Washington Post “fact checker” Glenn Kessler is infamous for palming off his political bias as a dispassionate look at the evidence, a trick that he tried again by promoting a neocon distortion of Iran’s religious renunciation of nuclear weapons, as…
Embracing Israel’s Atrocities
The mainstream U.S. media is in love with a new book by Ari Shavit that acknowledges Israel’s massacre of Palestinians but embraces the atrocities as necessary for the Zionist state’s existence, a moral contradiction that Lawrence Davidson dissects.
Itching for Confrontation with Iran
The neocons along with their allies in Congress and on the Washington Post’s op-ed page remain determined to sabotage a diplomatic rapprochement with Iran, demanding that its leaders be confronted, not engaged, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar notes.
New Evidence of Contra-Cocaine Scandal
Special Report: Since journalist Gary Webb died in 2004, the story that destroyed his life has slowly come into clearer focus, revealing how President Reagan’s beloved Contras really were enmeshed in cocaine trafficking. On this ninth anniversary of Webb’s suicide,…
Deceiving the US Public on Syria
Exclusive: The United States nearly went to war with Syria last summer after a rush to judgment over a mysterious sarin attack. Now, several months later, reporter Seymour Hersh shows how the case was spun, writes Robert Parry.
Does Christmas Obscure Jesus?
The Christmas season celebrates the regal myth of Jesus his supposedly miraculous birth and royal lineage as a king of kings but that loses sight of the historical Jesus and his revolutionary message of justice for the poor and powerless,…
Why Saudi-Israeli Team Hates Iran Deal
The Saudi-Israeli alliance opposes a diplomatic settlement with Iran over its nuclear program because the deal could kill hopes for enlisting the U.S. military in one more violent regime change in the Middle East, as the Independent Institute’s Ivan Eland explains.
Honoring Mandela, Not Reagan
Exclusive: The U.S. government’s relationship with Nelson Mandela was often strained, from the CIA’s hand in his imprisonment to Ronald Reagan’s veto of a sanctions bill aimed at getting him freed, lost history that must now be reconciled, writes Robert…
Economic Blowback from Iran Sanctions
Economic sanctions have notched some successes, like freeing Nelson Mandela and ending South Africa’s apartheid, but other sanctions have lost sight of practical reforms and become destructive ends in themselves, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar notes about Iran.
Constitution, Human Rights, Intelligence, Media, Obama Administration, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Real Journalism v. Big Brother
In theory, pretty much everyone claims to like investigative journalism, even government officials. But the reaction is different when reporters expose troubling facts, especially if they make a favored country or politician look bad. Yet, that is what’s needed, says…
Why We Need Consortiumnews
From Editor Robert Parry: In late August 2013, the United States was poised on the brink of another Mideast war. The facts were murky about a chemical weapons incident in Syria on Aug. 21, but most American pundits and politicians were blaming…
Meaning of the War Over Christmas
From the Archive: The latest Christmas tradition is for Fox News and the Right to work “the base” into a lather over a supposed “War on Christmas,” but there is a larger message in how right-wing propaganda creates “victimhood,” as Robert Parry noted…
Warring Over the ‘War on Christmas’
Despite America’s over-the-top, month-long celebration of baby Jesus topped off with a government holiday ignoring the Constitution’s separation of church and state Fox News and the Right have conjured up a “war on Christmas,” now as much a tradition as eggnog, Nat Parry…
Saudi-Israeli Alliance Boosts Al-Qaeda
Exclusive: Saudi Arabia and Israel see Iran as their worst enemy, but that obsession is allowing al-Qaeda to reassert itself in the Middle East, especially in war-torn Syria, and that could open the West to a new round of terrorist…
Neocons Ignore Real Lessons of Munich
The neocons are working overtime to overturn President Obama’s agreement with Iran to constrain but not eliminate its nuclear program. They are even referencing Munich in what ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar says is some very bad history.
US Shutting Down a Key News Source
Exclusive: The U.S. intelligence community vacuums up vast amounts of data, but it has one agency, World News Connection, that gives back information to the public except that the service is getting shut down at year’s end, notes ex-intelligence analyst Elizabeth Murray.
Two Books with Robbie Conal Cover Art
From Editor Robert Parry: My friendship with Robbie Conal, the brilliant Los Angeles-based poster artist, goes back to his first poster, depicting a skeleton in a suit on a camouflage backdrop over the words “Contra Cocaine,” which Robbie said was…
How Terror War Hurts Cuba Policy
The U.S. list of “terrorist” states has long been a sick joke, most notably by including Cuba (for domestic political reasons) and excluding Saudi Arabia (for financial reasons). Now, the list is undercutting policy goals, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R.…
Contra-Cocaine Was a Real Conspiracy
Exclusive: The 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination saw a mainstream media blackout of nearly all evidence of conspiracy in that case. But New York Magazine went even further, mocking the proven Contra-cocaine scandal as a “conspiracy theory,” Robert Parry writes.
The Neocons Go Nuclear
The neocons are testing their remaining strength in Official Washington by firing off rhetorical bombs against President Obama and his interim agreement with Iran to constrain its nuclear program, including absurd comparisons to Hitler and Munich, writes Lawrence Davidson.