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#478 – Scott Horton: The Case Against War and the Military Industrial Complex

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#478 – Scott Horton: The Case Against War and the Military Industrial Complex

Lex Fridman Podcast

2025/08/24
Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex Fridman Podcast

2025/08/24
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Scott Horton is the director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of The Scott Horton Show, co-host of Provoked, and for the past three decades a staunch critic of U.S. military interventionism. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep478-sc [https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep478-sc] See below for timestamps, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey [https://lexfridman.com/survey] AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama [https://lexfridman.com/ama] Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring [https://lexfridman.com/hiring] Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact [https://lexfridman.com/contact] EPISODE LINKS: Supplemental Notes & Corrections: https://lexfridman.com/scott-horton-links-and-notes/ [https://lexfridman.com/scott-horton-links-and-notes/] Scott’s X: https://x.com/scotthortonshow [https://x.com/scotthortonshow] Scott Horton Show: https://youtube.com/@scotthortonshow [https://youtube.com/@scotthortonshow] Provoked Show: https://youtube.com/@Provoked_Show [https://youtube.com/@Provoked_Show] Scott’s Substack: https://scotthortonshow.com/ [https://scotthortonshow.com/] Scott’s Website: https://scotthorton.org/ [https://scotthorton.org/] Scott’s Books: https://amzn.to/3T9Qg7y [https://amzn.to/3T9Qg7y] Libertarian Institute: https://libertarianinstitute.org/ [https://libertarianinstitute.org/] Antiwar.com: https://antiwar.com/ [https://antiwar.com/] SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Allio Capital: AI-powered investment app that uses global macroeconomic trends. Go to https://alliocapital.com/ [https://lexfridman.com/s/allio_capital-ep478-sc] Hampton: Community for high-growth founders and CEOs. Go to https://joinhampton.com/lex [https://lexfridman.com/s/hampton-ep478-sc] BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex [https://lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-ep478-sc] AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex [https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep478-sc] OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (00:35) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (09:14) – From the Cold War to the War on Terror (1:02:13) – Iraq War 1 (1:30:17) – Bin Laden (2:29:39) – Afghanistan War (2:44:35) – Iraq War 2 (3:10:59) – Military Industrial Complex (3:50:25) – Scott’s life story (4:20:15) – Iraq War 2 (continued) (5:11:43) – Syria (6:05:01) – Iraq War 3 (6:17:28) – Somalia (6:22:56) – Iran (7:12:41) – Israel-Palestine (9:02:19) – Cold War 2.0 PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast [https://lexfridman.com/podcast] – Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr [https://apple.co/2lwqZIr] – Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 [https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8] – RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ [https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/] – Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4] – Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips [https://www.youtube.com/lexclips]

Highlights

Lex Fridman and Scott Horton examine the history and consequences of U.S. military interventionism, from the Cold War and the post-9/11 wars to Iran, Israel-Palestine, and the new Cold War with Russia.
00:17
Three decades criticizing interventionism
02:21
The 21st century will not be unipolar
10:17
The wars failed on every front
17:37
Truth and reality get washed out
35:31
The United States tried to bait the Soviet Union into Afghanistan.
1:11:49
The incubator story was a 100% hoax
1:23:20
The United States encouraged the uprising, then abandoned it.
2:21:10
Bin Laden’s strategy was to provoke an overreaction
2:31:01
The Taliban tried to warn the United States
2:43:44
The Iraq War was the neoconservatives’ war
3:07:10
The intelligence was laundered into the stream.
3:11:48
Neoconservatives and the military-industrial complex formed an alliance
3:19:03
The industry does not merely follow policy—it helps shape it
3:49:14
War is a net loss of wealth
3:53:52
Ron Paul became Horton’s North Star
4:24:17
The invasion strengthened Iran
5:07:43
The Iraq War created the Shiite Crescent.
5:12:34
The new strategy tilted toward Osama bin Laden's side
7:07:31
Diplomacy is the only way out
8:40:28
Intervention creates more terror
9:12:40
The plan was always to expand NATO
9:25:58
The war in Ukraine began long before 2022
9:37:43
The policy was to defeat Russia, not deter the invasion
10:30:12
A case against war

Chapters

Introduction
00:00
Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
00:35
From the Cold War to the War on Terror
09:14
Iraq War 1
1:02:25
Bin Laden
1:30:17
Afghanistan War
2:29:41
Iraq War 2
2:44:35
Military Industrial Complex
3:10:59
Scott’s life story
3:50:30
Iraq War 2 (continued)
4:20:20
Syria
5:11:43
Iraq War 3
6:05:03
Somalia
6:17:28
Iran
6:23:01
Israel-Palestine
7:12:41
Cold War 2.0
9:02:19

Transcript

Lex Fridman: The following is a conversation with Scott Horton. He's the director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, co-host of Provoked, and host of The Scott Horton Show, on which he has done over 6,000 interviews since 2003...