Larry Wright, The Detroit News … [Read more...] about Campaign finances
On Bush’s stated desire for a long-term US military presence in Iraq
President George Bush’s desire, stated in his televised address, to retain a long term military presence in Iraq to create and stabilize a permanent ally of the United States is likely to make Americans less secure over time. That insecurity will come not just from Al Qaeda, which has repeatedly vowed to push the US out of the region and will not hesitate to orchestrate … [Read more...] about On Bush’s stated desire for a long-term US military presence in Iraq
Getting Beyond Sunni Delusions
Marc Lynch, aka Abu Aardvark has posted what I think is the sharpest analysis of the fallout from the Abu Risha assassination. In an article derisively entitled Sunni World, Lynch blasts the Administration and its supporters for consistently portraying the Iraqi Sunni Arab population in cartoonish terms. First they were the monsters who only understood force, the effect being … [Read more...] about Getting Beyond Sunni Delusions
The lies and exaggerations of George W. Bush
I wrote this for The Reaction prior to Bush's address this evening. It still applies after the fact. ********** President Bush is set to address the nation, and the world, in just over half an hour. Topic: Iraq. What will he say? The Politico has excerpts of his speech -- "as released by the White House for use on dinnertime newscasts" -- which means we can all start … [Read more...] about The lies and exaggerations of George W. Bush
Bush: Limited Troop Reductions And Longterm Security Commitment To Iraq (ROUNDUP UPDATED)
President George Bush delivered a two-pronged message on Iraq tonight in a speech that some analysts on cable television said Republicans wished he would not have given at all. MESSAGE ONE: There will be limited troop reductions. 2,200 Marines will return to the U.S. immediately and will not be replaced. An additional 3,500 Army brigade troops will be home by Christmas.. … [Read more...] about Bush: Limited Troop Reductions And Longterm Security Commitment To Iraq (ROUNDUP UPDATED)
Bush Addresses The Nation
Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant … [Read more...] about Bush Addresses The Nation
A Jew in Sun Country
Cross-posted to the Debate Link On my recent trip to New York, I flew Sun Country Air. I've used them before, and have had generally positive experiences. For flights in and out of Minneapolis, they are far cheaper than the competition, especially the exorbitant fares charged by Northwest, which dominates the airport. They fly direct, which is nice for me, in comparison to … [Read more...] about A Jew in Sun Country
For Thoughtful Posts About Islam
Visit the Carnival of Islam in the West HERE. … [Read more...] about For Thoughtful Posts About Islam
Ali G Asks The Tough Questions Of James Baker
A must-see for all foreign policy watchers. … [Read more...] about Ali G Asks The Tough Questions Of James Baker
Signs of Change In Saudi Arabia
John Burgess, a former US Foreign Service Officer who also blogs at Crossroads Arabia, has written a fascinating piece about the prospects for reform in Saudi Arabia. (His conclusion? There are, in fact, some positive signs.) For those interested in the Middle East, it's definitely worth a read. … [Read more...] about Signs of Change In Saudi Arabia
Center of Attention
A round up of recent posts by various bloggers who either attempt to strike a balanced note on heated debates and controversial issues, or improve our ability to find our own sense of balance by exposing us to new information and different points-of-view. -------------------------- NOTE: Today's round up is severely abbreviated due to a tougher-than-usual "crunch time" at … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
Risha Killed: Huge Blow to U.S. Efforts
The much-hyped Anbar Awakening has ended with a bang for Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, President Bush's new best friend in Iraq. Bush had met with the sheik, a key figure in the U.S.-funded revolt of Sunni leaders against Al Qaeda, in a fly-by visit to an airbase in Anbar on September 3. Pentagon officials say that the assassination of Abu Risha, who along with two … [Read more...] about Risha Killed: Huge Blow to U.S. Efforts
Media Mash-Up
While George Bush tells Old America his new plans for the plantation tonight, the Democrats will be engaging New America in cyberspace on the first candidate mash-up, a power-to-the-people event hatched in a Swiss Alps resort. The President will be endorsing the proposals of Petraeus and Crocker, his overseers of the Iraq outpost, as Bill Maher badgers Barack Obama about the … [Read more...] about Media Mash-Up
So How DO You Talk To Children About 911?
The Big Question is STILL out there: So how DO you talk to children about 911? The issue bubbled to the forefront this week when the already-beset BBC had to remove a page from its website amid a raging controversy over bias. So (to paraphrase a classic commercial) what's a Mother (or Father) to do? Pajamas Media's editor Aaron Hanscom has some extensive thoughts … [Read more...] about So How DO You Talk To Children About 911?
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: More Notes on the State of Politics
More Notes on the State of Politics Last week the Crystal Ball published the first installment in an intermittent series of observations on a variety of 2008 political and campaign topics. In addition to our usual essays focusing on one subject, which will still appear regularly, we offer these morsels as a "low cal" supplement for political junkies on the go! … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: More Notes on the State of Politics
Money Talks, Academic Freedom Walks
As legal eagles go, they don’t come much smarter, nicer or fairer than Erwin Chemerinsky. I know this because Chemerinsky was one of my go-to guys when I was covering the O.J. Simpson murder case and criminal trial in the mid-1990s and I needed an astute comment on deadline regarding one of the hydra-headed legal aspects of this drama. Chemerinsky has become a favorite … [Read more...] about Money Talks, Academic Freedom Walks
GOOD JOB, PETRAEUS
Patrick Chappatte, The International Herald Tribune … [Read more...] about GOOD JOB, PETRAEUS
Bush & Dems: A Tale of Two Mandates
You have to go all the way back to Richard Nixon’s infamous 1973 “I am not a crook†speech to find a presidential address that is being made under circumstances so incredible as those when George Bush addresses the nation tonight. Bill Clinton’s 1998 "I did not have sex with that woman" speech was ignominious, but hardly comparable. Nixon turned a third-rate … [Read more...] about Bush & Dems: A Tale of Two Mandates
(Updated) A Memo to MoveOn.Org: Cut the Crap. It’s Time To Move On
The Democratic Party needs MoveOn.Org like a bad case of diarrhea. Yet there was the left-wing public policy group giving it the sh*ts this week because of its latest outburst of trash talk – a full-page ad disparaging General David Petraeus in the New York Times on Monday that carried the the big, bold headline "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" While there was … [Read more...] about (Updated) A Memo to MoveOn.Org: Cut the Crap. It’s Time To Move On
Enabling Iraqi Dysfunction
I was always fairly skeptical of the boilerplate Democratic charge that Iraqi politicians will only act on matters of national reconciliation when the US threatens to withdraw and leave them to their fate. I doubted this because I felt a) It was just a rhetorical ploy to foist failure in Iraq on the Iraqis themselves, and b) It naively underplayed the true depth of Iraqi … [Read more...] about Enabling Iraqi Dysfunction