Category: Obama Administration

Mali and the Lure of Intervention

Partly as a spillover from the U.S.-backed ouster of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, armed Islamists have asserted control of sparsely populated northern Mali, causing France to dispatch soldiers to the region. But does this new conflict affect U.S. interests, asks ex-CIA…

Breaking Down Anti-Gay Dogma

Evangelicals remain one of the principal obstacles to the full acceptance of gay Americans as people deserving equal rights and equal respect. But even in those religious circles, pressure from more tolerant Evangelicals especially the young is breaking down the…

The Depressing ‘Zero Dark Thirty’

Exclusive: Director Kathryn Bigelow in both Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker presents stories of heroic Americans operating in a world of either apathetic or crazy Muslims, with little explanation of the whys behind the conflicts. This lack of…

Hit Movies Miss Mideast Realities

Oscar buzz is humming about two movies recounting real-life chapters of U.S. policy in the Middle East the get-bin-Laden film “Zero Dark Thirty” and the escape-Iran drama “Argo.” But neither provides an in-depth examination of the reality behind the events,…

America’s War for Reality

Exclusive: The United States has been on a three-decade binge of unreality, imbibing delusions that began with Ronald Reagan and have continued through the Tea Party. The challenge now is for rational Americans to show they have the toughness and tenacity to…

Parry Book Deals Coming to an End

From Journalist Robert Parry: The holiday specials for buying my books free postage and a second book for a nickel are coming to an end on Jan. 20. So, now is a great time to buy my new book, “America’s…

Hugo Chavez’s Lasting Legacy

Venezuela’s charismatic and controversial President Hugo Chavez missed his scheduled inauguration as he battles cancer in a Cuban hospital. But Chavez’s political impact on the oil-rich country may outlive him as his socialist movement remains popular, one of his backers…

The Armed Right’s Violent Rhetoric

As America prepares for the Second Inaugural of its first African-American president and as demands grow for some commonsense gun control after a horrific school massacre the Right is arming itself amid hysterical rhetoric about the need to “shoot tyrants,” ex-CIA…

Finding Excuses to Torture

Despite evidence over the centuries that torture fails to elicit reliable information and is criminal as well apologists for George W. Bush and movies like Zero Dark Thirty continue to perpetuate the myth that torture is a necessary evil, at…

Slanting the Case on Iran’s Nukes

From the Archive: The New York Times reports UN nuclear monitoring chief Yukiya Amano is dampening hopes for new nuclear talks with Iran by demanding access to its Parchin military base. But the press still ignores evidence Amano is no honest broker,…