Unimpeachably Impeachable
The evidence has now grown beyond a reasonable doubt: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have committed impeachable offenses. In this guest essay, former CIA officer Ray McGovern writes that any lingering doubts in his mind were dispelled by a series in The Washington Post detailing Vice President Cheney's disdain for the law and the Constitution, with the buck also stopping on President Bush's desk. July 2, 2007

Will the Press Idiocy Ever Stop?
The U.S. political press corps distorted the Bush-Gore presidential race of 2000 by repeatedly misquoting Al Gore to transform the Vice President into a delusional braggart. This dishonest media coverage influenced the votes of millions of Americans and set the stage for the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush. Yet, the apocryphal quotes -- such as Gore supposedly saying "I invented the Internet" -- live on. July 2, 2007

Mid-Year Report to Our Readers
Midway through our 12th year, editor Robert Parry writes that it's difficult to assess progress, but we believe this Web site has made a difference, telling stories that otherwise might not be told and saving history that could have been lost. Still, the challenge remains to match our journalistic ambitions with our fundraising abilities. June 10, 2007

Mid-Year Fundraising Falling Short We are less than one-third of the way toward our mid-year fundraising goal of $25,000, far short of what's needed to keep this 11-year-old investigative Web site alive. You can help by making a tax-deductible donation, either by a credit card online or by mailing a check. For readers wanting to use PayPal, you can address contributions to our account, which is named "consortnew@aol.com." We also are getting close to publication of our new book on George W. Bush's presidency, entitled Neck Deep. For donations of $100 or more, you can reserve a signed gift copy or you can receive Robert Parry's earlier books, Lost History or Secrecy & Privilege. (Please specify your choice with your donation.)

The New Bush-Blair Vanity Play
The choice of ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a new envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has officials on all sides scratching their heads. A question being asked across the Middle East is whether there's a method to this apparent madness, or is it just a vanity play by President George W. Bush and his pal, Blair? June 30, 2007

Lockerbie Ruling Revisited
A Scottish judicial review panel says the guilty verdict against a former Libyan intelligence officer for the 1988 mid-air bombing of Pan Am 103 may have been "a miscarriage of justice" based on flimsy evidence. A critique published at Consortiumnews.com just after the conviction in 2001 made the same point, even as the U.S. government and the major news media hailed the politically popular verdict. June 29, 2007

Next Generation of 'Family Jewels'?
In hailing release of the CIA's "family jewels" confessions, the Washington news media has offered the reassuring message that major intelligence abuses stopped in the mid-1970s because congressional oversight was put in place. But the reality is different and much more alarming. The evidence actually points to worse intelligence crimes committed after the period covered by the "family jewels." What really changed was that the cover-ups got more effective. June 27, 2007

Reader Commentaries
Readers commented on our Bush-Mafia story, the Barack Obama article, and an essay on Iraqi refugees. June 26, 2007

The Right Sharpens Knives for 'Sicko'
With Michael Moore's new documentary, "Sicko," set for nationwide release, the usual suspects on the Right are sharpening their knives for both Moore and the idea that national health insurance should cover all Americans. In this guest essay, radio personality Jay Diamond writes that Sean Hannity and other right-wing voices are scaring Americans with horror stories about "socialized medicine" while ignoring the valuable services performed by VA hospitals and Medicare. June 27, 2007

The Iraq-gate Cover-up Continues
The U.S. news media is hailing the death sentences meted out to three of Saddam Hussein's top aides for their roles in chemical attacks against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s. But the American press corps again is silent about long-standing evidence that the Reagan administration aided and abetted the Hussein regime as these crimes were committed. Hussein's hasty execution six months ago and the truncated Iraqi legal process also guaranteed that no new evidence emerged implicating George W. Bush's former and current defense secretaries or his father. June 25, 2007

