David Cornwell, the legendary British novelist who writes under the name John le Carré, is interviewed by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now in London. A former British spy, his books include The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and The Constant Gardener. On the heels of the publication of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Iraq war-defending memoir, A Journey, le Carré explains why he refused to interview Blair and why he won’t be reading his...
Nine years ago the 9/11 events took place leading to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Millions of people around the world don't believe they know the real story behind 9/11. Helping The Real News Network (TRNN) to analyze it is Lawrence Wilkerson, formerly Colin Powell's chief of staff.
In this discussion which debates whether there was real intent to allow 9/11 to happen or if it simply took place due to gross negligence on the part of the US administration (given that there was so much...
Norman Solomon -
On the last night of August, the president used an Oval Office speech to boost a policy of perpetual war.
Hours later, The New York Times front page offered a credulous gloss for the end of "the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq." The first sentence of the coverage described the speech as saying, "that it is now time to turn to pressing problems at home." The story went on to assert that Obama "used the moment to emphasize that he sees his primary job as...
In his Oval Office address Tuesday night, President Obama said the US had closed or transferred hundreds of bases to the Iraqis. But many US bases remain in Iraq, as well as the massive US embassy in Baghdad, the size of eighty football fields, reports Democracy Now, as it features a report on the reality of US bases in Iraq by independent journalist Jacquie Soohen of Big Noise Films.
Independent journalist and Democracy Now correspondent, Jeremy Scahill contends, "The United...
Liepollo Pheko -
Social inclusion is one of those catchall terms that evokes various meanings and conjures up varied visions depending on context. In recent weeks, two things have struck me on the issue of social inclusion. The first is a trip to the United States (US) Social Forum in Detroit. The second was the recent FIFA Soccer World Cup and attendant euphoria.
It was altogether appropriate that the US Social Forum took place in the belly of the proverbial beast bringing together a plethora of American...
Jeanne Kay -
When the Swiss voted last year to prohibit future construction of minarets on their soil, political commentators in neighboring European countries were quick to express their moral outrage. “The vote of shame,” headlined Liberation in France. Belgium’s Le Soir deemed targeting the towers in order to aim at the population below them to be “hypocritical and fallacious.” The London Times predicted “international embarrassment” for Switzerland.
In the...