As you know, Consortiumnews.com relies almost exclusively on the support of our readers. So, as 2011 ends, we wanted to express our thanks and present a selection of the important articles from the past year that your donations helped make possible.
Though we invite you to explore the Web site more fully and to check out the “In Case You Missed These Stories” archive below we have grouped more than 80 stories in broad categories that reflect some of our notable work in 2011:
New Year's scene over Sydney, Australia
Democratic Ideals:
“How I View the American Crisis” by Robert Parry, suggesting history can point to future strategies. (April 17, 2011)
“McGovern Reflects on Truth-Telling” by Ray McGovern, noting the role of honesty in a democracy. (April 18, 2011)
“Questioning Obama’s Americanism” by Robert Parry, challenging the tactic of portraying the President as un-American. (April 29, 2011)
“Making the US Economy Scream” by Robert Parry, looking at the Republican style of politics. (June 3, 2011)
“Is Obama to Blame for America’s Mess?” by Robert Parry, assessing the President’s responsibility for what went wrong. (Sept. 3, 2011)
“Resetting the American Narrative” by Robert Parry, describing how the debate over “free markets” could be revised. (Sept. 8, 2011)
“Moneyball: the Value of Reason” by Lisa Pease, looking at the deeper message underlying a popular movie. (Sept. 29, 2011)
“Three Pillars of a Revived Republic” by Robert Parry, looking past the Occupy encampments. Dec. 2, 2011
Foreign Policy and War:
“Obama Should Read WikiLeaks Docs” by Ray McGovern, suggesting the president could learn some key facts. (January 3, 2011)
“Reagan’s Epoch Shatters in Egypt” by Robert Parry, noting an end of authoritarian era. (February 4, 2011)
“America’s Stay-at-Home Ex-President” by Ray McGovern, noting human rights complexities to George W. Bush’s travels. (February 8, 2011)
“Standing Up to War and Hillary Clinton” by Ray McGovern, explaining why he protested Secretary of State Clinton’s speech. (February 23, 2011)
“How to Read Gates’s Shifts on the Wars” by Ray McGovern, assessing the Defense Secretary’s new skepticism. (March 2, 2011)
“NATO Pushes ‘Regime Change’ in Libya” by Peter Dyer, exposing the West’s strategy in the Libyan civil war. (April 22, 2011)
“Trying ‘Shock and Awe’ in Libya” by Robert Parry, describing NATO’s strategy of high-tech intimidation. (April 27, 2011)
“Petraeus: A Threat to CIA Analysis” by Ray McGovern, critiquing President Obama’s selection of Gen. Petraeus to run the CIA. (April 28, 2011)
“Finishing a Job, Obama Gets Osama” by Robert Parry looking back on George W. Bush’s failures. (May 2, 2011)
“Politics of Revenge and Submission” by Phil Rockstroh, lamenting how the American republic had to die to get bin Laden. (May 5, 2011)
“The Curious Bush/Bin Laden Symbiosis” by Robert Parry, tracking the odd way the two adversaries helped one another. (May 7, 2011)
“Netanyahu Sets Limits for Obama” by Robert Parry, describing the audacity of the Israeli prime minister in the Oval Office. (May 21, 2011)
“Cheering Netanyahu’s Intransigence” by Robert Parry, marveling at how Congress groveled before the Israeli prime minister. (May 25, 2011)
“Netanyahu’s Pyrrhic Victory” by Daniel C. Maguire, questioning the long-term success of the Israeli prime minister’s arrogant visit. (May 27, 2011)
“The Reality of Robert Gates” by Paul R. Pillar, challenging the myth that has surrounded the Defense Secretary. (May 28, 2011)
“The Mysterious Robert Gates” by Robert Parry, contesting the Defense Secretary’s record as a straight-shooter. (May 31, 2011)
“Gen. Keane Keen on Iran Attack” by Ray McGovern, describing a confrontation with an Iran war hawk. (June 5, 2011)
“Gaza and American Security” by Ray McGovern, explaining his decision to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza. (June 18, 2011)
“More US Soldiers Die in Vain” by Ray McGovern, recognizing the harsh reality in the mounting death toll from America’s two misbegotten wars. (August 7, 2011)
“Orange Jumpsuits / Double Standards” by Robert Parry, contrasting the harsh treatment of London looters with benign neglect of UK/U.S. war criminals. (August 25, 2011)
“New War Rationale: Protect Civilians” by Robert Parry, questioning the rationale for NATO’s “regime change” intervention in Libya. (August 27, 2011)
“Why Do All Hail Gen. Petraeus” by Robert Parry, examining the myths surrounding the new CIA director. (Sept. 1, 2011)
“Israel’s Window to Bomb Iran” by Ray McGovern, warning of a likely escalation in hostilities sooner rather than later. (October 3, 2011)
“Petraeus’s CIA Fuels Iran Murder Plot” by Ray McGovern, revealing how the new CIA hierarchy pumped up a buffoonish plot. (October 13, 2011)
“The Tale of Two Assassination Plots” by Robert Parry, contrasting the alarm over a dubious Iranian scheme and disinterest in a real Chilean one. (October 14, 2011)
