by Paul Pillar
Washington Monthly
March/April 2012
This is an outstanding piece by my former colleague at CIA, Paul Pillar, who is writing and speaking truth to power in the spirit in which we were originally trained — without fear of favor. His is among the handful of current voices informed not only by well functioning brains, but also by a wealth of experience on these issues.
by Daniel C. Maguire
Religion Dispatches Magazine
(22 minutes)
Ray interviewed on Zelikow memo on torture; rendition; role of senior CIA official John Brennan (speaker at Fordham commencement, May 19); and description of the Speaking Truth to Power function of Tell the Word, an outreach of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington.
http://archive.org/details/RayMcgovernOnSuppressedDissentingTortureMemoByZelikowCounselToCondi
Render to Caesar, Extraordinarily
http://consortiumnews.com/2012/04/06/render-to-caesar-extraordinarily/
The record of Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan, invited by Fordham University’s trustees to give the commencement address on May 19, is discussed in the NEW article (posted above) about torture and rattlesnakes. For more detail on the controversy over Brennan’s selection:
Furor at Fordham http://consortiumnews.com/2012/03/22/mcgovern-protests-brennans-speech/
John Brennan (of kidnapping, torture, black prisons, drone killings fame) is invited to give Fordham Commencement address, May 19, 2012:
In response to an invitation late last year to give a talk at his alma mater, Fordham University, Ray spoke to a class on March 6 and did a evening event in Keating lecture hall on March 7. While there Ray encountered the latest manifestation of what one Jesuit friend has called the “prestige virus.” Jesuit university administrators and trustees seem particularly susceptible to this virus, against which Jesus of Nazareth and Ignatius of Loyola tried to provide the necessary inoculation.
Fordham University’s newspaper, The Fordham Ram, waxed eloquent about Brennan:
“One of my most fond memories at Fordham was last Spring Weekend when, late that Sunday night, we heard the news that U.S. Special Forces had killed Osama bin Laden,” Bryan Matis, GSB ’12, said. “Hundreds of students gathered at the victory bell and later the 9/11 memorial in celebration, prayer and reflection. Our campus community really came together in solidarity that night. To know that a member of the FCRH [Fordham College at Rose Hill] class of 1977 had played a key role in that important piece of Fordham and American history made me proud to be a Ram. Mr. Brennan is a proud Fordham alum who works closely with the President to keep this country safe, and I’m excited to welcome him back to campus this May as our commencement speaker.”
The good news is that many of Bryan Matis’s fellow students look askance at assassination (even when “we” do it), and do not warm to the notion of feting a felon at Fordham. At the same time — and sadly — a huge number of students haven’t a clue as to why, for example, Dr. King called the U.S. A. the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world,” much less why the administration would consider it fitting to lionize Fordham alumni “distinguished” for their important role in such purveying.
The campus is divided. The Vice President for Student Affairs has long since imposed draconian measures to thwart student activities (protests, for example) — never mind the First Amendment. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Last October 7, when socially conscious students wanted simply to mark the 10th anniversary of the U.S. attack on Afghanistan, here’s how they were suppressed.
by Daniel C. Maguire
Religion Dispatches Magazine
http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/guest_bloggers/5857/
by Gary G. Kohls, Every Church a Peace Church, 5/1/12
Or, why is it that “Christians” support war? Or “What did you do during the war, Grandpa?” With stinging quote from Rev. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy presentation 20 years ago (Aug. 9, 1992) at Auschwitz
http://consortiumnews.com/2012/05/01/rejecting-war-crime-rationales/
By Emily Arata, The Fordham Ram, March 28, 2012
John Brennan’s Selection as Fordham’s 167th Commencement Speaker: Stand Against This Outrage Initiated by Fordham students Michael Pappas and Scott McDonald http://www.change.org/petitions/john-brennan-s-selection-as-fordham-s-167th-commencement-speaker-stand-against-this-outrage
We ask that Fordham University choose an alternative commencement speaker Initiated by students at Fordham campus at Lincoln Center http://www.change.org/petitions/fordham-university-students-we-ask-that-fordham-university-choose-an-alternative-commencement-speaker
OTHER ARTICLE SPECIFIC TO FORDHAM
Netanyahu v Obama: What Next?
http://www.alanhart.net/netanyahu-v-obama-what-next/
This article by one of the most experienced and credible specialists on the Middle East is six months old. It was just brought to my attention; it is the best I’ve seen on the issue.
I think Alan Hart has it right. And that is precisely why all steps should be taken to prevent a “false-flag” incident from getting us involved in a war with Iran.
At very least, the U.S. Navy and its Iranian counterpart need to be able to communicate directly with each other. A Pentagon proposal to enable this has been hung up in the Senate for over two months, apparently by senior Senators who look favorably, or at least with equanimity, at the prospect of war with Iran.