Posted on Categories Podcast Info, Politics

Ray McGovern on Iraq and AfPak Wars, WikiLeaks, and Goldberg’s Saber Rattling on Iran

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and longtime contributor to the PBC show, sits for his first Boiling Frogs interview, co-hosted with Sibel Edmonds. Topics include Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, WikiLeaks and Jeffrey Goldberg’s call for war with Iran. McGovern is a member of National Security Whistleblower’s Coalition, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and works with Tell the Word in Washington, D.C. In this wide-ranging conversation, McGovern talks about Obama’s crackdown on leakers, the Pat Tillman story and sacking of Gen. McChrystal, the misguided “surges” or US troops in Afghanistan based on the myth of the success of Bush’s “surge” in Iraq. At one point, he takes us back to the Bronx where he grew up to define the term “wuss” and why it fits Obama. He talks about WikiLeaks, and his doubts about Gordon Duff”s assertion that Mossad is involved (listen to podcast 167). And in the final part of the conversation, McGovern shares with us his analysis of the recent article published in the Atlantic written by the infamous American-Israeli writer Jeffrey Goldberg on Israel’s case for bombing Iran and the reasons why the United States should join in.
McGovern’s 27-year career as a CIA analyst spanned administrations from John F. Kennedy to George H. W. Bush. His duties at CIA included chairing National Intelligence Estimates and preparing the President’s Daily Brief (PDB). During the mid-eighties, he was one of the senior analysts conducting early morning briefings of the PDB one-on-one with the Vice President, the Secretaries of State and Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Ray received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Fordham College, designated a Distinguished Military Graduate, he was commissioned upon graduation and served as an infantry/intelligence officer in the US Army from 1962-64. He holds an M.A. in Russian Studies from Fordham University and a certificate in Theological Studies from Georgetown University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.