Bush/Cheney or the Republic
As more truth comes out about the past six years, the choice for Americans is boiling down to whether they still want to live in a Republic with inalienable rights or if they are so scared about terrorism that they are ready to sacrifice their rights to an all-powerful Executive. In this guest essay, radio host Stephen Crockett suggests the only way to save the Republic is to reject the idea that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are above the law. June 25, 2007

Is Obama Getting 'Colin-ized'?
Barack Obama's foreign policy flirtation with Colin Powell has given the Democratic presidential hopeful a boost in Official Washington. But the connection to George W. Bush's former Secretary of State may unnerve the Democratic "base" which recalls other ill-fated alliances with "moderate" Republicans. Many rank-and-file Democrats also view Powell as a liar and opportunist, not a "wise man." June 23, 2007

Sen. Levin's False History & Logic
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin cites Congressman Abraham Lincoln's stance on the Mexican War 160 years ago to justify his own decision to keep funding the troops as long as the Iraq War goes on. But Levin's historical parallel to Lincoln is bogus as is his logic that the only way to end the Iraq War is to get Republicans to repudiate President George W. Bush on a withdrawal timetable. The Michigan Democrat's false reasoning only guarantees continued bloodshed. June 21, 2007

Readers React
Readers reacted to our stories on Carl Levin's misuse of Abraham Lincoln; George W. Bush's thuggish treatment of those who get in his way; and Richard Cohen's standing among clueless columnists. June 22, 2007

Bush's Mafia Whacks the Republic
Over the past half dozen years, George W. Bush has shifted the United States from its tradition as a Republic with inalienable rights into a new-age authoritarian state run more like the Mafia. Not only does Bush now assert his right to snatch people off the street and jail them without trial, but he reportedly has dispatched assassins around the world to eliminate perceived enemies. Bush also continues to purge honest officials who won't respect his omerta code of silence. June 20, 2007

Iraq War's Nuclear Boomerang
George W. Bush still insists that toppling Saddam Hussein made the world safer. But the invasion of Iraq -- after it had disarmed and was cooperating with U.N. weapons inspectors -- sent a dangerous message. It spurred other Bush targets, such as North Korea and Iran, to accelerate their nuclear programs. In this guest essay, Ivan Eland says it's time for Bush to replace belligerence with realism. June 20, 2007

Readers' Comments
Reactions to articles on the endangered American Republic and who's the most clueless columnist. June 20, 2007

Is WP's Cohen the Dumbest Columnist?
Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen has jumped on the neocon bandwagon seeking a get-out-of-jail-free card for former White House aide Lewis Libby. But, as usual, Cohen misses the real story, just like his earlier judgments that George W. Bush would be a "conciliator" and that "only a fool or possibly a Frenchman" would doubt Colin Powell's U.N. speech. Though the competition is stiff, Cohen might be the dumbest columnist in memory, but that hasn't hurt his career. June 19, 2007

How Not to Counter Terrorism
Former FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley and other members of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity explain how the Bush administration has not only failed to make Americans safer from terrorism but has often made matters worse. In this memo on what still needs to be done -- and in some cases undone -- Rowley and her colleagues warn that running roughshod over civil liberties and collecting too much data on Americans have proved to be the wrong way to go. June 18, 2007

Begging for Libby's Pardon
Like fans at a sport stadium trying to start The Wave, influential neoconservatives are doing all they can to get the public excited about a presidential pardon that would keep former White House aide Lewis Libby out of jail. But so far, it looks like the jumping up and down is mostly confined to Inside-the-Beltway. In this guest essay, Bill Moyers explains why the Libby pardon Wave hasn't caught on. June 19, 2007

The Silence of the Bombs
Despite public revulsion over the Iraq War, the Bush administration appears determined to pursue the conflict indefinitely, possibly with a new phase repositioning U.S. troops to minimize their casualties but to let the occupation continue. In this guest essay, media critic Norman Solomon examines how the failure of the U.S. press to probe hidden aspects of the war contributes to the ongoing catastrophe. June 14, 2007

