Establishment foreign policy writers Vali Nasr and David Ignatius have criticized President Obama for not listening more to supposed experts on world affairs — and concentrating decision-making in the White House but some of those experts have suffered from their…
Month: March 2013
‘Talking Points’ for Hagel on Iran
Some neocons hope they softened up new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during his bruising confirmation fight. But ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern suggests in these proposed “talking points” that Hagel stick to his principled reputation as someone who tells it like…
Inviting a Return to Jim Crow Racism
After the Civil War, Reconstruction tried to suppress white racism but was aborted prematurely leading to a near century of Jim Crow segregation in the South. Now, five right-wingers on the U.S. Supreme Court are contemplating a replay by stabbing…
Does John Brennan Know Morality?
Sen. Barbara Mikulski and other defenders of CIA Director-nominee John Brennan say they are reassured by his Jesuit education at Fordham that he must be well-grounded in moral philosophy. But two Fordham alumni, Scott McDonald and Ray McGovern, disagree in…
What Has US Militarism Wrought?
Exclusive: A half century ago, President Eisenhower warned the American people about the “unwarranted influence” of a Military-Industrial Complex, but that influence still managed to pervade U.S. politics and policies. In a new book, ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman takes…
The NRA’s War on America
The NRA’s rejection of virtually all gun-safety proposals is not only a repudiation of common sense but a bare-knuckle assertion of right-wing power, money and propaganda over the desire of most Americans to better protect themselves and their kids from…
An Unheeded Warning on Iraq War
A decade ago, with neocons at the policy controls, the U.S. government was hell-bent on invading Iraq and few Washington power figures were brave enough to get in the way. A direct appeal to FBI Director Robert Mueller was one example…
Perverting the Constitution for Power
Exclusive: The U.S. Supreme Court’s right-wingers are making bizarre arguments for gutting the Voting Rights Act, suggesting their real goal is to allow more suppression of minority voters and thus elect a Republican president who will keep the right-wingers as the Court’s majority, writes Robert Parry.
The Catholic Church’s Lost Hope
A half century ago, the Catholic Church had a chance for reform in the Second Vatican Council, with a young advocate in Joseph Ratzinger. But reactionary popes shunted reform aside, with Ratzinger later joining them as Pope Benedict XVI. That lost hope has put…
Seepage from an Aging Nuclear Site
The nuclear industry hasn’t solved the long-term problem of what to do with nuclear waste, which presents a uniquely dangerous environmental threat. That danger is now highlighted by leakage at one of the oldest nuclear sites in the world, Washington State’s Hanford…