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Clarke Praises Bush in Resignation Letter ( / AP) Permalink WASHINGTON - The White House, seeking to cool criticism from a former top anti-terror adviser, said Tuesday that Richard Clarke's resignation letter praised President Bush 's "courage, determination, calm and leadership" on Sept. 11, 2001. | |
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Taegan Goddard: And the AP notes Clarke praised Bush for his "courage, determination, calm and leadership" in his resignation letter. Against All Enemies :... Jesse Taylor: Batter Up — You can almost hear the desperation dripping off of this - Richard Clarke's resignation letter has been made public. Here's the... Jonah Goldberg: But that's debatable. What's not debatable, it seems to me, is that if he were serious, he wouldn't write a resignation letter like this. |
Steven Taylor: Intriguing: Clarke Praised Bush in Resignation Letter, Specifically About How Bush Dealt with 911 — From the Miami Herald: Clarke Praises Bush... Josh Marshall: Here's the phrase that they're highlighting: "It has been an enormous privilege to serve you these last 24 months ... I will always remember the... |
Dick Clarke Is Telling the Truth ( / Slate) Permalink I have no doubt that Richard Clarke, the former National Security Council official who has launched a broadside against President Bush's counterterrorism policies, is telling the truth about every single charge. There are three reasons for this confidence. | |
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Oliver Willis: Dick Clarke Is Telling the Truth Clarke's distinction, of course, is that he was the ultimate insider - as highly and deeply inside, on this... Atrios: Kaplan on Clarke — Fred Kaplan at Slate explains why anyone who really has doubt about what Clarke is telling is us a liar or a fool. David Allan Pell: There are three reasons for this confidence." |
Jesse Taylor: Liars Run On Preemption — Fred Kaplan lays out rather convincingly why to believe Richard Clarke - the most important reason, I believe, is that... Phil Carter: Another voucher for Clarke: Slate's Fred Kaplan, who has covered America's defense community for quite some time, writes that Richard Clarke is... |
Logic Jam ( / TNR) Permalink Previous critics of the Bush administration have proved to be easy targets for the White House. The Bushies effortlessly dismissed Paul O'Neill with a wave of the hand. "We're not in the business of doing book reviews. I don't get in the business of selling or promoting or... | |
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Daniel Drezner: Ryan Lizza adds, "this White House has never been confronted with such a credible and nonpartisan critic on the issue of terrorism." Second, he... Jacob Levy: See lots from Josh Marshall, and this roundup from Ryan Lizza. Particularly damaging is Dick Cheney arguing that Clarke doesn't know what he's... |
Taegan Goddard: Why The White House Is Worried About Clarke — Ryan Lizza notes Richard Clarke "is undoubtedly the toughest critic whose credibility the White... Matthew Yglesias: Never mind, in fact, that, as Ryan Lizza points out, the entire line of defense coming from the administration is a mass of contradictions. What... |
DICK'S TALL TALE (New York Post) Permalink RICHARD Clarke is the greatest man who has ever strode this planet's surface. I know this because I have just read his book, "Against All Enemies." | |
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Josh Marshall: I mean, just think of the list: Rand Beers, well-known partisan Democrat and hack, Richard Clarke, self-promoter, disgruntled former employee,... Peter Robinson: Read John's column here. And to the reader of with whom I've been exchanging emails on the legitimate uses of condescension, I offer the column... Adam White: John Podhoretz pulls no punches on the matter of Richard Clarke. Neither do the editors of Investors Business Daily. |
Matthew Yglesias: John Podhoretz opens up yet another line on Richard Clarke — he worked for Bill Clinton so he must be bad: "Some might suggest that since... Jesse Taylor: Delusion To Dishonesty In 1.3 Seconds — John Podhoretz read a few pages of Against All Enemies, and he's damn pissed. Damn damn damn pissed,... The Big Trunk: And as John Podhoretz observes in "Dick's tall tale," in Clarke's homage to the first song ever played on the national edition of Bandstand,... |
| Also: Betsy Newmark | |
Clinton, Bush Chose Diplomacy Prior to 9/11 ( / WaPo) Permalink Both the Clinton and the Bush administrations failed to aggressively pursue Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, repeatedly choosing diplomatic rather than military options and often delaying crucial decisions on how to proceed,... | |
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Daniel Drezner: Furthermore, as the Washington Post reports, in the end the administration did get this one right, in the form of a September 10, 2001 deputies... Kevin Drum: MY WISH...Madeleine Albright, testifying before Congress today, says the Clinton administration "did everything we could, everything we could... |
David Adesnik: Depending on one's perspective, the preliminary findings released by the 9/11 commission were either restrained in their criticism or forceful in... |
White House Counters Ex-Aide (WaPo) Permalink President Bush's top aides launched a ferocious assault on the former White House counterterrorism official who accused Bush of failing to act on the al Qaeda threat before Sept. 11, 2001, and strengthening terrorists by pursuing a misguided focus on Iraq. | |
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Robert Garcia Tagorda: Why Attacking Richard Clarke Makes for Bad Politics — I have no idea if the Bush administration's claims — which cast the former... Tim Graham: The first words I read on the front page of the Washington Post today: "President Bush's top aides launched a ferocious assault on the former... Cori Dauber: This Post story is completely in alignment with those stories. The narrative goes like this: whatever Clarke has to say about the President's... |
Mark Kleiman: Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) thinks slime & defend isn't good enough: This is a serious book written by a serious professional who's made serious... Taegan Goddard: The Washington Post notes Bush's top aides "launched a ferocious assault" on Clarke's credibility. Political Animal makes the obvious, but... David Adesnik: Anyhow, I'm sure we'll have lots more chances to discuss the issue since the White House has now launched an aggressive counterattack against... |
| Also: Kevin Drum, Oliver Willis | |
Miller slams Kerry, renews offer to Bush ( / The Hill) Permalink Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.), who has been his party's most loyal supporter of President Bush in the Senate, has delivered a blistering critique of Sen. John Kerry's leadership while renewing his offer to campaign for Bush in the South in "any way that I can help him." | |
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Jesse Taylor: The South Shall Quietly Meander Into The Night — The Hill has an interview with Zell "Mickey Kaus Is My Illegitimate Child" Miller today... Meteor Blades: Miller slams Kerry, renews offer to Bush Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.), who has been his party's most loyal supporter of President Bush in the Senate,... |
