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IRAQ - WHAT TO DO: DROP THE HAMMER NOW By / New York Post — Permalink ON Saturday, Iranian agents ambushed an American convoy on the road between Mosul and Akre in Iraq. The attack did not go as planned: Our troops responded sharply, killing two Iranians, wounding a third and capturing two more. | |
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Deacon: Snatching victory from the jaws of half-victory — Ralph Peters explains why the U.S. must crush Moqtada Sadr and his "army" without mercy or... Michael DeBow: Ralph Peters has some strongly worded advice for President Bush: [quote] Our president must make no mistake: Any "settlement," any halt short of the...[end quote] Roger L. Simon: AND: RALPH PETERS has more on the issue in this morning's New York Post, including a possible clash with Iranians on the Northern Iraqi border. |
Donald Sensing: No Negotiations Ralph Peters argues that it is now time to "drop the hammer" in Iraq to show that we're serious. "Our president must make no... Stephen Green: "The administration doesn't want to admit how much American blood Teheran has on its hands." Read the whole thing already. James Joyner: No Negotiations — Ralph Peters argues that it is now time to "drop the hammer" in Iraq to show that we're serious. "Moqtada al-Sadr is Iran's... |
| Also: The Big Trunk | |
Public Gives Bush a Long Leash on 9/11, but Little Slack on Iraq LAT — Permalink Condoleezza Rice and the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks spent almost all of her appearance last week tussling over the first of Richard Clarke's two central accusations against President Bush: the charge that the administration initially did not... | |
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Robert Garcia Tagorda: 9/11 and Iraq — Ron Brownstein argues that President Bush is less vulnerable on 9/11 than on Iraq. Whereas various administrations can be held... Bo Cowgill: OOPS: "One leading Democratic interest group recently asked a focus group in Florida to respond to a potential television ad accusing Bush of... McQ: The Blame Game — While wandering through a Robert Browning piece I found this: "That widespread belief has two major implications for the 2004... |
Noam Scheiber: I more or less agree with Ron Brownstein's contention that, between Iraq and the failure to do enough to prevent 9/11, Bush's bigger political... DemFromCT: Ron Brownstein says it's simple: "In almost all polls, at least half of Americans say they still support the initial decision to invade Iraq,... |
Not so bad, not so good CNN — Permalink Household income is little changed since 2000 — not the message sent by either Kerry or Bush. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Stupid On One Side...Stupid On The Other — Via Kevin, one of the most oddly "balanced" articles you'll ever read. Basically, somewhere along the... Brian Weatherson: This CNN/Money article is a classic of the genre. |
Kevin Drum: Here's how the story goes: Kerry says middle class families are worse off and the rich are better off under George Bush. |
A Justice's Sense of Privilege By / NYT — Permalink Antoinette Konz is a young education reporter for The Hattiesburg American, a daily newspaper with a circulation of about 25,000 in Hattiesburg, Miss. Ms. Konz, 25, has only been in the business for a couple of years, so her outlook hasn't been soiled by the cranks and the... | |
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Ezra Klein: Thanks — Herbet resurrects and fleshes out one of the more shameful tales we've heard recently: "If this had been an old-time Hollywood movie,... Dan Gillmor: Scalia, the U.S. Marshall and the Constitution — Bob Herbert (NYT): A Justice's Sense of Privilege. When agents acting on behalf of a Supreme... |
Sean-Paul Kelley: This is so completely outrageous I can hardly believe it. I mean, who does this guy think he is? Here is a story about his apology. David Bernstein: Scalia and the Fourth Amendment: Justice Scalia really ought to apologize to the reporters whose recordings of his speech were illegally seized... |
The Secrets of September 11 MSNBC — Permalink The White House is battling to keep a report on the terror attacks secret. Does the 2004 election have anything to do with it? | |
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Mark Kleiman: A President, confronted with the warning in the August 6 Presidential Daily Briefing that Bin Laden was "determined to strike in U.S." coming on... Kevin Drum: BEYOND THE PDB...Via Dave Neiwert, this 2003 column from Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball has an interesting paragraph near the end: "Some... |
David Neiwert: A year-old Newsweek "Web exclusive" by Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball contained the following nugget, conveniently buried near the end: Some... |
Memo Not Specific Enough, Bush Says By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush said yesterday that a memo he received a month before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks did not contain enough specific threat information to prevent the hijackings and "said nothing about an attack on America." | |
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Mike Hendrix: Three groans for the Times. The WaPo takes a similar tack: "Memo Not Specific Enough, Bush Says" - and so it goes. CNN's website sticks to the... Matthew Yglesias: There's been lots of silliness coming forth from the administration about the August 6 PDB, but this has got to be my favorite: "The president... Jesse Taylor: No Flyswatters — Bush's anti-"swatting flies" stance is looking more and more bankrupt as time progresses - and the truly weird part is that for... |
Josh Marshall: The Post today quotes the president as saying: "I am satisfied that I never saw any intelligence that indicated there was going to be an attack... David Allan Pell: Yeah, we sort of know what he means, but it's getting tiring to have to translate all the time. Greyhawk: Memo Not Specific Enough, Bush Says (Washington Post)...Dan Eggen President Bush said yesterday that a memo he received a month before the Sept... |
| Also: Kos | |
Text: President's Daily Brief on Aug. 6, 2001 WaPo — Permalink The following is the text of an Aug. 6, 2001, intelligence briefing for President Bush that outlined al Qaeda plans to strike within the United States. It was released Saturday by the White House. | |
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Mike Hendrix: Headlines — Hugh Hewitt says: "Suggested headlines for tomorrow's papers after today's release of the August 6, 2001 memo to President Bush:... Roger Ailes: The Where, The Who And The How — August 6, 2001 intelligence briefing: "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US Clandestine, foreign government,... Mickey Kaus: ... The scariest thing in the just-released Aug. 6 presidential briefing isn't the too-vague-to-freak-Bush-out warning of suspicious activities... |
Noam Scheiber: ABOUT THAT AUGUST 6, 2001 MEMO ...: Even if, like Mickey Kaus, you're inclined to give the administration the benefit of the doubt on its reading... Garance Franke-Ruta: "— Presidential Daily Briefing, August 6, 2001" John Hawkins: Bush Failed to Stop al Qaeda During Clinton Years By Scott Ott — A presidential briefing, dated August 6, 2001, and released by the White House... |
| Also: Robert Garcia Tagorda, Tom Schaller, Cori Dauber, Hugh Hewitt, Tim Dunlop, Kevin Drum | |
Davy Crockett, Libertarian Opinion Journal — Permalink The new Disney film "The Alamo" has revived interest in Davy Crockett, the frontiersman-turned-celebrity who then entered politics and thus became an early American version of Arnold Schwarzenegger before he died fighting Santa Anna's legions in 1836. | |
