Monday, July 31, 2017
Shielding Israel from Popular Outrage
A bipartisan bill in Congress seeks to criminalize boycotts of Israel with fines and imprisonment, as the so-called BDS movement passes its twelfth birthday, notes Lawrence Davidson. By Lawrence Davidson As of this July, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)…
Oliver Stone Defends His Putin Interviews
Director Oliver Stone saw his four-part interviews with Russian President Putin as a way to give Americans a better understanding of a leader who has been demonized in the mainstream media, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein Not…
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Can Trump Find the ‘Great’ Path?
Exclusive: After a half year in office, President Trump is stumbling toward a “reality TV” irrelevance or worse, but a narrow path remains to make a historically important contribution to the nation, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry On June…
Saturday, July 29, 2017
How Obama Fell into the Syrian Trap
President Trump reportedly has pulled the plug on the CIA’s ill-fated covert arming of Syrian rebels, causing consternation among the U.S. foreign policy establishment, Gareth Porter reported for The American Conservative. By Gareth Porter Last week, a Trump administration official…
Jerry Meldon’s Passion for History
Jerry Meldon, a Tufts University professor who was one of our first writers at Consortiumnews and a great friend, drowned while swimming in a lake in North Carolina on July 18. He was 69. Though an associate professor of chemical…
An Interview with WikiLeaks’ Assange
CIA Director Pompeo says WikiLeaks will be dealt with as a “hostile intelligence” service, raising the stakes in the long-running U.S. government feud with Julian Assange, interviewed by Randy Credico and Dennis J Bernstein. By Randy Credico and Dennis J…
Violence Around the Al-Aqsa Mosque
Tensions around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem eased late this week after Israel removed security infrastructure around the entrance, but earlier violence left four Palestinians and three Israelis dead, as Dennis J Bernstein reported. By Dennis J Bernstein Update: By the…
Friday, July 28, 2017
The Dawn of an Orwellian Future
Exclusive: The U.S. mainstream media continues to spread its own “fake news,” like the falsehood about an intelligence community “consensus” on Russia-gate “hacking,” as algorithms begin to marginalize dissent, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry It seems that The New…
The World’s Shift to Electric Cars
Exclusive: Despite resistance from the oil industry and Team Trump, the transition to electric vehicles is accelerating, with key foreign countries and some U.S. states taking the lead, writes Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall Even as the Trump administration scrubs…
How the ‘Center’ Is Spinning Apart
There’s the old warning that at times the “center cannot hold,” but today’s “center” appears to be self-destructing, creating unnecessary crises and conflicts that worsen the world’s predicament, notes ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke. By Alastair Crooke That “icon” of the…
Thursday, July 27, 2017
PBS’ Anti-Russia Propaganda Series
PBS has joined the anti-Russia propaganda stampede with a five-part documentary series that recycles the false and deceptive claims that have become Official Washington’s dangerous new groupthink, reports Rick Sterling. By Rick Sterling The U.S.-government-supported Public Broadcasting System (PBS) recently…
The U.S. Hypocrisy of ‘Human Rights’
Long before President Trump, the U.S. government had made a mockery of “human rights,” condemning abuses by adversary states but silent when crimes were committed by U.S. agents or U.S. allies, explains Todd E. Pierce. By Todd E. Pierce Secretary…
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Macron’s Maneuvers on the New Cold War
Official Washington’s hawks are blocking President Trump’s desired detente with Russia, but that has opened a path for France’s new President Macron to mediate the New Cold War, Diana Johnstone tells Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein French President…
House GOP Seeks to Curb Yemen War
As national Democrats claim the mantle as the more hawkish party — and President Trump panders to the Saudi-Israeli tandem — House Republicans moved to curb U.S. support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen, Dennis J Bernstein notes. By…
Monday, July 24, 2017
Pitching the ‘Forever War’ in Afghanistan
Exclusive: Rather than rethink U.S. policy in the Mideast, particularly the entangling alliances with Israel and Saudi Arabia, Official Washington pushes schemes to perpetuate the “forever war” in Afghanistan, writes James W Carden. By James W Carden In May, the…
Learning to Love Perpetual War
The transformation of the Democratic Party into the perpetual war party – accelerated by the Russia-gate hysteria – is personified by Rep. Barbara Lee who voted against the “war on terror” resolution in 2001, as Norman Solomon explains. By Norman…
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Intel Vets Challenge ‘Russia Hack’ Evidence
In a memo to President Trump, a group of former U.S. intelligence officers, including NSA specialists, cite new forensic studies to challenge the claim of the key Jan. 6 “assessment” that Russia “hacked” Democratic emails last year. MEMORANDUM FOR: The…