Nick Confessore: The latest example of this is in today's edition of The Hill, which reports: "Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.), who has been his party's most loyal... Steve Dillard: Miller slams Kerry, renews offer to Bush—Georgia Democrat says he's willing to help 'any way I can': If only there were more dems like Zell,... |
Ex-Bush Aide, Finding Fault, Sets Off Debate (NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 22 — As the White House opened an aggressive personal attack against its former counterterrorism chief, Richard A. Clarke, a furious debate broke out on Monday about the credibility of his assertion that President Bush pushed him the day after the Sept. 11... | |
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Tom Maguire: NY Times: Elisabeth Bumiller and Judith Miller. Our fave exculpatory detail: Mr. Clarke said Mr. Bush pressed him three times to find evidence... Rich Lowry: "INTIMIDATING" The New York Times has identified three people who confirm Dick Clarke's account of President Bush asking him to look into any... Cori Dauber: But they utterly misunderstand why. Before I get there, there are a few quick details about the Times coverage I want to get out of the way... |
Hugh Hewitt: The New York Times pressed Clarke on this disclosure, and he responded that he had been friends with Beers for 25 years "and I'm not going to run... Jesse Taylor: Attacks — There'd almost be something ironic about the "uniter not a divider" sending out his attack dogs to try and discredit Richard Clarke... |
Powell and Albright Defend Records During 9/11 Hearing ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 23 — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and his predecessor, Madeleine K. Albright, defended their respective administrations' performance in battling terrorism today, asserting that Presidents Bush and Bill Clinton were both acutely aware of the dangers... | |
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David Adesnik: If I were in the habit of taking my own advice, I would then read the transcript of today's hearing before the 9/11 commission rather than... James Joyner: Powell and Albright Defend Records — NYT: Powell and Albright Defend Records During 9/11 Hearing We’ve learned nothing new from the... |
David Allan Pell: The Hearings — Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright both appeared before the 9-11 Commission on Tuesday and defended their adminstration's... |
For Bush administration, help from an unlikely source ( / Newsday) Permalink When it really needed it, the beleaguered Bush administration found some succor Tuesday from an unlikely and potentially dangerous source: the commission investigating the 9/11 terror attacks. | |
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Betsy Newmark: A Newsday columnist says that the 9/11 Commission hearings are actually helping the Bush administration. "Just as the administration was... |
Taegan Goddard: However, Newsday says just as the administration "was launching a frantic effort to fend off" Clarke's allegations, the 9-11 commission... |
A Dick Clarke Top Seven (NRO) Permalink Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism czar in four successive administrations, testifies in front of the 9/11 Commission on Wednesday. But what should have been a serious inquiry into how a loosely knit gang of Islamic fanatics could rise to become one of... | |
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Betsy Newmark: Mansoor Ijaz also has some questions for Richard Clarke. What do you think the chances are that any of the journalists interviewing MR. Clarke... C. D. Harris: See also Mansoor Ijaz debunking Clarke quite effectively - noting that he himself personally briefed the Bush NSC on al-Qaida and that, far from... |
Randy Barnett: Here is part of the introduction to A Dick Clarke Top Seven: "The 9/11 commissioners have a thankless job of asking tough questions that nobody... |
Israel Says All Militant Leaders Marked for Death ( / Reuters) Permalink JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said all Palestinian militant leaders were "in its sights" Tuesday and put its security forces on high alert to meet any retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin. | |
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Steven Den Beste: The only thing that could conceivably prevent that would be highly-regarded long-standing Palestinian leaders. If the leaders of various... Charles Johnson: Time's Up, Creeps — Ariel Sharon has signed an order marking all Palestinian terrorist leaders for execution. Finally. Unfortunately, this... |
Smash: THE ONLY GOOD TERRORIST...IS A DEAD TERRORIST. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said all Palestinian militant leaders were "in its sights"... |
FBI Tracked Kerry in Vietnam Vets Group (WaPo) Permalink Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) was subjected to extensive surveillance by the FBI for more than a year as he led protests by an anti-Vietnam War organization for veterans against the Nixon administration's war policies, according to FBI documents. | |
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Tom Maguire: MORE: The WaPo could scarcely care less about the reported assasination plot: The documents shed new light on some of Kerry's activities and... Tim Graham: NICOSIA, VERSIONS I & II — The WashPost reports today that radical left war protester John Kerry (okay, they didn't use the "radical left" part)... |
Captain Ed: For instance, the Washington Post put two reporters on this story, and came up with essentially the exact same article that the Times ran. The... |
Documents reveal FBI surveillance of Kerry in early 1970s (CNN) Permalink NEW YORK (CNN) — John Kerry's combat experience in Vietnam is central to his bid to become the next commander-in-chief, but Kerry's outspoken opposition to that war drew the personal attention of the president of the United States and FBI agents 33 years ago, documents... | |
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David Allan Pell: The FBI followed John Kerry in the early 70s. Hmm. So it should be no problem for them to follow him again, starting in November... Captain Ed: Only CNN managed to put together that the surveillance and the assassination plot might somehow be related, but wrote the article as an... |
Nick Confessore: Here's a fascinating breaking story from CNN about the FBI's decision — presumably at Richard Nixon aide Chuck Colson's request — to put John... Hesiod: MORE ON KERRY IN 1971: From CNN — [quote] "Kerry's break with VVAW came at the end of 1971 during a four-day convention for VVAW national...[end quote] |
Hamas' Missteps Set Scene for Yassin Assassination (DEBKAfile) Permalink The same mistakes that set the scene for the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin are now tying the hands of his organization for carrying out its sworn revenge mega-strike against his Israeli killers. | |
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Allah: But DEBKAfile says Hamas is out of its depth: "Hamas lacks the organization for operations outside the Gaza Strip... To find terrorists... |
Tom Smith: Debka.com on Yassin assassination — Good intel. |
Latter Day Federalists ( / Weekly Standard) Permalink I HEARD IT ON FEBRUARY 27, 2004, for the very first time: an argument on a major media outlet for polygamy. "It doesn't really matter to me who marries who," said attorney Ron Kuby on ABC 770 talk radio. "You can't deny millions of people rights because you are afraid other... | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Over at the Corner, Ramesh Ponnuru has a number of good posts defending Hatch's amendment from an attack in the Weekly Standard by Maggie... |
