Philip Giraldi

The Washington Post is apparently losing lots of money and may close in the foreseeable future, barring a deus ex machina intervention by some foreign billionaire such as saved the New York Times. While the decline of newspapers worldwide is regrettable, the Post‘s troubles are really good news, and bankruptcy would be a richly deserved … Continue reading “Washington Post Shows Its Hand”

The past eight years have been so catastrophic for the United States that it is sometimes difficult to put things in perspective, but certain patterns do emerge. Starting in the summer of 2007, when Iraq was still in total chaos, Gen. Ray "Greater Than Napoleon" Odierno gave a series of press conferences in which he … Continue reading “A Convenient Scapegoat”

It is time to put an end to fortress America and force Jack Bauer to retire. President Barack Obama is reportedly reviewing America’s involvement in various conflicts overseas as well as its domestic defenses. He would be well advised to make the review a thorough one, starting at zero and challenging every assumption being made … Continue reading “Radical Rethink Needed in Washington”

Rendition is an established legal procedure whereby a country returns an individual to his country of origin or where he has previously resided. It has been used in immigration cases, to remove felons who are not native born, and in the extradition process whereby a suspect is returned to face trial. But one of the … Continue reading “Renounce Extraordinary Rendition”

The Israeli invasion of Gaza and the slaughter of civilians was such an egregious error in judgment that the usual suspects are working overtime to make it all look like a heroic defense of democratic values. The expected beneficiary of the "defensive action," the ruling Kadima Party, so miscalculated that it is now likely to … Continue reading “Talking Turkey About Israel”

President Barack Obama is to be commended for his planned closure of Guantanamo and covert CIA prisons as well as his instructions that no United States agency will exceed the U.S. military’s guidelines on interrogation, but he does not go far enough. Transparency and accountability are necessary to clear the air over the issue of … Continue reading “Put Torture on Trial”

The Israeli propaganda machine has called up its allies in the media and Congress to make sure that no one will condemn the invasion of Gaza, which has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians, most of them civilians and many of them children. The pictures of small bodies lined up to be buried are convincing … Continue reading “Pure Propaganda From the Papers of Record”

The neoconservatives are drifting back into the Democratic Party fold from whence they came, attempting to limit the terms of the discourse on foreign and security policy so there will be no surprises from the new administration. Media neocons like Bill Kristol and David Brooks are jumping on the Hillary bandwagon, convinced that she will, … Continue reading “Neocons, NYT Demand More War, Torture”

The powerful Israel Lobby, with its support of the Iraq war and its insistence that Iran be denuclearized, by force if necessary, is a major constituent of the War Party in the United States. Some Americans who wish to remake the Middle East also believe that supporting Israel includes providing its government with U.S. defense … Continue reading “Israel’s ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ Card”

Either way, we’ll be leaving. Thanksgiving week was remarkable because it may have witnessed the last nails being driven into the coffin of America’s ongoing colonial enterprise. On Tuesday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai angrily denounced the creation of a parallel carpetbagger government to be run by the United States and NATO in his country. He … Continue reading “Get Out Now,
or Get Out Later”