Originally posted at TomDispatch. Last year, Secretary of State John Kerry condemned Russia’s pledge to sell advanced antiaircraft weapons to Syria, noting that it would have "a profoundly negative impact on the balance of interests and the stability of the region." And really, who could argue that pouring more weapons into a heavily-armed corner of …
Continue reading “The Folly of Arming Israel”
It’s been one year since former CIA analyst and counterterrorism officer John Kiriakou was sentenced to prison for 30 months, the first American official to do time for the government’s torture policies during the Global War on Terror. This is what whistleblower advocates like to point out – and Kiriakou, 49, strongly believes himself – …
Continue reading “How a CIA Whistleblower Survives Behind Bars”
Any illusions some naïve soul may have had about the objectivity of the US media has been dispelled by their embarrassing performance at the Sochi Olympics: the chorus of whining complaints might as well have been written for them by the US State Department – which, come to think of it, is entirely within the …
Continue reading “Diagnosing Sochi Media Coverage: Virulent Russophobia”
At least 44 people were killed 31 more were wounded across Iraq today. There were reports of fighting from Anbar province. Also, a number of dumped bodies were found.
At least 36 people were killed and 69 more were wounded in fresh attacks. Among the casualties were soldiers wounded in clashes with militants outside of Anbar province.
What exactly is al-Qaeda?Is it a group of committed jihadists previously led by Osama bin Laden? Or it is a “brand?” Is the enemy just the so-called “core” al-Qaeda, or it is now an amorphous conglomerate of affiliates, franchisees and enthusiasts? If “core al-Qaeda” is, as Director of National Intelligence James Clapper just said in …
Continue reading “The al-Qaeda Menace: A Tale of Two Headlines”
At least 32 people were killed and 70 more were wounded in the latest violence. A number of the casualties occurred in Anbar, but the worst single attack took place in Tuz Khormato. Also, a man running for a post in Baghdad was assassinated. Scores of air strikes occurred in Anbar province, while an army …
Continue reading “Candidate Among 32 Killed in Iraq; 70 Others Wounded”
Originally posted at TomDispatch. The question Senator Ron Wyden asked on March 12th of last year was straightforward enough and no surprise for Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. He had been given it a day in advance of his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee and after he was done, Senator Wyden and his …
Continue reading “The Wild West of Surveillance”
“If these negotiations [with Iran] fail, there are two grim alternatives,” said Sen. Richard Durbin, “a nuclear Iran, or war, or perhaps both.” Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham returned from the Munich security conference saying that even John Kerry agrees that President Obama’s Syrian policy has failed. They are urging another look at air …
Continue reading “Staying Out of Other People’s Wars”
For years, this space has been arguing – railing, really – that the ideological and legal currents unleashed by America’s response to the 9/11 attacks have been leading us down the road to dictatorship: see here, here, here, and here. Back in those halcyon days, circa 2007 and much earlier, it was easy to dismiss …
Continue reading “The New Dark Age” 