Ramesh Ponnuru: MAGGIE NOW — Maggie Gallagher has an article in The Weekly Standard arguing that we need a national definition of marriage as the union of a man... |
Bush Defends Israel, Takes Hamas Threat Seriously ( / Reuters) Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Tuesday defended Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas and said he may send a delegation to the region next week to try to keep the peace process alive following the assassination of the group's leader by Israeli forces. | |
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David Bernstein: From Reuters, via Little Green Footballs. Reuters, by the way, can't seem to help itself, and blatantly editorializes in the midst of its news... |
Charles Johnson: Bush Backs Israel — President Bush backs Israel in the execution of Yassin. (Hat tip: scaramouche.) [quote] "Any country has the right to defend...[end quote] |
3/22 Archived Show: (Rush Limbaugh) Permalink I urge you to read a piece from SecurityFocus.com, by a man named George Smith, senior fellow at globalsecurity.org. This piece was written on February 17th of 2001 and it's titled, "Richard Clarke's Legacy of Miscalculation." | |
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Howard Kurtz: "He's a discredited old guy," says Rush Limbaugh, "and so now he's trying to recapture his credit and credibility where all discredited old... |
Betsy Newmark: Rush Limbaugh has ten questions for Richard Clarke. Here are some samples. "Question number 1: Mr. Clarke, the first time the Sudanese... |
Telephonic Interview of the Vice President by Rush Limbaugh (White House) Permalink Q We are always happy to be able to talk to Vice President Dick Cheney who joins us now on the phone. Vice President Cheney, thank you for making time. It's great to have you with us once again. | |
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Daniel Drezner: He also appeared on 60 Minutes. The Bush administration using the big guns — Condoleezza Rice and Richard Cheney — to fire back. Howard Kurtz... Mark Kleiman: 2. What he says is convincing. 3. What he says makes the Bush team look very bad. 4. What Cheney says about Clarke is a pack of lies. My friend's... |
Tom Maguire: Condoleeza Rice, Washington Post, "9/11: For The Record" Dick Cheney interview with Rush Limbaugh ("Out of the loop" seems absurd) White House... Thomas Lang: Today's topic: Vice President Dick Cheney's appearance on Rush Limbaugh. In the beginning of the interview Cheney stated that Clarke "wasn't in... |
Data Dispute Bush's 'Rich' Label for Small Business ( / Reuters) Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the presidential race's war of words over the economy, President Bush makes it sound as if small-business owners are in the cross hairs of Democrat John Kerry's plan to roll back tax cuts for wealthy Americans. | |
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Nathan Newman: But the data shows most small business owners wouldn't see any tax increase under Kerry's plans: [quote] Taxing the rich? "Bush said during a recent...[end quote] |
Jesse Taylor: And by close, I mean "any". In the presidential race's war of words over the economy, President Bush makes it sound as if small-business owners... |
350 Tax Increases? ( / Slate) Permalink President Bush seems to be running his re-election campaign on the basis of the Powell Doctrine: Go in with overwhelming force from the start, and strike a blow from which the enemy can never recover. Like the United States in Iraq, the Bush campaign has superior fire power... | |
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Taegan Goddard: Tax Increases And The Powell Doctrine — "President Bush seems to be running his re-election campaign on the basis of the Powell Doctrine: Go in... |
David Allan Pell: Talking Taxes — Michael Kinsley on John Kerry's 350 tax increases (it may as well be described at 3.5 million of them): "President Bush seems to... |
Hiibel Thumpers ( / Slate) Permalink The Supreme Court hears oral argument this morning in the "drunken cowboy" case, a privacy dispute that has the conspiracy nuts in a tailspin and me in trouble with my Civil Procedure professor. The issue in Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada is variously... | |
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Gary Farber: Read The Rest Scale: 3 out of 5. God knows what rule will come of this. ADDENDUM: Dahlia Lithwick, unsurprisingly, has more. |
Brian Doherty: Dahlia Lithwick reports on yesterday's oral arguments in the Hiibel I.D. case over at Slate. From this account, it doesn't seem as if the Supreme... |
It may have been right to kill Yassin, but it was also stupid ( / Telegraph) Permalink An interview with Ahmed Yassin is one of the most confusing encounters in a reporter's career. The unsuspecting journalist would scour the room for the subject of the interview, the spiritual leader of Hamas, whose word was enough to start a blood-spattered campaign of... | |
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Steven Den Beste: (On Screen): I see a lot of commentary online now regarding Israel's decision to kill Yassin yesterday. This editorial in The Telegraph is... |
Andrew Stuttaford: Read the whole thing. |
Public Testimony Before 9/11 Panel (NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 23 - Following is the the transcript of public testimony from four high-ranking officials from the Bush and Clinton administrations before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, as recorded by Federal News Service. | |
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Atrios: More Weird Things — I'm pretty fascinated by Rumsfeld's scathing indictment of those appeasers in the Reagan administration... Not long ago, we... |
David Allan Pell: You can follow the hearings in Text or Live Video. Here's an update: No one did a good enough job dealing with Al Qaeda prior to 9-11. |
Clarke's Highs and Lows (NRO) Permalink Before examining Richard Clarke's recent broadside against the White House, it's worth noting that he's not a typical Bush critic. | |
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Cori Dauber: Given the way the NRO essay phrased it, I assumed this was a response from Shays to the book, an attempt to defend the President, so I Googled... |
Billmon: Just to show that not all right wingers have been reduced to complete absurdity by Clarke's book, Jim Geraghty has a piece up at the National... |
Blood-thirsty Arabs, vigilante Jews ( / Salon) Permalink A Jewish settler named Avi Shapiro vows to eliminate the "sons of Arab whores." He dons his yarmulke and, along with 12 vigilantes, riddles a Palestinian taxi with bullets. A Pakistani youth unfurls a photo of the Sears Tower and sneers, like a villain in a Chuck Norris... | |
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David Bernstein: USA Today Scandal Update: This Salon story about Kelley's fabrications is headlined, "Bloodthirsty Arabs, Vigilante Jews," but no bloodthirsty... Roger Ailes: As reported at Salon.com, Mr. Kelley was on the faculty of the Institute until very recently. Interestingly, Kelley was slated to teach a May... |
Ed Cone: I'll buy that to a certain degree...but Salon's John Gorenfeld shows that Kelley's fabrications were especially pernicious, and got plenty of... Atrios: Culture of Death — John Gorenfeld has an article in tomorrow's Salon about USA Today's Jack Kelley. As far as I can tell, the dude was basically... |
