Frank Sinatra was a complex and flawed individual known in his later years for alleged mob ties and angry outbursts but he also was an extraordinary artist who spoke out against racism and bigotry at a time when such stands were…
Blocking Democracy as Syria’s Solution
Exclusive: The long-cherished neocon dream of “regime change” in Syria is blocking a possible route out of the crisis a ceasefire followed by elections in which President Assad could compete. The problem is there’s no guarantee that Assad would lose and thus the dream…
A GOP Terror Talking Point
Republican presidential candidates have a favorite talking point that President Obama won’t use the precise phrase “radical Islamic terrorism” even though he describes the problem in similar terms. Thus, the complaint is ridiculous and even a bit dangerous, writes ex-CIA…
Campaign 2016, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Cornering Russia, Risking World War III
Official Washington is awash with tough talk about Russia and the need to punish President Putin for his role in Ukraine and Syria. But this bravado ignores Russia’s genuine national interests, its “red lines,” and the risk that “tough-guy-ism” can…
Constitution, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Intelligence, Obama Administration, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
The Courage from Whistle-blowing
Exclusive: Courage, like cowardice, can grow when an action by one person influences decisions by others, either toward bravery or fear. Thus, the gutsy whistle-blowing by some NSA officials inspired Edward Snowden to expose mass data collection on all Americans, recalls ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern.
Chicago Police Adopt Israeli Tactics
Exclusive: The Chicago police slaying of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, like other recent police killings of blacks, may resemble the actions of an occupation military, in part, because Chicago and other U.S. cities have learned from Israel’s occupation of Palestine, writes retired JAG Major…
Israel’s Moral Erosion
Amid global anger over militants citing the Koran as a defense for terrorism, less attention gets paid to Israel citing God’s will as expressed in the Bible as the moral justification for stealing Palestinian land, an ethical crisis that is…
Congress Plays Santa to the Rich
As Congress rushes to wrap up business before the Christmas holidays, it traditionally dangles pricy ornaments favors to rich donors on an omnibus bill called a “Christmas tree,” one activity that has survived the current legislative dysfunction, writes Michael Winship.
A Day When Journalism Died
Exclusive: Dec. 9 has a grim meaning for the Republic, the date in 2004 when investigative reporter Gary Webb, driven to ruin by vindictive press colleagues for reviving the Contra-cocaine scandal, took his own life, a demarcation as the U.S. press went from protecting the people to shielding the…
Campaign 2016, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Putting the ISIS ‘Crisis’ in Context
The hysteria over Islamic State terrorism is driving talk of a new U.S.-led ground war in the Middle East this time an invasion of Syria under the guise of a “safe zone” but such rash actions would only make matters…
Campaign 2016, Constitution, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Cruz Threatens to Nuke ISIS Targets
Exclusive: Republican presidential campaign rhetoric is red-hot regarding Islamic terrorism, with Sen. Cruz suggesting the use of nuclear weapons to see “if sand can glow in the dark,” a threat even more troubling than Donald Trump’s call to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the…
Campaign 2016, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Obama Administration, Politics, Religion, The Bush-43 Administration
The Religious Element of Terrorism
The history of religions especially monotheistic ones such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam are rife with examples of cruelty, war and even genocide done in God’s name. So should people avoid the phrase “Islamic terrorism,” asks William Blum.
Campaign 2016, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
The Terror from the Gun
On the campaign trail and the cable networks, it’s all ISIS all the time as Americans react with fear and fury over the San Bernardino massacre. But the U.S. crisis of gun violence goes way beyond the few cases of…
Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Lost History, Obama Administration, Right Wing, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Why Syria’s Options Are So Bad
The incoherence of Western policy toward Syria goes back decades to Cold War covert schemes that thwarted a democratic turn — and to more recent neocon insistence on “regime change,” not negotiations. Those choices have now left the West with…
Translating Obama’s Speech into Candor
President Obama’s primetime speech on terrorism sought to calm a jittery nation, but by omitting relevant details, he left many thoughtful Americans scratching their heads. To clarify the unspoken parts of Obama’s speech, Norman Solomon has translated the speech into the language of candor.
Campaign 2016, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Obama Administration, Politics, Religion, Right Wing, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
The Incredible Shrinking President
Exclusive: Trying to soothe American fears about “terrorism,” President Obama glossed over the dangerous contradictions in his own policy, particularly the fact that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other “allies” have been helping Al Qaeda and ISIS, notes Daniel Lazare.
Twenty Years of Truth-telling
From Editor Robert Parry: Consortiumnews is now 20 years old. We began in late November 1995 as the first investigative news magazine based on what was then a new phenomenon, the Internet. Our goal was then and still is today…
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Lost History, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
The Tricky Definition of ‘Terrorism’
The classic definition of terrorism as violence against civilians to make a political point may make sense but the term’s elastic use even applied to attacks on U.S. soldiers operating in foreign lands has transformed the word into an epithet…
Real Questions for President Obama
Part of Official Washington’s problem is that most journalists at least those called on at presidential news conferences represent the same “group think” that pervades the government, meaning President Obama doesn’t get asked truly probing questions, as William Blum notes at Anti-Empire…
Campaign 2016, Constitution, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Obama’s Credibility Crisis
Exclusive: Inside Official Washington’s bubble, the Important People believe their “group think” is the envy of the world, but the truth is that their credibility has collapsed to such a degree that their propaganda can’t even match up with the head-chopping videos…