129 Comments

Thanks for all you do, Scott!

At the link below, you can access Alison Weir's wonderful book, "Against Out Better Judgment: How the US was Used to Create Israel," that will explain a bit about Brandeis and how he came to be placed on the US Supreme Court. Hopefully "salmo jack" will read it too.

https://archive.org/details/alisonweiragainstourbetterjudgment-Alison-Weir

Also, salmo, I am a Muslim. I don't hate America. I was born and raised in the US. I spent nearly 24 years in the US Army - some consider that patriotic. I know many Muslims (at home and abroad) and not a single one of them hates the US or wants to destroy it.

If I have any problem with Scott it is that he too often defends Israel - but nobody is perfect 😊

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Nice response mate, this Islamphobia is just another bullshit narrative put out by the zionists and neocons to justify their ongoing hostility towards them.

Maybe they just would like to live in peace without being continuously bullied and denigrated by the usual bad actors in the West.

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When has Scott ever defended Israel? He hates Israel, specifically Netanyahu. I have never heard him defend Zionism.

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I've never heard him defend Zionism either. But I have heard him say that he supports Israel's right to exist. I don't know if that is a feeling deep inside his heart or if it is PR to keep himself out of truly hot water. He seems to be a man of great principle, so I take him at his word.

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He has been very clear about it. He believes Israel has a right to exist, because it's already a country recognized by UN, but not in its current form, not as an ethnocratic, apartheid state. It can exist side by side with a sovereign, independent Palestine or it can exist as one Palestine where all Palestinians and willing Israelis can live as equal citizens.

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I agree with you.

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His position has changed with the genocide. He now seems to believe that a zionist Israel can no longer be, and that a two state solution would be a precursor to a one state democratic Palestine.

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Feb 8·edited Feb 8

"But I have heard him say that he supports Israel's right to exist."

Not any longer.

https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/why-i-no-longer-stand-with-israel

"Why I no longer stand with Israel, and never will again"

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Now I see no daylight between us 😊

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Who in his right mind would ever defend Zionism?

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Netanyahu isn't a country - he is a person. Well, I'd argue that he is a devil and that he has transgressed all bounds. Whatever Scott feels for Netanyahu, I probably feel the same way X10.

In many of Scott's talks, I have heard him say that he loves Israel and wants it to continue to exist.

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Carolyn, my comment was also a bit of a joke because, although Scott has defended Israel's right to exist, he doesn't regularly point it out. Therefore, I have nearly zero problems with Scott's positions 😊

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It’s a lot like defending Hitler in ‘33. Tho a lot of famous Americans did. Lucky Lindy for one! Sheese.

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I absolutely love this article. Thank you Scott Ritter. I’ve never been a fan of Fox or Tucker Carlson, but there’s no denying that what Carlson is doing is courageous and offers the slim hope that people will become aware of the lies that are being shoved down their throats about Vladimir Putin and Russia in order to advance American Empire goals at the expense of world peace. I hope that this interview opens up people’s minds to the reality that they have been duped by the MIC that today controls US government foreign policy.

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Have you come across Oliver Stone’s interviews with Putin? Fascinating and well worth watching.

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Feb 8·edited Feb 8

PBS also (surprisingly) also did an *astonishingly good* series on Putin, called "The Putin Files", which included a really fascinating interview with Masha Gessen (one of his most detailed biographers). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk9igTqTx9s

She talks about his childhood and the influences that shaped him, and the context of post-war Russia at that time. It's a mesmerising interview, well done to PBS.

That series interviewed a wide range of people for their perspectives on Putin, and even includes longform interviews with Victoria Nuland and John Brennan. It's really interesting to actually hear these people speak at length, especially Nuland, much as I loathe her, because people like her are shaping the world... but from out of sight — from 'behind the curtain, if you will'.

Slightly off topic, but PBS also did a similar longform interview series called "America's Great Divide", about domestic politics, that I thoroughly recommend. In particular, their interviews with Megyn Kelly (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTlkXhkP6bo) and Steve Bannon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm5xxlajTW0) really provide new insights into the rise of the Trump era, and the things and people who are propelling it. The interviewer for this series does a fantastic job of allowing his subject to actually speak at length, without trying to talk over them or direct the conversation to a certain outcome. Excellent.