“Is Mitt Romney a Neocon Purist?” by Robert Parry, noting how the Washington Post chided Romney for some deviations. (October 15, 2011)
“Ending the Iraq Catastrophe” by Robert Parry, reflecting on the promised exit of U.S. combat forces from Iraq. (October 21, 2011)
Sen. McCain’s Libyan Two-Step” by Morgan Strong, investigating John McCain two-faced approach toward Muammar Gaddafi. (October 28, 2011)
“An Iraq-WMD Replay on Iran” by Robert Parry, observing how some of the usual suspects from the Iraq fiasco are back pushing a conflict with Iran, Nov. 8, 2011
“Déjà vu Over Iran A-Bomb Charges” by Robert Parry, recalling the parallels between the furor over Iraq and now Iran, Nov. 10, 2011
“Iran Nuke Report: Little New, Big Impact” by Paul R. Pillar, noting the absence of much new in much-touted allegations about Iran, Nov. 11, 2011
“NATO’s Law of the Jungle in Libya” by Peter Dyer, explaining how NATO wrote its own rules in achieving “regime change” in Libya, Nov. 11, 2011
“No Room for Smugness on Iran” by former CIA analyst Elizabeth Murray, tracing how the neocons conned the U.S. regarding Iraq and are back on Iran, Nov. 16, 2011
“Slanting the Case on Iran’s Nukes” by Robert Parry, exposing the secret political agenda of the new leadership of the UN atomic energy inspectors, Nov. 21, 2011
“Are Americans in Line for Gitmo?” by Ray McGovern, examining another draconian “war on terror” law. Dec. 3, 2011
Economics and Domestic Policy:
“Budget Crisis? Duh, Tax the Rich” by Robert Parry, examining the one option that Washington politics forbids. (February 24, 2011)
“Republicans Embrace ‘Greedy Geezers’” by Robert Parry, observing a cynical ploy to split the retired and near-retired. (April 25, 2011)
“The Robber Barons Are Back!” by Aerik Vondenburg, retracing the restoration of an unequal gilded age. (April 30, 2011)
“How Greed Destroys America” by Robert Parry, analyzing how tax cuts incentivized destructive greed. (June 28, 2011)
“Spain’s Battle Against Austerity” by Pablo Ouziel, giving a front-line look at what’s in store for Western societies as banks are pampered and people pay the price. (August 7, 2011)
“The Dangerous Reagan Cult” by Robert Parry, tracing modern-day Republican extremism back to the anti-government rhetoric of Ronald Reagan. (August 16, 2011)
“Jesus: Redistributionist-in-Chief” by Rev. Howard Bess, contrasting the Gospel message with right-wing Christianity. (Sept. 4, 2011)
“The Dark Legacy of Reaganomics” by Robert Parry, recounting how Ronald Reagan’s policies damaged America. (Sept. 20, 2011)
“The One Answer: Tax the Rich” by Robert Parry, explaining why raising taxes on the rich would solve so many problems at once. (Sept. 26, 2011)
“Occupying the Heart of the Beast” by Phil Rockstroh, reporting from Zuccotti Park with the Occupy Wall Street protests. (October 5, 2011)
“Reagan’s Greed Is Good Folly” by Robert Parry, explaining how Ronald Reagan’s economics devastated the middle class. (October 5, 2011)
“Free Market v. Government Intervention” by Robert Parry, noting Republican confidence in rejecting President Obama’s job plan. (October 12, 2011)
“Looming Crisis of Climate Chaos” by Richard Lee Dechert, warning that time is running out to address global warming, Nov. 7, 2011
“Would Jesus Join the Occupy Protests” by Rev. Howard Bess, putting the new opposition to greed in a religious context, Nov. 26, 2011
Historical Context:
“Justice Scalia’s ‘Originalist’ Hypocrisy” by Robert Parry, dissecting Antonin Scalia’s double standards on judicial philosophy. (January 5, 2011)
“The Power of False Narrative” by Robert Parry, observing how systematic lies can change history. (January 7, 2011)
“The Violence of Deformed Christianity” by Rev. Howard Bess, reflecting on how today’s Christianity tolerates violence. (January 14, 2011)
“Ronald Reagan’s 30-Year Time Bombs” by Robert Parry, describing the delayed havoc that President Reagan wrought. (January 28, 2011)
“Ronald Reagan, Enabler of Atrocities” by Robert Parry, marking Reagan’s 100th birthday with some inconvenient truth. (February 6, 2011)
“Recalling the Slaughter of Innocents” by Ray McGovern, remembering a U.S. bombing raid that killed Iraqi women and children. (February 14, 2011)
“Kicking the Vietnam Syndrome” by Robert Parry, recalling the Persian Gulf “victory” that won Americans back to war. (February 28, 2011)
“Inside America’s ‘Adjustment Bureau'” by Robert Parry, comparing the movie to how reality is really manipulated. (March 14, 2011)
“A Two-Decade Detour into Empire” by Robert Parry, describing how cover-ups in the early 1990s distorted U.S. history. (March 31, 2011)
“Spy vs. Spy: the First Patriots Day” by Robert Parry, giving the larger context of Paul Revere’s ride. (April 18-19, 2011)
“Jimmy Carter’s October Surprise Doubts” by Robert Parry, noting the ex-president’s questions about how his reelection was spoiled. (May 12, 2011)
“Halberstam’s ‘Best-Brightest’ Blunder” by James DiEugenio, reflecting on how a historical narrative was botched. (May 17, 2011) And Part Two.
