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.

US Silent About Taliban Guarantee Offer on al-Qaeda

The Barack Obama administration is refusing to acknowledge an offer by the leadership of the Taliban in early December to give "legal guarantees" that it will not allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries. The administration’s silence on the offer, despite a public statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing skepticism … Continue reading “US Silent About Taliban Guarantee Offer on al-Qaeda”

US-Iran Talks: The Road to Diplomatic Failure

The talks between the G5 plus 1 and Iran are careening toward a premature breakdown.  If they do fall apart, it will be due in large part to a serious diplomatic miscalculation by the Obama administration.  Along with and its European allies, the Obama seized on a plan that cleverly asked Iran to divest itself … Continue reading “US-Iran Talks: The Road to Diplomatic Failure”

Pentagon’s War Pitch Belied by Taliban-Qaeda Conflict

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen argued in Senate Testimony Wednesday that the 30,000-troop increase is necessary to prevent the Taliban from giving new safe havens to al Qaeda terrorists. But that argument is flatly contradicted by the evidence of fundamental conflicts between the … Continue reading “Pentagon’s War Pitch Belied by Taliban-Qaeda Conflict”

Obama Previously Rejected His New Surge Rationale

President Barack Obama presented a case Tuesday for sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan that included both soaring rhetoric and a new emphasis on its necessity for U.S. national security. Obama said the escalation was for a "vital national interest" and invoked the threat of attacks from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, asserting that such … Continue reading “Obama Previously Rejected His New Surge Rationale”

Tajik Grip on Afghan Army Signals New Ethnic War

Contrary to the official portrayal of the Afghan National Army (ANA) as ethnically balanced, the latest data from U.S. sources reveal that the Tajik minority now accounts for far more of its troops than the Pashtuns, the country’s largest ethnic group. The massive shift in the ethnic composition of ANA troops in recent years is … Continue reading “Tajik Grip on Afghan Army Signals New Ethnic War”

Afghan Army Turnover Rate Threatens US War Plans

One in every four combat soldiers quit the Afghan National Army (ANA) during the year ending in September, published data by the U.S. Defense Department and the Inspector General for Reconstruction in Afghanistan reveals. That high rate of turnover in the ANA, driven by extremely high rates of desertion, spells trouble for the strategy that … Continue reading “Afghan Army Turnover Rate Threatens US War Plans”

Iran Began Preparing for US Bombing in 2002

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published new evidence Monday that Iran had been building "contingency centers" in the event of a U.S. bombing attack as early as 2002, years before it began building the second enrichment facility at Qom. But the latest report on Iran’s nuclear program by the agency appeared to reject Iran’s … Continue reading “Iran Began Preparing for US Bombing in 2002”

US Seeks to Limit Warlords in Karzai Cabinet

The Barack Obama administration is talking tough to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the need for decisive action on corruption and governance reform, but its main objective is to prevent particularly corrupt and incompetent warlords from getting plum ministries as rewards for helping clinch his fraudulent reelection, IPS has learned. Obama told reporters Monday that … Continue reading “US Seeks to Limit Warlords in Karzai Cabinet”

US, NATO Forces Rely on Afghan Warlords for Security

The revelation by the New York Times Wednesday that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has long been on the payroll of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is only the tip of a much bigger iceberg of heavy dependence by U.S. and NATO counterinsurgency forces on Afghan warlords for security, according … Continue reading “US, NATO Forces Rely on Afghan Warlords for Security”

NIE Reveals Qom Facility Followed 2007 Bush Threats

The Barack Obama administration claims that construction of a second Iranian uranium enrichment facility at Qom began before Tehran’s decision to withdraw from a previous agreement to inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in advance of such construction. But the November 2007 U.S. intelligence estimate on Iran’s nuclear program tells a different story. The … Continue reading “NIE Reveals Qom Facility Followed 2007 Bush Threats”