Exclusive: After decades of mutual suspicions, the U.S. and Iranian governments appear headed toward face-to-face contacts. But mutual trust still awaits truth-telling about important facts that defined the relationship — and that may require breaking a dangerous addiction to secrecy, says Robert Parry.
Tag Archive for Ronald Reagan
Ignoring Bloody Mideast Lessons
The Obama administration appears blind to the history that when U.S. officials have lashed out in anger at Middle East adversaries, the consequences have usually been bad and bloody. The Iraq War is an obvious cautionary tale but so too is Ronald Reagan’s shelling of Lebanon in 1983, as Ann Wright recalls.
A CIA Hand in an American ‘Coup’?
Special Report: The U.S. government decries leaks, but the other side of the story is that key chapters of American history are hidden from the public for decades and maybe forever. The CIA has just admitted its 1953 Iran coup and may never acknowledge a role in ousting Jimmy Carter in 1980, Robert Parry reports.
Reagan’s Road to Climate Perdition
From the Archive: More than a quarter century after President Reagan ordered President Carter’s solar panels removed from the White House roof, new ones are being installed, a belated nod to the foresight of one president and a rebuke to the blindness of another, as Sam Parry explained in 2012.
The Right’s Racism Is Showing
Exclusive: The House Republicans dumping the food stamp program, the continuing GOP assaults on voting rights and the celebrating among some right-wing commentators over the Trayvon Martin murder verdict are indications that white racism is alive and well in the United States, reports Robert Parry.
GOP’s Noble Past, Ignoble Present
Exclusive: These days, when anyone notes the recent Republican history of hostility toward blacks and other minorities, a common retort from the Right is to cite civil rights laws that the GOP enacted way in the past. While that may be true, it has no bearing on judging today’s Republicans, writes Robert Parry.
Ignoring the GOP’s White Racism
Exclusive: Conservative columnist David Brooks can’t understand why right-wing Republicans are so determined to kill immigration reform, especially since the Senate-approved bill would boost the economy and cut the deficit. But Brooks ignores what might be called the white elephant in the room, Robert Parry reports.
The Impending Afghan Defeat
Frustrated over negotiations for a stay-behind force of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, President Obama is now weighing the possibility of a faster withdrawal and a “zero option” on troops going forward. That may signal the belated recognition of twin American defeats in the Afghan and Iraq wars, says Beverly Bandler.
PRISM’s Controversial Forerunner
Using a powerful computer program known as PRISM, the U.S. government has been downloading vast amounts of communications data and mining it for counterterrorism purposes. But these capabilities began more than three decades ago with the controversial PROMIS software, Richard L. Fricker reports.
Fixing US Democracy with Facts
From Editor Robert Parry: In our 18 years, Consortiumnews.com has had one priority: to chart a truthful history of the United States and its role in the world. In doing so, we have examined key chapters of that history so our readers can get an honest and independent assessment of how Americans got to the…