Ray McGovern

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. In the Sixties he served as an infantry/intelligence officer and then became a CIA analyst for the next 27 years. He is on the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

Can WikiLeaks Help Save Lives?

If independent-minded Web sites, like WikiLeaks or, say, ConsortiumNews.com, existed 43 years ago, I might have risen to the occasion and helped save the lives of some 25,000 U.S. soldiers, and a million Vietnamese, by exposing the lies contained in just one SECRET/EYES ONLY cable from Saigon. I need to speak out now because I … Continue reading “Can WikiLeaks Help Save Lives?”

Lancing the Boil

Author’s note: These brief remarks were given at the rally for Bradley Manning Aug. 8 in Quantico, where he is imprisoned. The rally was sponsored by Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and the Courage to Resist. We are living in a liminal time, that is to say we live on the threshold. So much that … Continue reading “Lancing the Boil”

A Warning to the President

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: War With Iran We write to alert you to the likelihood that Israel will attack Iran as early as this month. This would likely lead to a wider war. Israel’s leaders would calculate that once the battle is joined, it will be politically … Continue reading “A Warning to the President”

Afghan War Leaks Expose Costly, Deceitful March of Folly

The brutality and fecklessness of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan have been laid bare in an indisputable way just days before the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on whether to throw $33.5 billion more into the Afghan quagmire, when that money is badly needed at home. On Sunday, the Web site WikiLeaks posted … Continue reading “Afghan War Leaks Expose Costly, Deceitful March of Folly”

Terror’s Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone

A recent exposé in the Washington Post shows that if you have a security clearance and are comfortable being part of a lucrative "self-licking ice cream cone" — a process that offers few if any benefits while perpetuating its own existence — then the "war on terror" is definitely for you! The conclusion that the Long War … Continue reading “Terror’s Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone”

Iranian Scientist Would Not Play ‘Curveball’

Useful insights often must be seen through a glass darkly. But some can be pulled through the smoke and mirrors shrouding the wanderings of Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri, who is now back home in Iran after 14 months in the U.S. as guest of the CIA. The confusing/amusing spin applied by both countries to L’ … Continue reading “Iranian Scientist Would Not Play ‘Curveball’”

Obama’s Timidity and Deaths at Sea

A chief lesson to learn from President Barack Obama’s recent unwillingness to stand up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Lobby is that such timidity can get people killed. Casualty figures are still arriving in the wake of Israel’s Sunday night-Monday morning commando attack on an unarmed flotilla trying to bring relief … Continue reading “Obama’s Timidity and Deaths at Sea”

Memo to Congressman David Obey

MEMORANDUM FOR: Congressman David Obey  FROM:    A Former Admirer  SUBJECT:    Ducking the Challenge  "We can sit, frozen in our own indifference, as President Roosevelt once said…" That’s what you said yesterday in connection with saving teachers’ jobs. Sadly, it also applies — in spades — to saving lives in an unnecessary war.  It is amazing how … Continue reading “Memo to Congressman David Obey”