Exclusive: Saudi Arabia is wielding its oil weapon by keeping production high and prices low all the better to punish some rivals and consolidate market share but the gambit may come back to bite the House of Saud, as Andrés Cala…
Crime and CIA Embarrassments
Exclusive: Ex-CIA official Jeffrey Sterling is going on trial for espionage because he allegedly told a reporter about a botched covert op that sent flawed nuclear designs to Iran, but powerful people want to spare ex-CIA Director David Petraeus indictment for…
The Sorry Record of a Muslim-Basher
Exclusive: Jumping on the Muslim-bashing bandwagon, Fox News’ commentator Steven Emerson claimed Muslims have seized control of parts of London and all of Birmingham, terrorizing non-Muslims to flee, claims so absurd that even he was forced to back-track, reports Robert…
If a Thank-You Gift Didn’t Arrive…
From Editor Robert Parry: If you donated during our end-of-year fund drive and wanted a thank-you gift that somehow fell through the cracks at our end, please contact me at [email protected] so we can make sure you get your gift or…
Now Eligible for PayPal’s Giving Works
From Editor Robert Parry: At the suggestion of a donor, we have registered with PayPal/eBay’s Giving Works program, which allows you to make contributions to our non-profit journalism site through PayPal more easily and without paying a processing fee.
Twisting the Iran-Nuke Intelligence
Since the Reagan administration broke the back of professionalism at the CIA’s analytical division, U.S. intelligence has regularly been twisted for geopolitical purposes, including the case made over Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program, as Gareth Porter explains.
A Possible Israeli Turning Point
The upcoming Israeli elections mark a possible turning point in the Mideast with more moderate Israelis challenging Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line land grab of Palestinian territory. But Netanyahu’s approach is not the deviation from Israel’s history that some claim, says Lawrence…
Is a Clinton Revival Timed-Out?
There may not be a big demand for 1990s nostalgia, but the 2016 presidential race could offer one more contest involving a Clinton and a Bush. Yet, some Democrats fear Hillary Clinton could ultimately fail because she lacks a vision…
New Trick for Sinking Iran-Nuke Talks
Neocons and other U.S. hardliners, who want to bomb-bomb-bomb Iran, never stop scheming up ways to torpedo a deal that would constrain but not eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, with the latest idea a threat to impose new sanctions if Iran doesn’t capitulate,…
Will France Repeat US Mistakes after 9/11?
Exclusive: As three suspects in the Charlie Hebdo massacre die in a shootout with French police, the cycle of violence that has engulfed the Mideast again reaches into the West, but the challenge is to learn from U.S. mistakes after 9/11 and address…
Constitution, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Obama’s Narrative of Deceits
Though President Obama promised “transparency” and “openness,” he has slipped so far from those goals that some wonder how many sides of his mouth he can speak through. He has surely not broken from the longstanding pattern of presidential deceits…
CIA’s Hidden Hand in ‘Democracy’ Groups
Special Report: Documents from the Reagan presidential library reveal that two major institutions promoting “democracy” and “freedom” — Freedom House and National Endowment for Democracy — worked hand-in-glove, behind-the-scenes, with a CIA propaganda expert in the 1980s, reports Robert Parry.
Resisting a Navy Base on China’s Periphery
The idyllic island of Jeju off the southern tip of South Korea is the unlikely front line in a possible future military confrontation with China — as a major new naval base is constructed there despite determined opposition from peace activists…
The Challenge of Ending Wars
Official Washington’s “tough-guy-ism” the one-upping macho rhetoric about how to respond to foreign crises makes it hard for leaders to avoid wars and perhaps even harder to end wars, a dilemma addressed by ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
NYT Still Pretends No Coup in Ukraine
Exclusive: The New York Times keeps insisting that last year’s Ukrainian coup wasn’t a coup and anyone who thinks so lives inside “the Russian propaganda bubble.” But a slanted Times “investigation” shows that the newspaper remains lost inside the U.S. government’s…
Risen Deflects Queries in Leak-Case Testimony
After years of pressuring New York Times national security correspondent James Risen to testify in the leak or “Espionage Act” case against ex-CIA official Jeffrey Sterling, the prosecutors never directly asked Risen to name Sterling as his source, as Sam…
The Upside-Down Policy on Israel
Despite the collapse of Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects, the Obama administration continues the fiction that any Palestinian appeal to the UN somehow threatens those non-existent talks, while Republicans vow to sync U.S. policies even more in line with Israeli demands, as…
In Defense of a CIA Whistleblower
The mainstream U.S. news media sometimes rallies to the defense of a reporter who is pressured to reveal a source but not so much for the brave whistleblower who is the target of government retaliation. Such is the case for…
Almost to End-of-Year Goal
From Editor Robert Parry: Thanks to the generosity of our readers we have almost reached our end-of-year fundraising goal. We’re less than $4,000 short of the $50,000 target. If you want to help us fill this budget hole
The Political Imperative to Be Reckless
The overarching “strategic” ideology in Official Washington is “tough-guy-ism,” with politicians fearful of being called “weak,” a public-relations threat that drives even cautious leaders into reckless military actions, as occurred with President Obama in the war on the Islamic State, as…