U.S. OK'd plan to topple Taliban a day before 9-11 (MSNBC) Permalink WASHINGTON - One day before the Sept. 11 attacks, senior Bush administration officials agreed that the United States would try to overthrow Afghanistan's Taliban rulers if a final diplomatic push to expel Osama bin Laden from the country failed, a federal panel reported... | |
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David Allan Pell: September 10, 2001 and the plan to topple the Taliban. Plus, Clinton considered killing bin Laden on three separate occasions but pulled the plug... |
Jon Henke: Now you tell us... This is what I'm afraid of... "An independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks said Tuesday that both the... |
We tried appeasement once before... ( / Telegraph) Permalink A neighbour of mine refuses to let her boy play with "militaristic" toys. So when a friend gave the l'il tyke a plastic sword and shield, mom mulled it over and then took away the former and allowed him to keep the latter. And for a while, on my drive down to town, I'd pass... | |
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Betsy Newmark: Mark Steyn says that we have lost or never had the will to resist genocide. "For more than a week now, American friends have asked me why 3/11... McQ: The European meaning of "Never Again" — Mark Steyn takes a shot at the European "commitment" to fighting terrorism with a comparison to their... Tim Blair: WORST TOY EVER — Mark Steyn on shield mastery: [quote] A neighbour of mine refuses to let her boy play with "militaristic" toys. So when a friend gave...[end quote] |
Charles Johnson: Neville Again — Mark Steyn is always cogent, amusing, and perceptive, not to mention scintillating and enchanting, and his latest column for the... James Joyner: The Lessons of WWII — Mark Steyn compares American and European attitudes toward terrorism: "For more than a week now, American friends have... |
An Accuser's Insider Status Puts the White House on the Defensive ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 22 — John Kerry himself has never dared to make such a bald charge: That President Bush failed to adequately grasp the threat of Al Qaeda in the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, then followed up with "an unnecessary and costly war in Iraq that... | |
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Tom Maguire: NY Times, Todd Purdum: Our fave troubling detail: He acknowledges his close friendship with Rand Beers, a foreign service officer who succeeded... Taegan Goddard: Clarke's Insider Status Puts Bush On Defensive — "At the worst possible moment," the charges made by Richard Clarke in Against All Enemies :... |
Steven Taylor: I Can Tell I am Going to Tire of this Clarke Story Rather Quickly — OK, from this story, News Analysis: An Accuser's Insider Status Puts the... Roger L. Simon: UPDATE: The New York Times is now weighing in on this brouhaha near the top of its website (and I presume on its front page) with a Todd Purdum... |
Who's brainwashed in America? ( / Townhall.com) Permalink Ask some non-religious liberal friends how they would describe a person who attended only fundamentalist Christian or ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools from preschool through graduate school. "Brainwashed" and "closed-minded" would be their most likely answers, and they would... | |
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In-Cog-Nito: PC Brainwashing — Excellent article by Dennis Prager. |
Jesse Taylor: At least, according to the clear-minded and above all else, not brainwashed Dennis Prager. If you went to secular schools, you're brainwashed. If... |
Above-Average Economy in the Swing States Has Few Rejoicing ( / NYT) Permalink MAPLE GROVE, Minn., March 16 — Little about the suburbs of Minnesota's Twin Cities fits the popular image of a struggling Midwestern swing state in this election year. | |
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Susan Q. Stranahan: Undoubtedly, we'll see lots more stories like today's analysis by David Leonhardt of the New York Times. Leonhardt delivers a classic... |
Taegan Goddard: Economy Better In Battleground States — The New York Times reports that 80,000 new jobs have been created in the 17 battleground states since... |
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin ( / Guardian) Permalink When, in October 1997, the halfblind, almost wholly paralysed Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who has been killed in an Israeli air strike at the age of around 67, arrived in Gaza, after being released from an Israeli jail in exchange for Mossad agents caught redhanded trying to... | |
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Charles Johnson: Guardian: Never Met a Jewkiller They Didn't Like — You won't believe this one, as the Guardian lavishes slobbery praise on the monster Yassin... |
Scott Burgess: Example 2: [quote] "In truth, neither Arafat nor Yassin had Mandela's special greatness. But of the two, it was Yassin, the founder-leader of the...[end quote] |
One Nation, Enriched by Biblical Wisdom ( / NYT) Permalink Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether it is constitutional for public school teachers to lead the Pledge of Allegiance, including the phrase "one nation under God," in their classrooms. So tonight's reading assignment is "A Stone of Hope" by David L.... | |
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Matt Yglesias: Mouthfuls of Straw — Chris Mooney finds one hell of a strawman lurking in D. Brooks' latest: "If you believe that the separation of church and... |
Nathan Hallford: One Nation Under God: David Brooks has an insightful, and interesting, piece on the role of religion, and Biblical wisdom, in the public... |
Kerry Gets Boost From Surprising Sources ( / WaPo) Permalink Sen. John F. Kerry's presidential campaign is getting an unexpected boost from an unlikely bunch: former Bush administration officials and congressional Republicans. | |
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Noam Scheiber: THE WASHINGTON POST CARRIES BUSH'S WATER: This paragraph from a Washington Post piece about how Republicans and former Bush administration... |
Jesse Taylor: Everybody Loves Kerry — If Kerry can get proper clearance from the various news networks, and from the Republicans themselves, I think he would... |
Hamas Vows Revenge Against Israel, U.S.; Did Bush Administration Drop the Ball on War on Terror? (CNN) Permalink WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Fury in the Middle East. Israel targets the founder of Hamas. | |
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Josh Marshall: This is Bush NSC spokesman Jim Wilkinson again on Wolf Blitzer last night ... "The terrorists weren't overseas, the terrorists were here in... |
Digby: Try to imagine if Hillary... These excerpts are in addition to his interesting posts from yesterday on The Age Of Sacred Terror, one of the... |
Richard Clarke's misfire ( / Townhall.com) Permalink It seems one of the least plausible criticisms of a president who's often portrayed as one of the world's greatest warmongers since Caesar Augustus — that George Bush has been too weak on the War on Terror. But with the release of former Clinton and Bush counterterrorism... | |
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Tom Maguire: Rich Lowry to the defense: Clarke's book reads like a typical just-out-of-government memoir, a genre usually premised on the idea that if only... Rich Lowry: SADDAM & 9/11 — This is a good point about the costs of containing Saddam. E-mail: "Rich, Good column. However, I don't agree with your... |