“Drug War’s March of Folly” by Richard L. Fricker, measuring the disaster of the four-decade war on drugs. (June 22, 2011)
“The Lie Behind the Afghan War” by Robert Parry, debunking one of the “known facts” about the U.S. role in Afghanistan. (June 24, 2011)
“Inside the October Surprise Cover-up” by Robert Parry, examining Bush Sr.’s White House records about 1980 mystery. (July 12, 2011)
“October Surprise Evidence Surfaces” by Robert Parry, disclosing proof of what Republicans knew about a secret trip. (July 14, 2011)
“US Lost Its Way From Omaha Beach” by Robert Parry, reflecting on how America’s bravery in liberating Europe has been betrayed by subsequent actions. (August 10, 2011)
“Truth Still a Casualty at Dieppe” by Don North, reflecting on the press propaganda that surrounded a World War II catastrophe. (August 18, 2011)
“Dick Cheney: Son of the New Deal” by Robert Parry, reflecting on the irony of how this right-wing icon found success. (Sept. 16, 2011)
“Tea Party Gets the Constitution Wrong” by Robert Parry, exposing the sloppy historical analysis from the Right. (Sept. 18, 2011)
“Taking a Bush Secret to the Grave” by Robert Parry, exposing a three-decade-old secret about the identity of George H.W. Bush’s key October Surprise alibi witness. (Sept. 27, 2011)
“Would the Founders Back Health Law?” by Robert Parry, examining “original intent” about American competitiveness. (Sept. 29, 2011)
“Rick Perry’s Revolutionary War History” by Robert Parry, debunking the Republican Right’s early American narrative. (October 12, 2011)
“Intriguing Shakespeare Author Mystery” by Lisa Pease, examining the complex history of the movie, “Anonymous.” (October 21, 2011)
“Unmasking October Surprise Debunker” by Robert Parry, exposing the dangerous biases of Steven Emerson. (October 30, 2011)
“Richard Nixon’s Darkest Secret” by Robert Parry, tracing a new Archive disclosure into Nixon’s heart of darkness, Nov. 11, 2011
“Clint Eastwood’s Dishonest J. Edgar” by James DiEugenio, filling in the many historical gaps of the new movie on J. Edgar Hoover. Nov. 30, 2011
“The Lost Opportunity of Iran-Contra” by Robert Parry, reflecting on a moment when the course of U.S. history might have changed. Dec. 1, 2011
Media Ethics:
“NYT’s Keller Disparages Assange” by Coleen Rowley, disputing the New York Times’ dissing of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange. (February 6, 2011)
“How the US Press Corps Lost Its Way” by Robert Parry, reflecting on the death of press corps “dean” David Broder. (March 11, 2011)
“Through the US Media Lens Darkly by Robert Parry, assessing the biased coverage of the Middle East. (March 18, 2011)
“Neocons Spin Two Lost Wars” by Robert Parry, describing how neocons won’t acknowledge the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan. (June 8, 2011)
“Three Deadly War Myths” by Robert Parry, examining how false narratives keep America at war. (June 9, 2011)
“Who Are These People?” by Robert Parry, marveling at the limited Iraq War mea culpa of the New York Times’ Bill Keller. (Sept. 12, 2011)
“On Libya, Now They Tell Us” by Robert Parry, noting the Big Media’s belated admissions about the dark side of the Libyan rebels. (Sept. 15, 2011)
“Falling for New Neocon Propaganda” by Ray McGovern, commenting on how a Washington Post columnist gets snookered again. (October 22, 2011)
“Switching Focus from Iraq to Iran” by Ray McGovern, citing how the Washington Post’s neocon editors still spoil for a fight. (October 23, 2011)
“The Warning in Gary Webb’s Death” by Robert Parry, recalling the wretched behavior of the Big Media toward a truthful reporter. (Dec. 9, 2011)
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