Category: Foreign Policy

Washington’s Outrage and Excuses

Sometimes it seems that if not for double standards, Official Washington would have no standards at all – especially when it comes to outrage against some “strongmen” and excuses for others, as Lawrence Davidson describes.

Simplistic Second-Guessing on ISIS

Official Washington’s neocons, the mainstream U.S. media and Donald Trump are on the same page at least in blaming President Obama for ISIS, a case of all three parties being wrong, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains.

US War Crimes or ‘Normalized Deviance’

The U.S. foreign policy establishment and its mainstream media operate with a pervasive set of hypocritical standards that justify war crimes — or what might be called a “normalization of deviance,” writes Nicolas J S Davies.

Rigging the Coverage of Syria

The major U.S. news media has consistently slanted its coverage of the Syrian conflict to back neocon desires for more U.S. military intervention in support of “regime change,” Gareth Porter wrote for FAIR.

Risks from Trump’s Reckless Invective

Donald Trump’s invective – suggesting a “Second Amendment” remedy to Hillary Clinton’s gun control or calling President Obama the ISIS “founder” – may be how he intends to win but his words carry real danger, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.

Mike Morell’s Kill-Russians Advice

Exclusive: Washington’s foreign policy hot shots are flexing their rhetorical, warmongering muscles to impress Hillary Clinton, including ex-CIA acting director Morell who calls for killing Russians and Iranians, notes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern.

Magical Thinking in US Foreign Policy

Exclusive: The U.S. foreign policy establishment cloaks its desire for global dominance in the language of humanitarianism and “democracy promotion” even when the policies lead to death and chaos, as James W Carden describes.

A Rush to Judgment on Russian Doping

The West’s anti-Russian bias is so strong that normal standards of fairness are cast aside whenever a propaganda edge can be gained, a factor swirling around the treatment of Russian athletes at the Rio Olympics, Rick Sterling says.

‘Sage’ Advice That’s Nuttier Than Trump

Mike Morell was twice “acting” CIA director but never got the job outright, which may be a blessing now that this Hillary Clinton supporter is publicly urging acts of war against Russia and Iran, notes ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson.

The Fragility of American Democracy

A top neocon excuse for invading other countries is to spread American-style “democracy,” but – amid all that carnage – there has been a steady erosion of U.S. democratic values, observes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.