Gareth Porter

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy. The paperback edition of his latest book, Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, was published in 2006.

How Neocon Shi’ite Strategy Led to Sectarian War

The supreme irony of President George W. Bush’s campaign to blame Iran for the sectarian civil war in Iraq, as well as attacks on U.S. forces, is that the Shi’ite militias who started to drive the Sunnis out of the Baghdad area in 2004 and thus precipitated the present sectarian crisis did so with the … Continue reading “How Neocon Shi’ite Strategy Led to Sectarian War”

Israeli Internal Assessments of Iran Belie Threat Rhetoric

When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared last week at the Herzliya conference that Israel could not risk another "existential threat" such as the Holocaust, he was repeating what has become the dominant theme in Israel’s campaign against Iran – that it cannot tolerate an Iran with the technology that could be used to make … Continue reading “Israeli Internal Assessments of Iran Belie Threat Rhetoric”

And Mahdi Army Makes Three Fronts in Iraq

George W. Bush’s State of the Union address appears to confirm other recent indications that the president is not merely sending more troops to Iraq to do more of the same, but has adopted a new strategy of fighting all three major Iraqi Arab political-military forces simultaneously. Bush hinted strongly that he has decided to … Continue reading “And Mahdi Army Makes Three Fronts in Iraq”

Despite Charges, No Evidence Iran Sending IEDs to Iraq

For 18 months now, the George W. Bush administration has periodically raised the charge that Iran is supplying anti-coalition forces in Iraq with arms. But in the past, high administration officials have always admitted that they have no real evidence to support it. Now, they are going further. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters … Continue reading “Despite Charges, No Evidence Iran Sending IEDs to Iraq”

Bush’s New Iran Policy: War Plan or Propaganda?

President George W. Bush’s seemingly aggressive Iran policy of taking direct action against alleged Iranian "networks" involved in attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, combined with the deployment of a second carrier group off Iran’s coast, triggered speculation that it is related to a plan for an attack. But the revelation by Secretary of State … Continue reading “Bush’s New Iran Policy: War Plan or Propaganda?”

Bush Iraq Policy Murky on the Real Enemy

This year saw the emergence of a sectarian civil war in Iraq and much more open Sunni-Shi’ite conflict in the Middle East. Sunni regimes in the region expressed acute anxiety both about the possibility of the Sunni-Shi’ite civil war in Iraq spreading to their own countries and about the growth of Iranian influence. In that … Continue reading “Bush Iraq Policy Murky on the Real Enemy”

Sunni Groups: US Weighed Offer to ‘Clean Up’ Militias

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad negotiated with Sunni armed groups for several weeks earlier this year on an agreement that would have supported Sunni forces in attacking pro-Iranian Shi’ite militias, according to accounts given by commanders of armed Sunni resistance organizations. The revelations of the intensive U.S.-Sunni negotiations, reported by Hala Jaber in the Sunday Times … Continue reading “Sunni Groups: US Weighed Offer to ‘Clean Up’ Militias”

Rice’s Iran Strategy Fizzles, Cheney Waits in Wings

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s months-long diplomatic effort to get five other powers to agree to a tough United Nations Security Council resolution on sanctions against Iran now seems certain to fail, because of Russian and Chinese resistance. The beneficiaries of that failure in Washington will be Vice President Dick Cheney and other hardliners, … Continue reading “Rice’s Iran Strategy Fizzles, Cheney Waits in Wings”

Argentine Report Casts Doubt on Iran Role in ’94 Bomb

The report by Argentine prosecutors in support of the arrest warrants just issued for seven former Iranian officials for the 1994 terror bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires reveals that Argentina was continuing to provide Iran with low-grade enriched uranium and the two countries were in serious negotiations on broader nuclear cooperation … Continue reading “Argentine Report Casts Doubt on Iran Role in ’94 Bomb”

US Writes Sunni Resistance Out of Anbar Story

Are the Sunni leaders in Iraq’s Anbar province finally coming around to joining the U.S. counterinsurgency war? That’s how the New York Times portrayed the situation last week. In an article published Sept. 18, Times reporters quoted a Sunni tribal leader in Anbar as saying that 25 of 31 tribes in the province had banded … Continue reading “US Writes Sunni Resistance Out of Anbar Story”