America's Fragile Republic
Civil libertarians are hailing a two-to-one federal appeals court ruling that rejects George W. Bush's right to snatch civilians off the streets of America and hold them indefinitely as "enemy combatants." But the ruling by a three-judge panel may have been a fluke since the two justices in the majority were Clinton appointees and the full appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, is dominated by Republicans. This uncertain balance between judges who favor "unalienable rights" and those who want to give Bush all the power he wants underscores the fragility of the American Republic. June 13, 2007

Leaving Iraqi Refugees in the Lurch
Among the many tragedies of the Iraq War has been the brutal ethnic cleansing that has driven millions of Iraqis from their homes. And like so many of these horrors, George W. Bush doesn't want to accept responsibility. In this guest essay, Ivan Eland laments this latest failure of the Bush administration to do the right thing. June 12, 2007

Powell Belies 'Commander Guy' Bush
On NBC's "Meet the Press," former Secretary of State Colin Powell undercut George W. Bush's insistence that he -- unlike the Democrats -- follows the advice of military commanders on the front lines. Powell said his own prediction of a troop drawdown by early 2007 proved wrong because Bush rejected his commanders' advice and instead ordered a troop "surge." Nevertheless, Bush escapes serious press criticism when he touts himself as "a commander guy." June 10, 2007

Thompson Courts the Right-Wing Base
As Fred Thompson gears up his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, the actor and former senator is making sure that he has George W. Bush's old pugnacious right-wing political base on his side. So, while other Republicans distance themselves from Bush's scandals, Thompson calls for pardoning convicted White House aide Lewis Libby and considers hiring a key figure in the U.S. Attorney scandal. June 9, 2007

Readers Comment on Gore Article
We received a flurry of comments about our article “The New Assault on Al Gore.” June 9, 2007

GOP/Media Rewrite Iraq War History
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has adopted one of George W. Bush's favorite lies about the Iraq War, that he had no choice but to invade because Saddam Hussein barred the U.N. weapons inspectors. But perhaps even more noteworthy is that the eagle-eyed U.S. press corps again failed to correct the record, as it has failed to do since President Bush started rewriting the history four years ago. June 8, 2007

Iraq Parallels Vietnam, Not Korea
A new Bush administration talking point for the Iraq War is to tell the American people that the bloody conflict will morph into a Korean-style armistace, not a Vietnam-style catastrophe. In this guest essay, Ivan Eland says the reassuring Korean parallel is the latest Iraq War deception. June 7, 2007

Last Plamegate Worry for Bush/Cheney
So far, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have navigated their way past the biggest dangers from the Plamegate scandal. They succeeded at confusing the issue about a possible criminal offense in leaking the identity of a covert CIA officer. They also have left former White House aide I. Lewis Libby holding the bag on the cover-up. Their last worry is the possibility that Libby will start talking, instead of counting on a timely pardon from a thankful President. June 6, 2007

The New Assault on Al Gore
Like addicts who can't shake a bad habit, the Washington insider clique is trashing Al Gore again, this time over his new book, The Assault on Reason. The U.S. news media, led by the nation's prestige newspapers, mocked Gore during Campaign 2000 when he presented himself as better qualified than George W. Bush and ridiculed him in 2002 when he warned against the Iraq War. Now, commentators are reprising one of their favorite themes, that Al Gore is a know-it-all. June 5, 2007

Reader Reactions
Not surprisingly, we got a number of comments about the Democrats cave-in on Iraq War funding, but also opinions about Al Gore on reason, George W. Bush on global warming, the imperial presidency, the Hariri murder case, and the danger of the Pakistani bomb. June 5, 2007

Bush's Global Warming Foot-Dragging
Facing increased international pressure, George W. Bush says he's finally ready to take the lead on global warming. But his plan appears to have no real teeth, relying on "aspirational goals" rather than enforceable standards. Despite these new talking points, Bush and his top aides don't seem to have moved very far from seven years ago when they were reading from coal-industry propaganda. June 1, 2007

