Some of our special stories in August focused on the dangerous new Cold War with Russia, the serious problems with both major party candidates for U.S. president, and the troubling collapse of professional journalism.
Campaign 2016, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Lost History, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing
Unseemly Competition for Israel’s Blessing
President Obama’s record $38 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel shows neither U.S. major party wants to be “out-Israeled.” The Trump campaign endorses an Israeli claim that Palestinians want to ethnically cleanse Jews, ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar notes.
Russian Hardliners Gain from US Putin-Bashing
The harsh U.S. rhetoric denouncing Russian President Putin is having the adverse effect in Russia of strengthening hard-line “populists” in upcoming elections who think Putin’s ruling party is too soft on the U.S., reports Gilbert Doctorow.
Campaign 2016, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Intelligence, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Getting Fooled on Iraq, Libya, Now Russia
Exclusive: After the British report exposing falsehoods to justify invading Iraq in 2003, a new U.K. inquiry found similar misconduct in the 2011 attack on Libya, but no lessons are learned for the West’s new propaganda about Russia, writes Robert Parry.
How to Support Truly Independent Journalism
From Editor Robert Parry: After I founded Consortiumnews in 1995, I approached some large foundations which claimed to be concerned about the decline of mainstream journalism and interested in supporting independent reporting. But I quickly discovered that they really wanted “journalism” that…
Al Qaeda’s Ties to US-Backed Syrian Rebels
Exclusive: The U.S. is demanding the grounding of Syria’s air force but is resisting Russian demands that U.S.-armed rebels separate from Al Qaeda, a possible fatal flaw in the new cease-fire, writes Gareth Porter.
Constitution, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Intelligence, Lost History, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Post-9/11’s Self-Inflicted Wounds
The damage done to U.S. foreign policy in the wake of the 9/11 attacks was largely self-inflicted, a case of wildly overreacting to Al Qaeda’s bloody provocation, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
China and Russia Press Ahead, Together
The G20 summit in China marked a possible tectonic shift in global economic power, with China’s President Xi pushing for a new model based on physical connectivity, like “One Belt, One Road,” writes ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke.
Campaign 2016, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
The Existential Madness of Putin-Bashing
Exclusive: Official Washington loves its Putin-bashing but demonizing the Russian leader stops a rational debate about U.S.-Russia relations and pushes the two nuclear powers toward an existential brink, writes Robert Parry.
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Pushing NATO to Russia’s Southern Flank
Exclusive: In pursuit of a new Cold War with Russia, Official Washington wants to expand NATO into the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, creating the potential for nuclear war to protect a sometimes reckless “ally,” writes Jonathan Marshall.
How Israel Stole the Bomb
Exclusive: When Israel launched a covert scheme to steal material and secrets to build a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials looked the other way and obstructed investigations, as described in a book reviewed by James DiEugenio.
The Earlier 9/11 Acts of Terror
From the Archive: Americans feel a special sadness about the terrible loss of life on Sept. 11, 2001, but the 9/11 date has other meanings in other countries, reflecting a U.S. hypocrisy on terrorism, wrote Jonathan Marshall in 2014.
North Korea’s Understandable Fears
Official Washington is in full-throated fury over a new North Korean nuclear test, but fails to note that North Koreans face a vast array of U.S./South Korean military might, including potential U.S. nuclear weapons, writes James Bradley.
Netanyahu’s Land-Grab Strategy
Behind the smokescreen of the broader Mideast chaos, Israel pursues a strategy of gobbling up Palestinian lands to establish de facto control of the West Bank while confining indigenous Arabs to isolated cantons, explains Alon Ben-Meir.
Campaign 2016, Environment, Foreign Policy, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Donald Trump Is Us
Pundits like to pretend that Donald Trump is some strange aberration in the American political-media process, but he is more like the illogical but logical result of a repudiation of rational thought, writes ethics professor Daniel C. Maguire.
Greenwashing Wars and the US Military
A recent congress of major conservation groups soft-pedaled criticism of the U.S. military and other war-makers despite the massive damage they inflict on humans, animals, plants, cultural sites and the environment, reports retired Col. Ann Wright.
Greasing the Outstretched Hands
Donald Trump with his tangled business dealings is a walking conflict of interest, but Hillary Clinton’s connections to the world of high finance and political pull creates its own problems with outstretched palms, writes Michael Winship.
UN Team Heard Claims of ‘Staged’ Chemical Attacks
Exclusive: A widely touted U.N. report accusing the Syrian government of two chlorine-gas attacks relied on shaky evidence and brushed aside witness testimony that claimed some incidents were staged, reports Robert Parry.
Summer/Fall Fund Goal Set at $30,000
From Editor Robert Parry: Because I know people don’t liked to be nagged about money, Consortiumnews holds only three fundraisers a year, but it’s crucial that we make our goals so we can continue producing independent journalism all year.
Obama Flinches at Renouncing Nuke First Strike
Exclusive: The U.S. threat to launch a first-strike nuclear attack has little real strategic value – though it poses a real risk to human survival – but President Obama fears political criticism if he changes the policy, as Jonathan Marshall explains.