The Big Trunk: Dick Clarke's American Grandstand — Rich Lowry devotes his column today to a review of Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies: "Richard Clarke's... Betsy Newmark: Cal Thomas and Rich Lowry do good takedowns on Richard Clarke. |
'The Body' has eye on tackling White House in 2008 ( / Boston Herald) Permalink Wrestler-turned-politician Jesse Ventura all but threw his hat into the 2008 presidential ring yesterday - and said he's already decided to tap basketball star Charles Barkley as a running mate. | |
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James Joyner: Ventura-Barkley '08 — Boston Herald "Wrestler-turned-politician Jesse Ventura all but threw his hat into the 2008 presidential ring yesterday -... |
Taegan Goddard: Ventura Wants To Run For President — Wrestler-turned-politician Jesse Ventura (I) "all but threw his hat into the 2008 presidential ring... |
Voting Bloc ( / Reason) Permalink Imagine a better Washington. Imagine a conservative Republican administration working hand in glove with liberal congressional Democrats on a foreign-policy initiative designed to strengthen the United Nations while simultaneously increasing America's clout there. Imagine... | |
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Matt Yglesias: Democracy Caucus — Glenn Reynolds endorsed and effort discussed by Jonathan Rauch to put together a democracy caucus in the UN. I like the idea,... Pejman Yousefzadeh: DARE I HOPE? This may be just the thing that the United Nations needs: "Imagine a better Washington. Imagine a conservative Republican... |
Glenn Reynolds: JONATHAN RAUCH offers actual good news about the U.N. No, really! |
Press Briefing Scott McClellan (White House) Permalink MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. I have a few phone calls to read out from the President's morning. The President called Sudan President Bashir this morning. He also called Dr. John Garang, Chairman of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement. The President indicated to both... | |
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David Neiwert: In this regard, perhaps the most amusing of the ad hominem attacks on Clarke are those that accuse him of publishing his book, and taking his... Angry Bear: Skippy catches a puzzling statement from Press Secretary McClellan: "Q Scott, this morning, you said the President didn't recall the... Matthew Yglesias: Hence, White House press secretary Scott McClellan noted yesterday that Clarke's "best buddy is Rand Beers, who is the principal foreign policy... |
Brad DeLong: (The Lies the Administration Chooses Are So Interesting Department) According to Scott McClellan, George W. Bush did not set foot in the White... Hesiod: GEORGE SEE SCOTT: From yesterday's press briefing by Ari-wannabe, Scott McClellan: [quote] "[T]his morning, the President called the NATO Secretary...[end quote] Atrios: Surrender — I have to say I found this statement by Our Dear Scotty, which keeps getting played and replayed, kind of disturbing: I think that... |
Soup row halts surgery (Guardian) Permalink Operations were cancelled yesterday at one of Britain's leading centres for neurosurgery after it suspended a consultant in a row about croutons and a bowl of hospital canteen soup. | |
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Patrick Belton: ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF NHS-RATIONALITY AT WORK: One of Britain's leading vascular neurosurgeons, Terence Hope of Nottingham, was suspended yesterday... |
Kevin Drum: CROUTON WARS...Via OxBlog, this is too good to pass up: "Operations were cancelled yesterday at one of Britain's leading centres for... |
Gardening leave for a surgeon in the soup (Telegraph) Permalink Terence Hope should have spent most of yesterday in hospital performing brain surgery. Instead, he was left kicking his heels at his £700,000 home. | |
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Patrick Belton: One paper notes: "The waiting time for brain operations in Nottingham is 39 days for out-patients. A report in 2000 by the Society of British... |
Scott Burgess: As the Daily Telegraph reports (emphasis added): "The alleged theft - whether it was of a bowl of soup or some croutons is unclear - took place... |
Inside the numbers: November ( / Townhall.com) Permalink The latest results of our InsiderAdvantage national poll in the presidential race show President George W. Bush back on top in a tight race against Sen. John Kerry. The same survey offers a glimpse into why Kerry has fallen from the wide lead he enjoyed over Bush just last... | |
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Betsy Newmark: Matt Towery looks inside some poll results on the election campaign. "The most telling insight on Kerry's poll slippage can be found when the... |
Taegan Goddard: Update: A new Insider Advantage poll also has Bush leading, 46% to 41% with Ralph Nader at 4%. |
The Book On Richard Clarke (WaPo) Permalink Minutes after the second jetliner hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Richard A. Clarke recounts in his new book, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice anointed him "crisis manager." | |
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Betsy Newmark: Even as the Washington Post flaks for Richard Clarke's book, they do note that basically no one liked him and that he is known for... |
Cori Dauber: The second article in the Post, which is by beat reporters, has two fascinating tidbits in it. The first is the fact that Clarke would know... |
Claim vs. Fact: Administration Officials Respond to Richard Clarke Interview (Center for American Progress) Permalink In the wake of Richard Clarke's well-supported assertions that the Bush Administration neglected counterterrorism in the face of repeated terror warnings before 9/11, the Bush Administration has launched a frantic misinformation campaign - often contradicting itself in the... | |
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Mark Kleiman: (See this summary of White House mendacity about Clarke from the Center for American Progress. It turns out that Cheney's claim in his Rush... |
Thomas Lang: Atrios and Brad Delong linked to this Center for American Progress press release that takes on Cheney's comments. Is it fair? Decide for... |
Kerry Attacks Venezuela's Chavez ( / Reuters) Permalink CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has attacked Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a dubious democrat hostile to U.S. interests, delivering a slap in the face to the leftist leader who had portrayed Kerry as a potential friend. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Reuters reports that Kerry is condemning Chavez today as a way of separating himself from his latest foreign admirer. KJL: KERRY DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM A FOREIGN LEADER (CHAVEZ) |
The Big Trunk: No sympathy for the devil — John Kerry is displaying his cojones by rejecting the endorsement of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez: "Kerry... |
A Day When the White House Reversed Its Stand on Israel ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 22 — The Bush administration, in the middle of its own campaign to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and others it considers terrorists, found itself on Monday in the position of being pressed by world opinion to criticize as "deeply troubling" Israel's... | |
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Gregory Djerejian: That's Not The Real Story — Steve Weisman writing in the NYT: "In a startling sequence of events unusual even for the ups and downs of Middle... |
