The Scott Horton Show from The Libertarian Institute 8/22/25 William Van Wagenen on the CIA’s Covert War to Remake the Middle East
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Scott brings William Van Wagenen on to talk about his new book Creative Chaos: Inside the CIA’s Covert War to Topple the Syrian Government. They talk about why Wagenen was first drawn to the topic before digging into the details we know about covert US policy in Syria, Iraq and the region more broadly.
Discussed on the show:
- Creative Chaos: Inside the CIA’s Covert War to Topple the Syrian Government by William Van Wagenen
- Why he was drawn to this topic
- “Questions Mount Over Failure to Hit Zarqawi’s Camp” (Wall Street Journal)
- Israel, Winner of the 2003 Iraq Oil War: Undue Influence, Deceptions, and the Neocon Energy Agenda by Gary Vogler
- “The Redirection” (The New Yorker)
William Van Wagenen is the author of Creative Chaos: Inside the CIA’s Covert War to Topple the Syrian Government. He has a BA in German literature From Brigham Young University and an MA in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. You can read his other writings on Syria for the Libertarian Institute here. Follow him on Twitter @wvanwagenen
This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Incorporated; Moon Does Artisan Coffee; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; Libertas Bella; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.
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