Let’s see. The Democrats are calling for a plan to withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year, or soon thereafter. Our commander in Iraq has put forth a plan for just that thing. The GOP has villified Democrats’ plan as displaying "cut and run" cowardice, being reckless and unworkable and blah blah blah. But how is any different … Read More
“The Vice President”
Nice little exchange in a Congressional hearing yesterday. The topic was the manipulation of pre-war Iraq intelligence. Rep. Walter Jones (a NC Republican who voted for the war, and later regretted it) was talking to Larry Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s chief of staff: JONES: My question is this to all four of you who would like to answer, maybe it’s a … Read More
Everybody’s For “Cutting And Running”
It seems that if any anti-war person suggest that we get out of Iraq, they are labelled as "cut and run" cowards. Sadly, it’s not just those on the left who U.S. troops to start moving out of Iraq: A timetable for withdrawal of occupation troops from Iraq. Amnesty for all insurgents who attacked U.S. and Iraqi military targets. Release … Read More
Indifference To The Truth
What Matt says: Another report on pre-war WMD intelligence stuff. The basic picture I think we get from all of this is that the administration’s rhetoric certainly wasn’t a matter of "mistakes" or "bad intelligence" and probably wasn’t primarily the product of lies either. One reason some of us were so credulous about what they said before the war is … Read More
SCOTUS News
Lot of things coming from the Supreme Court today. I’ll combine it all here: (1) In Hudson v. Michigan, a recent controversial decision involving the "knock & announce" tactics of police raids, Scalia apparently "twisted the words" of an eminent criminolgist to reach his conclusion. The criminiologist complains here. (2) SCOTUS announced today that it will hear a case about … Read More
Fighting Terrorists In Iraq So We Won’t Have To Fight Them Here?
Of the seven al Qaeda terrorists arrested in an alleged plot against the Sears Tower, five were U.S. citizens. While they are purportedly Muslim (except for the one Roman Catholic), it appears that none of them were of Arabic descent. Quick, let’s invade America! RELATED: Larry Johnson reminds us that the government has claimed to capture domestic Al Qaeda members, … Read More
Speaking of WMD…
Sen. Rick Santorum says we found them. The Department of Defense responds to Santorum’s evidence: "You’re wrong, Rick, and everybody who has looked at your ‘evidence’ in the past thinks it’s horseshit." (rough paraphrase) Actually, it appears that the "found" WMD was 500 shells of degraded mustard or sarin nerve agents. That’s right: they were degraded and ineffective. Had they … Read More
Facts Don’t Lie
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, speculating on why the Iraq War is so unpopular: The president understands people’s impatience — not impatience but how a war can wear on a nation. He understands that. If somebody had taken a poll in the Battle of the Bulge, I dare say people would have said, wow, my goodness, what are we … Read More
A Laughable Bluff
According to the A.P. the U.S is weighing the possibility of shooting down N. Korean long-range ballistic missiles: [Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency spokeman Rick] Lehner would not comment on possible use of the U.S. missile defense system, but two other defense officials said Tuesday that the administration is weighing responses to a missile test, including attempting to hit it in … Read More
The Dark Side Indeed
Here’s a textbook example of how it works with the Bush Administration. You can read about it in Bart Gellman’s review of Ron Suskind’s new book: Al-Qaeda member Abu Zubaydah was captured in March 2002. Zubaydah’s captors discovered he was mentally ill and charged with minor logistical matters, such as arranging travel for wives and children. The President was informed … Read More
Winning At All Costs?
Well, it seems clear that the two kidnapped U.S. Marines, now dead, were tortured before their lives were taken by beheading. [SIDENOTE: Already, the A-list conservative bloggers are attacking family members of the two deceased soldiers] There are basically two schools of thought on torture. The first — which is an honest position — is that we are fighting barbarians, … Read More
Cheney Offers Same Lame Excuse
Cheney on the war in Iraq: "I don’t think anybody anticipated the level of violence that we’ve encountered," Cheney said. Does that excuse sound familiar? It should: "I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees" – George Bush It’s very odd that this Administration falls back on their own tunnelvision in order to excuse their monumental policy failures. … Read More
“Reasonable” Confinement
Unbelieveable: General Formica found that in the third case at a Special Operations outpost, near Tikrit, in April and May 2004, three detainees were held in cells 4 feet high, 4 feet long and 20 inches wide, except to use the bathroom, to be washed or to be interrogated. He concluded that two days in such confinement "would be reasonable; … Read More
The Birds Are Fueled
Breaking news everywhere informs us that North Korea has just completed fueling of a long-range ballistic nuclear missile (one capable of being launched and striking anywhere in the United States on a moment’s notice). Kind of takes you back to Castro and Cuba, don’t it? Susie Madrak: See how well it works out when Republicans are in charge?
Resurgence Of Taliban In Afghanistan
Bush 2004: And as a result of the United States military, Taliban no longer is in existence. And the people of Afghanistan are now free. (Applause.) In other words when you say something as President you better make it clear so everybody understands what you’re saying, and you better mean what you say. WH Press Secretary Tony Snow, this weekend: … Read More