Provoked with Darryl Cooper and Scott Horton

EP:61 - The Terror Wars Rage On

September 11, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The Terror Wars Rage On: A Conversation on 25 Years of Blowback

Scott Horton opens the episode with a personal story that captures the tragedy of America's post-9/11 wars. An old childhood friend, a skateboard punk who joined the Army in 2002, is now a Green Beret sergeant major. Horton tracked him down through AI and learned from mutual friend Joe Kent that the man has served multiple combat deployments. The story illustrates what Horton calls the "skater punk to Green Beret pipeline" — and the betrayal he believes these soldiers suffered when the wars they fought turned out to be based on lies.

The Mechanism of Blowback

Horton's central argument is straightforward: American military intervention abroad generates enemies, and those enemies eventually strike back. "When you go around the world using military force to kill people to impose your will on countries that have no military recourse to hit you back," he says, "then some of those people are going to fight back in the only way that they can."

He distinguishes between justification and prediction. Saying that American actions predictably lead to attacks on Americans is not the same as excusing those attacks. "Killing civilians is wrong," Horton states flatly. "It's always wrong if you do it on accident as collateral damage, you should make restitution. It's always wrong to target them. It's evil."

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What you'll learn

1 EP:61 - The Terror Wars Rage On
2 (00:01) **25 Years of War, No End in Sight** - Scott Horton and Darryl Cooper open on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the futility of the "War on Terror"
3 (18:07) **Bush's "Overreaction" and the True Purpose of 9/11** - Cooper plays a clip of George W. Bush dismissing the 9/11 response as overreaction, then analyzes the real strategic trap
4 (25:33) **The Bourbon Street Attack and Blowback** - Horton breaks down the New Year's 2025 Bourbon Street truck attack and its covered-up motive
5 (35:31) **The "Blame the Victim" Trap vs. Rational Blowback Analysis** - Cooper distinguishes between justifying attacks and understanding their causes
6 (47:27) **Netanyahu's Foreknowledge of October 7** - Horton presents evidence that the UAE's Mohammed bin Zayed explicitly warned Netanyahu about the coming attack
7 (60:05) **The Hannibal Directive and Embellished Atrocity Stories** - Cooper discusses evidence that Israel used the "Mass Hannibal Directive" on October 7, killing their own civilians

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Darryl Cooper & Scott Horton discuss the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and how the post-9/11 years shaped our views on war, government, and military service. They also talk about Iraq and Afghanistan, including the shift from Afghanistan to Iraq, the use of 9/11 to justify broader war, and the relationship between soldiers and political leaders. They further examine blowback and attacks on the United States in the context of American foreign policy in the Middle East, including support for Israel and intervention in the region. Later we turn to Gaza, the October 7 attack, Netanyahu’s handling of intelligence, the Hannibal Directive, and the effect of the attack on Israeli politics and regional diplomacy. They also cover the Houthis, the Red Sea, the war in Yemen, and the limits of Saudi military power. The episode ends with updates on upcoming interviews, book work, and recent articles and projects.

Chapters :

0:00:00 Cold Open & Intro

0:00:40 Childhood Friend in Special Forces

0:05:56 Green Berets and the War on Terror

0:08:47 Soldiers, Orders, and Illegal Wars

0:12:59 Why America Overreacted After 9/11

0:18:24 Bush’s Iraq Deception

0:24:38 Revising the War Books

0:26:58 Chappelle, Yellowcake, and Oil

0:27:37 Oklahoma City Files Revisited

0:33:00 Bourbon Street and Blowback

0:41:46 Clinton, Iran, and Bosnia