CIA Director-designate John Brennan stumbled through less-than-challenging questions at his Senate confirmation hearing, struggling to square the circle of his past ties to abuses in the "war on terror" with his future promises to be a force for openness and reform, as ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman notes.

CIA nominee John Brennan was repeatedly questioned about torture at his CIA confirmation hearing, including the use of waterboarding and enhanced interrogation techniques. He refused to say waterboarding was a form of torture, but said he has come to oppose the technique. Under George W. Bush, Brennan served as deputy executive director of the CIA and director of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. "Remember, he was the cheerleader for some of these onerous policies, particularly renditions and extraordinary renditions. So, for John Brennan today to say he read the Senate committee intelligence report on torture and he learned things he never knew before and that he was shocked with what he learned, this is a case of incredible willful ignorance," says Melvin Goodman, former CIA and State Department analyst.

Mel Goodman discusses his new book National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism.

The myth that bad intelligence led to the Iraq War won't die, but the evidence is clear that President George W. Bush decided to invade after 9/11, though Iraq had nothing to do with the attack, and intel was assembled to sell the invasion to a scared U.S. public, as ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman explains.

Discussing the nomination of John Brennan to head the CIA, what questions the Senate Intelligence Committee should ask him during his confirmation hearings, and what kind of leadership Goodman thinks the  CIA needs.  Interview begins around 9 minute mark.

Mel Goodman discusses his new book National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism.

As George Bush and his national security team marched the U.S. off to war in Iraq, they were aided by key news outlets, especially the neocon-dominated Washington Post. Now a decade later, the Post still won't take a hard, honest look at what was done, writes ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman.

Mel Goodman discusses his new book, National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism, and the nomination of Chuck Hagel to Secretary of Defense.  Interview begins at 17 minute mark.

"'We have hundreds of military bases all over the world,' Melvin A. Goodman observes in National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism (City Lights). 'Few countries have any.' Goodman, a former Army cryptographer and a longtime C.I.A. analyst who taught at the National War College for eighteen years, is one of a growing number of critics of U.S. military spending, policy, and culture who are veterans of earlier wars."

Mitch Jeserich of KPFA Berkeley's "Letters and Politics" interviews Mel Goodman. Interview begins at 26 minute marker.

Melvin Goodman talked about his book, National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism, in which he argues that our current level of spending on defense is excessive and is making us less secure. Goodman spoke at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco in January 2013.

The "Boston Globe's" Jan Gardner highlights Mel Goodman's "National Insecurity" in her latest column.

Mel Goodman, a former CIA agent who rallied support against John Brennan for his previous nomination to head the CIA, discusses his new nomination on KPFA, Berkeley (begins @ 28 min.)

Mel Goodman weighs in on the future of the CIA's leadership: "A respected civilian leader could correct flawed analytical and operational processes and name an inspector general who is a junkyard dog."

"Mel Goodman responds to the editorial 'David Petraeus' Affair Has Damaged the Nation' by explaining that in choosing national security advisers, Obama has 'ignored the need for an independent civilian voice to counter the influence and worst-case analysis of military intelligence.'"

Mel Goodman discusses David Petraeus's testimony on Benghazi attack in this radio interview.

Goodman gives the back story on the Benghazi attack explaining it was not the political cover-up that the Right has pushed, but rather how the U.S. consulate had grown into a CIA base, making it an inviting target for militants. The primary security failure was in not anticipating the danger.

Mitt Romney's three debate performances in October 2012 have exposed his political cynicism, with the Republican candidate abandoning long-term positions in order to adopt more moderate ideas for the run-up to the election.

In this op-ed for The Baltimore Sun, Mel Goodman, a former CIA-analyst and author of the forthcoming National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism, explains why now is the time for cuts in defense spending.

Mel Goodman speaks before the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire on how 9/11 could have been prevented.

Ex-CIA analyst Mel Goodman critiques the intelligence reforms put forward by the 9/11 Commission.

A radio interview in which Mel Goodman discusses his CIA career.