Trump’s Foreign Policy Mishmash
Under fierce attack from the moment of his stunning election, President Trump has failed to pursue a coherent foreign policy as he mixes and matches old-style belligerence with an ad hoc pragmatism, explains Gilbert Doctorow. By Gilbert Doctorow President Trump’s…
The Unending Failure of the Afghan War
Afghanistan has been a disaster for U.S. policymakers since Presidents Carter and Reagan started funding Islamists almost four decades ago and then the U.S. began fighting them post-9/11, a failure that needs ending, says Alon Ben-Meir. By Alon Ben-Meir Sixteen…
The Bloody ‘Liberation’ of Mosul
Official Washington deemed Syria’s defeat of jihadists occupying Aleppo a “war crime” but called the U.S.-backed defeat of ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, a “liberation,” yet it too killed civilians and destroyed an ancient city, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis…
Friday, July 21, 2017
Trump’s Slide into Endless-War Syndrome
Much like President Obama, President Trump was elected as the relative “peace candidate” but – once in office – has veered into Official Washington’s neocon “logic” of endless war, as Ivan Eland describes. By Ivan Eland During his campaign for…
Farmworkers Protest EPA’s Pesticide Ruling
As part of President Trump’s campaign against President Obama’s environmental regulations, Trump’s EPA has rejected a proposed rule banning a brain-damaging pesticide, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein The decision by President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency to rebuff…
The Dream to Destroy Iran-Nuke Accord
With Israel and Saudi Arabia still lusting for war with Iran, President Trump and his disdain for reality about the Iranian nuclear accord have become the key enablers, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains. By Paul R. Pillar Donald…
Holding onto Nuclear Weapons
Despite longstanding promises to work toward nuclear disarmament, the nuclear states continue their hostility toward abandoning these existentially dangerous weapons, Dr. Ira Helfand tells Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein For months now there has been a frustrating hunt…
Thursday, July 20, 2017
How Trump Defines the Future
President Trump has defined the future as a battle between old-style nationalism and neoliberal globalism, a challenge that the West’s elites mock at their own peril, as ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke describes. By Alastair Crooke Europe, the Guardian tells us,…
The Right’s Long War on Media
Exclusive: A danger from the mainstream media’s Russia-gate obsession is that it reinforces a longstanding right-wing meme about a “liberal media” out to get conservatives, as Jonathan Marshall explains. By Jonathan Marshall Never in modern American history has a president…
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
In Case You Missed…
Some of our special stories in June dealt with the seemingly endless Russia-gate frenzy, President Trump’s stumbling debut on the global stage and Oliver Stone’s insightful interviews with Vladimir Putin. “Missing the Real Noriega Story” by Jonathan Marshall, Jun. 1,…
The Price for Criticizing Israel
Israel is well-known for having a potent U.S. lobby that not only influences Congress and the mainstream media but intimidates Americans who dare criticize its policies toward the Palestinians, as Dennis J Bernstein describes. By Dennis J Bernstein There…
Netanyahu Pushes Trump Toward Wider Wars
Exclusive: Russia-gate is empowering Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to strong-arm President Trump into escalating the Syrian war by abandoning a recent cease-fire and challenging Iran and Russia, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry A weakened, even desperate President Donald Trump…
The Lost Liberalism of Netanyahu’s Israel
Under Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel continues to become more and more intolerant both in its treatment of Palestinians and its attitude toward more liberal tendencies in Judaism, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains. By Paul R. Pillar In recent…
Monday, July 17, 2017
The Logic in North Korean ‘Madness’
North Korea’s nuclear deterrent is a logical – not crazy – reaction to U.S. “regime change” wars in Iraq and Libya, two countries attacked after they surrendered their WMD stockpiles, reports retired Col. Ann Wright. By Ann Wright Despite the…
The Paradox of Tolerance/Intolerance
The issue of “tolerance” can be complicated, even paradoxical, such as extending tolerance to intolerance with the possibility that the intolerance will ultimately eliminate tolerance, explains Lawrence Davidson. By Lawrence Davidson In case you haven’t noticed, the United States is…
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Moral Corrosion of Drone Warfare
Exclusive: The U.S. government uses drones to eliminate risk to its soldiers and thus domestic opposition to war, but that heightens the moral imperative to challenge the remote-controlled killings, says ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. By Ray McGovern Required by court…
Russia-gate Report Ignored Iraq-WMD Lessons
