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Scott Horton on Lex Fridman: Why Saddam Hussein Was CIA-Made

CIA ties to Saddam since the 1950s put the US on both sides of the Iran-Iraq war; Horton traces pentagon papers deception to the $8 trillion post-9/11 cost.

Lex FridmanhostScott Hortonguest
Aug 24, 202510h 26mWatch on YouTube ↗

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Episode Details

EPISODE INFO

Released
August 24, 2025
Duration
10h 26m
Channel
Lex Fridman Podcast
Watch on YouTube
▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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-sb See below for timestamps, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *EPISODE LINKS:* Supplemental Notes & Corrections: https://lexfridman.com/scott-horton-links-and-notes/ Scott's X: https://x.com/scotthortonshow Scott Horton Show: https://youtube.com/@scotthortonshow Provoked Show: https://youtube.com/@Provoked_Show Scott's Substack: https://scotthortonshow.com/ Scott's Website: https://scotthorton.org/ Scott's Books: https://amzn.to/3T9Qg7y Libertarian Institute: https://libertarianinstitute.org/ 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://lexfridman.com/s/allio_capital-ep478-sb *Hampton:* Community for high-growth founders and CEOs. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/hampton-ep478-sb *BetterHelp:* Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-ep478-sb *AG1:* All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep478-sb *OUTLINE:* 0:00 - Introduction 0:45 - From the Cold War to the War on Terror 53:43 - Iraq War 1 1:21:48 - Bin Laden 2:21:09 - Afghanistan War 2:36:05 - Iraq War 2 3:02:30 - Military Industrial Complex 3:41:56 - Scott's life story 4:11:45 - Iraq War 2 (continued) 5:03:14 - Syria 5:56:32 - Iraq War 3 6:08:59 - Somalia 6:14:26 - Iran 7:04:12 - Israel-Palestine 8:53:49 - Cold War 2.0 *PODCAST LINKS:*

*SOCIAL LINKS:*

SPEAKERS

  • Lex Fridman

    host
  • Scott Horton

    guest
  • Narrator

    other
  • Narrator

    other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Scott Horton, Scott Horton on Lex Fridman: Why Saddam Hussein Was CIA-Made explores Scott Horton Dissects U.S. Wars, Blowback, and Permanent War Machine Scott Horton joins Lex Fridman to lay out a long, detailed narrative of U.S. foreign policy from the Cold War through the War on Terror, arguing that interventions in the Middle East and beyond were driven by self‑interested bureaucracies, the military‑industrial complex, and allied lobbies rather than genuine national security needs.

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