(Second of two articles) A recent two-part series in The New York Times laid out in detail the pivotal role that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played in President Obama’s decision to join in France and Britain’s 2011 military campaign against long-time Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Times articles make the case that Clinton bears […]
As in Libya, Avaaz Campaigns for Syria No-Fly Zone That Even Top Generals Oppose
April 11, 2016
(First of two articles) “I worry sometimes that, when people say ‘impose a no-fly zone,’ there is this almost antiseptic view that this is an easily accomplished military task. It’s extraordinarily difficult. Having overseen imposing a no-fly zone in Libya, a force that is vastly inferior in air forces and air defenses to that which […]
Killer Drone News Blackout Continues As Mainstream Media Ignore 4 Whistleblowers
December 3, 2015
The polls show it and commentators of all political stripes often cite the figures: Killer drone attacks by the U.S. military and the CIA in the Greater Middle East and Africa have strong U.S. public support. According to the Pew Research Center’s most recent poll in May, 58 percent — up slightly from 56 percent […]
Academic’s Research Shows NY Times, Wash. Post Don’t Do Follow-up Reporting to See if Civilians Killed in U.S. Drone Strikes
November 23, 2015
By now you know the drill: The CIA or U.S. military forces unleash a drone strike or other aerial bombardment in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia or any other country that the United States claims the right to attack. A U.S. government spokesperson reports 5 or 7 or 17 or 25 or whatever number […]
In Claiming Clinton Free of National Security Breach, Obama Continues Pattern of Pre-judging Classified Docs Cases
November 9, 2015
There he goes again. In recently proclaiming Hillary Clinton free of any national security breach — even as the FBI was continuing its investigation of her use of a potentially risky private email server for official business while she was Secretary of State — President Obama continued his disturbing pattern of rendering his personal verdict […]
NY Times Runs 2 Buried Paragraphs on Intercept Whistleblower’s Shocking Drone War Disclosures, and Thinks That’s Enough
November 4, 2015
For that slice of the American public that still depends heavily on major daily newspapers as their main source of news, they might not even know that the on-line publication The Intercept has published a package of alarming drone-assassination articles based on secret military documents provided by an anonymous intelligence whistleblower. These “Drone Papers” show, […]
Assessing the Candidates: Obama’s Whistleblower War Leaves Dangerous Legacy for Future Presidents
June 24, 2015
Here’s the thing about President Obama’s war on whistleblowers: In bringing espionage charges in nine cases involving disclosures or alleged misuse of classified information, the current administration has set a floor, rather than a ceiling, on the number and types of whistleblower espionage cases a future President can bring. And here’s another thing: With leaders […]
Whistleblowers vs. “Fear-Mongering”
April 28, 2015
Seven prominent national security whistleblowers Monday called for a number of wide-ranging reforms — including passage of the “Surveillance State Repeal Act,” which would repeal the USA Patriot Act — in an effort to restore the Constitutionally guaranteed 4th Amendment right to be free from government spying.
Several of the whistleblowers also said that the recent lenient sentence of probation and a fine for General David Petraeus — for his providing of classified information to his mistress Paula Broadwell — underscores the double standard of justice at work in the area of classified information handling.
Whistleblowers and the Press Heavyweights
March 24, 2015
Following the late January guilty verdicts in the espionage trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, more proof emerged — if any more were needed — that many elite mainstream journalists abhor whistleblowers and think they should go to prison when they divulge classified information. One would think that a business that has relied on […]
Sterling Prosecution Long on Rhetoric, Short on Evidence
January 23, 2015
To hear the prosecution side tell it in the ongoing trial of Jeffrey Sterling, the former CIA officer who is accused of a national security leak involving Iran, Sterling has potentially (emphasis on potentially): * placed a CIA “asset” at risk; * hurt recruitment of other defectors, informants and turncoats; * scared other current “assets” […]
