July 1, 2007
Anger over remarks about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced the Japanese defense minister to apologize today. Fumio Kyuma had told an audience the previous day that he held no grudge against the United States, as the bombings forced Japan to surrender before the Soviet Union had a chance to invade: Japan's defense minister apologized on Sunday for comments about the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb attacks on the country which outraged survivors and drew criticism from the ruling bloc ahead of a key election in late July. Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma said he had not meant to offend the victims when he said on Saturday the bombings "couldn't be helped" because they had brought World War Two to an end and had prevented the Soviet Union from entering the war against Japan. "If my remarks were seen as lacking regard for the feelings of atomic bomb victims, then...
Michael Yon continues reporting from the front in the new US/Iraqi push to clear Baqubah of al-Qaeda forces. His post title will need explaining, but first, Michael embeds with an armored unit to a village on the outskirts of Baqubah. A firefight ensued, and when the Americans had driven off the AQI terrorists, an unsettling quiet came over the battlefield: On 29 June, American and Iraqi soldiers were again fighting side-by-side as soldiers from Charley Company 1-12 CAV, led by Captain Clayton Combs, and Iraqi soldiers from the 5th IA, closed in on a village on the outskirts of Baqubah. The village had the apparent misfortune of being located near a main road—about 3.5 miles from FOB Warhorse—that al Qaeda liked to bomb. Al Qaeda had taken over the village. As Iraqi and American soldiers moved in, they came under light contact; but the bombs planted in the roads, and...
Al Gore has transformed global warming from scientific theory to political crusade, writing books and producing a documentary to scare people into action. Gore and his supporters claim that scientific consensus is nearly unanimous that the climate changes measured over the last two decades are anthropogenic, and that we may already have run out of time to save the planet. However, James Taylor, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute, points out that Gore has some of his "evidence" completely wrong -- and that consensus does not exist on his central argument: For example, Gore claims that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking and global warming is to blame. Yet the September 2006 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate reported, "Glaciers are growing in the Himalayan Mountains, confounding global warming alarmists who recently claimed the glaciers were shrinking and that global warming was to blame." Gore claims the snowcap...
The attack on a Glasgow airport apparently resulted from an Islamist conspiracy, as suspected yesterday in its aftermath. British authorities have four people in custody, including two arrested in Chesire: Early Sunday, after a day of fast-moving developments, the London police announced that two people had been arrested in Cheshire, in northwest England, “in connection with the events in London and Scotland.” The arrests were in addition to those of the two occupants of the blazing car at Glasgow Airport. A witness to the attack said on BBC television that one of the car’s occupants had been ablaze from head to foot, and as he struggled with the police, “was throwing punches and shouting ‘Allah, Allah.’ ” Britain’s threat level is now at “critical,” meaning another attack is considered imminent. The threat has not been as high since last year, after authorities discovered what they called a plot to attack...
Via Newsbeat1, I'm reminded that today is Canada Day. In fact, it's the 139th year of Canada Day, which began as Dominion Day in 1868. (This is the 25th anniversary of the event as "Canada Day".) As fitting for our northern neighbor, it celebrates no particular military victory or political event, but just humbly celebrates the nation itself. From your neighbors to the South, happy Canada Day, and may our friendship celebrate many, many more of these days together. Canada has a special place in my heart. To see why, please read through my archive....
The London Telegraph reports that rap music has suddenly plummeted -- sales have dropped more than twice as fast as the entire ailing recording industry. Sales in 2006 came in at 21% below 2005, and this year looks even worse. The reason? Listeners have tired of misogynistic lyrics, crude paeans to violence, and the garish jewelry that once fascinated America's youth: Confronted with haemorrhaging sales, the most assertive popular music movement since the Sex Pistols has lost its swagger and is suffering a crisis of confidence. This year rap and hip-hop sales are down 33 per cent, double the decline of the CD album market overall, which is under pressure from music download sites such as iTunes, where fans can buy individual songs. In 2006, rap sold 59.1 million albums, down 21 per cent from 2005. Not one rap album made the American top 10 sellers of the year -...
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have come under tremendous pressure to start achieving the ambitious goals they set for the 110th Congress after winning control for the first time in 12 years. However, the two Democrats find themselves looking foolish as this Congress has done less in its first five months than any in recent memory -- and both Reid and Pelosi blame the Republicans for obstructionism in the Senate. They seem to forget that the two of them played the same exact game for their own political advantage over the past few years of Republican control (via Memeorandum): Pelosi sounded more apologetic than celebratory Friday when she announced with her Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democrats' list of accomplishments six months after they seized control of Capitol Hill and promised "a new direction" in Washington. "I'm not happy with Congress, either," Pelosi, of San Francisco,...
What are the causes of terrorism? Many would have them as poverty, a lack of education, and little exposure to Western values. It's rather interesting, then, that two of the five terror suspects rounded up by the UK in the wake of three mostly failed attacks are doctors working in their National Health System: Two of the five terror suspects being held in the wake of the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow are hospital doctors working in the UK. The majority of the five terror suspects being held in police custody in connection with bomb attacks in London and Glasgow are not British and at least one is still at large, according to Sky sources. Sky sources believe one of the men arrested at Glasgow airport and a 26-year-old man arrested on the M6 with a 27-year-old woman in Cheshire are both doctors. Sky Crime Reporter Martin Brunt...
July 2, 2007
After struggling for a few years with Qwest's DSL service, I'm changing to Comcast this afternoon. I'll be replacing my local phone service and Direct TV programming at the same time, a move that should give me much faster Internet access while saving me close to $60 per month ... if it works. My DSL has always had its share of problems. I live in one of those neighborhoods that sits too far from a central office to get normal DSL. Qwest installed repeaters nearby to give service to my area, but no other CLECs followed suit. As a result, the only DSL I can get is Qwest's business class (for networking in the house), and while the down/up pipe isn't bad -- usually 512/256K -- it's cranky. If I run a trace route on any domain, it times out. Cable hadn't been an option for a while here either,...
The announcement yesterday of an arrest in March of a high-ranking Hezbollah terrorist in Iraq gives more credence to the accusations of Iranian involvement in Iraq's insurgencies. The US caught Ali Moussa Dadouk in southern Iraq after he masterminded a Karbala attack that killed five American soldiers -- and Dadouk fingered the Iranians for much more: Iran's elite Quds force helped militants carry out a January attack in Karbala that killed five Americans, a U.S. general said Monday. U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner also accused Tehran of using the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah as a "proxy" to arm Shiite militants in Iraq. The claims were an escalation in U.S. accusations that Iran is fueling Iraq's violence, which Tehran has denied, and were the first time the U.S. military has said Hezbollah has a direct role. A senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative, Ali Mussa Dakdouk, was captured March 20...
The presidential campaigns continue to release their second quarter numbers, but Barack Obama has put an exclamation point on Q2. His announced total, $31 million, exceeded expectations again, both in total and in organization, and the gap between himself and Hillary is even more significant than it looks. Their combined draw sends a big message to the GOP, too: Sen. Barack Obama raised $31 million for his presidential primary campaign over the past three months, surging past Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's fundraising machine by nearly $10 million for the quarter to take the lead in contributions in the crowded Democratic field. Obama became the first Democrat to surpass $30 million in a quarter during a non-election year, a feat his campaign said was accomplished not just with help from wealthy, traditional donors but also with a strong showing among small contributors. The Illinois senator trails Clinton in most polls, but...
