From Editor Robert Parry: A key element in our financing of Consortiumnews.com is the sale of my books, even at reduced prices. For instance, you can get the three-book set Secrecy & Privilege, Neck Deep and America’s Stolen Narrative at the…
In Case You Missed…
Some of our special stories in January focused on the NSA surveillance scandal, the back story of Robert Gates’s new memoir, the Right’s continued assault on democracy, and the collapse of accusations against Syria and Libya.
Complicating Iran Nuke Talks
Under pressure from the Israel Lobby, U.S. negotiators are injecting Iran’s missile program into negotiations aimed at constraining Iran’s nuclear program, a move that further complicates — and could endanger — the complex talks, Gareth Porter reports for Inter Press Service.
Constitution, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, The Bush-43 Administration
Standing Up to War and Hillary Clinton
From the Archive: Ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern has filed suit over an incident three years ago when he was roughly arrested for standing, back turned to Secretary of State Clinton as she gave a speech on the right to dissent. McGovern also was placed on…
Oklahoma as the Vanguard of the Right
Exclusive: As Tea Party and Evangelical right-wingers consolidate control over Republican “red states,” the GOP is dividing into something like two political parties, pitting the very conservative against the very, very conservative, as Richard L. Fricker observes in Oklahoma.
Amazon’s Marriage to the CIA
A fear about the U.S. “surveillance state” has been that it might merge with private tech companies that already collect vast amounts of data on private citizens, a nightmarish scenario that has become more plausible with Amazon’s collaboration with the CIA, writes Norman…
Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Hillary Clinton’s Unlearned Lessons
Exclusive: The Democrats sound self-satisfied that there is so little internal opposition to Hillary Clinton for President, but this rush to a coronation is ignoring questions about her judgment as a New York Senator and Secretary of State — and…
Treating Netanyahu Like Winston Churchill
When Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed Congress for his second time in 2011, both parties competed in jumping up and down to applaud. Now, Netanyahu’s fans want him back a third time, an honor only bestowed on Great Britain’s Winston Churchill, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul…
How GOP Sabotaged a Union Vote
The defeated unionization vote at a VW plant in Tennessee marked a new right-wing tactic, with state Republicans weighing in with threats of retaliation if the workers joined the UAW, a shocking strategy that drew little criticism from the mainstream…
Iran Nuke Deal Must Have Balance
As President Obama tries diplomacy on Syria and Iran, an urgent question is whether Official Washington’s hardliners will tolerate the kinds of concessions that will be necessary. For instance, a deal on Iran’s nuclear program will have to be balanced,…
Constitution, Environment, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, October Surprise, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
The Best and Worst US Presidents
Special Report: From the start of the Republic, some U.S. presidents favored government activism to address the nation’s problems, while others let the states do what they wanted and business tycoons have their way, a distinction that Robert Parry says can define the best and…
Trying to Sink Iran Nuke Deal
Official Washington’s neocons, who never wanted deals with Iran or Syria to succeed, are having a field day attacking the difficult negotiations and doing everything possible to make them fail. The new front in this offensive will be Iran and…
Cuba Inches Toward New Future
Exclusive: The half-century-old U.S. embargo on Cuba is a relic of the Cold War and a stunning example of American hypocrisy given U.S. trade with China. But even those old walls are finally cracking with Cuban economic reform and U.S. companies…
Waiting to Launch Armageddon
The post-Cold War boredom among Air Force personnel assigned the task of endlessly waiting for the order to launch nuclear weapons has become a new destabilizing element in the risk of an accidental Armageddon, one that can only be addressed…
Does Nixon’s ‘Treason’ Boost LBJ’s Legacy?
Exclusive: The Vietnam War has doomed President Lyndon Johnson to a lowly status among presidents, overshadowing his domestic successes. But LBJ’s ranking might change if the new evidence on Richard Nixon sabotaging LBJ’s Vietnam peace talks were factored in, writes Robert Parry.
Syria at the Edge of ‘Shock Doctrine’
Disappointed that President Obama didn’t bomb Syria last year, the neocons and other war hawks are using the frustrations over initial peace talks in Geneva to ratchet up pressure for a “humanitarian” military assault now, as Rob Prince explains.
Does the Media Hate the Poor?
At a moment in history of unparalleled human wealth, the world confronts unprecedented poverty and even sharp declines in the middle classes of Western countries. But status-quo thinking by elites, including the U.S. media, obstruct solutions, says Danny Schechter.
Constitution, Human Rights, Intelligence, Obama Administration, Politics, The Bush-43 Administration
Reining in the Drones
Key aspects of George W. Bush’s post-9/11 “war on terror” are finally winding down: U.S. troops have left Iraq and are leaving Afghanistan, but the troubling issue of lethal drones remains and it is time for Congress to set new…
Obama Deflects Neocon Pressure on Syria
Exclusive: Despite the angry tone, the Syrian peace talks have made some slight progress, at least in that President Obama and the opposition have backed away from making President Assad’s removal a precondition for negotiations, but the neocons still want U.S.…
The Dangers of Stereotyping
Ignorance in the form of stereotyping people from other parts of the world can have unpredictable consequences, sometimes leading to mass suffering that a more enlightened view might have avoided, as Lawrence Davidson reflects.