Former Marine intelligence officer and UN Chief Weapons Inspector for Iraq, Scott Ritter, joins the Ron Paul Liberty Report today to shed light on the phony “17 intelligence agencies agree on Russian election hacking” story and to explain why in his vast intelligence and WMD experience why the UN “investigation” into the April “sarin gas” attack in Syria was deeply flawed and should not be believed. Also don’t miss Ritter’s fascinating explanation of the real purpose of the so-called “White Helmets” in Syria!

Writing in The Independent, veteran journalist Patrick Cockburn reports that as many as 40,000 civilians were killed in the nine month siege of Mosul. That is tens of thousands more than the Pentagon is reporting. The reason for the high figure, Cockburn explains, is that bombs flattened multi-story housing structures, smashing everyone inside. The photos from Mosul are jarring. Who won? Watch today’s Liberty Report:

According to a new NBC News survey, some 76 percent of Americans are afraid of being drawn into a major war. That is a ten percent increase from just February. What’s behind this increased fear? The country that Americans feel most threatened by is North Korea, which has a GDP half the size of the US state of Vermont (which has the smallest GDP in the union). Who’s responsible for making Americans so afraid of relatively minor threats? The media? Neocons? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a fiery speech yesterday to the National District Attorneys Association. Unfortunately his fire was all directed at our civil liberties. He wants to crack down on guns, ramp up the drug war (including more harassment of doctors), lengthen prison sentences and reduce sentencing flexibility, and expand the government theft of private property known as “asset forfeiture.” Sessions’ speech was pure authoritarianism from top to bottom. Endless wars overseas expand a war mentality at home, which governments love to exploit. More on Sessions’ war declaration in today’s Liberty Report:

The UN has identified four countries where the threat of major famine — with potentially millions dead — is becoming reality. Though there are many factors contributing to famine, including bad economic policies, weather disturbances, and so one, in fact these four countries all have one thing in common: US military intervention. From Sudan to Somalia to Yemen to Nigeria, US foreign policy produces famine and death rather than destabilization overseas. We break it down in today’s Liberty Report:

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson walked away from the Middle East empty-handed this week, as his efforts to mediate the Qatar/Saudi crisis failed to bear fruit. The dispute is the most serious between the two sides in some time, but how much of it was brought on by the meeting in May between a new and very aggressive heir to the Saudi throne and President Donald Trump? Both are very aggressive toward Iran, and the conflict is being framed in pro- versus anti-Iran terms. Where do things go? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

From February to June, an estimated 5,800 civilians have been killed in Mosul by US coalition airstrikes, a significant escalation in civilian deaths over the previous US Administration. With Mosul now “liberated” by US and Iraqi military forces, there is virtually nothing left of the city. Now we are told that we have to spend more billions of dollars rebuilding the city that we just destroyed, and once again training new Iraqi military forces to make up for all those killed in this campaign. Does this sound like a sensible US foreign policy? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

The Obama Administration’s lies (crafted mostly by Hillary Clinton) to “justify” a US attack on Libya were grotesque and the “liberation” of that country created a living hell on earth for the very citizens we were supposed to be saving. After six years of chaos and a 2012 attack on a US installation in Benghazi, the Trump Administration is reportedly preparing a policy shift on Libya that will bring permanently-stationed US troops into the country. How does yet another overseas US military mission square with President Trump’s campaign promise to put America first? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

There is plenty to be positive about coming from last week’s face-to-face meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin. One indicator of how important/well the meeting went was the fact that the mainstream media immediately reverted to its “Russia hacked the election” obsession, even as the pillars of that absurd assertion fall, one by one. The agreement on ceasefire zones in parts of southwest Syria are also a positive sign if it means the US and Russia are taking a step back from direct confrontation in that country. However, there are pitfalls. Will it mean more US military involvement in Syria, guarding these new zones? And one simple trick Trump can use to get the “Russia hacked the election” off his back. This and more in today’s Liberty Report:

Today, just one day before his long-anticipated meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, President Trump has given a fiery speech in Poland denouncing Russian “meddling” in Ukraine and Russian support for the Syrian government. He also affirmed that the US would “stand firmly behind” NATO’s Article 5 on mutual defense. What might this mean for tomorrow’s meeting? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

President Trump has taken to Twitter again to condemn North Korea’s July 4th ballistic missile test and to chide China for not “putting a heavy move” on North Korea. China has blasted back that tensions are liable to spin out of control if all parties are not more careful. Meanwhile, South Koreans have a new president who claims to be more in favor of dialogue with the North than confrontation. Why won’t the US let him give diplomacy a chance? If, as polls show, 80 percent of South Koreans want more dialogue with the North, why should we get in the way? Tune in today’s Liberty Report: