By R. Jeffrey Smith and Aaron Mehta | Center for Public Integrity, Published: May 5 The Defense Department has inadequately protected from reprisals whistleblowers who have reported wrongdoing, according to an internal Pentagon report, and critics are calling for action to be taken against those who have been negligent. The report, dated May 2011, accuses [...]

Both parties have an interest in painting the president as a dove, but reporters should not allow that spin to skew their coverage. Hawk (noun): A person who favors military force or action in order to carry out foreign policy. – The American Heritage Dictionary In a New York Times article titled “A Delicate New Balance [...]

Covert US strikes against alleged militants in Yemen have risen steeply during the Arab spring, and are currently at the same level as the CIA’s controversial drone campaign in Pakistan, a new study by the Bureau reveals. At least 27 US military and CIA strikes involving cruise missiles, aircraft, drones or naval bombardments have taken [...]

Morris Davis says allowing evidence from torture means the world will never see Guantanamo Bay trials as fair The former chief US prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay has denounced the military trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks due to appear in court at Guantanamo on Saturday, as intended primarily to [...]

Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, has warned American soldiers to watch their behaviour following months of scandals that have caused major embarrassment and in some cases violence. Speaking to soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia, where Mr Panetta began his military career as an Army lieutenant nearly 50 years ago, the defense chief delivered a [...]

All wars, even the most unjustifiably aggressive, are wrapped in the same pretty rhetorical packaging By Glenn Greenwald Last month, I spoke at the University of Chicago as part of an event entitled “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Empire: Humanitarian Intervention and Neo-Orientalism.” Sponsored by the Muslim Students Association, the event also included Oxford [...]

President Dmitry Medvedev said last year that Russia will retaliate militarily if it does not reach an agreement with the United States and NATO on the missile defense system. Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov went even further Thursday. “A decision to use destructive force pre-emptively will be taken if the situation worsens,” he said [...]

Exclusive: President Obama signed a U.S.-Afghan strategic agreement on May 1, committing U.S. combat forces to withdraw by the end of 2014 while leaving behind U.S. counter-terrorism teams for another decade. But Obama and his aides still duck a full debate over the causes of terrorism, writes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. By Ray McGovern John [...]

The Sunflower is a monthly e-newsletter providing educational information on nuclear weapons abolition and other issues relating to global security. Help us spread the word and forward this to a friend. Subscribe to the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Sunflower newsletter and Action Alert Network. Perspectives Nuclear Zero: Getting to the Finish Line by David Krieger [...]

Weakling at Home, Imperial President Abroad By Tom Engelhardt He has few constraints (except those he’s internalized). No one can stop him or countermand his orders. He has a bevy of lawyers at his beck and call to explain the “legality” of his actions. And if he cares to, he can send a robot assassin [...]