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I used to be a strong supporter of PBS. A member and a "double contributor" to both PBS and NPR for over 20 years. Then I noticed the "change" in both channels starting in the 2000s. I now only listen to NPR to hear what the enemy are saying.....

Thank you for the link to the Putin interview, I shall track it down.

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believe me there are much much better ones. You cannot trust s ingle word out of Gessens' mouth concerning Putin and all she does is flout gossip. Better I think to go sites and just listen to the man himself and judge for yourself. For example, all his annual News Conference and "an evening with Vladimir Putin" are available, although sadly in voice over rather than the subtitles I caught them. there are documentaries by Russian journalists and finally Putin's own autobiography. Every thing I've heard from PBS - I now block it - and Gessen and her ilk has been nothing but lies and BS>

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Yes I went to the interview and before I read it I hunted down some background on Gesen. I decided immediately it would be a waste of time listening to it. I have read several of Putin's speeches and have already seen several of his interviews. I am under no illusion that Putin is warm and cuddly..... however I look at Biden, Macron, Sunak and the "F-ing" clown Boris Johnson before him and I realize that Putin is actually a leader who is intelligent and extremely politically savvy. I await the interview with Tucker Carlson with relish as I expect are many other 10s of millions of Americans and Brits.

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Point taken.

But the Gessen interview is interesting, irrespective of her personal politics.

The colour added with respect to the time period of his birth and childhood, where bombed-out Leningrad was littered by these stunning, grand buildings with ballroom-like proportions, yet they were now falling to pieces and occupied by whole families per room, sharing the bathrooms and heat communally. The details like the fact that all the floorboards had been torn up, and window frames shaved down, to burn for firewood to stay alive.

Again, setting aside her personal politics, her detailed descriptions of postwar Leningrad, or Dresden in the era that Putin was stationed there, are really interesting (and are not things Putin has gone into detail about himself).

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Yes. That was my impression of Putin from the Oliver Stone discussions.

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Completely agree. She has a real hatred of Russia and I don5 know why. Plus, PBS trying to rehabilitate itself from the last 20 years is going to take more than a “nice” interview with a foreign leader who is showing that he has a better foreign policy and is more popular in the world than we are.

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I strongly disagree.

It's very easy to discern what is fact and what is her opinion, she doesn't really even try to conceal it.

But the background colour of his life and the general scene of Russia at that time is just amazing. It's hard for some of us to even fathom that kind of poverty, yet also the juxtaposition of it taking place in these grand, decadent buildings of the Tsarist time.

The interview is worth watching for that background alone, and for some colour on what life was like for young KGB agents sent on those kinda boring missions.

I have never heard Putin recount his childhood in anything this sort of detail, in fact he's rather secretive about it (understandable, for a number of reasons), so it's a part of the picture that you won't get from just watching his interviews, no.

I honestly think that intelligent people can easily parse what is fact and what is Masha's opinion.

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But really intelligent people avoid that propaganda pustule. Moreover, knowing that other countries have suffered is not grounds for US to practice our basic tenants of fair play and free speech. We practice them because, as Scott says, we are Americans. It doesn’t matter if we feel Putin has cause. That’s just more neoliberal, PBShit talk.

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I echo your thoughts. I have never been a fan of either Fox or its left wing progressive counterparties nor particularly the earlier version of Tucker. However my wife and myself have been increasingly drawn to, and largely very supportive of, his performance over the last 2-3 years. There is something rotten in the State of the USA and he is one of the few with the bully pulpit to speak out about it all.

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8+/- years ago when I still had a sat dish I would watch Fox, and Tucker, and both bored me. I tossed the dish, which took Fox & Tucker with it and I didn't miss either one. Once Fox tossed Tucker he improved, he's now worth the time to watch!

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Tucker didn’t improve after he got tossed. Fox ditched Tucker because they couldn’t tolerate his out-of-bounds commentaries and interviews, anymore.

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Trouble is....his "out of bounds commentary" is more realistic than the crap we now get from big media and the billionaire owners of same. He also says what a large number of smart folks are saying as well. He was a threat to Fox and now he is a threat to the deep state..... therefore I expect a rape charge.... or perhaps an auto accident is in his future.

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For clarity, I prolly should have said that he improved before he got tossed.

