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The noisy fight over Secretary of State John Kerry’s testimony about the Benghazi attack tells us the one thing we know about the 2012 attack that killed U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stephens and three others: we’re no closer to the truth. And that’s not likely to change, even with a fifth Congressional probe on the way.
Disinformation is thick over Ukraine now, providing a 21st Century version of the Cold War propaganda battle between Russia and the U.S. Here, we take a look at a cycle of obfuscation we’ve seen plenty of times before, and the risks it brings to the heart of Europe.
UK Member of Parliament David Davis has emerged as one of Britain’s top critics of government encroachment on liberty and privacy. In the second half of an interview with WhoWhatWhy’s Russ Baker, Davis talks about how he defied his party leadership to help stop Britain from fighting in Syria; the value and vulnerability of whistleblowers; and how government legal aid cuts are putting ordinary citizens at the mercy of the state.
UK legislator David Davis has emerged as one of Britain’s top critics of government surveillance. Davis talks to Russ Baker about going to America to get the ammunition he needed to fight back home, and how he turned his phone bill into a weapon. An intriguing conversation with an intriguing man.
In the drama over who controls Ukraine, Americans know exactly which side we are on. Or do we?
The debate over who was responsible for the attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, rages on. But the partisan noise appears to be obscuring a much more interesting possibility. Not to mention more troubling.
Last year, we addressed questions of fairness and equity in the long imprisonment of Jonathan Pollard for spying on behalf of Israel. With the Snowden case, the issue of how to handle those who reveal America’s secrets has taken on a new life.
Why you should donate to WhoWhatWhy—and the incredible return on your investment.
The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks seems the right moment to remind people how even very solid, careful reporting of apparent “deep politics” links in the attacks has never entered the larger American conversation. The story of the Saudi connection to a house in Sarasota, Florida, is must reading. It also is useful to consider given the established role of Saudi intelligence in the Syrian uprising.
As the US and world debate whether expanded foreign intervention in Syria is justified—and why, we thought this primer on the unspoken issues in another war theater might provide food for thought. Here, then, we repost a September, 2012 WhoWhatWhy article looking at less noble reasons for the Afghan conflict. While you read this, you may feel like taking a hard look at Syria and asking: Is this situation truly different, or are strategic and financial concerns again the justification the political and media establishment will not openly discuss?
Weird just keeps getting weirder. A close read of the New York Times’s profile of a mysterious top Obama speechwriter and advisor raises questions about the media, the presidency, and power itself.
It’s the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and, as usual, the media are making all the right sounds about what they got wrong. But the truth is that they almost always get the big things wrong—and deliberately ignore or ostracize those who break from the pack. Here are some things that the media could have, should have, been able to do in informing the public what was coming with Iraq—and why. And not to toot our horn too vigorously–we did them.