirut, among others. His articles appear regularly on Antiwar.com.

Longtime White House Press Corps reporter Helen Thomas discusses the culture of “softball” political journalism, Obama’s continuance of the US “nuclear ambiguity” policy regarding Israel and John Brennan’s ridiculous response to the question, “Why do the terrorists attack us?”

MP3 here. (13:29)

Helen Thomas is a columnist for Hearst Newspapers, member of the White House Press Corps and author of Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do and Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public.

Gareth Porter and Eric Margolis discuss Gen. McChrystal’s “government in a box” plan for Afghanistan, military actions that are motivated more by a desire to influence US public opinion than to achieve strategic gains, Obama’s secondary role in formulating foreign policy, the Pentagon’s exaggeration of “rogue state” threats in order to justify an enormous “defense” budget, the influence of oil pipeline politics on US policy in Central Asia and how the Pakistani government’s partial acquiescence to US pressure may inspire a military coup.

MP3 here. (52:44)

Gareth Porter is an independent historian and journalist. His articles appear on Counterpunch, Huffington Post, Inter Press Service News Agency and Antiwar.com.

Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning, internationally syndicated columnist. His articles appear in the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Times of London and other newspapers. He is a regular columnist with the Quebecor Media Company and a contributor to The Huffington Post. He is the author of War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet and American Raj: Liberation or Domination?: Resolving the Conflict Between the West and the Muslim World.

Kirkpatrick Sale, director of the Middlebury Institute, discusses Vermont’s secessionist movement that derives from the state’s unique historical independence, the need to scrap the US Constitution due to its failure to preserve freedom and liberty, the inverse relationship between population size and the ability of government to function properly, the strong secessionist language enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Liberal tradition of supporting a strong national government to enforce civil rights despite the (at best) mixed results.

MP3 here. (33:33)

Kirkpatrick Sale is the author of many books, including Secession: How Vermont and All the Other States Can Save Themselves from the Empire. He is the director of the Middlebury Institute and has written for The Nation, Counterpunch and Mother Jones.

Allison Kilkenny, regular contributor to the Huffington Post, discusses the CNN poll that found a large majority of Americans believe Iran has nuclear weapons, not-so-covert US actions in Iran that make diplomacy impossible, Republicans who are unwilling to admit the cause and effect between US empire and terrorism and the Democrats who hypocritically defend Obama over the same policies they excoriated Bush for.

MP3 here. (21:51)

Allison Kilkenny is the co-host of Citizen Radio and regular contributor to the Huffington Post, the Beast, 236.com, Alternet.org, and Wiretap Magazine. Her work has also appeared on The Nation and she is a regular guest on SIRIUS radio.

Ryan Dawson, keeper of the Website Anti-Neocons, discusses his website’s designation of February 26 as “Hate Richard Perle Day,” Perle’s leading role in inventing a Saddam Hussein/al Qaeda link and lying the American people into the Iraq War and how professional war agitators like Perle profit from the revolving door between government and defense contractor employment.

MP3 here. (21:38)

Ryan Dawson is the author of Welcome to the USSA: Corruption in the government and media and the creator of the Ry’s 2 Sense website.

Kevin Zeese and David T. Beito discuss the formation of a full-spectrum political alliance against militarism and empire, the unwavering commitment of Democrat and Republican leadership to the military-industrial complex, the media’s unwillingness to discuss (much less debate) US empire and how you can help the fundraising effort for a broad-based peace movement.

MP3 here. (30:48)

Kevin Zeese  is the Executive Director and co-founder of VotersForPeace. Zeese also served as the Executive Director of Democracy Rising, is an attorney, and a long term peace advocate. Zeese took a leave from VotersForPeace for most of 2006 while he was running for the U.S. Senate in Maryland. Zeese was a founding member of the Montgmery County Coalition Against the War in Maryland and has worked with various non-profit organizations on peace, justice, and democracy issues since 1978.

David T. Beito is Professor of History at the University of Alabama. He received his Ph.D. in history at the University of Wisconsin, and he is the recipient of the Ellis Hawley Prize. Professor Beito is the author of Taxpayers in Revolt: Tax Resistance during the Great Depression, From Mutual Aid to the Welfare state: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890-1967, and Black Maverick: T.R.M. Howard’s Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power.

Frida Berrigan, columnist for Foreign Policy in Focus, discusses US dominance of the global weapons market, the costly domestic upgrade cycle that is perpetuated by defense contractors selling current generation high-tech weapons abroad, the relatively low number of jobs created with money spent on the military compared to other sectors of the economy and how weapons manufacturers create demand for their products by promoting belligerent US foreign policy.

MP3 here. (25:44)

Frida Berrigan is Senior Program Associate of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. Previously, she served for eight years as Deputy Director and Senior Research Associate at the Arms Trade Resource Center at the World Policy Institute at the New School in New York City. She has also worked as a researcher at The Nation magazine.

Ms. Berrigan is a columnist for Foreign Policy in Focus and a contributing editor of In These Times magazine. She is the author of reports on arms trade and human rights, U.S. nuclear weapons policy, and the domestic politics of U.S. missile defense and space weapons policies. She has been a featured expert on national and regional radio outlets, and regularly speaks on national security issues to citizen’s organizations and at major conferences throughout the United States.