The mainstream media has often been as craven regarding the warmongering against Iran as they were in 2002-03 on Iraq. But every now and then, a clear headline breaks through the claptrap. New York Times February 25 2012 U.S. Agencies See No Move by Iran to Build a Bomb By JAMES RISEN and MARK MAZZETTI […]
Tag Archives | Central Intelligence Agency
Our Know-Nothing Foreign Policy
From January 2011, my American Conservative review of Derek Leebaert’s Magic and Mayhem. Worst and Brightest Review of Magic and Mayhem: The Delusions of American Foreign Policy From Korea to Afghanistan, Derek Leebaert, Simon & Schuster, 336 pages By James Bovard In the decades since John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, foreign-policy experts have become Washington’s leading […]
JFK+50: Our Know-Nothing Foreign Policy
I received a copy of the March issue of the American Conservative in the mail today. Here are some brief outtakes from a book review (totaling @ 2000 words) I wrote in that issue on the general theme of Our Know-Nothing Foreign Policy : *In the decades since John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, foreign policy experts […]
Rep. Hoekstra Wins CIA Torture Medal of Honor
from the Future of Freedom Foundation sent out this op-ed today – [also posted on Counterpunch here] Hoekstra Receives CIA’s Bootlicking Award by James Bovard, December 28, 2010 On December 21, the Central Intelligence Agency gave its Agency Seal Medal to Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. Hoekstra has labored […]
Government Online Surveillance and Your Bad Attitude
This great Dilbert cartoon perfectly captures how surveillance breeds distrust. The feds are spying on us left and right, and yet politicians whine that we don’t trust the government. At least not everyone’s a damn fool on that regard. (No – this isn’t the cue to recite the Pledge of Allegiance….)
Torture Update: Andy Worthington’s Excellent New Film
Andy Worthington, the author of The Guantanamo Files, is touring the U.S. with his excellent new film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo.” He will be in California later this week. Tour schedule is here. “Outside the Law” does a fine job of blending the legal issues and personal details to burn home the human […]
The Media as Enablers of Government Lies
Posted online today… The Media as Enablers of Government Lies Freedom Daily August 2009 by James Bovard Why do politicians so easily get away with telling lies? In large part, because the news media are more interested in bonding with politicians than in exposing them. Americans are encouraged to believe that the media will serve […]
