Category: Obama Administration

Swimming Left, into the Mainstream

Despite pundits dismissing Sen. Bernie Sanders’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, he is drawing big and enthusiastic crowds who seem eager for ideas about rebuilding the middle class and ending plutocracy, as Bill Moyers and Michael Winship note.

Neocon Fugitive Given Ukraine Province

Exclusive: Ukraine’s President Poroshenko has tapped another international “carpetbagger” to rule his people, ex-Georgian President Saakashvili, a neocon hero wanted in his homeland for embezzlement and human rights abuses who now governs Odessa, reports Robert Parry.

Israel and the Water Card

The New York Times hailed Israel’s ingenuity in addressing its water needs, but played down how Israel exploits its military domination to divert water away from Palestinians and to Israelis, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains.

Playing with the Fire of Terrorism

By pandering to Saudi Arabia and the Sunni-controlled Gulf states, the U.S. government is playing with fire, allowing the spread of Sunni radicalism to destabilize targeted governments like Syria but unable to control the resulting terrorism, writes Joe Lauria.

Holes in the Neocons’ Syrian Story

Exclusive: The Islamic State and Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front continue to make gains in Syria while Official Washington plays the blame game, pushing a dubious narrative that the crisis wouldn’t have happened if President Obama had just backed “regime change” earlier, Robert Parry reports.

Egypt’s Descent into Despotism

Egypt’s brief experiment with democracy was crushed by internal and external forces alarmed by a populist Islamic government. With the backing of Israel, Saudi Arabia and others, a brutal military despotism took over and consolidated power, but it shouldn’t be…

Is War on ISIS America’s Fight?

The Sunni resistance to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 led to what is now ISIS or the Islamic State, and many U.S. hawks now want President Obama to “surge” troops back into Iraq to fight this brutal force.…

A Reckless ‘Stand-upper’ on MH-17

Exclusive: Australia’s “60 Minutes” claimed to do an investigative report proving the anti-aircraft battery that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last July fled into Russia and pinning the atrocity on Russian President Putin. But the news show did a meaningless “stand-upper,” not…

Resurgence of the ‘Surge’ Myth

Exclusive: Official Washington loves the story the Iraq War was failing until President George W. Bush bravely ordered a “surge” in 2007 that won the war, but President Obama squandered the victory, requiring a new “surge” now. Except the narrative is dangerous make-believe, says ex-CIA…

GOP War-Mongering Back in Style

As the new presidential campaign season starts, most Republican candidates are competing to show off who can sound the most belligerent, with many echoing George W. Bush. Brother Jeb stumbled over his own tough-guy message, as William Blum wrote at…