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Betsy Newmark: John Fund has a nice column up about Davy Crockett's belief in a liberal government. He even opposed giving money in pensions to a naval... Nick Gillespie: Fund writes: "Then in 1834 [Crockett] stumbled badly when he took time away from a congressional session to promote his book in a three-week... |
Edward Driscoll: SPEAKING OF DISNEY'S VERSION of The Alamo, John Fund looks at Davy Crockett, libertarian. UPDATE: Steve Antler of Econopundit looks at some of... Steve Antler: More re: The Alamo — Cue the "we are not alone music" from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and click here. |
Clarke book has errors about arrest of Ahmed Ressam By / Seattle Times — Permalink Was it "shaking trees" or shaking knees that led to the arrest of convicted millennium terrorist Ahmed Ressam? | |
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John Cole: Another report: [quote] Was it "shaking trees" or shaking knees that led to the arrest of convicted millennium terrorist Ahmed Ressam?[end quote] Glenn Reynolds: I'd say that Clarke moved just in time, as his credibility is facing new challenges: "Disputing Clarke's claim, Rice testified customs agents... |
Tom Maguire: Not complicated. STILL MORE: The incredible Mr. Clarke: "Clarke book has errors about arrest of Ahmed Ressam", the fellow arrested by Customs. Betsy Newmark: More mistakes in Richard Clarke's book. "Clarke, who worked for both Clinton and Bush, said he convened the Counter-terrorism Security Group,... |
Obscenity Crackdown--What Will the Next Step Be? By / Cato Institute — Permalink So here's what I wonder about the Justice Department's planned new obscenity crackdown. As we know, there's lots of porn of all varieties out there on the Internet. I don't know how much of it is produced in the U.S. — but even if it's 75 percent, and every single U.S.... | |
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Radley Balko: Eugene Warns of Porn — Eugene Volokh authors the latest edition of Cato's Techknowledge newsletter, and has some foreboding analysis of John... |
Jesse Walker: The Devil in Miss Details — Eugene Volokh considers the likely results of Washington's latest crackdown on porn. |
Stop Embracing the Negative By / WaPo — Permalink I find certain broadcasters — you can probably guess who they are — almost literally painful to watch. It isn't merely that their political views are contrary to mine; it is also their indifference to civil discourse. Sometimes they seem calculatedly rude. | |
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Jon Henke: However, after lambasting conservatives for hypocrisy, I do think this bit from Atrios is a bit odd... "William Raspberry is so shocked by it... Atrios: William Raspberry is so shocked by it he's decided to write a column decrying the evils of the new Franken show, even though he's never actually... |
Jesse Taylor: Radio With No Ears — William Raspberry, who I've rarely if ever read before (at least in my memory) proves today that my sheer lack of will to... |
Revenge of the Nerds By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Back when he was funny, David Letterman did a recurring skit called "Narrow Perspectives," in which a boring academic critiqued what in his small world seemed the most important part of a major motion picture. In one memorable episode, an energy expert fumed about all that... | |
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Daniel Drezner: Robert Maranto, who teaches political science and public administration at Villanova University, makes some similar observations in today's Wall... |
Betsy Newmark: Here's a smack-on description of the difference between a policy nerd like Richard Clarke and the big-picture people like Condi Rice. |
Kerry gets served up with 'waffles' By / USA Today — Permalink Some jokers who don't like the Democratic presidential candidate are trying to make his campaign Web site, johnkerry.com, the first answer to a search of the word "waffles" on Google, the No. 1 Internet search engine. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Tsk, tsk — I disapprove of this, of course:Internet pranskters have set their Web sites on Sen. John Kerry. Some jokers who don't like the... Betsy Newmark: USA Today looks at the efforts to make John Kerry's site the number one search term for waffles. This is my contribution to this sophomoric and... |
Taegan Goddard: Google Bombers Target Kerry — "Some jokers who don't like the Democratic presidential candidate are trying to make his campaign Web site,... |
Marines Find Traces Of Suicide Squads By / WaPo — Permalink FALLUJAH, Iraq, April 11 — When the U.S. troops entered the abandoned factory shed Sunday, they found a hastily abandoned campsite full of jumbled clothing and bedrolls, scattered sneakers and gym bags, broken eggs and dirty cooking pots. | |
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Mary InLosGatos: Strange Stories from a War Zone — The Washington Post has a very strange story this morning about how the Marines who have entered the... Jane Galt: More good news from Iraq — I'm very heartened by this as well: Marines find traces of suicide squads. (Via Outside the Beltway) Why should that... Greyhawk: Marines Find Evidence Of Suicide Squads (Washington Post)...Pamela Constable ...Among the debris were more intimate clues to the identity and... |
Stephen Green: The Dog That Barked All the Time and Quite Loudly — From the Washington Post, via James Taranto, we learn what US Marines found in an abandoned... Cori Dauber: Although the Post doesn't point this out, these are no longer former regime elements then. The Post is busy trying to figure out if the belts are... James Joyner: Marines Find Traces Of Suicide Squads — Fronting tomorrow's WaPo: Marines Find Traces Of Suicide Squads "When the U.S. troops entered the... |
Stomping on free speech By / US News — Permalink 'Canada is a pleasantly authoritarian country," Alan Borovoy, general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said a few years ago. An example of what he means is Bill C-250, a repressive, anti-free-speech measure that is on the brink of becoming law in Canada.... | |
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David Bernstein: , John Leo notes the growing threat to freedom of speech from antidiscrimination legislation in Canada. (Via Instapundit) In particular, Canada,... |
Glenn Reynolds: CAN'T BLAME JOHN ASHCROFT FOR THIS ONE: John Leo notes a serious threat to free speech in Canada. What's left of it there, anyway, which is... |
INS agents confirm errors in Clarke book Washington Times — Permalink SEATTLE, April 12 (UPI) — The insider memoir of former counter-terrorist expert Richard Clarke that accuses the White House of unconcern over terrorism reportedly contains errors. | |
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John Cole: Let the Excuse-Making and Backpedalling Begin — Wow- Richard Clarke caught in a lie/factual error: "The insider memoir of former... |
Glenn Reynolds: RICHARD CLARKE will be working for ABC News. This has left some people unimpressed. I'd say that Clarke moved just in time, as his credibility is... |
Corporate Risk of a Tax Audit Is Still Shrinking, I.R.S. Data Show By / NYT — Permalink Since taking office, the Bush administration has repeatedly promised to get tough with tax cheats, saying it has ended a long slide in enforcement of tax laws. | |
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Kevin T. Keith: The New York Times has the story. Nathan Newman: Here's at least one reason why— the drop in IRS audits: Why this drop in audits? Because the Congress ordered the IRS to stop auditing the... |
David Allan Pell: Might be time to audit that assertion. |
