Cambodia’s Prince Sihanouk was one of the Vietnam War era’s most fascinating characters, a mass of personal contradictions who mastered political opportunism. He finally passed from the global scene this month, as Michael Winship recalls Sihanouk’s remarkable life.
Weighing Foreign Policy Choices
Monday’s presidential debate offered a startling case of President Obama defending his first-term foreign policy and challenger Mitt Romney abandoning many of his harsh criticisms of the incumbent. But ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar suggests some common-sense ways for Americans…
‘Moderate Mitt’: Neocon Trojan Horse
Exclusive: Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney did all he could in Monday’s debate to calm voters’ fears that he would revert to George W. Bush’s neocon foreign policy. But there was one telling slip-up when Romney signaled that his heart remains…
Romney’s Shape-Shifting Foreign Policy
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has charted a novel course through Campaign 2012, shape-shifting his positions endlessly on domestic and now foreign policies. In Monday night’s global affairs debate, Romney exchanged his neocon garb for a new cloak of moderation,…
Stumbling into Disastrous Wars
The pundits say America’s economic angst will trump worries about war in the Nov. 6 election. However, as Americans learned a decade ago, careless foreign policies can have disastrous consequences, a lesson that ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar also traces…
Shipping Arms to Potential Terrorists
The idea of arming a favored side in a civil war has become popular among U.S. policymakers chastened by the disastrous Iraq War, but there are grave dangers in that approach, too, especially the uncertainty of who might get the…
The October Surprise Mysteries
With hopes brightening that President Obama is close to a negotiated settlement of the Iran nuclear dispute, Mitt Romney’s campaign is eager to counter any positive news. The moment is reminiscent of past October Surprise moments, says Robert Parry in…
US Election Threatens Iran Nuke Deal
The prospect for a peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear dispute is now within sight amid various reports that Iran is ready to make concessions to President Obama. But the U.S. election remains an obstacle with Republicans attacking the very idea…
Dry Well of the Benghazi ‘Cover-up’
Mitt Romney and the right-wing media keep drilling ever deeper in hopes of striking a political gusher from the deaths of four U.S. diplomats in Libya last month. But the desperate search for a “cover-up” continues to come up empty, writes William Boardman.
Introduction to Parry’s New Book
Robert Parry’s new book, America’s Stolen Narrative, is now available for sale, in print or electronically (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com). The book’s introduction explains why the theft of key chapters of America’s historical narrative, from the Founding to Barack Obama’s presidency, have…
Lining Up Romney’s Votes
America’s concentration of wealth at the top has been accompanied by a bolder assertion of political power by the plutocrats, not just in the proliferation of unrestrained Super PACs but also in demanding support for Mitt Romney by employees, note Bill…
The Danger of Wealth at the Top
For years, Mitt Romney has advocated tax breaks tilted toward the rich in a classic “supply-side” strategy, but is now trying to obscure that position. His shift comes as even conservative economists say the concentration of wealth at the top is hurting…
‘America’s Stolen Narrative’
From Journalist Robert Parry: When my new book, America’s Stolen Narrative, returns from the printers in the next few days, I am setting aside the first 250 copies as part of a critical fundraiser to keep Consortiumnews.com afloat.
Who’s the Real ‘Savage’?
Islamophobes, including some involved in the ugly protests over an Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, are now taking their case against the “savage” to billboards, urging greater U.S. support for Israel. But this message is designed to justify ethnic…
Ellsberg Warns of a Romney Victory
Many American progressives are angry with President Obama for his actions, including expanding the Afghan War and his drone assassinations. Some vow to not vote or to vote for a minor-party candidate. But Vietnam-era whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg warns of the…
Mitt Romney’s ‘Perry Mason’ Moment
Exclusive: Mitt Romney thought he had President Obama set up for the fall, like TV lawyer Perry Mason boring in on a suspect. He called out Obama on his claim to have termed the Benghazi attack “an act of terror.” But…
The Arms Dilemma in Syria
Much of Official Washington is clamoring for President Obama to arm the Syrian rebels, but the civil war in Syria is reminiscent of the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan in which the Reagan administration ended up helping hard-line Islamists who then…
Iran and West Inch toward Nuke Deal
The outline for a resolution of the Iranian nuclear dispute is coming into focus, perhaps only waiting for the U.S. presidential election to be decided. But suspicions between Iran and the West continue to beset the slow progress toward a resolution,…
How Romney Harms the Middle Class
When seeking the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney promised to keep the Bush tax cuts and tack on a 20 percent across-the-board tax cut. Now, he struggles to explain how that would work, but even the status quo has helped the rich…
Europe Blocks Iranian News
Amid stepped-up sanctions against Iran, European authorities are cutting off access to Europe’s satellites for Iran’s PressTV and other stations, thus preventing Europeans from hearing Iran’s point of view. Danny Schechter sees the move as a hypocritical assault on free…