Backers of right-wing Israeli policies bristle when the South African term “apartheid” is applied to the Jewish state’s isolation and persecution of Palestinians. But the near half century of West Bank occupation leaves little doubt the description fits, says Gil Maguire,…
In Case You Missed…
Some of our special stories in March focused on the nuclear-war dangers implicit in the Ukraine crisis, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s U.S. intervention to kill talks on Iran’s nuclear program, the role of propaganda past and present, and the way…
The Evolution of Consortiumnews
From Editor Robert Parry: Frankly, the evolution of Consortiumnews.com has surprised me. Twenty years ago, the idea was to provide a home for independent investigative journalism that was getting squeezed out of the mainstream U.S. news media. We have done…
Reasons for Despair and Hope
This year, Holy Week marking the crucifixion of Jesus coincides with the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s murder on April 4, 1968, with some Christians seeing many reasons to despair and a few reasons to hope, as Kathy Kelly…
State Department’s Hypocrisies and Lies
If the U.S. government were not so terrifyingly powerful, its jaw-dropping double standards and the yawning gap between reality and what it calls reality might be funny. But there is the scary recognition that these hypocrisies and lies get people…
Doubts Remain on Iran Sanction Relief
While Iran expresses confidence that it can fulfill the restrictions on its nuclear program to ensure that it remains peaceful there is less certainty about the lifting of U.S. and international sanctions against Iran, creating some possible trouble for the…
Constitution, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Iran Deal: A Possible Crossroads to Peace
Exclusive: The Israeli-Saudi alliance and the American neocons are furious over the framework agreement for a peaceful settlement to the Iran nuclear dispute, but the deal gives hope to people who see the need to end the perpetual wars that have roiled…
A Diplomatic Victory with Iran
Though the framework agreement for making sure Iran’s nuclear program stays peaceful surprised many observers with its stringent details, the Israel Lobby and its adherents are sure to do all they can to sabotage the deal. But they must overcome…
Mysterious Deaths in Ukraine
The mainstream U.S. news media is so in the tank for the post-coup Ukrainian government that anything negative from neo-Nazi militias to apparent “death squad” operations is ignored, including a string of mysterious deaths of anti-coup politicians, as William Blum…
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Was Sgt. Bergdahl a Whistleblower?
Mainstream U.S. politicians and media were quick to condemn Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, after his years as a Taliban prisoner in Afghanistan were deemed “desertion.” But another possibility is that Bergdahl was captured after he left his base in a failed…
Misunderstanding Jesus’s Execution
From the Archive: In Holy Week, many Christians celebrate what they regard as God’s sacrifice of his Son and the Resurrection. But some scholars see another narrative in which Jesus, a rural rebel, brings his critique of the Jewish-Roman power structure to Jerusalem and…
Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Lost History, Obama Administration, October Surprise, Politics, Right Wing, Secrecy
The US-Israel-Iran Triangle’s Tangled History
Exclusive: Iran and world powers have gone into double-overtime in negotiations to ensure that Iran doesn’t build a nuclear bomb, but the shadow over the talks is darkened by decades of distrust and double-dealing, a dimly understood history of the U.S.-Israeli-Iranian…
Yemen as Vietnam or Afghanistan
With U.S. intelligence help, Saudi Arabia has launched air strikes into Yemen and wants Egypt and Pakistan to invade, threatening to turn a long-simmering civil war into a regional conflict, a scenario that reminded retired U.S. diplomat William R. Polk of…
Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Right Wing, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Why Iran Distrusts the US in Nuke Talks
Exclusive: The mainstream U.S. media portrays the Iran nuclear talks as “our good guys” imposing some sanity on “their bad guys.” But the real history of the West’s dealings on Iran’s nuclear program shows bad faith by the U.S. government, as ex-CIA analyst Ray…
Phasing Out Sanctions Bedevil Iran Talks
The nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) headed into extra time with a major sticking point still the issue of how and when to phase out the economic…
Constitution, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Obama’s Secrecy Obsession
Exclusive: Though President Obama likes to present himself as a regular guy, he acts like an elitist when he unnecessarily withholds information from the American people. At this critical juncture of his presidency, he might finally take a chance on trusting…
Constitution, Foreign Policy, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Deciphering the Mideast Chaos
Exclusive: The tangle of conflicts in the Middle East is confusing to many Americans who lack some key facts, such as the transformational Israeli-Saudi alliance that is dragging the American people into a sectarian religious war dating back 1,300 years, as…
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Intelligence, Media, Obama Administration, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Letting a Warmonger Rant
Just as the New York Times promoted fake facts to rationalize invading Iraq, it has just published a deceptive op-ed to justify bombing Iran, the ranting of one of America’s most notorious warmongers, John Bolton, as Lawrence Davidson describes.
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Intelligence, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
NYT Publishes Call to Bomb Iran
Exclusive: The New York Times continues its slide into becoming little more than a neocon propaganda sheet as it followed the Washington Post in publishing an op-ed advocating the unprovoked bombing of Iran, reports Robert Parry.
Trusting High-Tech Weapons of War
The U.S. military insists its drones and other high-tech gadgets can kill “bad guys” with an unmatched precision. But these assassination weapons may just be the latest example of putting too much faith in the murderous technology of war, as Andrew Cockburn explains in a…