Bush Says Brief on Al Qaeda Threat Was Not Specific NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 11 — President Bush said on Sunday that the intelligence briefing he received on Al Qaeda one month before the Sept. 11 strike contained no specific "indication of a terrorist attack" on American soil. He also defended the adequacy of his response to the... | |
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Mike Hendrix: But naturally, given that the facts don't support their baseless canards as usual, we get stuff like: "Bush says brief on Al Qaeda Threat Was Not... Tom Tomorrow: (Story.) And what did President Serious About Terror do after reading the memo entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US," since after all... |
Noam Scheiber: As today's New York Times reports, the new line is that the president could not have done more to prevent the attacks, since he never received... |
Holbrooke, Biden Top Contenders for Post By / LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — No one is picking out their curtains yet, but speculation about who might fill the top foreign policy positions in a John Kerry presidency is already intense. | |
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Bo Cowgill: WRITING IN THE LA TIMES, Ron Brownstein speculates about who Kerry's Secretary of State would be. |
Liz Cox Barrett: In fact, Brownstein delivered two takes on the topic: Serious and sweeping on page 1 and brief and breezy on page 23. It was business in the... |
More in U.S. Say Bush Did All Possible to Stop Sept. 11 Attacks Bloomberg — Permalink April 9 (Bloomberg) — A growing number of Americans say they believe the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush did everything that could be expected to stop the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to two new polls. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: And consistent with the poll I linked yesterday, showing that the 9/11 hearings seem to have helped Bush, a reader sends this story: "A growing... |
Bill Hobbs: Rising Trust — Yet another new poll says Americans increasingly believe the Bush administration did all it could to prevent 9/11. |
Straight A's Can Hurt a College Education By / NYT — Permalink YOU can't blame the undergraduates at the nation's most selective colleges for feeling confused. | |
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Joanne Jacobs: Once he gets to college, he'll be told to relax, go slow and enjoy learning for its own sake. |
Will Baude: Slowing Down — There's an interesting piece in the New York Times by Sara Rimer about the work-hard/have-fun paradox in college. |
The Bioterror Gap By / TCS — Permalink Chemical munitions are awful, and dirty bombs are scary; but in the end, in actual use, they're not any deadlier than fertilizer bombs or hijacked airliners (which, of course, are more than bad enough.) The only two kinds of weapons that could actually kill millions of... | |
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The Big Trunk: His most recent column is "The bioterror gap," but I like his next most recent column on "The next threat" for its lead paragraph: "While the... |
Glenn Reynolds: SOME THOUGHTS on biosecurity and the bioterror gap. I had a somewhat similar column here a while back. Different perspectives, same problem. |
Cubans risk prison for a steak By / Billings Gazette — Permalink BEJUCO, Cuba - Cattle graze along the vast grasslands and gentle hills of eastern Cuba, but Giorgina Brooks cannot remember the last time she had a good steak. | |
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Edward Driscoll: Except in Cuba, where killing cattle by citizens was made illegal by Castro's communist state, because their cattle are so rare (pun not... |
Matt Welch: Kill a Cow, Rot in Jail — Pretty good Chicago Tribune article, despite the over-reliance on nameless "experts," about how Cuba went from being... |
Tangled Up in Boobs By / Slate — Permalink The spot: A well-formed young woman cavorts through a palazzo, wearing nothing but heels, lingerie, and a pair of outsized, feathery wings. At intervals, we cut to a shot of some sort of death's-head demon, who looks poised to bite into the pretty youth's skull, perhaps to... | |
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The Big Trunk: Mixed up confusion — They're a little late to the party, but the folks at Slate have finally picked up the scent of the important Dylan story we... |
Ezra Klein: Words to Live By — Never forget: "Just because you can hire Bob Dylan as the figurehead for your lingerie line, doesn't mean you should." |
Bush to Update American People on Iraq Efforts Reuters — Permalink CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush will hold a news conference on Tuesday evening to update the American people on U.S.-led efforts in Iraq after a tough week of fighting militant Shi'ites and Sunnis, the White House said on Monday. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: PRESS CONFERENCE TIME. The president is apparently going to take some time off from his vacation to hold a press conference tomorrow night. |
Kash: Bush to Discuss Iraq — The White House just announced that Bush will hold a press conference on Tuesday evening to discuss Iraq. That gives... |
U.S. Commanders Express Disappointment with Iraqi Forces, Request More Troops WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, April 12 — Top U.S. military commanders expressed disappointment Monday with the performance of Iraqi security forces in countering an intensifying insurgency and said they were requesting thousands of additional U.S. forces to meet the threat. | |
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Steven Taylor: No Surprise, I Suppose — U.S. Commanders Express Disappointment with Iraqi Forces, Request More Troops "Top U.S. military commanders expressed... |
Hesiod: BUSH CYNICISM WATCH: I hate to be a pest, but what specifically has changed in Iraq the Republic of FUBAR over the past few days that now... |
Memo's no smoking gun Boston Herald — Permalink If Democrats on the 9/11 commission are still looking for a smoking gun to hold to the head of President Bush [related, bio], they're going to have to look somewhere other than that Aug. 6, 2001, presidential briefing memo released Saturday night. | |
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Jon Henke: Via Pejman, a Boston Herald story sums up the PDB with this... [quote] In short, much of this "shocker'' could have been put together by any...[end quote] |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: MORE COVERAGE OF THE AUGUST 6TH PDB — The Boston Herald's editorial staff appears to have read the memo rather carefully: "If Democrats on the... |
Terrorist chemical threat 'worse than suspected' By / Financial Times — Permalink Terrorists plotting to use chemical weapons in Europe have more advanced plans than security services previously suspected, a senior French counter-terrorism official has warned. | |
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Ted Belman: Terrorist chemical threat 'worse than suspected' — By Mark Huband, Security Correspondent, in Paris, Financial Times Terrorists plotting to use... |
John Ellis: Bad News From Europe — The bad guys are further along than was previously thought. |
U.S. Looks for New Solution in Cease-Fire LAT — Permalink FALLOUJA, Iraq — A patchy cease-fire took hold in this battle-torn city Sunday as U.S. officials said they were seeking "political" solutions to pacify the area and, elsewhere in the country, disband a militia loyal to a virulently anti-American cleric. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: It is clearly important to our military to hold onto the idea that the nearly all the dead in Fallujah were insurgents: In a testy news... Juan Cole: Pentagon Announces Death of 17 US Troops in Iraq; 5 Killed Sunday — Nicholas Riccardi of the LA Times (reg. req.) reports that Iraqi guerrillas... |