CNN now reports that the Glasgow attack was staged by the same men who drove the car bombs in London. British authorities have arrested two more men in connection with the series of failed attacks, and they have concluded that al-Qaeda planned and launched the attacks: Authorities suspect the two men who rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into Glasgow's airport on Saturday are the same people who parked two car bombs in central London a day earlier, security sources told CNN. ... One of the suspects, who is in critical condition at Royal Alexandra Hospital near Glasgow, is a doctor at the hospital where he is being treated for severe burns, according to the woman who owns his rental house. It is believed that he shared the house on Neuk Crescent Street in the small Scottish village of Houston, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Glasgow's airport, with the other suspect...
Doesn't Lindsey Graham know that his poll numbers are sliding downhill? Hasn't the national spotlight on his angry attacks against opponents of his immigration bill made him nervous about his re-election bid next year? At Heading Right, we look at The Politico's report on Graham's prospects and discover why he felt so comfortable in going apoplectic this summer....
The new surge strategy appears to have had at least a temporary effect on violence in Iraq. Civilian deaths dropped dramatically from May to June, according to a new report from Iraq: Iraqi civilian deaths dropped to 1,241 last month, according to figures issued on Sunday, the lowest since a US-led crackdown was launched in February in Baghdad and other violent regions of the country. The latest numbers, compiled from interior, defence and health ministry figures and made available to AFP, indicate that 1,241 civilians died last month, compared to 1,951 in the previous month. ... The June casualties are the lowest since the February 14 launch of the US and Iraqi military crackdown known as Operation Fardh al-Qanoon (Imposing the Law) in and around Baghdad. In that month 1,626 civilians were reported killed. That's a notable drop, one that caught the attention of most major American newspapers. The Los...
Apparently the New York Times has not found much on Fred Thompson to derail his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination -- so the Gray Lady decided to take on his sons. The lobbying careers of Tony and Daniel Thompson get a load of innuendo, but in the end, the Times can't even find smoke, let alone fire: But attending Brentwood Methodist Church in Nashville that night, Tony Thompson ran into the departing incumbent senator, Harlan Mathews, a Democrat. Mr. Mathews invited Tony to join him in a Nashville lobbying business, a job that would let him capitalize on his father’s new position. “I don’t just believe in the tooth fairy,” Mr. Mathews said. “A lot of people were seeking access — not necessarily unfair access, but seeking access — so Tony was employed in a number of areas where his father had made a reputation or his father’s advice...
Rumor had it that the John McCain camp would have organizational news, and the AP says the news is layoffs. Fifty staffers will lose their jobs as the second quarter numbers have apparently come in, and come in low: John McCain's campaign, trailing top Republican rivals in money and polls, is undergoing a significant reorganization with staff cuts in every department, officials with knowledge of the shake-up said Monday. Some 50 staffers or more are being let go, and senior aides will be subject to pay cuts as the Arizona senator's campaign bows to the reality of six months of subpar fundraising, these officials said. ... Once considered the front-runner for the GOP nomination, McCain came in third in the money chase behind Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, raising $13.6 million in the first three months of the year. He is struggling to reach that total in the second financial...
Scooter Libby lost his appeal to remain free on bail pending review of his conviction on perjury and obstruction of justice. He can try for a stay from the Supreme Court, but the opinion from the three-judge panel indicates he won't have much success (via Memeorandum): A federal appeals court Monday rejected former White House aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s request to remain free on bond while appealing his March conviction on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. In an order handed down Monday, a three judge panel wrote Libby “has not shown that the appeal raises a substantial question” that regular appeals court will consider when its next term begins in September. Since this court will hear the Libby appeal on the merits of the case, it sends a grim message to Libby's supporters. They may find themselves disappointed in the weight of the legal arguments for reversal, such as...
Update: Libby loses his appeal (see below). We'll take your calls on this in the first half hour -- be sure to tune in! Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), we'll have Tom Bevan from Real Clear Politics to talk about Barack Obama's big fundraising quarter and what it means for Hillary Clinton and the Republicans. We'll also catch up on their latest polls for the presidential primaries and talk more about RCP's expanding role in political punditry. The first half of the show will be an open forum for CQ Radio listeners to call about their hot topics of the day. Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link: UPDATE II: Rick Moran is liveblogging Congress -- the Continental Congress, that is! Be sure to keep up with Rick's celebration of Independence Day. I wonder if...
... but feel free to send the money. Comcast completed its installation while I conducted my CQ Radio show today, rushing to complete the Internet connection before the show started. They made it with two minutes to spare; after a lifetime of watching bad movies where bombs get stopped at the 00:00:01 mark, it hardly even raised the blood pressure. Everything is up and running as it should be, and my download speed has increased from around 500K to something well north of 6M. I'll have more, but right now I have to redo two entertainment systems. No nightmares!...
George Bush took immediate action after Scooter Libby lost his appeal to maintain bail while attempting to overturn his convictions on perjury and obstruction of justice. He commuted Libby's prison sentence, while leaving his fine and his probation in place. The question now will be whether that satisfies Libby's supporters, and how angry it will make his detractors: President Bush has commuted the prison term of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, facing 30 months in prison after a federal court convicted him of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators. ... In a written statement issued hours after that ruling, Bush called the sentence "excessive." But he also rejected calls for a pardon for Libby. "The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting," Bush said. But he said Libby was given "a harsh...
July 3, 2007
The curious inclusion of working physicians in the latest Islamist attacks in Britain has expanded. British investigators have announced three more doctors as suspects in the conspiracy behing the attacks, and another doctor in Australia has been arrested: At least three physicians were identified Monday among suspects arrested in Britain's failed car bomb attacks, and authorities announced three new arrests including a doctor in Australia as the investigation spread overseas. British media reports said at least five of the detainees in Britain were physicians. British police confirmed a Palestinian doctor and Iraqi physician were among those held, while Australian officials said an Indian doctor working there had been detained in the case. .... Hours after police announced the arrests of two more people in the Glasgow area, officials said an eighth suspect was detained "abroad by local authorities" Monday. Australian authorities later said he was arrested at the airport in...
Members of the five-year-old African Union have begun floating the idea of a single continental government, somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between the EU and the US. Advocates call the pan-African government the only solution to the legacy of colonialism on the continent. Unfortunately, those leaders who back it are the ones Africa needs least: Southern and East African leaders have rejected plans to set up a pan-African government, as suggested by Libya's head of state Col Muammar Gaddafi. ... Some of the 50 leaders at the African Union (AU) summit in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, fear the issue will push the crises in Zimbabwe, Somalia and Darfur off the agenda. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said unity was vital to make the continent truly independent of the West, as he spoke to a crowd of cheering Ghanaians. "Unless we put our act together... and start pooling our resources...
In the wake of the recent Supreme Cout decision that limits race-based solutions for desegregation efforts in schools, the Democratic presidential candidates have reacted as though the Roberts court threw out the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision that ended state-imposed segregation. However, the problem no longer is the state imposition of segregation, nor is it a lack of funds to the schools. Rather, it is the strange mix of incompetence and lack of accountability that keeps our largest school districts from educating our students, as Richard Cohen notes: The eight Democratic presidential candidates assembled in Washington last week for another of their debates and talked, among other things, about public education. They all essentially agreed that it was underfunded -- one system "for the wealthy, one for everybody else," as John Edwards put it. Then they all got into cars and drove through a city where teachers are...
Now that the comprehensive immigration bill has died on the floor of the Senate, it seems that few in Washington have the stomach to address the most pressing components of the issue. Some in the House want to do just that, The Hill reports, although they may not get a lot of support for an approach that focuses only on borders and visas. Leadership in both chambers and both parties would rather avoid immigration for the rest of this session. At Heading Right, I take a look at the politics of this effort. With over 70% of the public favoring action to secure the borders and fix the visa system, it seems like this should be the low-hanging fruit of the political season. Will this Congress, which has accomplished next to nothing, be smart enough to pick it -- and who wins if they don't?...