The Obama administration’s “assessment” at the center of Russia-gate ignored the lessons of the Iraq-WMD fiasco and may have made the same mistakes, ex-WMD inspector Scott Ritter writes at The American Conservative. By Scott Ritter A January intelligence product has…
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Rex Tillerson’s Trials and Tribulations
President Trump’s meddling hand in the Mideast encouraged the Saudi-Qatari showdown and made Secretary of State Tillerson’s job all the more nettlesome, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R. Pillar Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will stay in…
Friday, July 14, 2017
Neocons Enlist in Anti-Trump #Resistance
Exclusive: The neocons, who have influenced U.S. foreign policy since the 1980s, inflicting grave damage on U.S. interests and the world, are reinventing themselves as soldiers in the anti-Trump #Resistance, writes James W. Carden. By James W. Carden In these…
Rising Budget Stakes for Space Warfare
Exclusive: As a backdrop to the Russia-gate hysteria and the heightened fear of China is a budget war over how much U.S. taxpayer money to pour into space warfare, explains Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall There’s a civil war being…
Thursday, July 13, 2017
How Russia-gate Met the Magnitsky Myth
Exclusive: A documentary debunking the Magnitsky myth, which was an opening salvo in the New Cold War, was largely blocked from viewing in the West but has now become a factor in Russia-gate, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry Near…
Behind Trump’s Trip to Poland
Before visiting many key U.S. allies, including either Mexico or Canada, President Trump traveled to Poland last week, getting a friendly reception from another nationalist politician, President Andrzej Duda, reports Dennis J Bernstein. By Dennis J Bernstein Perhaps the most…
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Ignoring the Human Disaster in Yemen
The West’s protestations about human rights sound hollow when one looks at Yemen where the U.S. and U.K. place profits from arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the carnage those weapons are inflicting, as Alon Ben-Meir explains. By Alon Ben-Meir…
Seeing the Substance in Trump-Putin Meeting
The first meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin achieved potentially life-saving progress on the Syrian crisis, but the U.S. media/political world can’t get past its obsession with Russia-gate, reports Gilbert Doctorow. By Gilbert Doctorow The U.S. mainstream media’s obsessive focus…
Another Attack on Honduran Rights Activist
Defending indigenous and environmental rights in Central America can be a very dangerous undertaking, with an account of a new attack on the daughter of slain Honduran activist Berta Caceres, as Dennis J Bernstein reports. By Dennis J Bernstein Bertha…
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Trump’s Empty Promise on War Savings
Although President Trump promised to avoid unnecessary wars, he still is seeking a major increase in the already gigantic U.S. military budget, a risky contradiction, says Ivan Eland. By Ivan Eland President Donald Trump has always had contradictions in his…
Monday, July 10, 2017
Forgetting the ‘Dirty Dossier’ on Trump
Exclusive: The new Russia-gate furor is over Donald Trump Jr. meeting a Russian who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton, but the Clinton team’s Russian cash-for-trash search against Trump Sr. is all but forgotten, writes Robert Parry. By Robert…
Barbara Lee’s Slam on Trump-Putin Meeting
The Democratic Party’s embrace of the New Cold War and New McCarthyism – to counter President Trump – has spread to Rep. Barbara Lee, a brave voice against the post-9/11 war frenzy, as Norman Solomon notes in an open letter.…
The Enduring Injustice of Palestine
As Israel joins Saudi Arabia in its anti-Iran/anti-Shiite project, the fate of the Palestinians has been pushed down the ranks of Mideast priorities, but the fight against this injustice will not end, says John Pilger. By John Pilger When I…
Trump and the New Mideast Paradox
President Trump got excited over a Saudi-Israeli scheme to combat Iran, but Trump’s cooperation with Russian President Putin on Syria goes in a profoundly different direction, as ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke explains. By Alastair Crooke In the early 1920s, an…
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Ten Problems with Anti-Russian Obsession
Many anti-Trump Americans see the Russia-gate “scandal” as a way to derail Donald Trump, but this political opportunism has fed a dangerous anti-Russian hysteria and led Democrats to ignore why they really lost, says Rick Sterling. By Rick Sterling The…
Saturday, July 8, 2017
The Syrian Test of Trump-Putin Accord
Exclusive: The U.S. mainstream media remains obsessed over Russia’s alleged “meddling” in last fall’s election, but the real test of bilateral cooperation may come on the cease-fire in Syria, writes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. By Ray McGovern The immediate prospect…
Risk of Unleashing ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis
Exclusive: Despite a constructive meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at the G-20, Official Washington’s hawks still hold a strong hand, in part, because Trump has ceded broad power to the military, says David Marks. By David Marks During…
Friday, July 7, 2017
Hiding US Lies About Libyan Invasion