Greyhawk: U.S. Looks For New Solution In Cease-Fire (Los Angeles Times)...Nicholas Riccardi and Tony Perry A patchy cease-fire took hold in this... |
Laugh Deter By / TNR — Permalink Just at the moment when American politics is becoming no laughing matter, the job of commenting on American politics has fallen to the comedians, to "political satirists" such as Al Franken and Bill Maher, who have aligned themselves with the Democrats, or Dennis Miller, who... | |
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Digby: Sr. Comedy Correspondent — Gawd, how I hate pretentious, boring people telling me what's funny and what isn't: "To be honest, I was never a... |
Jesse Taylor: Like, Ha-Ha Funny? Lee Siegel doesn't have a sense of humor like you or me. See, he liked his comics when they mocked politicians mercilessly,... |
Around 770 Die in Recent Iraq Fighting AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - About 70 U.S.-led coalition troops and 700 Iraqi insurgents have been killed in fighting across Iraq since April 1, but there is no authoritative figure on Iraqi civilian deaths, U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Monday. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: The Associated Press reports roughly 882 Iraqis killed this week, but plays we say/ they say when trying to explain who they were. |
Kash: The argument that this piece suggests is that the US military is faced with an intractable problem at this point: they simply can not defeat the... |
Kerry's Wife Would Keep Her Philanthropic Role By / LAT — Permalink PITTSBURGH — If Teresa Heinz Kerry becomes first lady, she plans to oversee one of the nation's significant nonprofit empires from the White House — acting on a diverse agenda that involves cultural, environmental, economic and educational programs. | |
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David Allan Pell: Should Teresa Heinz Kerry have to give up her role as head of several philanthropic organizations? |
Howard Kurtz: JFK's wife would remain a controversial figure, the Los Angeles Times predicts: "If Teresa Heinz Kerry becomes first lady, she plans to oversee... |
For Ralph Nader, but Not for President By / NYT — Permalink Everyone expects this year's presidential election to be decided by razor-thin margins in a few battleground states. Everyone also expects the candidacy of Ralph Nader to make the race between John Kerry and George Bush even closer. As I know from experience, however, voters... | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Ralph, don't run : Howard Dean writes a valentine to Ralph Nader in the NY Times as a way of telling him to get the hell out of the way and... Stephen Green: My second-to-least favorite right wing conspiracy theory — more of a wet dream, really — is the one where Howard Dean makes a third-party run... |
Digby: Damn Right — I said it before and I'll say it again, Howard Dean is the guy to make the case against Nader. He understands that you can't take... Ezra Klein: Dean versus Nader: Populist Smackdown — Howard Dean has fired his opening salvo against Ralph Nader in a new York Times op-ed today. |
McCain on talk of run with Kerry: 'No, no and no' CNN — Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — Trying to stamp out speculation that he might consider joining Democratic Sen. John Kerry's ticket, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona insisted Sunday that he would not do so under any circumstances. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Veepstakes — Okay - who hasn't Tim Russert interviewed to ask/badger if they're going to be Kerry's running mate? Look at the people who haven't... Moe Lane: Well, he put the knife in tonight on national TV: "WASHINGTON (CNN) — Trying to stamp out speculation that he might consider joining Democratic... |
Kevin Drum: McCAIN FOR VEEP!...John McCain on Sunday: [quote] "No, no and no. I will not leave the Republican Party. I cherish the ideals and principles of...[end quote] Oliver Willis: Put A Stake In It — John McCain shuts it down "I am not embarrassed to say that John Kerry is a friend of mine, but I want George Bush to be... |
Kerry's Second Vietnam? www.AndrewSullivan.com — Permalink There's no question that the violence in Iraq this past week has rattled Washington - and indeed Americans. A war that seems to pit U.S. marines against some of the people they are supposed to be liberating is not a narrative most Americans want to follow. Senator Ted... | |
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Susan Q. Stranahan: Sullivan links to his editorial in the Sunday Times of London, where he writes, "[Kerry] has yet to articulate a compelling alternative to Bush's... Andrew Sullivan: That's why I'm waiting to see what John Kerry has to say. Forget every campaign ad. How he reacts to this current crisis is the single thing to... |
Betsy Newmark: Andrew Sullivan thinks that Kerry has an opportunity to show leadership now and lay out what he would do in Iraq. I like what Sullivan thinks the... |
UN-SMOKING GUNS New York Post — Permalink WORLD news exclusive: Here's what a newly revealed document dated Aug. 14, 2001, had to say about the threat posed to the United States by terrorists: | |
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The Big Trunk: Podhoretz blows the lid off — In his column today John Podhoretz discloses an Aug. 14, 2001, document that nailed the looming threat posed to... |
Fred Lapides: items of interest — Israel Troops, Palestinians Exchange Fire Plan to take adult son out of Israel hits snag UN-SMOKING GUNS U.S. to give Sharon... |
Heading Off the Next War WaPo — Permalink The recent unsettled election in Taiwan highlights a disturbing fact: The framework that has buttressed peace in the Taiwan Strait for decades is disintegrating. Changes in Taiwan, as well as some of Beijing's counterproductive behavior, are undermining its foundations.... | |
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Cori Dauber: CHINA — I link to this oped about China not because I know whether these guys are right or not, but to make a point: when you read the list of... |
Greyhawk: Heading Off The Next War (Washington Post)...David M. Lampton and Kenneth Lieberthal The recent unsettled election in Taiwan highlights a... |
Hostage Works for Contractor By / WaPo — Permalink The U.S. citizen taken hostage Friday in Iraq is a former Mississippi dairy farmer who hired on with an American contractor to rebuild his family's finances and the war-torn nation, his grandmother said. | |
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Greyhawk: Hostage Works For Contractor (Washington Post)...Christopher Lee The U.S. citizen taken hostage Friday in Iraq is a former Mississippi dairy... |
Cori Dauber: But according to the Post, (who's source is the man's grandmother) he also cared about rebuilding Iraq. Since NBC said the population of the town... |
Bush Says 'It's Hard to Tell' When Iraq Violence Will Ebb By / WaPo — Permalink CRAWFORD, Tex., April 11 — President Bush, after Easter prayers for the safety of U.S. troops, acknowledged Sunday that it has been a "tough week" in Iraq and said it is difficult to know when the violence will subside. | |
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David Allan Pell: Bush: "It was a tough week last week, and my prayers and thoughts are with those who paid the ultimate price for our security. |
Greyhawk: Bush Says 'It's Hard To Tell' When Iraq Violence Will Ebb (Washington Post)...Dana Milbank President Bush, after Easter prayers for the safety of... |
