Philip Giraldi

Philip Giraldi, a former CIA officer, is a contributing editor to The American Conservative and executive director of the Council for the National Interest.

Ron Paul Gets One Wrong

One of the refreshing aspects of the Ron Paul revolution has been its willingness to re-examine America’s fractured foreign policy and return to the old principles of national interest and constitutionalism to serve as guidelines for how the nation should behave internationally. Paul has been bold enough to assert that foreign aid, which accomplishes little … Continue reading “Ron Paul Gets One Wrong”

Washington Felons Fret Over Hanky-Panky in Cartagena

Americans are frequently most hypocritical when they are responding to a sex scandal. The tale of the sins and omissions of the Obama secret service team in Colombia is still being revealed, piece by piece. The miscreants constituted a so-called advance team, flying on a military aircraft, which goes into a location where a protected … Continue reading “Washington Felons Fret Over Hanky-Panky in Cartagena”

The Disappearing Terrorists

Night is here but the barbarians have not come. And now what shall become of us without any barbarians? Those people were some kind of solution.– Constantine Cavafy It hardly makes sense to have a global war on terror if there are not that many terrorists  threatening to blow themselves up in Peoria. Terrorism can … Continue reading “The Disappearing Terrorists”

The Babylonian Captivity of Washington

The most troubling prerogative of modern government is the ability of the sovereign or head of state to go to war.  War means death, debt, and, if the decision is a bad one, the very end of civil society and the prevailing political order.  Because war is potentially so terrible, a number of nations have curtailed … Continue reading “The Babylonian Captivity of Washington”

The Islamophobia Excuse

It seems that the Republican presidential aspirants’ fervor to confront Islam has receded a bit with the decline and fall of Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, but one can likely still count on Rick Santorum to come up with some bon mots on the threat posed by Shariah law. Those who fear that hands will … Continue reading “The Islamophobia Excuse”

Good Night, America, and Good-Bye

It is interesting to note just how well this imperialism thing has worked for the American people. At the end of last year the U.S. was kicked out of Iraq after spending some trillions of dollars and producing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Americans. Al-Qaeda, which was not present in Iraq … Continue reading “Good Night, America, and Good-Bye”

The No-Fault March to War

Think about it for a minute. People who passionately want the United States to go to war should have to accept that there will be consequences for themselves personally. This is why the U.S. Constitution mandated that only Congress could vote to go to war, denying the authority to do so to the office of … Continue reading “The No-Fault March to War”

Lobbying for War

There has been considerable discussion of the meaning, or lack thereof, of the apparent difference of opinion between the United States and Israel over both the desirability and the possible timing of going to war with Iran. Those Americans who still revere the Constitution and the advice of the Founding Fathers should rightly be appalled … Continue reading “Lobbying for War”

The MEK’s Useful Idiots

If you are a Muslim American who is appalled by U.S. foreign policy, most specifically its penchant for invading Islamic countries in a bid to change their regimes, and you make the mistake of saying something to that effect on the phone or writing about your concerns in an email, there is a good chance … Continue reading “The MEK’s Useful Idiots”

Corruption and the Citizen, American-Style

I have long nurtured this thoroughly depressing conviction that the United States, far from being a shining city on the hill, has become one of the most corrupt of nations. Why does America have more lawyers than the rest of the world combined? It is because the corruption has been institutionalized at every level of … Continue reading “Corruption and the Citizen, American-Style”