Allah: UPDATE: Bush is with you, Arab News! [quote] "We're deeply troubled by this morning's events in Gaza," said Richard A. Boucher, the State Department...[end quote] |
Arab-Americans plan protest over killing of Hamas leader ( / New York Newsday) Permalink Arab-Americans will gather in Brooklyn Tuesday night to protest the killing of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of the Hamas militant organization. | |
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Allah: UPDATE: America mourns. Meanwhile, in London ... UPDATE: "Thank God Yassin is dead." UPDATE: Spaniards? Afraid? UPDATE: Gaza settlers: Damn... |
Charles Johnson: Fifth Column Watch — Arab-Americans will gather in Brooklyn Tuesday night to show their support for executed Hamas kingpin Sheikh Ahmed Yassin:... |
Our bin Laden (Jerusalem Post) Permalink Ahmed Yassin's death is a signal victory for Israel and for the war against terrorism. He was the military and spiritual leader of the terror war against Israel, just as Osama bin Laden is, or was, the military and spiritual leader of the war against the West. | |
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Deacon: But, as this this Jerusalem Post editorial asks, "Is there nothing worthy of praise in the elimination of the leader of an organization that has... Allah: Happy Yassin Day, Yaacov. Believe it or not, you're not the only one celebrating. And you'd better save some of that whiskey: DEBKAfile quotes a... |
Bunuel Cela: JPost editorial on Yassin — This is an excellent editorial on the right attitude in the Yassin case. |
3/19 Archived Show: (Rush Limbaugh) Permalink Note: This is a Rush transcript. An edited draft will be published with site update. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Another one of the Bush accusations has bothered me repeatedly - the idea that Clarke was/is fundamentally incompetent and was basically... Josh Marshall: Now, I don't expect Limbaugh to ask the question above. But look what Cheney said about Clarke. "RUSH: All right, let's get straight to what the... Angry Bear: About an hour ago, Dick Cheney was on Rush Limbaugh's show, advancing this story and adding a new one, that Clarke wasn't in the loop because he... |
Kevin Drum: And here is Dick Cheney making the point more directly on Rush Limbaugh's show this morning: "Well, he wasn't — he wasn't in the loop, frankly,... Betsy Newmark: Here's the administration counterattack on Richard Clarke. Dick Cheney went on the Rush Limbaugh show and said this. "It was as though he clearly... KJL: CHENEY ON CLARKE — The vice president went on Rush today. |
Chomsky backs 'Bush-lite' Kerry ( / Guardian) Permalink Noam Chomsky, the political theorist and leftwing guru, yesterday gave his reluctant endorsement to the Democratic party's presidential contender, John Kerry, calling him "Bush-lite", but a "fraction" better than his rival. | |
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Allah: Because rich people from Massachusetts have to stick together. "Noam Chomsky, the political theorist and leftwing guru, yesterday gave his... Charles Johnson: An endorsement (lukewarm, but an endorsement nonetheless) from the world's premier America-hating academic, Noam Chomsky: Chomsky backs... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: ANOTHER REASON TO VOTE AGAINST JOHN KERRY — Noam Chomsky just endorsed him. Well ... kind of: "Noam Chomsky, the political theorist and... |
White House Assails Ex-Official Critical of Antiterror Effort ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 22 — The White House mounted a fierce assault today on a former counterterrorism official who has criticized President Bush's performance in connection with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, labeling the ex-official's criticism ill-timed and irresponsible. | |
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Phil Carter: Update III: The New York Times has a Monday afternoon report on its website detailing the counter-battery fire loosed at Mr. Clarke by the White... |
Kos: But despite the evidence, both from news reports and the White House's own documents, the administration line today is that Clarke is a... |
9/11: Internal Government Documents Show How the Bush Administration Reduced Counterterrorism (Center for American Progress) Permalink Since September 11, President Bush and his supporters have repeatedly intimated that many of the President's political opponents are soft on terrorism. In his State of the Union address, the President declared: "We can go forward with confidence and resolve, or we can turn... | |
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Atrios: The documents can be found online at: Link Mathew Gross: Perhaps I could be wrong; the Center for American Progress piles on today with the release of a timeline illustrating how the Bush adminstration... |
Kos: More on Bush and terrorism — The Center for American Progress has more: - The Administration has defended its negligence in the face of pre-9/11... Hesiod: BUSH DROPPED THE BALL — UPDATE: The Center for American Progress has a number of internal Justice Department documents showing, without a doubt,... |
NEWS FOR SALE: CBS PUSHED BOOK IT OWNS; '60 MINUTES' DID NOT REVEAL PARENT COMPANY'S FINANCIAL STAKE IN CLARKE PROJECT (Drudge Report) Permalink CBSNEWS did not inform its viewers last night that its parent company owns and has a direct financial stake in the success of the book by former White House terror staffer turned Bush critic, Dick Clarke, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal. | |
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Emperor Darth Misha I: However, what CBS studiously avoided to mention during their fawning fellatio was that Viacom, Dickie's publisher, is CBS's parent company. Now... Betsy Newmark: And Drudge reports that 60 Minutes never told viewers that Clarke's book (and Paul O'Neill's book) is being published by Simon and Schuster,... Pejman Yousefzadeh: First of all, we have this lovely little conflict of interest: "CBSNEWS did not inform its viewers last night that its parent company owns and... |
Cori Dauber: (You don't think that could possibly have anything to do with the fact that they were outed today by Drudge do you? Nah, that's being paranoid... Macallan: It's Simple Really — If you are not completely 'round the bend and deep into Bush Derangement Syndrome, but are instead a sincere foreign policy... Captain Ed: CBS News Sells Out for Viacom, Fails to Disclose Financial Ties to Clarke — While CBS gave Richard Clarke the star treatment in a rare... |
| Also: Joel Foreman | |
Interview with Condoleezza Rice; Interview With Akbar Ahmed; '90-Second Pop' (CNN) Permalink BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 7:30 here in New York. It looks nice, but let me tell you, it's chilly outside. | |
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Tbogg: Steel cage smackdown — After reading this transcript of Condoleeza Rice on American Morning, I would pay good money to see her meet Clarke on... Kos: Source: CNN - The Administration is denying Richard Clarke's assertion that Iraq planning took place immediately on 9/11, despite previous... |
Charles Johnson: Here's the transcript. "O'BRIEN: In addition to that urgent memo, he talks about requesting cabinet-level meetings over eight months, denied... KJL: CONDI RICE ON AMERICAN MORNING — The transcript is here. |
The 9/11 Record (NRO) Permalink EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the text of a White House release issued right before the 60 Minutes interview with former White House counterterrorism official Richard Clarke aired on Sunday, March 21. | |