U.S. Offers Bilateral Ceasefire to Fallujah Fighters AP — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq — A U.S. general called on Sunni militants in Fallujah (search) on Saturday to join a bilateral cease-fire. Insurgents struck U.S troops in Baghdad (search) and central Iraq, setting a tank on fire in the capital and engaging in battles that killed 40 Iraqis,... | |
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Porphyrogenitus: But sometimes, one is just left befuddled. I don't think enough has been made of our attempts to get a cease fire in Fallujah (link via Winds)... |
Dan Darling: The US is seeking a bilateral cease-fire in Fallujah following mediation efforts by Iraqi officials. Speaking of Fallujah, it looks like there's... |
Kerry criticized for French connection By / Boston Globe — Permalink WASHINGTON — As the presidential race gets tighter and nastier, the F-word has increasingly crept into attacks against presumptive Democratic nominee John F. Kerry. | |
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Howard Kurtz: The Boston Globe catalogues all those "Kerry sounds French" attacks by the GOP: "True, Kerry has a French cousin, speaks French fluently, and as... |
Betsy Newmark: The Boston Globe looks at how the Republicans are making fun of calling Kerry French. "And the RNC weighed in April 1 with a spoof TV spot —... |
Plot Leader In Madrid Sought Help Of Al Qaeda By / WaPo — Permalink MADRID — Spanish investigators said they now believe that the leader of a cell that carried out the March 11 rush-hour bombings of four commuter trains in Madrid sought the assistance of al Qaeda in the months preceding the deadliest terrorist attack in Spain's history, but... | |
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Greyhawk: Plot Leader In Madrid Sought Help Of Al Qaeda (Washington Post)...Keith B. Richburg Spanish investigators said they now believe that the leader... |
Cori Dauber: Isn't that providing help? I mean, I just don't know what else to make of this article from today's Post. Here's the opening paragraph: Spanish... |
Remarks by the President to the Travel Pool White House — Permalink THE PRESIDENT: Happy Easter to everybody. It's our honor to have celebrated this holy day with family members whose loved one is in Iraq. Fort Hood has made a mighty contribution to freedom in Iraq and to security for the country. I value my time with the family members and... | |
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Garance Franke-Ruta: [quote]That wasn't historical, that was ongoing." 4/11/04 CLAIM: "There was nothing in [the PDB] that said, you know, there's an imminent attack.[end quote] Angry Bear: Definitely take a look. AB UPDATE: Viq Digby, this transcript of Bush being interviewed over the PDB. At one point Bush says "And you might... |
Digby: Brain Damage "Q Mr. President, could you tell us, did you see the presidential — the President's Daily Brief from August of '01 as a warning —... Atrios: Pathetic — I really can't believe Bush's remarks today. The final in the series of "we didn't have the names, the dates, and the flight numbers,... |
Franken's Time www.AndrewSullivan.com — Permalink Well, I tried my hardest. Last week I tuned in to the newest phenomenon in America's polarized polity: liberal talk radio. It's called Air America and has as its flagship broadcaster, Al Franken, a smart and sometimes funny former Saturday Night Live cast member, turned... | |
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Betsy Newmark: You might also be interested in Sullivan's take on the liberal radio network. "So liberal radio - in its purest form - already exists. Andrew Sullivan: THREE NEW POSTINGS: My take on Shelby Steele's view of marriage, Al Franken's new radio station, and John Kerry's Iraq policy: they're all now... |
Bo Cowgill: NOTED BELOW Andrew Sullivan has written a highly insightful review of Air America and of the left and right in general: "But the deeper problem,... |
Kerry Ignores Reproaches of Some Bishops By / NYT — Permalink BOSTON, April 11 — Rejecting the admonitions of several national Roman Catholic leaders, Senator John Kerry received communion at Easter services today at the Paulist Center here, a kind of New Age church that describes itself as "a worship community of Christians in the... | |
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Hesiod: COMMUNION WAIVER: Not to mock the disingenuousness and hypocrisy of U.S. Catholic Bishops, but I wonder whether any of them would instruct their... Moe Lane: Differences in opinion with Roman Catholic bishops, that's what (via The World Wide Rant: "BOSTON, April 11 — Rejecting the admonitions of... |
Roger Ailes: Meet Your Liberal Media: Dogma and Pony Show Edition [quote] "BOSTON, April 11 — Rejecting the admonitions of several national Roman Catholic leaders,...[end quote] KJL: JOHN KERRY'S CATHOLICISM — Some bishop has got to say something: the most prominent Catholic in the country receives Communion with the whole... |
Our Man in Cairo WaPo — Permalink THE LARGEST OBSTACLE to President Bush's democracy initiative in the greater Middle East may be Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt. Mr. Mubarak, 75, is an unrepentant autocrat who has ruled his country under emergency law for 23 years; his repressive policies, including... | |
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Matt Yglesias: Largest Obstacle — Good editorial from the Post on Bush and Mubarak, but one needs to ask — is Mubarak really the biggest obstacle to ME... |
KJL: HOSNI AT THE RANCH — Probably getting it exactly right, the Washington Post this morning calls Egypt's Mubarak "THE LARGEST OBSTACLE to... |
Nasty, Brutish and Short By / NYT — Permalink The U.S. operation in Iraq is hanging by a thread. If it has any hope of surviving this Hobbesian moment, we need three conversations to happen fast: George Bush needs to talk to his father, the Arab leaders need to talk to their sons — and daughters — and we need to talk... | |
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Matthew Yglesias: David Broder. The president doesn't seem to be paying attention. Thomas Friedman. George H. W. Bush could handle this. Maureen Dowd. Tom Maguire: Fareed Zakaria, writing in the April 19 Newsweek, is the must read; Tom Friedman is the must-ridicule: ...when you are talking about killing... |
Greyhawk: Nasty, Brutish And Short (New York Times)...Thomas L. Friedman The U.S. operation in Iraq is hanging by a thread. If it has any hope of surviving... |
Theft of FBI files 'has makings of Kerry Watergate' By / Telegraph — Permalink It has, according to the victim of a burglary in California, all the makings of a "west coast Watergate". | |
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Betsy Newmark: The British paper thinks it may be a Watergate-type scandal. Seeing as the info is all available for a Freedom of Information Act, it does seem... |
Andrew Sullivan: Or Republicans trying to get the proof to nail him? The Daily Telegraph has what strikes me as an important story. |
Victoria's Secret to drop TV fashion show AP — Permalink Victoria's Secret is dropping its nationally televised fashion show this year, at least partly because of criticism following Janet Jackson's breast-baring faux pas at the Super Bowl. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: The Daily Stern : THE NEW PURITANISM SPREADS: In the aftermath of Janet Jackson's boob, Victoria's Secret has canceled its TV show, which... |
Oliver Willis: Victoria's Secret to drop TV fashion show Ed Razek, chief creative officer for the Columbus-based lingerie chain, said Saturday the main reason... |
US tactics condemned by British officers By / Telegraph — Permalink Senior British commanders have condemned American military tactics in Iraq as heavy-handed and disproportionate. | |
