On President Obama’s second full day in office, he promised to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, but then encountered fierce resistance from Congress, leading to a humiliating retreat underscored now by the prison’s tenth anniversary — and by renewed worldwide…
Tag: Barack Obama
Sarkozy Pushes Tax on Stock Trading
As Wall Street bankers and hedge funds deploy powerful computers in “high-frequency trading” siphoning off capital meant for productive purposes one counter-measure would be a “financial transaction tax” to discourage the practice and raise needed revenue, a plan gaining traction in…
Fleecing the Angry Whites
Exclusive: Subtly and not so subtly, Republican presidential contenders are playing the race card again, hoping to win over the votes of angry whites by implicitly blaming the shrinking of the middle-class on preferential treatment of blacks and other minorities,…
Occupying Fears About Iran
In an election year, as many U.S. politicians compete to out-macho one another over fighting a new war with Iran, there is little self-reflection on whether the American side bears its own share of guilt in this troubled bilateral relationship, as…
Keeping American Hands Off Iraq
After years of American-led sanctions followed by a U.S. invasion and long occupation, Iraq is a shattered society with sectarian tensions again on the rise, but the Independent Institute’s Ivan Eland says the United States should resist the impulse to…
A Betrayal of the Founders
Exclusive: Though voicing “serious reservations” about encroachments on civil liberties in a military authorization bill, President Obama signed the law anyway to avoid a nasty veto fight with Congress. But ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern says courage, not timidity, is what’s…
Avoiding Another Long War
Exaggerated coverage of a dubious report by the International Atomic Energy Agency about Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program has spurred a rush toward a new war in the Middle East, but ex-U.S. intelligence officials urge President Obama to resist the pressures…
Obama Resists Israeli Pressure on Iran
With the Republican presidential nominee likely to favor war with Iran and Congress seeking to cripple Iran’s economy, Israel is well positioned to pressure President Obama into backing its threatened bombing campaign of Iran’s alleged nuclear sites, Gareth Porter wrote for Inter Press…
Keeping Iran from Saying Yes
The current U.S.-Iran confrontation has the look of inevitably leading to war, much like the one-way ratcheting of pressure on Iraq a decade ago. Whatever concessions Iran is likely to make are almost certain not to satisfy the West, as…
Cables Hold Clues to U.S.-Iran Mysteries
From the Archive: As the West’s confrontation with Iran grows more dangerous and major U.S. news outlets blame Iran it may be worth recalling the documents that revealed how the U.S. and its allies showed bad faith in talks with Iran about its…