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Randy Barnett: The Administration's Response to Dick Clarke: While I do not disagree with Jacob's assessment of the statement identifying the assassination... Kevin Drum: I figured National Review would be a bellwether, but apparently they were caught off guard over the weekend and failed to get anything up except... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: (Again, be sure to read the whole article—it's quite illuminating.) Meanwhile, the White House has responded to Clarke's allegations. I take... |
Sulzberger on Blair, Miller, Getting a Job at the 'Times' ( / Editor and Publisher) Permalink NEW YORK Students attending the Spring National College Media Convention got a rare chance for a close brush with a famed newspaper publisher when Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. addressed the crowd of students and their advisers Thursday, opening the three-day weekend event at the... | |
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Atrios: I was very interested to read the following by the publisher of your newspaper. Were her sources wrong? Absolutely. Her sources were wrong. And... |
Nick Confessore: Speaking of Judith Miller, Editor & Publisher reports here on remarks New York Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. gave to the National... |
How We Got Homeland Security Wrong ( / Time) Permalink When researcher Karen Clark developed the first probability-based model for measuring the threat of natural disasters in the U.S. in 1987, almost no one cared. Clark, then 30, started her own company in Boston and used tens of thousands of data points—from the wind speeds... | |
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David Allan Pell: Time.com: "The fortification of Wyoming, and other strange tales from the new front line." |
Jeanne D'Arc: Still, this Time article is pretty depressing reading if you happen to live in one of the large vulnerable states that gets to pay to protect big... |
Ex-aide: Al-Qaida threat ignored ( / Indianapolis Star) Permalink In a new book, Richard A. Clarke, who was counterterrorism coordinator for President Bill Clinton and President Bush, asserts that while neither president did enough to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration has undermined U.S. national security by... | |
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Josh Marshall: The Times current article is here; but you can see the earlier version, preserved in amber shall we say, over here at the website of the... |
Brad DeLong: The Times current article is here; but you can see the earlier version, preserved in amber shall we say, over here at the website of the... |
Kerry Gets Some Help From GOP Senator (LAT) Permalink WASHINGTON — Sen. Charles Hagel of Nebraska on Sunday became the second Republican senator to break ranks with the Bush-Cheney campaign's characterization of John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, as soft on defense issues. | |
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David Allan Pell: Last time it was McCain, this time it was Nebraska's Charles Hagel who said: "The facts just don't measure [up to]the rhetoric ... You can take a... |
Mark Kleiman: Hagel defends Kerry on defense — Chuck Hagel (R-Neb) says that the White House isn't telling the truth about John Kerry's record on defense:... |
'Hate crime' professor put on leave (Pasadena Star News) Permalink A Claremont McKenna College psychology professor was placed on a temporary, paid leave of absence while the college investigates whether she vandalized her own car and reported it as a hate crime, according to a statement released Saturday by the college president. | |
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David Bernstein: In this article, professors express exactly such views. For example: "Some professors say the incident could set back their efforts, fueling the... |
Joanne Jacobs: Update: Dunn has been suspended from teaching while the college investigates the allegations she vandalized her own car. |
On Richard Clarke ( / Weekly Standard) Permalink "FRANKLY, I FIND IT OUTRAGEOUS that the president is running for re-election on the grounds that he's done such great things about terrorism. He ignored it. He ignored terrorism for months, when maybe we could have done something to stop 9/11. Maybe. We'll never know." | |
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Daniel Drezner: Stephen Hayes points out in the Weekly Standard that Clarke does come off as biased in throttling the Bush administration for apparent lassitude... Glenn Reynolds: Roger Simon says it's all about the Benjamins for Clarke, and Stephen F. Hayes wonders why Clarke is giving Clinton — who had a lot more time... Pejman Yousefzadeh: Then there is this story on Clarke by Stephen Hayes: "Clarke's testimonials are, in a word, bizarre. In his own world, Clarke was the hero who... |
Howard Kurtz: The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes has a very different take: "Clarke's testimonials are, in a word, bizarre. In his own world, Clarke was the... Roger L. Simon: We'll never know." Now as Stephen Hayes correctly points out the exact same thing could be said of Clinton, for whom Clarke was an advisor... Betsy Newmark: Stephen Hayes looks more in depth at Richard Clarke's accusations. "Clarke's testimonials are, in a word, bizarre. In his own world, Clarke was... |
| Also: Kevin Drum, Cori Dauber, Mike Alissi | |
9/11: For The Record ( / WaPo) Permalink The al Qaeda terrorist network posed a threat to the United States for almost a decade before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Throughout that period — during the eight years of the Clinton administration and the first eight months of the Bush administration prior to Sept. 11... | |
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Hugh Hewitt: National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice body slams the Clinton spinners trying to escape the blame for 9/11 unpreparedness. The Bush... Glenn Reynolds: ANOTHER UPDATE: Hmm. Clarke seems to have had trouble deciding who to worry about, despite his claims now. And here's Condi Rice's response... James Joyner: Rice On Record — Condoleeza Rice has an op-ed in today’s WaPo, presumably in response to Richard Clarke’s recent allegations. |
Josh Marshall: Meanwhile, on the Washington Post op-ed page, Condi Rice has a lengthy column presenting what can only be called a very, very different picture... John Hawkins: "The 9/11 attacks by al Qaeda were such an utter surprise to [National Security Advisor] Rice and [Defense Secretary] Rumsfeld, that it took them... Matthew Yglesias: Since Condoleezza Rice seems to have pulled the assignment of defending the administration from former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke's... |
| Also: Noam Scheiber, Betsy Newmark, Mike Alissi, Hesiod, Jesse Taylor, Max Sawicky, Atrios, KJL, Cori Dauber, Tbogg, Rice Grad, Oliver Willis | |
Analysis: Yassin's demise could generate attacks abroad ( / Jerusalem Post) Permalink Those who thought that hitting Sheikh Ahmed Yassin will serve as a deterrence are mistaken, Dr. Reuven Paz, research fellow of the National Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism of the Interdisciplinary Institute of Herzliya, told the Jerusalem Post. | |
