By [email protected] (Andrew Kreig) A Republican presidential contender is talking up U.S. complicity in the rise of Al Qaeda and its more radical successor ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. “ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party who gave arms indiscriminately,” U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky (shown […]

By [email protected] (Andrew Kreig) The U.S. foreign policy advocated by leaders of both major parties is experiencing serious setbacks in multiple nations, especially in the Middle East and Central Asia. Recent military losses in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen exemplify a joint Obama/Bush foreign policy disaster with no easy solutions. Peace advocate Ray McGovern, a former […]

By [email protected] (Andrew Kreig) A federal appeals court last week rejected former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman’s latest appeal, thus inflicting a devastating defeat upon those who seek a rule of law in the United States. The misguided but unanimous ruling announced May 20 by three Atlanta-based judges requires new and more aggressive political priorities by […]

By [email protected] (Andrew Kreig) What questions should reporters ask 2016 candidates? The social media site “Linked in for Journalists” is posing that question to its 30,000 members about presidential candidates, but the concept is readily applicable to candidates seeking lower-level federal posts. This exercise is worthwhile even though front-running candidates avoid meaningful responses, especially given […]

By [email protected] (Andrew Kreig) Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh continued his assault on the Obama administration’s veracity this week with a 10,000-word column in the London Review of Books disputing major White House claims about a 2011 raid in Pakistan that purportedly killed Osama bin Laden. Among other major points, Hersh alleged that the Al Qaeda […]

By [email protected] (Andrew Kreig) The 42-month sentence imposed this week on former CIA case officer Jeffrey Sterling for leaking information to a New York Times reporter helps thwart public information about the powerful agency in a precedent extending beyond the CIA. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of Alexandria, VA imposed the sentence May 11 on […]

By [email protected] (Andrew Kreig) Vietnam War protesters convened this weekend in the U.S. capital for what TV talk show pioneer Phil Donahue described as an “unprecedented” gathering of leaders sharing lessons for today’s civic problems. “There has never been a gathering like this,” Donahue, 79 and shown in a file photo, said in welcoming the […]