Tag: Ray McGovern

A Persian Gulf ‘Hot Line’ Proposed

With tensions again rising in the Persian Gulf, an accident or provocation around the narrow Strait of Hormuz could precipitate a war. In this memo for President Obama, 11 former U.S. intelligence officials urge a U.S.-Iranian system for communications —…

Romney Adds to Iran Tensions

Mitt Romney wants American Jewish voters to know he’s ready (if not eager) to back an Israeli preemptive war against Iran. Romney’s recent bellicose comments in Jerusalem add pressure on President Obama to escalate his support for an Israeli strike, too,…

In Case You Missed…

Some of our special stories in June focused on the misguided framing of Campaign 2012, continued misreporting on Iran’s nuclear program, the misunderstood history of Watergate, and mistaken beliefs about human nature.

Will Downing St. Memo Recur on Iran?

Exclusive: A decade after the infamous “Downing Street Memo” and its “fixed” intelligence for invading Iraq, the pressure is on again to make the case whatever the facts for a new war with Iran. Will the UK’s MI6 and the CIA bend…

Harassing the Whistleblowers

Exclusive: Food and Drug Administration officials reacted to suspected whistleblowing by some of its scientists, about excessive radiation from medical imaging devices, by spying on several. But the larger issue is the need to alert the public to  unnecessary risks, writes ex-CIA…

July 14, 2003: A Day of Infamy

From the Archive: July 14 is a French holiday celebrating the 1789 liberation of the Bastille prison in Paris, leading to the overthrow of the monarchy. But there were less auspicious events connected to that date in 2003, during the autocratic…

The Mystery of Arafat’s Death

Exclusive: In 2004, when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat suddenly fell ill and died, suspicions swirled that he might have been poisoned, but no autopsy was performed. Now, nearly eight years later, his death is getting new scrutiny, though ex-CIA analyst…

How Iran Might See the Threats

Exclusive: Hard-headed realism and outside-the-box thinking might be needed to avert another catastrophe in the Middle East, this time an Israeli attack on Iran and the unpredictable consequences. In that light, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern imagines a bleak report that…

In Case You Missed…

Some of our special stories in May focused on the moral ambiguity of killing “terrorists,” the troubling role of religion in fomenting violence, the start of President Obama’s reelection campaign, and correcting historical distortions both old and new.

Julian Assange’s Artful Dodge

Exclusive: Faced with extradition from London to Sweden to face sex-abuse allegations, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy and asked for asylum, what ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern considers an artful dodge to avoid possible U.S. persecution.