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Billmon: Home Court Disadvantage — As usual, Israeli journalists and analysts are being infinitely tougher and more insightful in their coverage of the... Tim Cavanaugh: Killing will cause more terror. Yassin was a hero. Yassin was a bastard. UK condemns. South Africa condemns. Switzerland condemns. Vatican... |
Gregory Djerejian: I doubt it finally—though am open to contrary arguments. And so I think this operation, all told, was a mistake, especially if the goal was to... David Bernstein: For a largely contrary perspective, see this article in the Jerusalem Post. |
Sheikh Yassin: Spiritual figurehead (BBC) Permalink Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was a frail quadriplegic who could barely see. His voice was thin and quavering. | |
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Roger L. Simon: The characterization of Yassin as an impotent old man by such venues as the BBC and the Evening Standard is hypocritical nonsense (actually worse... |
Stephen Pollard: The BBC, not in the least bit biased — I pay my licence fee so the BBC can publish this sort of vile terrorist propaganda: "Sheikh Yassin:... |
Kerry 48, Bush 46 (Zogby) Permalink With less than eight months to go before the presidential election, likely voters are almost evenly divided in their support for a candidate to capture the White House in November. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry holds a slight edge of 48% to 46% over President George W.... | |
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Jesse Taylor: By the way, some good news - Zogby's latest poll shows that Kerry's running five points closer to Bush in red states than Bush is to Kerry in... Taegan Goddard: Voters Split Between Kerry And Bush — Likely voters "are almost evenly divided in their support for a candidate to capture the White House in... |
Ruy Teixeira: Kerry Leads Bush in Zogby Poll — Zogby's new poll has Kerry up, 48-46 over Bush. The poll also has Bush's job rating down to 46 percent, a... KJL: 48 KERRY/46 BUSH; WITH NADER, A TIE — New Zogby numbers. |
Analysis / Hamas may be only side to profit from Yassin's death ( / Haaretz) Permalink The assassination of Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin may well turn out to be a blow, not to Hamas, but to the Palestinian Authority. In the power struggle waged for the past several years in Gaza between the PA and Hamas, it was Yassin's organization... | |
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Common Sense: Listen to Danny Rubenstein, a writer for Haaretz , the leading Israeli newspaper: "The assassination of Hamas founder and spiritual leader... Gregory Djerejian: And so I think this operation, all told, was a mistake, especially if the goal was to hurt Hamas (if Sharon's strategy is simply to forment near... |
Billmon: And of course, if one of the parties committed to permanent war wins, then the other party with the same goal is likely to win as well: "Hamas... Allah: If the latter, the fundamentalist group would have to drive all the way in their takeover of the Gaza Strip by kicking the PA and its head Yasser... |
Hamas: Sharon has opened the gates of hell (Haaretz) Permalink Hamas leaders vowed Monday to "cut off" the head of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, after their spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in a missile strike by Israeli helicopter gunships in Gaza City. | |
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Gregory Djerejian: Given Sheikh Yassin's importance as the leader of Hamas—the shock waves stemming from this attack will also likely lead to the following: 1)... Fred Lapides: Aftermath articles — White House Denies Involvement in Hamas Death Sharon Commanded Yassin Mission Hezbollah: Israel will pay the highest... KJL: "SHARON HAS OPENED THE GATES OF HELL" |
David Allan Pell: ... March 21, 2004 Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin has been killed by an Israeli airstrike. Palestinians vow revenge. Will the death of one of... Harry Siegel: The AP early in its story numbered the Israelis killed in suicide bombings (474) since the beginning of the so-called Second Intifada, Ha'aretz... Allah: UPDATE: UPDATE: "Sharon has opened the gates of hell and nothing will stop us from cutting off his head." UPDATE: "This is the moment Sheik... |
Holy War in Europe ( / Weekly Standard) Permalink ON AUGUST 26, 1995, a militant Islamic group led by a 24-year-old French Muslim named Khaled Kelkal attempted to blow one of France's high-speed trains off its rails. Luckily, the bomb's detonator, which used an ordinary 12-volt battery, failed. Later that fall, other bombs... | |
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Hugh Hewitt: Andrew Sullivan wrote recently on Europe's second Munich, and this week's Weekly Standard has an article by Reuel Marc Gerecht on European... |
Roger L. Simon: "Fermer les Yeux" (UPDATED) The pseudonymous "Gabriel Gonzalez," an American living and working in Paris for many years who frequently writes... |
3/11 (www.AndrewSullivan.com) Permalink March 11, 2004, was easily the greatest victory for terrorism since 9/11 itself. It was a victory not simply because so many innocents were murdered in cold blood - going about their business in a free and democratic society. We know how thrilled the Jihadist terrorists are... | |
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Ezra Klein: After all, as Andrew Sullivan said: It was a victory because it also succeeded in provoking the one response terrorists long for and feed upon... Andrew Sullivan: Some travel and immune system R&R. Meanwhile, here's my latest take on the ramifications and meaning of Europe's response to 3/11. Of course, I... |
Betsy Newmark: Andrew Sullivan looks at the Madrid bombing and Spain's feckless response. "But now the Jihadists know something else: that the 9/11 gambit can... |
Britain, France Condemn Killing (Reuters) Permalink BRUSSELS, March 22 — Britain and France condemned Israel's killing of Palestinian Hamas movement leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on Monday and said it would only fuel violence. | |
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Hugh Hewitt: The usual suspects have turned up condemning the assassination of Sheik Yassin by Israel. But I haven't seen any condemnation from Spain, where... |
Gregory Djerejian: Or as the Polish Foreign Minister put it succinctly: "I understand that Israel defends its own country. However the picture of a wheelchair-bound... |
FBI Budget Squeezed After 9/11 ( / WaPo) Permalink In the early days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Bush White House cut by nearly two-thirds an emergency request for counterterrorism funds by the FBI, an internal administration budget document shows. | |
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David Allan Pell: Weak and Weaker — It turns out that the Bush team cut by two-thirds an FBI request for more counterterrorism funds in the weeks following Sept... Kevin Raybould: Bush Cut Anti-Terrorism Budget AFTER 9/11 — There may be a good reason for this, but someone better come up with one soon: "In the early days... Atrios: Stunning — We all know that before 9/11 terrorism ranked below prostitution as an Ashcroft priority, but I don't think any of us knew that even... |
Billmon: The Raw Material ... for another Kerry attack ad: "FBI Budget Squeezed After 9/11 In the early days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks,... Oliver Willis: BY THE WAY: The White House cut funding for the FBI in the days after 9.11 FLASHBACK: Struggles Inside the Government Defined Campaign By any... |