The U.S. rush to build a giant arsenal of nuclear weapons during the Cold War created an environmental disaster at Hanford in Washington State along the Columbia River. Clean-up costs are staggering and radioactive sludge threatens to contaminate the region’s…
Intelligence, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, October Surprise, Politics, Right Wing, Secrecy
‘October Surprise’ and ‘Argo’
Exclusive: Iran’s ex-President Bani-Sadr, in criticizing inaccurate history in “Argo,” says most Iranian officials wanted a quick end to the 1980 U.S.-Iranian hostage crisis, but Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign struck a deal with Ayatollah Khomeini to delay the hostages’ release, reports Robert Parry.
Recalling the Fight for Indian Rights
The genocide against Native Americans remains one of the worst blots on the collective U.S. conscience, but the crime was widely ignored until four decades ago when a movement of Indian activists returned to the historic massacre site at Wounded…
Can Christians Turn Away from War?
Despite originating in Jesus’s messages of peace, Christianity has been arguably the world’s most violent religion with its adherents committing genocide on all continents except unpopulated Antarctica. Again and again, Christian churches have blessed warfare, but a new generation is…
Risky Wishful Thinking on Iran
Even as the Obama administration inches toward a compromise with Iran over its nuclear program, U.S. officials keep up the tough talk to appease Official Washington’s hardliners. But wishful thinking about Iran’s vulnerabilities could raise the risk of conflict, say…
Dangerous ‘State Sovereignty’ Myth
Exclusive: In the U.S. system, the “supreme law” of the land is set by the Constitution and the federal government, though states, counties and cities have wide discretion over local matters. But problems arise when right-wingers start espousing the notion of “state…
Breeding Anti-US Suspicions
When U.S. policymakers throw their weight around internationally, they may think their actions are justified and perhaps in a narrow sense some are but the U.S. also building up a reservoir of resentment and suspicion that hurts American interests in the long…
Financial Crisis at Consortiumnews
From Editor Robert Parry: After paying our writers for their original work last month, Consortiumnews is down to two-weeks-worth of money in its bank account. If you agree that this experiment in independent investigative journalism is important, please contribute what…
Consortiumnews.com, Lost History, October Surprise, Politics, Right Wing, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
Free Shipping on Parry’s Books
We are again offering free shipping on Robert Parry’s books sold through the Consortiumnews Web site. Plus a percentage of your order will go to help support the site’s investigative journalism during its 18th year of operation.
Establishment Foreign Policy Complaints
Establishment foreign policy writers Vali Nasr and David Ignatius have criticized President Obama for not listening more to supposed experts on world affairs — and concentrating decision-making in the White House but some of those experts have suffered from their…
‘Talking Points’ for Hagel on Iran
Some neocons hope they softened up new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during his bruising confirmation fight. But ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern suggests in these proposed “talking points” that Hagel stick to his principled reputation as someone who tells it like…
Inviting a Return to Jim Crow Racism
After the Civil War, Reconstruction tried to suppress white racism but was aborted prematurely leading to a near century of Jim Crow segregation in the South. Now, five right-wingers on the U.S. Supreme Court are contemplating a replay by stabbing…
Does John Brennan Know Morality?
Sen. Barbara Mikulski and other defenders of CIA Director-nominee John Brennan say they are reassured by his Jesuit education at Fordham that he must be well-grounded in moral philosophy. But two Fordham alumni, Scott McDonald and Ray McGovern, disagree in…
Intelligence, Lost History, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, Secrecy, The Bush-43 Administration
What Has US Militarism Wrought?
Exclusive: A half century ago, President Eisenhower warned the American people about the “unwarranted influence” of a Military-Industrial Complex, but that influence still managed to pervade U.S. politics and policies. In a new book, ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman takes…
The NRA’s War on America
The NRA’s rejection of virtually all gun-safety proposals is not only a repudiation of common sense but a bare-knuckle assertion of right-wing power, money and propaganda over the desire of most Americans to better protect themselves and their kids from…
Constitution, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
An Unheeded Warning on Iraq War
A decade ago, with neocons at the policy controls, the U.S. government was hell-bent on invading Iraq and few Washington power figures were brave enough to get in the way. A direct appeal to FBI Director Robert Mueller was one example…
Constitution, Human Rights, Lost History, Media, Obama Administration, Politics, Right Wing, The Bush-43 Administration
Perverting the Constitution for Power
Exclusive: The U.S. Supreme Court’s right-wingers are making bizarre arguments for gutting the Voting Rights Act, suggesting their real goal is to allow more suppression of minority voters and thus elect a Republican president who will keep the right-wingers as the Court’s majority, writes Robert Parry.
The Catholic Church’s Lost Hope
A half century ago, the Catholic Church had a chance for reform in the Second Vatican Council, with a young advocate in Joseph Ratzinger. But reactionary popes shunted reform aside, with Ratzinger later joining them as Pope Benedict XVI. That lost hope has put…
Seepage from an Aging Nuclear Site
The nuclear industry hasn’t solved the long-term problem of what to do with nuclear waste, which presents a uniquely dangerous environmental threat. That danger is now highlighted by leakage at one of the oldest nuclear sites in the world, Washington State’s Hanford…
Mystery of a ‘Disgraced’ War Reporter
From the Archive: The saying goes: “truth is the first casualty of war.” But it’s also true that war-time truth-tellers often end up as “collateral damage.” A new book, Inappropriate Conduct, tells the story of a World War II correspondent whose…