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Tucker 'Madness' is simply an indication of the Empire of Lies being a Hollow Shell of a nation, one whose 'Elite' are more interested in Narrative Control & their Managerial Hold on things... rather than the Public Good. For the former, 'Putin = Hitler' is a Core Tenet which cannot be allowed to Fail; which is why so much firepower is being brought to bear upon Tucker (even talks of sanctions!)

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(For those interested)

If you wish to read (& listen!) to more of My commentary, here is my Main Stack:

https://thefallofthewest.substack.com

Thank You Kindly to everyone!

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Awesome article, thank you! I agree, Tucker's interview will have a major impact, let us hope that it weakens further funding of the tragedy in Ukraine.

I LOVE the topics you would have discussed with Putin, perhaps you might send this article to Putin's people, asking if you could be again considered for an interview?

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Sitting around, over a beer, chatting with Scott and President Putin would be a blast

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It would!! Although I would prefer the chat be over steaks and a real fine red wine :)

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Thank you Scott for your honesty and for taking the high road! My first reaction when hearing about the Tucker Carlson interview was, geez, Scott Ritter should be doing this! So I do understand that bit of jealousy you feel, but I also admire you for looking at the bigger picture and applauding this momentous event. I would love to someday watch the conversation between you and Putin that you envision in this post. Don't sell yourself short, I think many Americans would relish it and learn from it as well!!

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I wrote a whole book, "As America Crumbles..." on the topic of wholesale destruction of our nation, and yet, the madness we're witnessing boggles the mind. This is a great article, Scott.

https://a.co/d/4mwhsUZ

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I just ordered your book!

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I would love to see the questions you've posed answered too, Scott. I also look forward to listening to the interview.

I've been wondering about all the hate media towards Russia and China over the past ten years, so did some digging. When I started posting about BRICS on Facebook, my account was professionally hacked and five years' worth of my material was deleted. And I'm unable to get back into my account.

And that was over a year ago.

It really is threatening to the elite class to point out anything that doesn't fit their narrow narrative towards these two countries.

I agree, Tucker Carlson is courageous to be doing this.

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I never cared much for Tucker back in the 2000's. But he's really come a long way since then. He had some kind of epiphany about the rotten state of mainstream media, realized he was part of the problem, and made some deep changes. I still don't align with all of his platforms, but at least the man is trying to be honest, and he has my respect for that. Anyone who can self-reflect and change themselves during this narcissistic epoch has my respect.

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Thank you Scott for a rational and concise commentary on Tucker's venture to Moscow. I had the privilege to spend 3 weeks in Moscow, Leningrad and Novosibirsk in October 1990 on an international delegation for a "people - to - people" meeting with Russian medical scientists and pathologists. My over-all impression related to the warmth and friendliness of individual Russians that we met everywhere as we moved about unimpeded. It distresses me that our taxpayer paid representatives are unable to engage similarly - even if only to negotiate some form of political detente where meaningful dialogue could begin. I am also surprised that with the current media hysteria over Tucker's venture, nobody is mentioning the fascinating interviews with President Putin conducted several years by Oliver Stone.

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Well said Scott, I must admit I am coming around to Tucker after previously despising him. If nothing else his courage in standing up to the empire knowing full well he will be obliterated in the MSM and US Govt. I can imagine the pressure will now be overwhelming on Elon Musk to put the clamps down on alternative voices challenging the govt narrative on X. Personally I can't wait to watch it !

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For a really interesting interview with Putin by an American, may I recommend the series of interviews with Oliver Stone that aired on cable a few years ago. Two intelligent men in serious and dignified conversation.

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Excellent!! More and more people are seeing DSBS for what it is. Deep State is starting to sweat. Oh Happy Day!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KJohGa66FJM

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Dear Scott, I'm absolutely convinced that you will get your sit-down with Putin in the future and that it will be very enlightening. As you said, this is a different kind of encounter, one that may blow the door open for future discussions. Patience! and thank you for the hard work that you have done. I've been following you since 2002.

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The west Europe and the states have created for the longest time the Monster 👹 Mr P. And ppl are going to find out that he isn’t. He’s a peace negotiator he’s also rational. He doesn’t want conflict he never has he truly cares about is people. And he is going to protect them if na;; goes past his redline.

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I would relish Scott’s version of an interview with Putin!

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Thank you, Scott!

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