The new Rasmussen poll out this morning shows Fred Thompson continuing to lead the GOP presidential primary race, 27%-24% over Rudy Giuliani. Rasmussen declares the contest "stabilized", with Fred holding an advantage among conservatives: After weeks of turmoil and change, the race for the Republican Presidential nomination has stabilized. Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson remains on top in Rasmussen Reports national polling with 27% support. That’s unchanged from a week ago. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is three points behind at 24%. Thompson has a 16-point advantage over Giuliani among conservatives while Giuliani holds an even larger edge among moderate voters. However, in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination, there are always more conservative voters than moderates. A separate survey found that Thompson is currently viewed as the most conservative of all GOP candidates. Giuliani remains the best liked candidate. Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans now have...
CBS News reports this morning that the attacks in Britain started with a proposal by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to infiltrate the West. At least one of the attackers got their training in Zarqawi's organization, and the use of doctors was a deliberate part of the deception: British intelligence services increasingly believe that the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow bare the fingerprints of al Qaeda in Iraq, CBS News has learned. Intelligence sources tell CBS News that the people behind the attempts were directly recruited by Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, the present leader of the terror group's Iraq franchise. ... Sources tell CBS News that al-Muhajir recruited the men between 2004 and 2005, while they were living in the Middle East, upon orders from then-al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Al-Muhajir was told to recruit young men who could easily move into Western countries, assimilate and lay low...
Gauging from the reaction of pundits, George Bush did himself few favors in commuting Scooter Libby's sentence yesterday. As I predicted, critics of the administration railed against his supposed abandonment of the rule of law, while conservatives complained that Bush didn't go far enough. The end result may be a net zero for Bush politically, but according to Mike Allen at The Politico, that wasn't Bush's concern: What were the calculations? One of the few people who actually knows something about the deliberations tells Playbook that no political factors were considered. That seems to be the reason Bush chose this outcome. He could have pardoned Libby outright, and he could have chosen to do nothing at all, and he could also have commuted the fine and probation. In the end he chose none of these options, only acting to keep Libby from prison but leaving all other punishments in place....
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), Jules Crittenden of the Boston Herald joins us. We'll discuss the Libby commutation and the political landscape afterwards, as well as the attacks in Britain and other hot topics of the day. We'll look for some contrary opinions from callers for a good debate on the Libby commutation, so be sure to call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link:...
Those of us who rail against earmarks and pork-barrel politics argue in part that the resultant spending usually goes to functions that have nothing to do with federal authority. These usually serve as incumbency protection efforts, attempts to drown the district in enough cash that it pressures voters to retain incumbents, in order to maintain the gravy train. One might think that a more libertarian incumbent would eschew such grubby tactics -- but the Houston Chronicle's investigation into Texas earmarks proves that theory incorrect (h/t: CQ reader Kirk H): U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson, the Libertarian-leaning contender for the Republican presidential nomination, long has waged war on the widespread federal spending he views as outside constitutional boundaries. But the congressman, who often votes against spending bills, including funds for the Iraq war, leads the Houston-area delegation in the number of earmarks, or special funding requests, that he is...
The campaigns of Mitt Romney and Rudy Giulani announced their second-quarter fundraising numbers -- and neither of them set the world on fire. Rudy raised as much in three months as he did in the previous two, and Romney dropped off his Q1 numbers by a third: Republican Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign reported an estimated $15 million in primary election contributions from April through June and Mitt Romney trailed closely behind with $14 million raised. ... Overall, Giuliani saw an increase in his fundraising over the first quarter, when he reported nearly $16 million in contributions. About $1 million of that sum was for the general election. Romney's fundraising fell short of his first quarter, when he raised $20.6 million and lent himself $2.35 million. All of Romney's money is for the primary election. The Romney camp reported $12 million cash on hand, equal to the amount he had in...
George Bush has received plenty of criticism for commuting Scooter Libby's sentence, from both the Right and the Left, and at least a good portion of it justifiable. However, one voice that should have remained silent has decided to pile on: Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton drew a distinction between President Bush's decision to commute the sentence of White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby — which she has harshly criticized — and her husband's 140 pardons in his closing hours in office. "I believe that presidential pardon authority is available to any president, and almost all presidents have exercised it," Clinton said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This (the Libby decision) was clearly an effort to protect the White House. ... There isn't any doubt now, what we know is that Libby was carrying out the implicit or explicit wishes of the vice president, or...
I'll be appearing on CHQR's The World Tonight with Rob Breakenridge, appearing at 9:05 Central. The main topic will be the Libby commutation, although knowing Rob, he'll want to cover other topics as well. Be sure to tune in; if you're not in Calgary, the station has a live stream over the Internet....
July 4, 2007
Despite the fact that this document has been in existence for 218 years, it appears that it has escaped the notice of many pundits decrying a presidential commutation as an "obstruction of justice". For those unfamiliar with the Constitution, I direct you to Article 2, Section 2: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. That seems pretty clear to me, and it did when Bill Clinton was in office as well. The President has...
In doing research on Independence Day and searching for appropriate speeches to quote, it became clear that the breadth of material meant that any comprehensive representation of it would become impossible in a blog format. Instead, I decided to look for surprises -- nuggets of insight in unlikely places. I discovered this speech, which in part emphasized the foundational nature of religion in the American character. Can you guess its author? A nation's character, like that of an individual, is elusive. It is produced partly by things we have done and partly by what has been done to us. It is the result of physical factors, intellectual factors, spiritual factors. It is well for us to consider our American character, for in peace, as in war, we will survive or fail according to its measure. Our deep religious sense is the first element of the American character which I would...
Continue reading "The First Element Of The American Character" »
Abraham Lincoln wrote one of the nation's greatest speeches, even perhaps its greatest speech, in the aftermath of the terrible carnage at Gettysburg. For three days, vast armies collided in a small Pennsylvania town, fighting over the nature of liberty and equality. Lincoln returned to the site in November of that year to deliver his most eloquent and somber address. In the days immediately following the battle, in which the hopes of the Confederacy were dashed, Lincoln felt far more celebratory than somber. His armies had finally broken Robert E. Lee and forced him back into Virginia, and Washington would never face serious threat again. The capital was in a joyous mood, and Lincoln delivered his Independence Day speech on the 7th as part of that festive atmosphere: Fellow-citizens: I am very glad to see you to-night. But yet I will not say I thank you for this call. But...
On Independence Day in 1941, America watched as the world burned. Hitler and Nazi Germany had overrun France, Poland, and the Balkans in the previous eighteen months, and had just taken on Soviet Russia the month before. They appeared to be on their way to realizing Napoleon's quest of taking Moscow. In the Pacific, the Japanese had overrun much of eastern Asia and threatened the British and the US; in five months and three days, they would make war on us in surprise attacks on American military bases throughout the region, including Pearl Harbor. Sixty-six years ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to warn us of the danger. America had adopted an obstinate isolationism in the hope of avoiding the second World War, a strategy FDR knew was useless. He told America that we could not watch liberty extinguished abroad without soon losing it ourselves: My fellow Americans: In 1776,...
Ron Fournier, the AP's political analyst, takes a look at the effect that the Libby commutation has had on the political scene -- and sees hypocrisy everywhere. While he slams Bush for disregarding the same federal sentencing guidelines he espoused as both candidate and President, Fournier saves his most biting criticism for the wife of his predecessor: "This commutation sends the clear signal that in this administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. It was a brazen statement from a woman entangled in many Clinton White House scandals, including the final one: On his last day in office, President Clinton granted 140 pardons and 36 commutations, many of them controversial. One of those pardoned was Marc Rich, who had fled the country after being indicted for tax evasion and whose wife had donated...
