Bombed: A Potato Chip Factory, a School, a Doctors Without Borders Facility, and Now a Water Well

Bombed: A Potato Chip Factory, a School, a Doctors Without Borders Facility, and Now a Water Well

Strikes in northern Yemen on Saturday reportedly killed two children and first responders as US-backed coalition continues ‘disturbing’ strikes A United Nations official has condemned airstrikes, including a “double tap” attack, on a water well in Yemen that killed dozens of people including children. The statement comes as the Obama administration’s proposed $1.15 billion arms…

How Israel Stole the Bomb

How Israel Stole the Bomb

In 1968, CIA Director Richard Helms was presented with a disturbing National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) stating that Israel had obtained atomic weapons, a dangerous development that occurred earlier than the CIA had anticipated. It was particularly dangerous because just the year before, the Six Day War had marked the beginning of open hostilities between the…

Will the U.S.-Russia Deal Bring Syria Peace? Don’t Hold Your Breath
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Will the U.S.-Russia Deal Bring Syria Peace? Don’t Hold Your Breath

There’s little trust among the diplomats in Geneva, in fact, and far, far less among the fighters on the ground. In the late summer of 2011, President Barack Obama declared the reign of Bashar al-Assad “illegitimate” and told him the time had come to “step aside.” In the early fall of 2015, U.S. officials laughingly…

5 Corporations Now Dominate Our Privatized Intelligence Industry
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5 Corporations Now Dominate Our Privatized Intelligence Industry

This unaccountable oligarchy of spies controls the information that guides our military and civilian leaders. The recent integration of two military contractors into a $10 billion behemoth is the latest in a wave of mergers and acquisitions that have transformed America’s privatized, high-tech intelligence system into what looks like an old-fashioned monopoly. In August, Leidos…

F-35 May Never Be Ready for Combat

F-35 May Never Be Ready for Combat

Testing Report Contradicts Air Force Leadership’s Rosy Pronouncements The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is the most expensive procurement program in Pentagon history. It’s been plagued by schedule delays, gross cost overruns, and a slew of underwhelming performance reviews. Last month the Air Force declared its variant “ready for combat,” and most press reports lauded…