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Donald Sensing: Dueling theories — Two adjacent posts at Outside the Beltway: "Brits Condemn US Tactics The Telegraph: US tactics condemned by British officers... James Joyner: Brits Condemn US Tactics — The Telegraph: US tactics condemned by British officers "Senior British commanders have condemned American military... Harry @HarrysPlace: The Sunday Telegraph has an interview with a senior British Army officer who is highly critical of the approach taken by the American military:... |
McQ: Apparently "senior" British Army officers have a bit of a corner on it as well. Below read one of the most ill-informed, ignorant and just flat... Brad DeLong: [quote]I'm hoping they stay and fight..." [end quote] Hopefully this is very unrepresentative... UPDATE: The Daily Telegraph reports that U.S. soldiers who... DemFromCT: See US tactics condemned by British officers (thanks, Hollywierd Liberal). See Juan Cole for comments on both: "Virulent Racism, Disregard for... |
| Also: Billmon | |
Blair pleads to disaffected as membership plummets By / Guardian — Permalink A collapse in the number of Labour party members is jeopardising the party's election prospects, amid claims that the total has hit a 70-year low. | |
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Gary Farber: TONY BLAIR ARGUES HIS CASE here, as eloquently as ever. Read The Rest as interested. Things aren't going well for Labour. |
Atrios: Movements — It looks like the Labour party is ripe for a grass roots takeover. Party members help choose candidates for MP. |
Spain's Prince Felipe subject to search at Miami International Airport AP — Permalink MIAMI — A routine security check at Miami International Airport turned into a diplomatic flap when the unhappy subjects of the search turned out to be the future king of Spain and his fiancee. | |
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KJL: SPAIN'S CROWN PRINCE GETS NO RESPECT IN MIAMI — Subject to a security check after flying into Miami via charter jet from the Bahamas, Crown... Substitute Jackass: ROYAL PREROGATIVE Read this story. Spain's crown prince and his fiancee were subjected to a search before boarding an aircraft in Miami. |
Gary Farber: I don't mean to be rude, and certainly the future King of Spain should be treated politely (everyone should be treated politely), but I don't... |
Moderate Shiites gaining new clout By / Christian Science Monitor — Permalink KARBALA, IRAQ - The city of Karbala observed the holiday of Arbain this weekend. It marks the end of a 40-day period of mourning for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein 1,350 years ago, in the power struggle that created Islam's Sunni-Shiite divide. | |
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Greyhawk: Moderate Shiites Gaining New Clout (Christian Science Monitor)...Dan Murphy ...But most telling in Karbala this weekend was who was not in... |
Tom Maguire: We Interrupt This Gloom... In the Iraqi city of Karbala, the Sadr militia has been displaced by the Badr militia. Sadr made me sad, so Badr is... |
The delusions of war Observer — Permalink There is no word more hateful than 'intractable'. The idea that a problem cannot be solved, no matter how hard good and intelligent people try to solve it, feels itself like a negation of goodness and intelligence. The options are resignation and cynicism. At the moment, a... | |
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Gary Farber: DELIVERED MYTHS. The always well-considered David Aaronvitch is in Baghdad. "Reporting from Iraq, as from anywhere else, inevitably deals... |
Harry @HarrysPlace: As David Aaronovitch notes today in his second report from Iraq: In Falluja the Americans who, in many ways, have acted in Iraq with... |
Bush Says Memo Said 'Nothing About an Attack on America' AP — Permalink FORT HOOD, Texas — President Bush said Sunday he was satisfied before Sept. 11, 2001, that federal agents were on top of the terrorist threat when he read a briefing memo on Osama bin Laden's intention to strike inside the United States. | |
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Roger Ailes: Today, Bush, comparing himself favorably to Hercules, claimed he would have "moved mountains" if he had been given specific intelligence of an... |
Kevin Drum: AN EASTER BUSHISM...President Bush this morning: the August 6 PDB said "nothing about an attack on America." Huh? How about the title, "Bin... |
Politics: Why Kerry and Blair Have 'Scheduling Problems' By / MSNBC — Permalink April 19 issue - After last month's flap about which foreign leaders support him, you'd think John Kerry would jump at the chance to get a few words of support from George W. Bush's closest ally. But when British Prime Minister Tony Blair tried to meet the Democratic... | |
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Gary Farber: This article is entitled "Why Kerry and Blair Have 'Scheduling Problems'," but doesn't actually answer the question; not, at least, in a way that... Hesiod: Whoever gave you the advice that avoiding such a public meeting was bad politics, should be FIRED from your campaign immediately! 1. |
Betsy Newmark: It does seem rather strange that Kerry wouldn't have time in his schedule to meet Tony Blair when they're both in New York next week. |
IRAN, HEZBOLLAH AID CRAZED CLERIC New York Post — Permalink Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah are secretly providing outlawed Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr with money, training and logistical support for his violent campaign against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, The Post has learned. | |
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Cori Dauber: WHAT ARE IRAN'S LINKS TO SADR? Via Roger Simon, the Post says they are extensive. What's worrisome here? Hizbollah's strategy, like Hamas' has... Roger L. Simon: Instead, I will just call your attention, if you haven't seen it, to this brief report in this morning's New York Post Online: IRAN, HEZBOLLAH... |
The Big Trunk: Bringing MEMRI's April 9 report up to date is today's New York Post story: "Iran, Hezbollah aid crazed cleric." axis.jpg In the category of... |
Another reason to rejoice San Francisco Chronicle — Permalink Guess what? You're working for yourself from now on. | |
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Mary InLosGatos: So when you read the news from the anti-tax activists celebrating tax freedom day, remember, those making over a half a million dollars a day... |
Nathan Newman: And much of the media follows along. It's all a crock. "We" haven't been paying our income to the government since the beginning of the year. |
U.S. Targeted Fiery Cleric In Risky Move WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, April 10 — "Bremer follows in the footsteps of Saddam," screamed the headline in al-Hawza, a tabloid newspaper run by firebrand Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr. With incendiary language, the article accused L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of Iraq, of... | |
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Harry @HarrysPlace: The most comprehensive and detailed account I have found was published in Sunday's Washington Post and comes from their Baghdad correspondents... Billmon: The Fall Guy — The Washington Post has published an epic account of the events leading up to the outbreak of the Iraq Intifada — one that makes... DemFromCT: Iraq revisited — U.S. Targeted Fiery Cleric In Risky Move [quote] BAGHDAD, April 10 — "Bremer follows in the footsteps of Saddam," screamed the...[end quote] |
Libertarian: And speaking of strategy, Moqtada Sadr out flanks U.S. rhetoric by casting Bremer as the next Saddam (which by Republican logic means Bremer is... Noam Scheiber: Well, today's Washington Post has a long and fascinating article chronicling the run up to the confrontation with Sadr, which complicates the... Digby: Sending A Message "Several American and Iraqi officials now regard Bremer's move to close the newspaper as a profound miscalculation based on... |
