Philip Giraldi

The neoconservatives, who have never been right about anything, have lately suffered more knockdowns than "The Bull of the Pampas," Luis Firpo, did in his first round with Jack Dempsey in 1923, but hopes for their demise as a political force have unfortunately proven to be premature. Part of the problem is that the blog … Continue reading “John McCain and the Neocon Resurgence”

It is perhaps no surprise that the media and chattering class in Israel are following the U.S. presidential nominating process with an intensity not to be seen anywhere else. The interest is somewhat odd, given that no fundamental shift in the U.S.-Israel relationship appears possible. Apart from Ron Paul, who has no chance to be … Continue reading “Ha’aretz Rates the Candidates”

Just as the Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference morphed largely into an exercise in lining up a coalition against Iran, so too is President George W. Bush’s first visit to Israel quickly becoming the latest round of Tehran-bashing. The trip, which was initially framed as an effort to jump-start peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, … Continue reading “US, Iran One Misstep
From the Edge”

Columnist Robert Novak is hardly a neoconservative. He has often been harshly critical of Israel, which would automatically disqualify him from joining that elite group, but he apparently shares the neocon view of the U.S. intelligence community. In a Christmas Eve column called "Subverting Bush at Langley," Novak, sometimes referred to by his critics as … Continue reading “Blaming the CIA Won’t Work”

Over the past six years the Bush administration, aided and abetted by Congress, has trashed what used to be described as American foreign policy. Foreign policy once was shaped around the U.S. national interest, but no longer. Vulnerable key allies such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt are now struggling to deal with the consequences … Continue reading “Turkey: Another Ally Lost”

The turmoil in Pakistan might have one positive result: the need to strengthen the American presence in neighboring Afghanistan could narrow the White House’s options and permanently derail plans to attack Iran. Nevertheless, the likelihood of a war that will be a catastrophe for both belligerents, almost certainly for the entire Middle East, and possibly … Continue reading “A Conservative View of Iran”

Neoconservative godfather Norman Podhoretz has written that "as an American and as a Jew" he prays that President George W. Bush will attack Iran. He rests his case on his belief that 2007 is really 1938, that Iran is Nazi Germany, and that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is Hitler. His most recent book, World War IV: The … Continue reading “Joe Lieberman’s War”

As a CIA officer in Turkey in the 1980s, I once had the misfortune of witnessing a man being tortured by the police. In those days, Istanbul was home to a foreigners’ prison, which has now been converted into a luxury hotel. In the foreigners’ prison anyone who was not a Turkish citizen was automatically … Continue reading “Tortured by Uncle Sam”

As the neoconservatives have been wrong about almost everything in the past six years, it would seem logical to assume that their political demise is imminent. But nothing could be further from the truth: the neocons in government, though admittedly declining in number, continue to be supported by a huge and devoted infrastructure in the … Continue reading “Neocons Acquire Another
Front Group”