Note: This post will stay at the top all day. Newer posts will be below. Today we celebrate the birth of our nation, as conceived by a group of men in a Pennsylvania hall who many considered at the time as traitors. They dared to imagine a nation whose leaders would not be derived from notions of royalty nor from the power of arms, but chosen by free people as leaders accountable to the populace. They took the ethereal notions that sprang from the Enlightenment and dared to make them a reality -- hoping that this radical experiment would take root in the North American continent, but having no clue that it would become a shining beacon for the entire world over the next two centuries. It wasn't a model of perfection, and indeed, our birth has resembled our journey ever since. Dissent over the nature of a representative democracy...
I hope that all of the CQ community has had or is having a wonderful Fourth with their families. This year, the First Mate and I decided to celebrate a little differently. Last year, when both of us had major health problems, we went to the town's parade and a family brunch, but this year, we went to the movies to beat the humidity and heat. We did an a la carte double feature today. The first movie we saw was Evan Almighty, the sequel to Bruce Almighty, starring Steve Carell as a newsman-turned-Congressman. In this movie, Morgan Freeman returns as God to instruct Carell to build an ark. Carell turns into Noah,and his family has to decide whether to stand by him -- and the multitude of animals that follow Carell. It's an entertaining movie, not terribly challenging but with some heart. The politics of it are tiresomely predictable;...
I understand the impulse to treat politics as a bloodsport, but even those who prefer that mode should really limit their attacks to the combatants. Today's story about the arrest of Al Gore III provides a case in point: The 24-year-old son of former Vice President Al Gore was arrested for drug possession on Wednesday after he was stopped for speeding in his hybrid Toyota Prius, a sheriff's official said. Al Gore III -- whose father is a leading advocate of policies to fight global warming -- was driving his environmentally friendly car at about 100 miles per hour on a freeway south of Los Angeles when he was pulled over by an Orange County sheriff's deputy at about 2:15 a.m. The deputy smelled marijuana and searched the car, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino. The search turned up a small amount of marijuana, along with prescription drugs including Valium, Xanax,...
July 5, 2007
Canada has discovered a problem in its management of radioactive devices -- the darn things keep coming up missing. Either through theft or carelessness, or both, Canada has dozens of radioactive devices missing, and counterterrorism agents there are very worried (h/t: CQ reader Stoo): Radioactive devices -- some of which have the potential to be used in terrorist attacks -- have gone missing in alarming numbers in Canada over the past five years. A new database compiled by The Canadian Press shows that the devices, which are used in everything from medical research to measuring oil wells, are becoming a favoured target of thieves. At least 76 have gone missing in Canada over the past five years -- disappearing from construction sites, specialized tool boxes, and generally growing legs and walking away. Some of the devices could be used in a "dirty bomb," where conventional explosives are used to detonate...
The EU wants to ban the communication of bomb-making instructions on the Internet. That might seem rational, even for some free-speech advocates, since even in the US free speech does not cover incitements to violence. However, the EU's plans go too far in holding ISPs criminally responsible for the actions of their customers, and they may find themselves doing more damage than good as a result: Placing instructions on how to make a bomb on the internet will become a criminal offence across Europe under plans outlined by Brussels yesterday. Arguments about freedom of expression will not be allowed to stand in the way of criminalising the publication of bomb-making information that could be used by terrorists, a senior EU official said. It will be part of a range of antiterrorist proposals to be published in the autumn that will also include the collection of airline passenger data from every...
Michael Kinsley slams the media for their relentless non-pursuit of a critical element in the Valerie Plame leak -- the journalists. He does so in the opinion pages of the New York Times, one of the papers that demanded an investigation into the leak, only to screech about the First Amendment when Patrick Fitzgerald put reporters on the hot seat, including their own Judith Miller: There is nothing wrong with a perjury trap, as long as both sides of the pincer are legitimate. The abuse comes when prosecutors induce a crime (lying under oath) by exploiting an action that is not a crime. The law about “outing” C.I.A. operatives is apparently vague enough that it isn’t clear whether Mr. Libby violated it. But let’s leave that aside. Exposing one of your country’s intelligence officers is a bad thing to do. If it isn’t against the law, it ought to be,...
The Washington Post extends the story of John Edwards' haircuts by interviewing his stylist in today's Section C. We find that Joseph Torrenueva had his feelings hurt by Edwards when the presidential candidate attempted to convince people that his staff had arranged the appointment as a one-off, when Edwards has been a Torrenueva customer for years -- and that $400 wan't the least-expensive do Torrenueva did: It is some kind of commentary on the state of American politics that as Edwards has campaigned for president, vice president and now president again, his hair seems to have attracted as much attention as, say, his position on health care. But when his campaign reported in April that it had paid for two of his haircuts at $400 each, the political damage was immediate. With each punch line on late night TV his image as a self-styled populist making poverty his signature issue...
The Telegraph reports that three radical Muslims conducted an Internet forum which issued threats against the US and UK -- and warned that doctors would form the next assault wave. The three, who have pled guilty to making terrorist threats on the Internet, warned that 45 doctors would attack Jacksonville strip clubs and naval harbors: A group of 45 Muslim doctors threatened to use car bombs and rocket grenades in terrorist attacks in the United States during discussions on an extremist internet chat site. ... One message read: "We are 45 doctors and we are determined to undertake jihad and take the battle inside America. "The first target which will be penetrated by nine brothers is the naval base which gives shelter to the ship Kennedy." This is thought to have been a reference to the USS John F Kennedy, which is often at Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville, Florida....
Politics had a harmonic convergence in Fairfield, Iowa this Fourth of July, thanks to the campaign stop of the Left's Messiah at an event heavily attended by the town's Transcendental Meditation practitioners. As Obama aligned himself with the rotation of the earth, the followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi proclaimed him as their own Messiah as well: To the frustration of the cameramen in the Fairfield town square, Obama delivered his remarks facing east, with the setting sun behind him blotting out their shots. But here, there’s a power even higher than the television networks: Obama had positioned himself in alignment with the rotation of the earth, in accordance with the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whose followers moved en masse to this small Iowa city more than 30 years ago. The Maharishi’s transcendental meditators, along with vacationing pilgrims from the East Coast, turned out in large numbers in the...
What really sets off a nationally-syndicated columnist whose essays appear in hundreds of publications each week? Apparently, it's when average people influence their elected representatives on policy, instead of opinion leaders like himself. That seems to be the takeaway from David Broder's new column today on immigration. At Heading Right, I take a look at Broder's cri de coeur over the use of "modern communications" in intimidating Congress into rejecting bad legislation. The paradigm has changed, and Broder appears unaware of it or incapable of understanding it -- perhaps because he has so much to lose....
The Giuliani campaign invited bloggers to a conference call on Rudy Giuliani's fundraising numbers for Q2. Total cash on hand: $18 million Spent: $11.2 million in Q2 Donors: over 60,000 Proof of success in both finance and polling. They are the only GOP campaign to increase their numbers from Q1 to Q2. Very proud of the fact that they have zero debt; shows efficient and disciplined campaign and stewardship of donor money. They feel very strongly that they have the best positioning to win a general election. They claim they can put New Jersey, New York, and the New England states, which other candidates cannot. They rattled off their #1 position in state polling, arguing that they're also positioned well to win the primaries. Most of them fell outside the first races, although they rattled it off so quickly that I can't recall all of the states where they claim...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), Robert Bluey of the Heritage Foundation joins us in the second half of the show. We'll talk about the fallout of the Libby commutation, the David Broder column, and much more. We've also got Patrick Ruffini, an insider in GOP circles, talking about the primary race so far! Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link:...