| Also: Gary Farber, Tom Smith, Phil Carter, Bill @Agonist | |
Bush Gave No Sign of Worry In August 2001 WaPo — Permalink CRAWFORD, Tex., April 10 — President Bush was in an expansive mood on Aug. 7, 2001, when he ran into reporters while playing golf at the Ridgewood Country Club in Waco, Tex. | |
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Deacon: Enough is enough — The headline in this morning's Washington Post is "Bush gave no sign of worry in August 2001." Under the headline (in the... Tbogg: 9/11 as a mulligan... President All Hat, No Clue didn't let a little document entitled "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US" keep him form his... Gary Farber: THE NON-GUNS OF AUGUST. How President George W. Bush spent August, 2001. [quote] "The president of the United States had us at battle stations during...[end quote] |
Tom Tomorrow: Well, he went golfing, of course. "President Bush was in an expansive mood on Aug. 7, 2001, when he ran into reporters while playing golf at the... Pejman Yousefzadeh: "CHEAP SHOT" INDEED Cori Dauber is exactly right. This piece is just juvenile. If this is the kind of press coverage that is going to be devoted... Robert Garcia Tagorda: I'm left practically speechless by this silly piece, in which Dana Milbank and Mike Allen try to show that President Bush paid very little... |
| Also: Cori Dauber, Tom Schaller, DemFromCT, Betsy Newmark, Oliver Willis | |
Why we must never abandon this historic struggle in Iraq By / Observer — Permalink We are locked in a historic struggle in Iraq. On its outcome hangs more than the fate of the Iraqi people. Were we to fail, which we will not, it is more than 'the power of America' that would be defeated. The hope of freedom and religious tolerance in Iraq would be snuffed... | |
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Donald Sensing: The most important struggle is for the soul of the West Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair explains "Why we must never abandon this historic... Bo Cowgill: ESSENTIAL TONY BLAIR: What a shame our President cannot say something like this: "They know it is a historic struggle. They know their victory... Hindrocket: But Tony Blair wrote, in today's Guardian, a brilliant, ringing, uncompromising defense of his, and President Bush's, Iraq policy. |
Mike Hendrix: Present-day Churchill — God bless Tony Blair, steadfast ally, clear-sighted and clear-headed leader, and a man who really knows how to put the... Andrew Sullivan: BLAIR SAYS IT ALL: In striking contrast to the silence and inarticulacy by the president, prime minister Tony Blair led the way - once again -... James Joyner: Tony Blair warns against letting our fear get the best of us: "People in the West ask: why don't they speak up, these standard-bearers of the... |
| Also: Harry @HarrysPlace | |
Our Last Real Chance By / MSNBC — Permalink April 19 issue - In early June 1920, Gertrude Bell, the extraordinary woman who helped run Iraq for Britain, wrote a letter to her father on some "violent agitation" against British rule: "[The extremists] have adopted a line difficult in itself to combat, the union of the... | |
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Jim Henley: In the meantime, Kevin Drum has a useful critique of Fareed Zakaria that nevertheless reminds me that I have miles, miles, I'm telling you, to go... Mickey Kaus: (Fareed Zakaria, in his what-is-to-be-doner, advocates doing virtually anything to win Sistani's blessing for the unelected interim government. Mark Kleiman: Mistakes were made — Fareed Zakaria has a convincing-sounding rundown of the mistakes that put us in our current position in Iraq. (Robin Wright... |
Kevin Drum: FIXING THE WAR...Fareed Zakaria: "The Bush administration went into Iraq with a series of prejudices about Iraq, rogue states, nation-building,... Gary Farber: Assuming all this were true and happened, it would seem unlikely to have made a truly dramatic difference in Iraq, because the largest issue is... |
What Should Bush Do? Time — Permalink "[Bush] might redefine success and announce a quicker exit strategy." | |
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Tim Dunlop: Safe and sound — Time has a piece written by three different "experts" (to the extent that word can be applied to such circumstances) addressing... Stephen Green: Old News — Drudge gives this quote the red-ink treatment, like it's some kind of big news: "TIME MAG QUOTES RETIRED ARMY GENERAL: 'THERE ARE NO... Atrios: His vision is wrong. People are now getting killed because of him. Anyway, read the article at the link (which is only indirectly related to this... |
Mickey Kaus: ... Morton Abramowitz raises this possibility in the most provocative of today's "What To Do?" pieces, though even he seems to feel it would... Sean-Paul Kelley: NZ bodyguards advised to avoid Iraq Contractors put Iraq reconstruction on hold Fallujah Stadium cemetery.jpg There are no more U.S. troops to... |
Fighting the Wrong War By / NYT — Permalink At Thursday's hearing before the 9/11 commission, Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser, gave a triumphal presentation. She was a spectacular witness. | |
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Mickey Kaus: ... It's just the Web! The editors (or edit-bots) at the NYT Web site appear to have cut something from Bob Kerrey's Sunday op-ed. Like his... Greyhawk: Read all the links, you'll laugh, you'll cry... And here's my entry into the 'alternate reality' genre: "I'm Fighting the Wrong Enemy by Bob... Armed Liberal: Bob Kerrey in the NYT — Bob Kerrey has an oped up in today's New York Times on his response to Condi Rice's testimony and on his criticism of... |
Matthew Yglesias: Maureen Dowd. The country is being run by lazy people. The Op-Ed You Actually Need To Read: Bob Kerrey outlines his plan to fix everything. Cori Dauber: ALL OVER THE PLACE — Well, here's Senator Kerrey's post-Condi position on the world. And it's a bit of a muddle, I'm afraid. Nathan Newman: The Other Kerrey Gets It Right — A good sign for the 911 Commission ultimate report- Bob Kerrey gets that our military actions in Iraq are... |
| Also: Mathew Gross, Jeff Jarvis | |
Declassified Memo Said Al Qaeda Was in U.S. WaPo — Permalink CRAWFORD, Tex., April 10 — President Bush was warned a month before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that the FBI had information that terrorists might be preparing for a hijacking in the United States and might be targeting a building in Lower Manhattan. | |
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Noam Scheiber: An article in today's Post quotes "a former administration official who has read the PDB" who says that: "The [CIA] doesn't write a headline like... Cori Dauber: Now I think you can probably make an argument that it would have been helpful if the fact that the information about hijackings was... |
McQ: Rather interesting when regarding the shrieking journalists out there trying to make the case, based on this paragraph, that "we knew", or "he... |
Raw Data: Text of Released PDB AP — Permalink The following is a redacted text of the presidential daily briefing from August 6, 2001: | |
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Mitch Berg: The "PDB" - in the media, there is only one - says, in essense, "Bin Laden wants to hurt us. Among many other possibilities, he might hijack... Gary Farber: These are non-vague enough warnings to note: "A clandestine source said in 1998 that a Bin Ladin cell in New York was recruiting... James Joyner: PDB Roundup — Lots of reaction around the blogosphere to yesterday's release of the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief: Steven Taylor... |
