Coleen Rowley

Coleen Rowley, a FBI special agent for almost 24 years, was legal counsel to the FBI Field Office in Minneapolis from 1990 to 2003. She wrote a “whistleblower” memo in May 2002 and testified to the Senate Judiciary on some of the FBI’s pre-9/11 failures. She retired at the end of 2004, and now writes and speaks on ethical decision-making and balancing civil liberties with the need for effective investigation.

Russia-gate’s Mythical ‘Heroes’

Mainstream commentators display amnesia when they describe former FBI Directors Robert Mueller and James Comey as stellar and credible law enforcement figures. Perhaps if they included J. Edgar Hoover, such fulsome praise could be put into proper perspective. Although these Hoover successors, now occupying center stage in the investigation of President Trump, have been hailed … Continue reading “Russia-gate’s Mythical ‘Heroes’”

Behind FBI’s Data-Access Fight with Apple

Knowing even a little of James Comey’s post 9/11 background, it becomes rather hard to believe the FBI Director is sincerely leveling with the American public in his latest quest to compel Apple (and other encrypted communication companies) to create a mechanism for government access, that he is solely motivated by his desire to “look … Continue reading “Behind FBI’s Data-Access Fight with Apple”

Standing Up in the Spirit of America’s First Whistleblower Benjamin Franklin!

Our recent “Stand Up for Truth” whirlwind speaking tour through London, Oslo (see here and here), Stockholm and Berlin last week as well as webinars, visual presentations and speaking events in U.S. cities was exhausting but quite successful. Truth has always been a difficult and often frustrating business, especially when that old story line tends … Continue reading “Standing Up in the Spirit of America’s First Whistleblower Benjamin Franklin!”

Legality of Drone Warfare or Illegality of Drone Assassination?

Law professor Harold Koh, a former Yale Law School Dean and former Legal Adviser to Hillary Clinton’s State Department, hired by NYU to teach human rights and international law, recently found himself in the crosshairs when NYU law students posted a “statement of no confidence” in him based on the prior actions he undertook to … Continue reading “Legality of Drone Warfare or Illegality of Drone Assassination?”

Calls for US Military Intervention in Syria Re-surfacing

On February 15 at FPIF Focal Points, Rob Prince wrote, “At a moment when the only viable path open to resolving the Syrian conflict lies in a negotiated settlement between the Assad government and the legitimate opposition, two colleagues at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies, Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel of … Continue reading “Calls for US Military Intervention in Syria Re-surfacing”

Chechen Terrorists and the Neocons

I almost choked on my coffee listening to neoconservative Rudy Giuliani pompously claim on national TV that he was surprised about any Chechens being responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings because he’s never seen any indication that Chechen extremists harbored animosity toward the U.S.; Guiliani thought they were only focused on Russia. Giuliani knows full … Continue reading “Chechen Terrorists and the Neocons”

‘Our (New) Terrorists’ the MEK: Have We Seen This Movie Before?

Yes, and what kind of mind-boggling corruption — of the worst kind — influence peddling by a “foreign power” (as defined by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to include foreign terrorist groups) — lies hidden behind the curtain? Could some members of the MEK “foreign terrorist organization,” their murderous history magically erased, be sent … Continue reading “‘Our (New) Terrorists’ the MEK: Have We Seen This Movie Before?”

Time to ‘Speak Out, Not Hold Your Peace’ About the Kellogg-Briand Pact Outlawing War

On July 28th 2012, Michael Wali, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed entered the Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tennessee in the pre-dawn hours by cutting a fence. They hoisted banners, spray painted messages, and poured their blood on the nation’s only storage facility for weapons grade highly enriched uranium. They were arrested and … Continue reading “Time to ‘Speak Out, Not Hold Your Peace’ About the Kellogg-Briand Pact Outlawing War”

Amnesty’s Shilling for US Wars

The new Executive Director of Amnesty International USA – Suzanne Nossel – is a recent U.S. government insider. So it’s a safe bet that AI’s decision to seize upon a topic that dovetailed with American foreign policy interests, "women’s rights in Afghanistan," at the NATO Conference last month in Chicago came directly from her. Nossel was … Continue reading “Amnesty’s Shilling for US Wars”