Given Fred Thompson's decision to enter the primaries late, one might expect him to fare poorly in head-to-head matches, especially with candidates of the other party. Rasmussen's latest polling will surprise some, as it shows Fred in a dead heat with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton: The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) tied with former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R) in an Election 2008 match-up. Both candidates attract support from 45% of voters. Given a Clinton-Thompson match-up, 5% of voters say they’d pull the lever for some other candidate and 4% are not sure. The survey also found Clinton holding a four-point advantage over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R), 46% to 42%. In that match-up, 9% would prefer some other candidate and 3% are not sure. The survey was conducted June 27-28, 2007, just before the July 4th holiday festivities began to...
Here's the situation. You're a New Media reporter, and you have an invitation to interview an intriguing guest: the ambassador from Afghanistan, Said T. Jawad. What questions would you like to hear answered? CQ readers can leave those questions in the comments. I'll be interviewing Ambassador Jawad in early July, most likely live on CQ Radio, and I'm interested in what questions you have for both him and me. UPDATE & BUMP, 6/24: This has now been confirmed. I will interview Ambassador Jawad live on CQ Radio from the Afghanistan Embassy on July 9th, at 2 pm ET. I'll travel to DC on Sunday and stay through Tuesday on other BlogTalkRadio business, but be sure to mark your calendars for that very special broadcast. UPDATE & BUMP, 7/5: It's a great thread, and I'm going to push it to the top one more time. Keep the questions flowing! I'm going...
July 6, 2007
George Bush's efforts in Iraq took a blow yesterday when Republican Senator Pete Domenici announced that he wants American troops out of combat areas in Iraq by early next year. Oddly, he insisted that he didn't want a withdrawal, leaving his vision of American involvement unclear: White House efforts to keep congressional Republicans united over the Iraq war suffered another major defection yesterday as Sen. Pete V. Domenici (N.M.) broke with President Bush and called for an immediate change in U.S. strategy that could end combat operations by spring. The six-term lawmaker, party loyalist and former staunch war supporter represents one of the most significant GOP losses to date. Speaking to reporters at a news conference in Albuquerque, Domenici said he began to question his stance on Iraq late last month, after several conversations with the family members of dead soldiers from his home state, and as it became clear...
With the focus of the Senate apparently shifting to Iraq and the use of the ISG report as an exit strategy, Joe Lieberman has issued a warning on the nature of the basic conflict that fuels the war on terror. In today's Wall Street Journal, Lieberman warns that Iran has its fingers in every conflict in that region, and that our withdrawal from Iraq will entice the Iranians to expand their violent bids for hegemony: Iran's actions in Iraq fit a larger pattern of expansionist, extremist behavior across the Middle East today. In addition to sponsoring insurgents in Iraq, Tehran is training, funding and equipping radical Islamist groups in Lebanon, Palestine and Afghanistan--where the Taliban now appear to be receiving Iranian help in their war against the government of President Hamid Karzai and its NATO defenders. While some will no doubt claim that Iran is only attacking U.S. soldiers in...
Having seen the film License to Wed on its opening day, I am surprised to see a critical reference to it in the Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal as unfair to marriage preparation courses. As a person who volunteers for an organization dedicated to marriage preparation, the tone of Christine Whelan's article seems a little too defensive over a harmless bit of fun: This week, Hollywood takes the focus off of "bridezillas" and puts it on marriage preparation courses. In "License to Wed," which opened Wednesday, Robin Williams plays the "Reverend Frank," a clergyman of unspecified denomination who puts his charges through a series of tests--including an exercise in the diapering of urinating robotic twins--to earn the right to marry. Off the silver screen, marriage preparation courses are about shared values rather than simulated disaster drills, and are increasingly popular. ... "License to Wed" paints a terrifying picture of marriage preparation...
CQ readers will recall the decision by Detroit federal judge Anna Diggs Taylor that ruled Bush's warrantless surveillance of international communications illegal and demanded a cessation of the NSA's activities in this program last fall. At the time, I argued that her reasoning was flawed, especially regarding the legal standing of the plaintiffs. Today the appellate court agreed, directing Taylor to dismiss the charges: A federal appeals court Friday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue. The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel vacated a 2006 order by a lower court in Detroit, which had found the post-Sept. 11 warrantless surveillance aimed at uncovering terrorist activity to be unconstitutional, violating rights to privacy and free speech and the separation of powers. U.S. Circuit Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, one of the two Republican...
Republicans have criticized the White House for its poor communications skills and its inability to get its message out to the general public. Those critics will find themselves happy with the latest White House pushback against the Democrat-controlled Congress. The Hill reports that the Bush administration has quantified the amount of time Congress has spent on oversight hearings, and compared that to the amount of actual legislation Congress has managed to produce. At Heading Right, I argue that this shows some responsiveness on the part of the Democratic leadership that has been lacking on other parts of their program. That sets up a big conundrum for the Democrats in next year's elections, as these efforts have left them rather vulnerable for a big fall....
E.J. Dionne takes up the topic of the Scooter Libby commutation in today's Washington Post column, admitting to feeling uncharacteristic rage after hearing about the presidential reprieve from prison. After venting and then making a very kind reference to my posts on the subject -- which I'll address in a moment -- Dionne explains why he thinks George Bush decided on commutation at this time and left a pardon open for later (h/t: nandrews3): Bush purported to be seeking a "third way" (forgive me, Tony Blair) between an outright pardon and allowing the law to follow its course. "I respect the jury's verdict," the president said. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. . . . The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant and private citizen will be long-lasting." But if Bush meant that, he'd...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), Duane "Generalissimo" Patterson joins us again to review the week's top political stories. We'll talk about the effect that Pete Domenici's statement about Iraq will have on the political fortunes of the war, plus Joe Lieberman's essay today on the same subject. I'm sure that the topic of Libby's commutation will come up, especially in relation to the criticisms coming from the Clintons. We'll also talk about the fundraising numbers and what it means -- maybe including the odd fact that John McCain and Ron Paul have the same amount of cash on hand, according to Ron Paul. Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link: UPDATE: Fausta has a great show scheduled for today at 3:30 PM ET, which is in the middle of my show -- but you...
This story is so wrong on so many levels that it's hardly possible to know where to begin: Police who chased a car for miles along a highway at speeds up to 100 mph said the driver was drunk, hardly a rarity in this resort town. But there was more: When they looked inside the flipped vehicle with guns drawn, they found an 11-year-old girl at the wheel. Eleven. The girl probably just got out of the fifth grade. Good Lord. It gets worse: [Assistant police Chief Greg] Duck said the girl, whose name was not released because of her age, told police she was on her way to pick up her sister at a concert. The eleven-year-old had to pick up her sister in the family car? How old was the concert-goer -- six? The questions just bubble up on this story. Where are her parents? How did she...
It's easy to tell when a candidate has the potential to do well in a campaign -- the opposition starts throwing mud as early as possible. This appears to be doubly true with Fred Thompson, as the Los Angeles Times will shortly publish a new story about a purported client of Fred's when he worked as a lawyer and lobbyist. The American Spectator steals the Times' thunder: The Washington Prowler column has learned that the Los Angeles Times intends to publish a story that would attempt to link former Sen. Fred Thompson to a Washington-based, pro-abortion organization. Thompson, through a spokesman, is said to go on the record in the story as having no recollection of ever doing work for the organization in question during a period in 1991 when the first Bush administration was in power. During that time, Thompson, was "of counsel" at the Arent Fox law firm...
