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Mel Goodman, ex-CIA and State Dept, on Snowden Spying Leaks and Obama’s May 23 Speech; Labor Journalist James Lerner’s Account of GE WWII War Crimes and More

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Mel Goodman’s recent book is National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism, and today he takes on the Snowden NSA leaks and Obama’s national security pivot speech;  Anna Marie Taylor, co-editor of Course of Action, recounts the life and times of James Lerner.Goodman spent 24 years as a Soviet analyst at CIA and State Dept, and has taught at the National War College.  Considering that background, his comments about Ed Snowden’s NSA leaks are remarkable.  Goodman talks about how he broke with his old colleagues when he publicly opposed the Bush I nomination of Robert Gates to CIA director, and expresses his respect for the decisions to disclose made by Bradley Manning and Snowden.  We discuss the phone records order from the FISA court, the PRISM disclosures, and the cyberwarfare memo.  We talk about the power that Gen. Keith Alexander has as head of NSA and Cyber Command, and the American public’s passive acceptance of the expanding surveillance machinery.

We also get Goodman’s comments on Obama’s May 23 speech at National Defense University, where he offered some rhetoric about ending the perpetual war, limiting presidential power to kill with drones, and closing Guantanamo–but provided no plan or leadership.

At 46 minutes, we are joined by Anna Marie Taylor, co-editor of Course of Action: a Journalist’s Account from Inside the American League Against War and Fascism… Taylor takes us back to the day when labor unions had their own newspapers and major papers all had reporters assigned to the labor/union beat.  The history of the League, which opposed US entry into WWII, is quite interesting, as is the exclusive reporting that Lerner did on the war crimes trial that linked General Electric to the Krupp industries in Nazi Germany.  To get more info and buy a book, click here.