From Watergate to Downing Street

You wouldn’t know it from the media focus on Deep Throat last week, but the lies that Richard Nixon told about the Watergate break-in were part of his standard duplicity for the Vietnam War. It wasn’t just that the Nixon administration engaged in secret illegal actions against a wide range of peace advocates – including … Continue reading “From Watergate to Downing Street”

War Made Easy: From Vietnam to Iraq

On February 27, 1968, I sat in a small room on Capitol Hill. Around a long table, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was in session, taking testimony from an administration official. Most of all, I remember a man with a push-broom moustache and a voice like sandpaper, raspy and urgent. Wayne Morse did not resort … Continue reading “War Made Easy: From Vietnam to Iraq”

Media Silence on Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend brings media rituals. Old Glory flutters on television and newsprint. Grave ceremonies and oratory pay homage to the fallen. Many officials and pundits speak of remembering the dead. But for all the talk of war and remembrance, no time is more infused with insidious forgetting than the last days of May. This … Continue reading “Media Silence on Memorial Day”

The Media and the Madness Of Militarism

Media activism has achieved a lot. But I don’t believe there’s anything to be satisfied with – considering the present-day realities of corporate media and the warfare state. War has become a constant of U.S. foreign policy, and media flackery for the warmakers in Washington is routine – boosting militarism that tilts the country in … Continue reading “The Media and the Madness Of Militarism”

Little Reporting on Paranoia in High Places

Journalists often refer to the Bush administration’s foreign policy as "unilateral" and "preemptive." Liberal pundits like to complain that a "go-it-alone" approach has isolated the United States from former allies. But the standard American media lexicon has steered clear of a word that would be an apt description of the Bush world view. Paranoid. Early … Continue reading “Little Reporting on Paranoia in High Places”

America’s Ready for Withdrawal – but Are Progressives?

President Bush just told reporters that he has no intention of setting any timetable for withdrawal. “Our troops will come home when Iraq is capable of defending herself,” he said. Powerful pundits keep telling us that a swift pullout of U.S. troops would be irresponsible. And plenty of people have bought into that idea – … Continue reading “America’s Ready for Withdrawal – but Are Progressives?”

MoveOn.org Makes Peace With War

Sadly, it has come to this. Two years after the invasion of Iraq, the online powerhouse MoveOn.org – which built most of its member base with a strong antiwar message – is not pushing for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. With a network of more than 3 million "online activists," the MoveOn leadership has … Continue reading “MoveOn.org Makes Peace With War”

The Media on Iraq:
Too Much Stenography, Not Enough Curiosity

Curiosity may occasionally kill a cat. But lack of curiosity is apt to terminate journalism with extreme prejudice. “We will not set an artificial timetable for leaving Iraq, because that would embolden the terrorists and make them believe they can wait us out,” President Bush said in his State of the Union address. “We are … Continue reading “The Media on Iraq:
Too Much Stenography, Not Enough Curiosity”

Nuclear Deception Enters Its 60th Year

Top officials in Washington are now promoting jitters about Iran’s nuclear activities, while media outlets amplify the message. A confrontation with Tehran is on the second-term Bush agenda. So, we’re encouraged to obliquely think about the unthinkable. But no one can get very far trying to comprehend the enormity of nuclear weapons. They’ve shadowed human … Continue reading “Nuclear Deception Enters Its 60th Year”