July 7, 2007
The NAACP plans to bury an old adversary and, unfortunately, for some an old friend. Chairman Julian Bond says that the group plans to symbolically bury the N-word on Monday at its annual meeting in Detriot: Julian Bond wants people to understand that when the NAACP symbolically buries the N-word on Monday, the effort will be led by the younger members of the venerable civil rights organization. "Seven young people are on our board of directors, and they are spearheading this initiative," said Bond, the group's chairman. "This is the continuation of a long fight against the denigration of African Americans in popular culture. If it's someone black or someone white, it's equally wrong." I agree, but most of the word's use over the past few decades have come from the rap industry, which seems to have a love affair with the word. It didn't start with rap, though; that...
Researchers have found the DNA of beetles, moths, and flies as well as traces of plant life in ice core samples from Greenland, the Los Angeles Times reports today. It demonstrates that the world was significantly warmer than previously thought, and that the glaciers of Greenland may have been a more recent development: Ice-covered Greenland really was green a half-million or so years ago, covered with forests in a climate much like that of Sweden and eastern Canada today. An international team of researchers recovered ancient DNA from the bottom of an ice core that indicates the presence of pine, yew and alder trees as well as insects. The researchers, led by Eske Willerslev of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, say this is the first proof that there was forest in southern Greenland. Included were genetic traces of butterflies, moths, flies and beetles, they report in Friday's edition of the...
The Northern Alliance Radio Network will be on the air today, with our six-hour-long broadcast schedule starting at 11 am CT. The first two hours features Power Line's John Hinderaker and Chad and Brian from Fraters Libertas. Mitch and I hit the airwaves for the second shift from 1-3 pm CT, and King Banaian and Michael Brodkorb have The Final Word from 3-5. If you're in the Twin Cities, you can hear us on AM 1280 The Patriot, or on the station's Internet stream if you're outside of the broadcast area. Mitch won't be able to make it today. Never fear, though, because James Lileks will join me while I take care of the board and the calls. James and I will discuss the Libby commutation, and the political fallout from that. We'll also cover other stories of the week, and take your calls at 651-289-4488! UPDATE AND BUMP: We'll...
According to the New York Times, Donald Rumsfeld declined to take action against an al-Qaeda site and capture its leaders two years ago because it would have taken too many troops inside Pakistan to accomplish the mission. The Pentagon decided that they wouldn't be able to get permission from Pervez Musharraf to send hundreds of special-forces troops into Waziristan, and apparently left the camp alone (via Hot Air): A secret military operation in early 2005 to capture senior members of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas was aborted at the last minute after top Bush administration officials decided it was too risky and could jeopardize relations with Pakistan, according to intelligence and military officials. The target was a meeting of Al Qaeda’s leaders that intelligence officials thought included Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden’s top deputy and the man believed to run the terrorist group’s operations. But the mission was called...
We criticize the New York Times often on this blog, and rightly so. However, a story in New York Magazine may explain why the newspaper doesn't perform as well as it should. How can its editors and writers do their best work when they worry about maggots falling on their heads? I'm not kidding (via Truth Laid Bear): The soaring new New York Times tower — already known for its weird toilets (when flushed, they apparently sound like a kitten being strangled), its weirder elevators (no buttons, and no indication of what floor they're on), a leak problem (editor Bill Keller's office got soggy in a recent rainstorm), and a mouse problem (reported by Gawker) — still has a few more surprises between the floorboards: maggots. "It's hard to put out a newspaper when you're worried about what might fall on your head," one Times staffer told us this week....
July 8, 2007
Pakistan announced the capture of senior Taliban figures, including two close aides to Mullah Omar, just a few hours ago. Security forces captured four high-value targets in two raids in the city of Quetta: An Afghan intelligence source told the BBC four senior associates of Mullah Omar were being held after operations by Pakistani security forces. The arrests took place in two areas of the city of Quetta in western Pakistan. The source said those arrested included two men responsible for Mullah Omar's letters and communications. They have been named as Mullah Jahangir and Mullah Mohid. Others now in detention are said to be Mullah Nazir, who was Taleban commander in the southern Afghan province of Urozgan, and Mullah Tahir, the former Taleban commander for the capital, Kabul. Pervez Musharraf survived another assassination attempt this week and has a few dozen radical Islamists surrounded at the Red Mosque. It seems...
Fresh on the heels of the Los Angeles Times attack on Fred Thompson's lobbying, the New York Times lowers the bar by attacking Fred Thompson's wife. Calling Fred "grandfatherly" and Jeri Kehn Thompson a "trophy wife", the Gray Lady wonders whether America can deal with a May-December romance in the White House: AS the election of 2008 approaches with its cast of contenders who bring unprecedented diversity to the quest for the White House, the voting public has been called on to ponder several questions: Is America ready for a woman to be president? What about a black man? A Mormon? Now, with the possible candidacy of Fred D. Thompson, the grandfatherly actor and former Republican senator from Tennessee, whose second wife is almost a quarter-century his junior, comes a less palatable inquiry that is spurring debate in Internet chat rooms, on cable television and on talk radio: Is America...
George Will reminds us of when we began moving towards federal bankruptcy, and why, in today's column about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Long admired as the man who saved America from economic disaster and potential revolution, FDR also begat the large-scale government spending programs that failed to reolve the economic crisis, but instead set us on the path for another: In 1937, during the depression within the Depression, there occurred the steepest drop in industrial production ever recorded. By January 1938 the unemployment rate was back up to 17.4 percent. The war, not the New Deal, defeated the Depression. Franklin Roosevelt's success was in altering the practice of American politics. This transformation was actually assisted by the misguided policies -- including government-created uncertainties that paralyzed investors -- that prolonged the Depression. This seemed to validate the notion that the crisis was permanent, so government must be forever hyperactive. In his second...
Anyone reading my blog over the past seven days knows that I have been critical of the decision to commute Scooter Libby's sentence. Granted, the investigation conducted by Patrick Fitzgerald was a waste of time and money. After all, what was investigated -- a leak between a government official and a reporter on classified material? Why, that never happens! Just ask the New York Times, which has blown critical national-security programs twice in two years, neither of which resulted in the appointment of special prosecutors or grand jury proceedings. Nevertheless, when giving statements to investigators and testimony to grand juries, witnesses do not have the authority to determine on their own whether they believe the investigation to be legitimate enough to tell the truth. Those who commit perjury and obstruction of justice should go to prison, especially if they hold positions of trust and power in the government. A duly-constituted...
An interesting question came to me from CQ reader Adam W regarding the Los Angeles Times' story about Fred Thompson and his supposed work for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association in 1991. The only evidence of this work comes from a copy of the NFPRHA's board minutes from September 14, 1991 that claims that the group had hired "Fred Thompson, Esq. as counsel to aid us in discussions with the administration" to end the rule barring abortion counseling at clinics that received federal funds. A couple of the group's principals swear that they hired Thompson; Thompson denies working for them, and the man whom Fred would have had to meet categorically states that he never discussed the gag rule with Fred at all. Now a new bit of indirect evidence has been found. Arent Fox brought Thompson into the firm to be "of counsel" in 1991 for...
I'll be traveling to Washington DC today in preparation for my live interview with Ambassador Said Jawad of Afghanistan on Monday. I'll also broadcast live from the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday afternoon. Both shows will come at special times -- 1 pm CT on Monday and 1:30 pm CT on Tuesday. I'll have more later this evening when I escape Minnesota's sticky heat for DC's even worse heat. I'm hoping that everyone has their air conditioners in top form and their electrical bills paid! UPDATE: Just arrived -- and I'm back at the hotel where I stayed last year at The Week's awards dinner. If I have to travel, this is the way to do it. More later. UPDATE II: Took a walk after eating a $16 hamburger in my room. It's just as steamy as the Twin Cities, but it's nice to see so many people out on the...