The Hariri Case & Double Standards
Washington and London are thrilled with their success in creating a U.N. tribunal that may put Syria on the hot seat over its suspected role in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri. But an underlying message is that double standards apply to weak countries and powerful ones. No one in a position of authority is talking about establishing a tribunal that would judge whether George W. Bush and Tony Blair are guilty of war crimes for their far-bloodier invasion of Iraq. May 31, 2007

Dem Consultants: Calculations of War
Since 2002, Democratic consultants have been whispering in the ears of party leaders to give George W. Bush what he wants on Iraq to avoid accusations that they are "soft" or "unpatriotic." The results of those calculations can now be measured in the growing lists of dead and wounded as well as in the Democrats' plummeting poll numbers. In this guest essay, Brent Budowsky looks at the politics of war. May 30, 2007

How Bush Risks an Islamist Bomb
Among the many catastrophes surrounding George W. Bush's Middle East wars is possibly the bitterest irony of all -- that he is laying the groundwork for radical Islamists to get an atomic bomb via the collapse of Pakistan's pro-U.S. dictator Pervez Musharraf. In this guest essay, Ivan Eland looks at how Bush's bungled policies in Afghanistan and Iraq are leading inexorably to an even worse disaster. May 30, 2007

Reader Commentaries
Readers comment on the Iraqi view of the Iraq War. May 28, 2007

Bush's Killer Talking Points
George W. Bush cowed congressional Democrats into giving him another blank check for the Iraq War by brandishing talking points that accused war critics of abandoning the troops and aiding al-Qaeda. Though Bush's rhetoric was enough to intimidate Democratic leaders, the old and new talking points don't stand up to serious scrutiny. They remain a mix of non-sequiturs, half-truths and outright lies. May 30, 2007

No Celebration This Memorial Day
When congressional Democratic leaders surrendered to George W. Bush's game of chicken over funding the Iraq War, they hoped they could enjoy their Memorial Day recess without facing angry pro-Bush voters accusing them of betraying the troops. Now, they are facing angry anti-war voters accusing them of betraying the troops. In this guest essay, writer Mary MacElveen voices the anger that many Americans feel about a disastrous war brought on by a disastrous political system. May 28, 2007

Lost Whales & a Lost Presidency
Two humpback whales find themselves lost and in grave danger, having wandered as much as 90 miles up the Sacramento River in California and showing little indication they grasp the desperate need to reverse course. In this guest essay, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern sees parallels between the two whales and America's leadership in Iraq. May 26, 2007

Grieving Moms vs. Washington Pols
One mother sits on her son's grave at Arlington Cemetery and reads from "Corduroy," his favorite baby book. Another mom spent cold winter afternoons in a sleeping bag stretched across her son's grave. Meanwhile, George W. Bush reportedly plots a new combat escalation in Iraq and some members of Congress look to give the President another blank check so they can head home for the Memorial Day recess and say they're supporting the troops. May 22, 2007

Thinking Past Plan B in Iraq
Whether as a political maneuver or out of desperation, George W. Bush is signaling that he is giving the Iraq Study Group's recommendations a second look. But thanks to Bush's stubborness last December, the time for a post-surge Plan B may have run out, too. In this guest essay, Ivan Eland argues that the only hope now is for the U.S. to end the occupation and for Iraq to work out a partitioning. May 22, 200

Gingrich's War on 'Secularism'
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was known as a worldly and even hedonistic guy. But he appears to have spotted a political opening for his planned comeback, convincing right-wing Christians that they are being persecuted by "radical secularists." In what sounds like a year-round version of the "war on Christmas" complaint, Gingrich wants the fundamentalist Christian base of the Republican Party to view themselves as the victims and him as their defender. May 20, 2007