Jon Henke: If he had, he'd have known that the FBI was "conducting approximately 70 full field investigations throughout the US that it considers Bin... McQ: The following is redacted text from PDB 6 as provided by Fox News: "Clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate Bin Ladin since... Bill Hobbs: PDB — The August 13, 2001, "PDB" has been declassified and released by the White House. It is as Condi Rice described it. |
| Also: Donald Sensing, Pejman Yousefzadeh, Ezra Klein, Jeff Jarvis | |
Israel concerned setbacks in Iraq could harm state security Jerusalem Post — Permalink The defense establishment, monitoring the unfolding escalation in Iraq, is increasingly concerned that American setbacks there could have grave consequences for Israel's security. | |
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Hesiod: HOW IRONIC: Now the Israelis are getting nervous about their own security because of the U.S.' problems in Iraq the Republic of FUBAR. Talk about... Fred Lapides: Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz convened a security assessment with top IDF brass and other security officials late Thursday to weigh the... |
Ted Belman: Its a disaster for the US and Israel — Israel concerned setbacks in Iraq could harm state securityBy ARIEH O'SULLIVAN in JPost The defense... |
THIS ISN'T VIETNAM By / New York Post — Permalink IT is worth addressing what is happening in Iraq and what many of the naysayers are propagating, specifically, Sen. Ted Kennedy's comment that "Iraq is George Bush's Vietnam." | |
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James Joyner: "Or even George Bush's Chappaquiddick." Bill Bennett agrees: "We need to be reminded that we are in a war. Many of us said right after 9/11 that... KJL: IRAQ & VIETNAM — Bill Bennett |
Roger Ailes: Bill Bennett Volunteers for Military Service in Iraq — Did I read that right? |
Iraqi Battalion Refuses to 'Fight Iraqis' By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, April 10 — A battalion of the new Iraqi army refused to go to Fallujah earlier this week to support U.S. Marines battling for control of the city, senior U.S. Army officers here said, disclosing an incident that is casting new doubt on U.S. plans to transfer... | |
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Atrios: No Help — Like Billmon, I really don't understand how anyone expected the US-trained Iraqi army to "fight on our side." Hesiod: Well, at this point, I think we can safely say that Hitchens got this one wrong too. UPDATE: So much for "Iraqification." Wretchard: Good News, Bad News — The Washington Post reports that an Iraqi Army battalion refused to deploy to Fallujah after taking fire from Shi'ites en... |
Phil Carter: Iraqi battalion refuses to fight Iraqis — In what may be the worst possible development for U.S. officials hoping to hand sovereignty to the... Billmon: The New ARVN IV "Iraqi Battalion Refuses to 'Fight Iraqis' A battalion of the new Iraqi army refused to go to Fallujah earlier this week to... Sean-Paul Kelley: A battalion of the new Iraqi army refused to go to Fallujah earlier this week to support U.S. Marines battling for control of the city, senior... |
Iraqi Insurgents Shoot Down U.S. Helicopter in Baghdad WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, April 11—Insurgents shot down a U.S. Apache attack helicopter in western Baghdad Sunday, according to a U.S. military spokesman. The fate of its two-member crew was unknown. | |
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Bill @Agonist: Iraq updates from Juan Cole. WaPo: Iraqi Insurgents Shoot Down U.S. Helicopter in Baghdad; U.S. Calls for Cease-Fire in Fallujah Hesiod: REPUBLIC OF FUBAR: First, the news. A U.S. helicopter was shot down in Baghdad. There's a cease-fire in Fallujah. And, Karl Rove must have... |
DemFromCT: Meanwhile... Iraqi Insurgents Shoot Down U.S. Helicopter in Baghdad "The fate of its two-member crew was unknown. (...)A week of violence that... |
Series of U.S. Fumbles Blamed for Turmoil in Postwar Iraq By / WaPo — Permalink The array of challenges the United States now faces in Iraq seems to have emerged almost overnight but is actually the accumulation of mistakes, miscalculations and missed opportunities since Saddam Hussein's government collapsed a year ago, say U.S. officials and Iraq... | |
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Juan Cole: Robin Wright of the Washington Post goes Bernard Lewis one better with an insightful piece on What Went Wrong with the American enterprise in... Mark Kleiman: (Robin Wright has a different list in the Washington Post.) Zakaria and Wright both quote what seems like a crucial number, and one I hadn't... |
Gary Farber: Read The Rest Scale: 5 out of 5. ADDENDUM: More good analysis of mistakes made. |
Iran's Role in the Recent Uprising in Iraq MEMRI — Permalink Reports in the Arabic media reveal the role of Iran in the current disturbances in Iraq initiated by Moqtada Al-Sadr and his followers. The following are excerpts from articles in this week's Arab press: | |
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Dan Darling: IRAN REPORTS Iran has reportedly dumped $80,000,000 into funding the Sadr Revolt, which would at the very least explain where Sadr is getting all... The Big Trunk: The folks at MEMRI have compiled an outstanding special report on the subject: "Iran's role in the recent uprising in Iraq." Patrick Belton: MORE ON IRANIAN SUPPORT FOR SHI'A INSURGENCY: London's Al-Hayat: "The direct Iranian presence in the Shi'ite areas of Iraq in the political,... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: CONNECTIONS BETWEEN IRAN AND THE IRAQI INSURGENCY — Patrick Belton has a very good roundup from this MEMRI article that appears to validate my... Wretchard: The Wider War — The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which translates articles from the regional press, cites an April 9 report... BC Imperial Torturer: This time, they bring us the news that the Turbaned Tumblef**ks of Terror-ran are busily funding, fomenting and actively participating in the... |
| Also: Hugh Hewitt, Allah | |
Inquiry Into Attack on the Cole in 2000 Missed 9/11 Clues AP — Permalink WASHINGTON, April 10 — The American investigators probing the October 2000 terrorist attack against the Navy destroyer Cole came tantalizingly close to detecting the Sept. 11 plot, F.B.I. and C.I.A. officials now say. But the government missed the significance of a series... | |
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Cori Dauber: It is well worth a careful read. And I draw two different conclusions. First, this is an example, to an extent, of the lesson I articulated... Bill @Agonist: Cole Attack Probe in 2000 Nearly Unraveled 9/11 Plot (NYT) - The American investigators probing the October 2000 terrorist attack against the... |
Hesiod: FREEH FIRE ZONE: Isn't it time somebody asked former FBI Director Louis Freeh why he was more concerened about, and engaged in, kissing Repubican... |
Iraqi battalion refuses to 'fight Iraqis' By / MSNBC — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - A battalion of the new Iraqi army refused to go to Fallujah earlier this week to support U.S. Marines battling for control of the city, senior U.S. Army officers here said, disclosing an incident that is casting new doubt on U.S. plans to transfer security... | |
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Jim Henley: Kinder, Gentler UO I - In all seriousness, isn't there a bright side to the fact that — "BAGHDAD, Iraq - A battalion of the new Iraqi army... |
Mark Kleiman: Is it any wonder those troops have melted away or simply refused to fight in the current crisis? It seems like a case of insane penny-wisdom. |