Help Us Build Investigative ‘War Chest’

From Editor Robert Parry: I often hear the complaint that Consortiumnews is not devoting enough attention to some story of particular importance to that reader. And I must admit the criticism is often valid, but the explanation is mostly our lack of resources, not our lack of interest.

I’m especially concerned that we are not doing more in areas relating to war or peace. Over the years, we have invested a great deal of effort to report on wars (or near-wars) in Central and South America, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Libya, Lebanon and Israel/Palestine. We have done some work though not nearly enough on the current conflict in Syria.

Given my background with the Iran-Contra Affair, we also have focused on expanding knowledge of historical scandals that I believe were bungled by the mainstream press over the past several decades. That explains our continued excavation into the real histories of the Vietnam War, Watergate and the crimes of the Reagan-Bush years.

Ironically, our coverage of current events especially the rise of the Tea Party  has forced us to delve back even deeper into the past to examine the real history of America’s Founding. That’s because right-wing operatives were getting millions of Americans to buy into false narratives of the Constitution and the Second Amendment, deceiving the public about what the Framers were trying to accomplish and why. The reason for those stories was to stop false renditions of the past from distorting the present.

Yet, while we try to provide a diverse selection of investigative articles and thoughtful analyses, I do concede that we could do better if we had more resources. We currently operate on a thinly stretched shoestring budget.

I am, therefore, proposing the creation of a $100,000 “war chest” for expanding our investigative journalism and our reporting on war zones, like Syria. (I use the phrase “war chest” ironically, because I believe that accurate and balanced information is the best way to avoid actual war.)

You can help with a tax-deductible donation by credit card online or by mailing a check to Consortium for Independent Journalism (CIJ); 2200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 102-231; Arlington VA 22201. (For readers wanting to use PayPal, you can address contributions to our account, which is named after our e-mail address: “consortnew @ aol.com”).

Or, you can buy one of my last four books through the Consortiumnews’ Web site or my latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, through Amazon.com, either in paper or the e-book version. A portion of each sale will go to this fund.

Third, for only $34, you can get the trilogy that traces the history of the two Bush presidencies and their impact on the world. The three books Secrecy & Privilege, Neck Deep (co-authored with Sam and Nat Parry) and America’s Stolen Narrative would normally cost more than $70.

To get the books for less than half price and help us fill our “war chest”  just go to the Web site’s “Donate” button and make a $34 “donation” using Visa, Mastercard or Discover. We will read a donation of that amount as an order for the trilogy.

If your mailing address is the same as your credit card billing address, we will ship the books to that address. If your mailing address is different, just send us an e-mail at [email protected] and we will make the adjustment. For U.S. orders, we will pay for the shipping. (For non-U.S. orders, add $20 to defray the extra cost.)

You can also take advantage of this special offer by mailing a check for $34 to The Media Consortium; 2200 Wilson Blvd.; Suite 102-231; Arlington VA 22201. Or you can use our Paypal account, “consortnew @ aol.com.” Just make sure you include your mailing address in the message. A portion of those sales also will go to our goal of building a “war chest” to help avoid war.

Thanks for your support.

Robert Parry is a longtime investigative reporter who broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for the Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. He founded Consortiumnews.com in 1995 to create an outlet for well-reported journalism that was being squeezed out of an increasingly trivialized U.S. news media.