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.

Netanyahu’s Speech and the Politics of Iran Policy

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s acceptance of an invitation to speak to the US Congress on 3 March, two weeks before the Israeli election and without any consultation with the White House, is aimed at advancing both Netanyahu’s re-election and the proposed new set of sanctions against Iran in the US Congress. For many months, … Continue reading “Netanyahu’s Speech and the Politics of Iran Policy”

‘Operation Merlin’: Another Self-Serving CIA Project

The jury is still out in the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling for allegedly having leaked the story of “Operation Merlin” – the covert CIA effort to lure Iran into working on phony plans for a key component of a nuclear weapon – to New York Times reporter James Risen. But “Operation Merlin” … Continue reading “‘Operation Merlin’: Another Self-Serving CIA Project”

Local Syria Ceasefires: The Way Out of a US Policy Dead End?

U.S. contradictions between the Obama administration’s policy in Syria and realities on the ground have become so acute that U.S. officials began last November discussing a proposal calling for support of local ceasefires between opposition forces and the Assad regime in dozens of locations across Syria. The proposal surfaced in two articles in Foreign Policy … Continue reading “Local Syria Ceasefires: The Way Out of a US Policy Dead End?”

Four Ways the West Got the Iran Nuclear Issue Wrong

For more than three decades, the United States and its European allies have committed one fundamental error after another in the process of creating a commonly held narrative that Iran was secretly pursuing a nuclear weapons program. The story of how suspicions of the Iranian program hardened into convictions is a cautionary tale of political … Continue reading “Four Ways the West Got the Iran Nuclear Issue Wrong”

Resolving Key Nuclear Issue Turns on Iran-Russia Deal

U.S. and Iranian negotiators are working on a compromise approach to the issue of Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities, which the Barack Obama administration has said in the past Iran was refusing to make concessions on. The compromise now being seriously discussed would meet the Obama administration’s original requirement for limiting Iran’s “breakout capability” by a … Continue reading “Resolving Key Nuclear Issue Turns on Iran-Russia Deal”

History of Key Document in IAEA Probe Suggests Israeli Forgery

Western diplomats have reportedly faulted Iran in recent weeks for failing to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency with information on experiments on high explosives intended to produce a nuclear weapon, according to an intelligence document the IAEA is investigating. But the document not only remains unverified but can only be linked to Iran by … Continue reading “History of Key Document in IAEA Probe Suggests Israeli Forgery”

Hamas Rocket Launches Don’t Explain Israel’s Gaza Destruction

Israel and its supporters abroad have parried accusations of indiscriminate destruction and mass killing of civilians in Gaza by arguing that they were consequences of strikes aimed at protecting Israeli civilians from rockets that were being launched from very near civilian structures. That defense has already found its way into domestic U.S. politics. A possible … Continue reading “Hamas Rocket Launches Don’t Explain Israel’s Gaza Destruction”

US Avoided Threat to Act on Israel’s Civilian Targeting

United Nations officials and human rights organizations have characterized Israeli attacks on civilian targets during the IDF war on Gaza as violations of the laws of war. During the war, Israeli bombardment leveled whole urban neighborhoods, leaving more than 10,000 houses destroyed and 30,000 damaged and killing 1,300 civilians, according to U.N. data. Israeli forces … Continue reading “US Avoided Threat to Act on Israel’s Civilian Targeting”

Robert S. McNamara and the Real Tonkin Gulf Deception

For most of the last five decades, it has been assumed that the Tonkin Gulf incident was a deception by Lyndon Johnson to justify war in Vietnam. But the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam on August 4, 1964 in retaliation for an alleged naval attack that never happened – and the Tonkin Gulf Resolution that … Continue reading “Robert S. McNamara and the Real Tonkin Gulf Deception”

Zarif and Kerry Signal Momentum on Nuclear Pact

As the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program approach the Jul. 20 deadline, both U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have signaled through their carefully worded statements that they are now moving toward toward agreement on the two most crucial issues in the talks: the level of Iranian … Continue reading “Zarif and Kerry Signal Momentum on Nuclear Pact”