Thursday, November 25, 2010

Petraeus Duped by Afghan Imposter

By Gareth Porter
November 25, 2010

The revelation that the man presumed to be a high-ranking Taliban leader, who had met with top Afghan officials in reconciliation talks, was an imposter sheds new light on Gen. David Petraeus's aggressive propaganda about the supposed Taliban approach to the Hamid Karzai regime.

Read on.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Is the Right Flipping on US Security?

By Michael Winship
November 24, 2010

To paraphrase that cult movie classic, Eating Raoul, frisk me, pat me down, make me write bad checks. If it keeps my flight from falling out of the sky, do what you must. Just don't expect breakfast in the morning and a thank you note.

Read on.

On Korea, Here We Go Again!

By Robert Parry
November 24, 2010

If American journalism should have learned one thing over the years, it is to be cautious and skeptical during the first days of a foreign confrontation like the one now playing out on the Korean Peninsula. Often the initial accounts from the “U.S. side” don’t turn out to be entirely accurate.

Read on.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Bush Gloats Over Dan Rather's Ouster

By Robert Parry
November 23, 2010

George W. Bush, in his memoir Decision Points, says he was shown a copy of a purported memo about his shirking of his National Guard duty before a story citing the document appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes-2,” and the former president gloats over the resulting controversy that cost the jobs of anchor Dan Rather and his star producer Mary Mapes.

Read on.

Pat-Down Fury vs. Perfect Security

By Ivan Eland
November 23, 2010

After the initial hysterical security response to the 9/11 attacks — inane measures included posting 19-year-old National Guardsmen with automatic weapons at crowded airports and the temporary discontinuation of electronic tickets — lasting security augmentation entailed hardening of aircraft cockpit doors and beefing up passenger screening in airports.

Read on.

Monday, November 22, 2010

A Dark Humor Pervades US Politics

By Don Monkerud
November 22, 2010

A U.S. senator has an affair with the treasurer of his election campaign and political action committee. He then gives her a no-interest loan of $40,000, and pays $15,000 for her children's private school tuition. After their affair becomes public, he fires her, gives her husband a lucrative lobbying job to keep him quiet, and his parents give her $100,000 as a "gift."

Read on.

Iran-Nuke NIE Stopped Bush on War

By Ray McGovern
November 22, 2010

Why should George W. Bush have been “angry” to learn in late 2007 of the unanimous judgment of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran had stopped working on a nuclear weapon four years earlier? Seems to me he might have said “Hot Dog!” rather than curse under his breath.

Read on.

America's 'Christian Nation' Myth

By the Rev. Howard Bess
November 22, 2010

While people came to the American continent for many reasons, one prominent reason was to find a place to escape religious persecution. Sadly, those who were persecuted because of their faith often became the persecutors.

Read on.

Obama's Frantic Mideast Peace Gamble

By Lawrence Davidson
November 22, 2010

The U.S. government acknowledges that it is actively negotiating with Israel the price of a proposed 90-day cessation of settlement activity on the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem). It is reported that the Israelis are demanding two things be given them free of charge: 20 stealth fighters (worth $3 billion) and the release of the spy, Jonathan Pollard.

Read on.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Iranian Nuke Documents May Be Fake

By Gareth Porter
November 21, 2010

The most important intelligence documents used to argue that Iran had a covert nuclear weapons research and development program in 2003 turn out to have a fatal flaw: the technical drawings depict a reentry vehicle that had already been abandoned by the Iranian missile program in favor of an improved model.

Read on.