Exclusive: In 2016, when a British parliamentary report demolished the excuse for the U.S. and its allies invading Libya in 2011, it should have been big news, but the U.S. mainstream media looked the other way, reports Joe Lauria. By Joe…
Macron Cracks Down on French Liberty
Exclusive: The youthful new French President Macron is getting rave press reviews, with little attention to his clampdown on public liberty under the guise of fighting terrorism, reports Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall French President Emmanuel Macron — the “great…
Thursday, July 6, 2017
MSM, Still Living in Propaganda-ville
Exclusive: The stakes in U.S.-Russia relations could not be higher – possible nuclear conflagration and the end of civilization – but the U.S. mainstream media is still slouching around in “propaganda-ville,” says Robert Parry. By Robert Parry As much as…
The Democrats’ Russia-gate Obsession
National Democrats are so wedded to the Russia-gate strategy for destroying President Trump politically that they are willing to risk destruction of the planet in a nuclear war, explains Norman Solomon. By Norman Solomon Some leading Democrats in Congress are…
The Fight over Mexican-American Books
Latino-rights activists are challenging Arizona’s ban on school books and courses that provide students with information about Mexican-American history and culture, as Dennis J Bernstein describes. By Dennis J Bernstein Arizona’s resistance to allowing school books and courses that teach…
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Mythical Powers of a Memorial Wall
America, like other countries, surrounds itself with myths about the founding and reasons for wars, all the better to control the population and justify government actions, explains Lawrence Davidson. By Lawrence Davidson Walls (here we mean monolithic structures that are…
Trump Lowers US Standing in the World
President Trump’s ill-informed arrogance has lowered the U.S. standing around the world, according to a new opinion study cited by ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R. Pillar The Pew Research Center released last week the results of one…
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Grim Lessons from a Faraway War
Exclusive: At a key juncture of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Hue shocked Americans with scenes of brutal urban warfare, offering lessons that reverberate to the present, reflects Don North in reviewing a book by Mark Bowden. By Don…
The Price of America’s Endless Wars
Official Washington likes to think of its wars as “humanitarian,” supposedly bringing “democracy” to faraway lands, but the wars really bring death, destruction and despair, says peace activist Kathy Kelly. By Kathy Kelly At a symposium on peace in Nashville,…
Monday, July 3, 2017
Russia-China Tandem Shifts Global Power
Exclusive: Official Washington’s arrogance in trying to push around Russia and China has pushed the two countries together, creating a dangerous new dynamic in international relations, explains ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. By Ray McGovern Top Russian and Chinese leaders are…
The Democratic Party’s Deadly Dead-End
Exclusive: By playing for centrist and neoconservative votes, national Democrats have left the party floundering with no coherent political message and creating a daunting challenge for democracy, says Nicolas J S Davies. By Nicolas J S Davies The most encouraging trend…
Playing Chicken with Nuclear Annihilation
Much of Official Washington wants to escalate the confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia, ignoring the terrifying reality that this game of chicken could end life on the planet, as Norman Solomon observes. By Norman Solomon Any truthful way to say it…
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Foisting Blame for Cyber-hacking on Russia
Exclusive: Cyber-criminal efforts to hack into U.S. government databases are epidemic, but this ugly reality is now being exploited to foist blame on Russia and fuel the New Cold War hysteria, reports Gareth Porter. By Gareth Porter Recent hearings by…
Pursuing Hard Truths in Syria
A U.N. agency says it found sarin in victims of an April 4 attack in Syria, but lack of a plausible weapon and unreliability of pro-rebel witnesses make the pursuit of truth difficult, says WMD expert Scott Ritter at The…
Saturday, July 1, 2017
What Trump Can Expect from Putin
President Trump will have his first meeting with President Putin at a time of dangerous U.S.-Russian tensions, amid demands to “get tough,” but ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern, a former presidential briefer, urges Trump to see Putin’s side. By Ray McGovern…
Trump Takes Aim at Energy R&D Funds
Exclusive: While boasting of his plans for “American energy dominance,” President Trump is slashing key research projects and ceding much of the renewable energy market to China, notes Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall In case you didn’t get the memo,…
How Israeli/Saudi ‘Alliance’ Plays Trump
As novices to the world of Mideast intrigue, President Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner are being led by Israel and Saudi Arabia into a dangerous confrontation with Iran, explains former British diplomat Alastair Crooke. By Alastair Crooke The Israeli web…
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