Rejecting Reality in Iraq
Chatham House, a well-respected British think tank, has thrown down a challenge to leaders in Washington and London to begin "accepting realities in Iraq." The new report paints a grim picture of an Iraqi society coming apart and warns that George W. Bush's military "surge" will fail to achieve any lasting security improvements. But the idea that Bush must accept reality goes against his longstanding confidence that he and his friends can shape how many Americans perceive reality. May 18, 2007

Michael Moore's 'Sicko' Movie
Documentarian Michael Moore is unveiling his new movie about American health care. (This article is at our blog. To make a blog comment about this or other stories, you can use your normal e-mail address and password. Ignore the prompt for a Google account.) May 18, 2007

The Iraq War: Going, Going, ...
George W. Bush's claim that he's "a commander guy" who respects the Iraq War opinions of military experts was belied by his embarrassing failure to persuade any retired four-star generals to take the new job as "war czar." Bush finally had to settle on an active-duty three-star general who opposed Bush's troop "surge." Bush's claims about the success of his "surge" also have been undercut by statistics showing that the violence in Iraq continues unabated. May 17, 2007

Jerry Falwell's Deal with the Devil
American leaders across the political spectrum are eulogizing the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, albeit with some criticism of his tendency to lash out at his adversaries. But lost in this desire not to speak ill of the dead is the troubling story of Falwell's secret financial dealings with South Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon and how Moon's mysterious money bailed out Falwell's Liberty University. May 16, 2007

Iran's Mission Accomplished
The Bush administration's tough-guy rhetoric aside, the winner from the clumsy American occupation of Iraq is almost certainly to be Iran, which has seen its blood enemy, Saddam Hussein, executed and its Shiite allies put in charge. In this guest essay, Ivan Eland suggests that Iran might want to invest in a "Mission Accomplished" banner. May 16, 2007

How George Tenet Lied
Former CIA Director George Tenet has made the rounds of the talk shows flacking his semi-tell-all book and insisting that he really did believe Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. However, as former CIA analyst Ray McGovern writes, the evidence actually shows that Tenet and his superiors in the Bush administration knew better. May 14, 2007

No More Purple Fingers
Republicans, who once cited the Iraqi elections as vindication for the invasion and all the killing that followed, are now fed up with the government that those elections wrought. (This article is at our blog. To make a blog comment about this or other stories, you can use your normal e-mail address and password. Ignore the prompt for a Google account.) May 14, 2007

The New Emperor's New Clothes
One painful part of what's happened over the past several years is to watch so many people who admired the United States as a beacon for human rights come to conclude the opposite. Even as George W. Bush struts about boasting of his fine garments of "freedom" and "liberty," more and more people are daring to point out that this emperor has no clothes. In this guest essay, Professor Inez Hollander tells her personal story of disillusionment. May 11, 2007

The Right's Parallel Universe
Oklahoma's Republican Sen. Tom Coburn is a personification of how the American Right has created a parallel universe for its followers by popularizing anecdotes and talking points that diverge with reality. Famous for his bizarre statement about rampant lesbianism in state high schools, Coburn also utters more typical right-wing myths about the dangers of national health insurance. May 9, 2007

Growing Unrest in France, Europe
The election of new French President Nicolas Sarkozy has touched off rioting in France and elsewhere in Europe. (This article is at our blog. To make a blog comment about this or other stories, you can use your normal e-mail address and password. Ignore the prompt for a Google account.) May 9, 2007

Blaming the Iraqis
The U.S. government and the American news media seem incapable of dealing responsibly -- or even rationally -- with the disaster that George W. Bush's invasion has unleashed in Iraq. So naturally all sides prefer to blame the Iraqis. In this guest essay, Ivan Eland suggests that U.S. leaders quickly come to grips with the narrowing options. May 9, 2007

Qaeda's Reverse-Reverse Psychology
If the American people were to heed George W. Bush, they would listen to the words of al-Qaeda and then do the opposite. The President has said that the terrorists want the U.S. to leave Iraq, so the U.S. must stay in Iraq. But that advice was thrown for a loop by a new al-Qaeda videotape that both mocks the Democrats' plan for a phased withdrawal and prays that the Americans remain caught in their "historic trap." May 8, 2007

