A bipartisan Authorization for the Use of Military Force introduced by Sens. Corker (R-TN) and Kaine (D-VA) is being celebrated as evidence that Congress has finally woken up from its slumber and is asserting its Constitutional obligations on matters of war and peace. Nothing could be further from the truth! This “reform” legislation only legalizes the currently unsustainable status quo, where the president can go to war anywhere and everywhere, against anyone he chooses, with no further Congressional approval needed. This bill makes matters far worse, in that Congress will not be able to easily stop the president’s new wars: under this new bill it will take a 2/3 vote to disapprove of any new presidential war! And still worse, it will allow the president to “declare war” on an individual person — even an American citizen! That means if the president determines an American who opposes US foreign policy in the Middle East (or any other peaceful citizen) is an “associated force” — a term not at all defined — that citizen can be killed or indefinitely detained on a whim. We break down this horrific new bill — fast-tracked to pass — in today’s Liberty Report:

This week President Trump will have to decide whether he will sign another waiver to keep the US in the Iran nuclear deal, or whether he will de facto pull the US out of the deal (which would likely result in the collapse of the deal and possibly war). The closest US allies are begging Trump to remain in the deal, and even some US hawks like Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry think we should stay in. But the neocons want us out. What will he do? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

Is libertarianism cool? Legendary libertarian communicator John Stossel joins today’s Liberty Report to explain whether the libertarian moment is over, whether we are winning, whether we are on the right track, and how we can better win young people over to the idea of limited government and non-interventionism. What does John Stossel say to John Bolton when they meet at Fox News Studio? You won’t want to miss it!

President Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton, has long viewed peace and diplomacy as an abhorrent sign of weakness. We know from colleagues in the Bush Administration that he berated and pushed to dismiss any intelligence analyst whose conclusions did not match Bolton’s pre-determined demands. He has a history of working behind the back of his bosses to promote his own agenda. Is he currently working to undermine President Trump’s peace initiative with North Korea? We examine the evidence in today’s Liberty Report:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a dramatic presentation yesterday purporting to demonstrate that Iran is still at work on nuclear weapons despite being given the “all clear” numerous times by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The only problem with Netanyahu’s “evidence” is that it was all from before the 2007 US National Intelligence Estimate which concluded that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program. Was Netanyahu lying to us? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

Strange how the media seems to have moved away from Washington’s claims about a “chemical attack” in Syria just as more and more evidence comes to light that seriously undermines the US narrative. The media is reduced to accusing those who question the narrative — even with evidence — of being “conspiracy theorists.” Virginia State Senator Richard Black is a retired US military officer and JAG officer with a Purple Heart earned in Vietnam. He is not buying the mainstream media and Trump Administration claims about the attack. He has followed the Syria war closely and in 2016 even took a trip to Syria. He joins today’s Liberty Report to shine the light on the falsehoods being spread:

Just weeks after vowing to get US troops out of Syria “soon,” a meeting with French President Macron has changed President Trump’s tune. Now he is talking about a large and sustained footprint in Syria to, he claims, keep Iran from taking control of the Mediterranean. Defense Secretary Mattis added that the US must continue occupying Syrian territory until a UN peace process — i.e. “regime change” — can take place. We’re back to 2011…but worse. Trump’s endless flip-flops in today’s Liberty Report:

President Trump’s recent missile attack on Syria has led the Russians to re-think its decision to put on hold a Syrian government request for the Russian S-300 missile defense system. Particularly with Russian troops still operating in Syria, Russia may well decide to deliver the system to the Assad government. The Israelis, who have conducted more than 100 bombing raids on Syria since the start of the war in 2011, threaten to destroy any missile defense system targeting Israeli planes while they are bombing Syria. Far from solving any strategic or tactical US goals in the region, the US missile attack has made the waters all the more dangerous. Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

President Trump has vowed to never again sign the required waiver to allow US participation in the Iran JPCOA deal to continue. He last signed in January and is due to sign again or let the deal fall apart on May 12th. European leaders are desperately trying to convince him to remain in the deal. Trump is demanding new restrictions be unilaterally placed on Iran by the other partners, specifically in the area of ballistic missiles and Iran’s support for militias in Syria fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda. Iran has rejected the idea that it must make new concessions and points to the fact that the US has not lifted sanctions as the deal requires. May is going to be a showdown – who will blink? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

You would have to have cabbage for brains to accept the UK and US government version of what happened in Douma, Syria, just over a week ago, says Liberty Report special guest, former UK Ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford. Assad was on the verge of re-taking Eastern Ghouta, a deal was made with terrorists to leave the region, and one of the last strongholds was about to fall. We are to believe all of a sudden Assad chose that time to “gas his own people”? And all the evidence they can point to is that a government helicopter was dropping bombs in the area. It was a battle – bombs were being launched by both sides. What happens next as the official narrative of what happens continues to collapse? Tune in to a very special episode:

An endless war in Afghanistan, where the US takes the side of the communists it opposed in the 1980s. No end in sight and no one even knows what victory looks like. Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria — once the US gets involved it becomes just another government program that can never be cancelled. In today’s Liberty Report, Scott Horton joins us in-studio to discuss his new book, Fool’s Errand – Time to End the War in Afghanistan, and the many other US empire wars. Could the Afghan war have been avoided even though Afghanistan had hosted al-Qaeda? Horton tells us exactly how the US could have pursued its national interest and national security without a 17 year quagmire:

Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton was on the phone with Egypt’s intelligence chief trying to organize a Arab army to take over US duties occupying northeastern Syria. The Trump Administration’s big idea is to have the Saudis lead the occupation to “prevent ISIS 2.0 from emerging in the area.” That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering the fact that the Saudis were behind the creation of ISIS 1.0! As media arrives on the ground in Syria begins looking into US claims of a Syrian government gas attack in Douma, they are finding the US narrative does not match the facts on the ground. Congress thinks a new authorization for the use of military force might do the trick. All in all it seems the US has no idea why it remains in Syria. There is no policy but to continue doing what Obama started in 2011. Tune in to today’s Liberty Report: