Glenn Greenwald's Blog, page 80

Most likely to attack Iran

(updated below - Update II)

When it comes to praising President Obama's foreign policy skill and Toughness (in the neocon sense of that term: i.e.,a willingness to risk other people's lives with the use of military force against foreigners), The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg has been one of the most reliable and vocal voices. Considered by Obama aides "as the 'official therapist' of the U.S.-Israel relationship," Goldberg has been particularly important in vouching for Obama to Israelis and Amer...

Rahm Emanuel’s dangerous free speech attack

(updated below - Update II - Update III - Update IV - Update V - Update VI - Update VII)

Should government officials be able to block businesses from opening or expanding due to disagreement with the political views of the business' executives? Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel evidently believes he should have this power:

The anti-gay views openly espoused by the president of a fast food chain specializing in chicken sandwiches have run afoul of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a local alderman, who are determ...

Protectors of Wall Street

If you believe the Federal Reserve has done a fine job of managing monetary policy and trust it to continue to exert vast power with no accountability or transparency, then you are probably content with the status quo. But yesterday, "a powerful left-right coalition" inthe House of Representatives -- defying the Fed as well as a likely White House veto -- voted overwhelmingly to enact Rep. Ron Paul's bill to subject the Fed's monetary policy to audits by the Government Accountability Office,...

The value of Tom Friedman

(updated below - Update II - Update III)

In The New York Times today, Tom Friedman argues that the only thing that could save Syria is if that country is lucky enough to have the U.S. do to it what the U.S. did to Iraq, and in the process, says this:

And, for me, the lesson of Iraq is quite simple: You can't go from Saddam to Switzerland without getting stuck in Hobbes — a war of all against all — unless you have a well-armed external midwife, whom everyone on the ground both fears and trusts t...

Dianne Feinstein’s “espionage”

Few things illustrate how political elites exploit the rule of law as an instrument of power more vividly than the ongoing controversy over leaks. The same Obama administration that has waged an unprecedented prosecutorial war on whistleblowers (and, increasingly, investigative journalists) has itselfcontinuously perpetrated serious leaks of classified information for the most base and self-interested goals. Low-levels leakers who disclose evidence of high-level wrongdoing are mercilessly pun...

The Obama GITMO myth

Most of the 168 detainees at Guantanamo have been imprisoned by the U.S. Government for close to a decade without charges and with no end in sight to their captivity. Some now die at Guantanamo, thousands of miles away from their homes and families,without ever having had the chance to contest accusations of guilt. During the Bush years, the plight of these detainees was a major source of political controversy, but under Obama, it is now almost entirely forgotten. On those rare occasions when...

Journalism v. propaganda

Almost immediately after a suicide bomber killed five Israeli tourists in Bulgaria on Wednesday, Israeli officials, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,blamed Iran, an accusation uncritically repeated by most Western media outlets even as Bulgarian investigators warned it would be a "mistake" to assign blame before the attack could be investigated. Now, Israel, along with the U.S., is blaming Hezbollah and, therefore, Iran for the attack. Today's New York Timesarticleby Nicholas Kulish a...

High v. low-level leaking

The Obama administration's war on whistlebowers continues unabated this week on two fronts. First, several hearings were held in the court-martial prosecution of Bradley Manning, during which military prosecutors argued that evidence that Manning's alleged leaks did no harm to national security, as well as evidence of his inhumane pre-trial detention conditions,should bothbe completely suppressed(in contrast to most American media outlets, which have ignored the proceedings entirely, Firedogl...

Home news

After five-and-a-half highly fulfilling years atSalon, I will be leaving to joinTheGuardianbeginning on August 20. My last day writing on a daily basis forSalonwill be August 15.Politico's Dylan Byers has an article about the move here. I will write daily at the U.S. edition ofTheGuardian, which is based in New York, and will do soexactlythe same way as I have here: with full editorial independence and the same type of readership involvement and support upon which I've long relied, including...

Obama’s killings challenged again

(updated below)

The ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights this morning filed a lawsuit in federal court against several Obama officials, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and CIA Director David Petraeus. The suit is brought on behalf of the survivors of three American citizens killed in Yemen by the U.S. Government -- killed specifically by the CIA and the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command -- with no due process and far from any battlefield: Anwar Awlaki and Samir Khan...