July 9, 2007
Moqtada al-Sadr has once again fled to Iran, apparently after a split widened in recent weeks between the leader of the Mahdi Army and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Sadr's support had been seen as key for Maliki early in his term, but with the US pressuring Maliki for serious reform and reconciliation, Sadr and his militias have come under increasing military and political pressure: Fiery Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has gone back to neighbouring Iran, U.S. military sources in Baghdad said on Sunday. Earlier this year, U.S. officials said the anti-American cleric was hiding in Iran to avoid a major security crackdown in Baghdad, although his aides say he never left Iraq. ... His lower profile has coincided with a growing rift between his movement and Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Sadr pulled his six ministers out of Maliki's cabinet in April when the prime minister refused to...
Our new Congressman from MN-05, Keith Ellison, has performed about as well as could be predicted before his election -- he has become a 9/11 Truther. Gary Gross of Let Freedom Ring has kept track of Ellison after the election, and notes a Star Tribune article that shows Ellison not quite having the courage to jump all the way into the paranoia: On comparing Sept. 11 to the burning of the Reichstag building in Nazi Germany: "It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted. The fact is that I'm not saying [Sept. 11] was a [U.S.] plan, or anything like that because, you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball...
A new survey by Rasmussen shows that Americans didn't pay much attention to the celebrity-driven Live Earth concerts, mostly because of skepticism about their motivation. Less than a quarter of those surveyed bothered to follow the news stories about Al Gore's project, which may have political implications of its own. At Heading Right, I take a look at the numbers and see a reality check for those who believe climate change to be a winning issue in the next election. Although a 22 share would be pretty good ratings for a televised event, it shows a distinct lack of resonance for political benefit. The Draft Gore movement may have to rethink its chances for success. (via Memeorandum) UPDATE: Americans weren't alone in their lack of enthusiasm. The British also tuned out in droves, according to the Daily Mail: Live Earth has been branded a foul-mouthed flop. Organisers of the global...
The quagmire of Kosovo's status continues at the United Nations, thanks to Russian refusals to consider the independence of the province. Eight years after UN intervention and administration, the Security Council warns of more violence in the area as the talks have stalled yet again on the final status of the breakaway territory: A senior United States diplomat, speaking at a conference in Croatia over the weekend, cast doubt on a quick resolution of Kosovo’s future, suggesting that an agreement that would enable it to claim independence might not come until next year. The assessment by Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, is likely to be seen as a setback for Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leadership. This spring, Western officials had held out hope that the future of the province, which technically remains part of Serbia, would be resolved within weeks. Mr. Fried told delegates at...
The New York Sun reports that the recently terminated staffers from John McCain's campaign may not collect unemployment for long. Fred Thompson, supposedly disadvantaged in organizational strength by his late start, may benefit from his friend's electoral struggles: The downsizing of Senator McCain's presidential campaign is coming at an opportune time for Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator who is likely to jump into the race officially any day now and seeking to build a campaign staff in the early primary states. Struggling with a shortage of cash, Mr. McCain's campaign announced last week that it was laying off dozens of staff members, including about half of his paid team in Iowa and New Hampshire. While there is no evidence of an outright pillaging of Mr. McCain's departed aides, Republican sources in those states say Mr. Thompson's emerging campaign is the likeliest landing spot. Aside from Mr. Thompson's obvious need...
Two years ago, when the Canadian political scandal surrounding the Sponsorship Programme reached its zenith of public attention, many wondered how far the scandal would reach in Liberal Party circles. According to the National Post, Judge John Gomery considered the conclusion that criminal misconduct had reached all the way to the top (via Newsbeat1): Justice John Gomery's letter of warning to Jean Chretien in May, 2005, said an allegation of misconduct against the former prime minister was being considered in Judge Gomery's final report that would tie Mr. Chretien to untendered 1995 pre-referendum contracts, including one with Lafleur Communications for an outdoor advertising campaign in Quebec, a transcript of a private meeting reveals. The transcript shows Mr. Chretien's lawyer arguing vehemently during a June 1, 2005, closed-door meeting in Montreal with Judge Gomery that the letter did not contain enough details to allow them to prepare their final submission to...
The Washington Post reveals today that the conglomeration of 22 federal agencies into the Department of Homeland Security has still not been successfully completed. Four years after its creation, a number of top management positions have yet to be filled. The DHS says that the report overstates the problem -- because the expansion is still continuing: The Bush administration has failed to fill roughly a quarter of the top leadership posts at the Department of Homeland Security, creating a "gaping hole" in the nation's preparedness for a terrorist attack or other threat, according to a congressional report to be released today. As of May 1, Homeland Security had 138 vacancies among its top 575 positions, with the greatest voids reported in its policy, legal and intelligence sections, as well as in immigration agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard. The vacant slots include presidential, senior executive and...
Today on CQ Radio, at the special time of 1 pm CT/2 pm ET, I'll be interviewing Ambassador Said T. Jawad of Afghanistan. Don't forget to tune in as we cover some of the questions you suggested in the CQ comments section over the past two weeks. Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation -- we'll ry to take a couple of questions. Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link:...
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to engage in some ground-breaking journalism -- a word that I do not toss around lightly. Not only did I get a chance to bring the story of Afghanistan to readers that gets little enough coverage, we could do so in depth with a lengthy interview with Ambassador Said T. Jawad. (Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, we started late and lost the last five minutes of the interview.) Why do I consider this groundbreaking? In one sense, it breaks new ground because the Ambassador rarely gets an opportunity to speak in depth about the status of Afghanistan. Normally, all he gets are quick sound bites taken out of context, or a five-minute segment on a talking-head show in which he never gets the opportunity to speak about his country's experience in any depth at all. In this format, we can allow Ambassador Jawad to...
July 10, 2007
After a week-long standoff with what they thought were home-grown radicals, Pakistani security forces finally raided the Red Mosque today. An attempt at a last-minute negotiation with the chief cleric foundered when the imam admitted that foreign fighters had joined his forces and the government refused to give them clemency: Pakistani troops seized Islamambad's Red Mosque on Tuesday and attempted to flush out the remaining militants entrenched inside a women's religious school in fierce fighting that left at least 50 militants and eight soldiers dead, the army said. The troops stormed the mosque compound before dawn. Eight hours later, they were still trying to root out the well-armed defenders said to be holding about 150 hostages. Officials said at least 50 women were allowed to go free from the complex. Some 26 children had earlier escaped. ... Amid the sounds of rolling explosions, commandos attacked from three directions about 4...
Richard Cohen writes about his discovery of a photograph from 9/11 that he had put out of his mind, but that CQ readers have probably never forgotten. The picture showed Palestinians joyfully celebrating the mass murder of 3,000 Americans in four terrorist attacks, the final one aborted by the victims themselves before the plane could reach its final destination. Cohen correctly diagnoses their hatred of America -- and then explains why we can't address it: Still, the chief reason for the cheering on Sept. 11 was U.S. support for Israel. Sometimes that support has been mindless and sometimes it has been over the top, but fundamentally it is based on certain truths. The first is that Israel is a legally sanctioned state, created by the United Nations in 1948 and recognized soon after by most countries, including -- amazingly enough -- Cold War adversaries the United States and the Soviet...
After its coup in Gaza, Hamas had hoped to use its position there as leverage to win concessions with both Fatah and the West. In effect, they hoped to use the 1.5 million residents there as hostages for aid and recognition. Instead, their plans have backfired and the new Hamastan may find itself permanently isolated as a terrorist state: In the month since Hamas took over Gaza, the 1.5 million Palestinians there have become more cut off than ever, supplies and jobs slipping away as its rival, Fatah, backed by Israel and the West, presses Hamas. The situation from the continued closure of the main commercial crossing in and out at Karni has gotten so bad that on Monday, the United Nations agency that cares for the majority of Gazans — refugees and their descendants — announced a halt to all its building projects there because it has run out...