Due Process Rights for U.S.-Jailed Journalists
A new appeal has been made for due process for two Middle Eastern journalists, including an Associated Press photographer, jailed by the U.S. military. (This article is at our blog. To make a blog comment about this or other stories, you can use your normal e-mail address and password. Ignore the prompt for a Google account.) May 9, 2007

Bush Sat on Evidence of Cuban Terror
George W. Bush has taken starkly different moral stands on terrorism, depending on whether the killings are done by enemies or friends. So, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that administration lawyers sat on evidence linking right-wing Cuban Luis Posada to a terror bombing campaign in Havana -- until after Posada was free on bail. May 7, 2007

Readers' Comments
Readers had comments about the shortcomings of the Iraq “surge”; the failure to give fuller counts of Iraqi casualties; and the ominous dispute between Russia and Estonia. May 7, 2007

Tenet-Bush Pre-9/11 'Small Talk'
George Tenet's memoir sheds new light on the Bush administration's failure to act aggressively on alarming intelligence in summer 2001 about an impending al-Qaeda attack. Tenet followed up on earlier warning by taking a special trip to Bush's Texas ranch in late August. But that meeting slid into small talk about the ranch's "flora and fauna." May 6, 2007

The Ongoing Iraq Intel Fraud
Washington's big-time media finally has accepted that George W. Bush's case for invading Iraq in 2003 was bogus. But the press corps still won't challenge more recent White House lies and distortions about Iraq. Though Bush's Iraq intelligence fraud is ongoing and the death toll continues to mount, the U.S. news media has yet to get serious about its watchdog duties. May 5, 2007

Echoes of Cold War in Russia-Estonia Spat
Estonia's plan to remove a statue honoring the Red Army's sacrifices in World War II is touching a raw nerve in Russia and recalling the tensions of the Cold War. (This article is at our blog. To make a blog comment about this or other stories, you can use your normal e-mail address and password. Ignore the prompt for a Google account.) May 4, 2007

Missile Defense Seen as Dangerous
The Bush administration's desire to put anti-missile defenses in Europe -- supposedly to defend against some future Iranian threat -- has infuriated Russia, which sees the deployment as a provocative move against its interests. In this guest essay, Ivan Eland warns that the plan could increase the risk of nuclear confrontation. May 4, 2007

Tenet's Disgraceful Apologia
George Tenet's new book, explaining his acquiescence to the use of shoddy intelligence to justify invading Iraq, stands as another monument to the blame-shifting careerism that has become the hallmark of George W. Bush's administration. In this guest essay, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern cuts through Tenet's self-serving rhetoric. May 3, 2007

Setting the Table, with All the Options
"Tough-guyism" is arguably the dominant ideology of Washington, crossing other ideological fault lines. Republicans and Democrats alike play to the voters with tough-talking slogans like "all options are on the table," even though some nations might interpret that as a nuclear threat. In this guest essay, Peter Dyer argues that the tough talk harms U.S. national interests by cementing America's image as a lawless state. May 3, 2007

Dying for W
George W. Bush's key argument against a timetable for withdrawing from Iraq is that the "enemy" would lie low and "wait us out." But Bush now acknowledges he has no evidence for that claim, "just logic." But why not try a timetable if it might might tamp down the violence from Iraqis who resent the U.S. occupation? Right now, Bush's open-ended war means that American soldiers and Iraqis alike are dying for W. April 25, 2007

Washington's Bloody Make-Believe
It's taken years for Washington's insider crowd to grasp that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney launched the Iraq War based on lies and distortions. But the idea of demanding serious accountability still remains too hard to accept. In this guest essay, journalist Carla Binion says it's time to finally bridge the gap between Washington's land of political make-believe and the bloody reality that it has caused. April 26, 2007