Showing results by author "Stephen Weissman"

Born in London, in 1889, Charlie Chaplin grew up in dire poverty. Both his parents were in show business, but severe alcoholism cut short his father's flourishing career, and his beloved mother first lost her voice, then lost her mind to syphilis. Charlie, at age seven, was committed to the Hanwell School for Orphans and Destitute Children. How then did this poor, lonely child become such an extraordinary comedian, known and celebrated worldwide? Chaplin cut his teeth in British music halls, but it was America that made him.

It is easy to conclude that the U.S. Congress, deeply partisan and paralyzed by gridlock, is simply incapable of playing a constructive role in matters of war and peace. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and indeed, it wasn’t always. From the late 1960s to the early 1990s, Congress weighed in responsibly on conflicts in Southeast Asia, Central America, the Middle East, and southern Africa. Now is the perfect time for congressional leaders to breathe new life into an essential component of American democracy.

Newly available evidence shows that the CIA engaged in pervasive political meddling and paramilitary action in Congo during the 1960s - and that the local CIA station chief directly influenced the events that led to the death of Patrice Lumumba, the country's first democratically elected prime minister.

Cohen and Cogan portray U.S. involvement in Congo in the 1960s as necessary and relatively benign. Weissman replies.