The case of the Beltway Madam has kept people in DC on the edge of their seats lately, as defendant Deborah Jeane Palfrey has threatened to release her phone records publicly as part of her public defense. The case already resulted in one high-ranking government official's resignation, and the public wondered who might be next. After a judge finally gave Palfrey the green light to post the records on her website, the scandal caught its next big fish, this time in the Senate: Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized last night after his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," making him the first member of Congress to become ensnared in the high-profile case. The statement containing Vitter's apology said his telephone number was included on phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates dating from before he ran for the Senate in 2004. The...
Democrats promised to reform the appropriations process in the midterm elections, claiming — correctly — that Republicans had abused the earmarking process in order to curry favor with lobbyists, who then assisted in their re-election efforts. Harry Reid celebrated the fact that Democrats had stripped all the earmarks from the one spending bill left to them by the 109th Congress, shortly after taking control in January. However, it turns out that Reid kept the stripped earmarks alive in a sneaky bit of political arm-twisting that didn’t get made public. At Heading Right, I note that the pork-barrel process has indeed changed in this Congress -- it's gotten more secretive. Reid has removed the small portion of sunlight that Porkbusters helped force on Congress in the last session and made it even more difficult to smoke out undue influence and corruption....
How serious is John McCain about running for president? Apparently, serious enough to have his top two people exit as the campaign attempts to turn its fortunes around in time for the primaries. He may also be considering a resignation from the Senate to show his commitment: John McCain's campaign manager and chief strategist quit Tuesday, the second major staff shake-up in a week for the Republican presidential candidate who trails his rivals in money and polls. In a statement, the Arizona senator said Terry Nelson and John Weaver offered their resignations, "which I accepted with regret and deep gratitude for their dedication, hard work and friendship." Nelson, a veteran of President Bush's successful 2004 re-election effort, said he stepped down as campaign manager and Weaver, a longtime aide who ran McCain's failed 2000 presidential bid, said he left his post of chief strategist. Both resignations were effective immediately. Some...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), I'll broadcast live from The Heritage Foundation! We'll have live interviews with MacKenzie Eaglen and James Sherk. Eaglen specializes in national security and homeland defense, while Sherk focuses on economics, fiscal policy, and labor issues. Our friend Brian Darling, who keeps an eye on the Senate, may also jump in at some point as well. The Heritage Foundation is one of the premiere think tanks in the US. Have you ever wanted to take advantage of their expertise? Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! We definitely want to take some calls today. UPDATE: We'll have more hosts, and I just want to remind people that we are airing at the normal time of 2 pm CT/3 pm ET. That's a change from yesterday's announcement. Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link:...
July 11, 2007
ABC News reported last night that US officials believe that an al-Qaeda cell is either coming to America, or has already arrived, to conduct a terrorist attack. In reviewing some of the communications from the failed attacks in Britain, analysts believe they have uncovered other coded messages in e-mail traffic that points to an attack here, although the White House denies that they have any evidence of an imminent threat: Senior U.S. intelligence officials tell ABC News new intelligence suggests a small al Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here. The White House has convened an urgent multi-agency meeting for Thursday afternoon to deal with the new threat. ... Law enforcement officials say the recent failed attacks in London have provided important new clues about possible tactics. And officials say the London attackers use of the Internet left important clues that are...
Mahmoud Abbas knows what buttons to push in the West in order to keep his rivals in Hamas marginalized. In an interview on an Italian television program, Abbas accused Hamas of allowing al-Qaeda to infiltrate Gaza now that Fatah has been pushed aside. Hamas denies it, but it will be difficult for them to prove it: Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has accused his rivals in Hamas of having opened the door to Al Qaeda in Gaza. In an interview on Monday with Italy’s RAI TV, Mr. Abbas, of Fatah, said, “Thanks to the support of Hamas, Al Qaeda is entering Gaza.” The charge, denied by Hamas, underscored the depth of Mr. Abbas’s hostility toward Hamas since it seized control of Gaza nearly a month ago in a rout of Fatah forces. A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, responded that Hamas had “no links” to Al Qaeda, adding...
A column by CBN's David Brody discusses statements by Fred Thompson in 1996, when he ran for re-election to a full term in the Senate, about the uselessness of party platforms. Saying that the Republicans "deserve to lose" if they spent the convention arguing over planks in the GOP platform, Fred suggested that no one cared about the end result of the debate: First off, it appears Thompson wasn't a big fan of the GOP having any sort of platform back in 1996. In April of 1996, this is what The Memphis Commercial Appeal wrote: Thompson wants to change the way the 1996 Republican National Convention is conducted. For starters, he wants to abolish the party platform - just toss the archaic thing away. 'It's the most useless device I've ever heard of,' Thompson said during a recent visit to Memphis." Thompson also said this in a separate article from...
Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has created even more trouble for himself with Congress. In April 2005, he told the Senate that the FBI had not committed "one verified case of civil liberties abuse" after 2001. However, two of his aides now confirm that they had informed Gonzales of hundreds of violations before that testimony, which would directly conflict with that testimony. At Heading Right, I look at the two responses from Justice on why Gonzales' testimony should not be considered false. In one, Gonzales takes a page from Hillary Clinton's defense of her vote to authorize war against Iraq, and in the other Justice relies on definition-parsing that evokes Bill Clinton's treatment of the word is. Neither reflects well on Gonzales' credibility or competency, and it makes clear that the White House should have dumped Gonzales long ago....
After yesterday's exodus at Team McCain, pundits lined up declare John McCain's presidential aspirations dead, and perhaps his Senate career as well. Most of the newspapers followed suit, doing everything but have pipers sound "Amazing Grace" across the Potomac. One exception comes from the Wall Street Journal, which notes that the struggling fortunes of the campaign almost demanded a housecleaning if McCain was to remain in the race: Yesterday's shakeup of John McCain's top campaign staff is giving the media who once loved him a chance to bury his Presidential campaign. But it's also possible the shakeup will give his candidacy another chance to connect with the priorities of GOP primary voters. In the mainstream media telling, the decline of Mr. McCain's campaign is a modern Greek tragedy: He rose as a brave reformer who defied GOP orthodoxy, then fell as he gave up the iconoclast's mantle to court conservatives...
One of the contentious bills offered in the Senate to handcuff the President into a withdrawal from Iraq died on the floor this afternoon. Jim Webb (D-VA) offered what was essentially the 2006 John Murtha plan to use forced rotation requirements to bring down troop levels in Iraq, but his amendment failed to gain cloture: Senators lacked the four votes needed Wednesday to bring to the floor a Democrat-sponsored amendment that would have set restrictions on U.S. troop rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan, to give troops more time at home. The tally for the procedural motion was 56 to 41. Sixty votes were required to cut off debate on the amendment so a vote could be held. Under the proposal by Jim Webb, D-Virginia, military personnel who return from deployments would have had to remain stateside for at least as long as they spent overseas, before they could be sent...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), I'll replay the interview with Ambassador Said T Jawad of Afghanistan, which some missed due to technical problems on Monday. The BlogTalkRadio blog links to Air Congress, which kindly noted the unique opportunity this provides listeners. Afterwards, I'll take your calls in reaction to the Ambassador's remarks as well as discuss other topics of the day -- such as the defeat of the Webb amendment, the McCain campaign travails and my analysis of it, and more. Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link:...
The management of al-Qaeda has obviously not learned much from history. They want to open a new front in their assault on humanity, this time in Pakistan, over the military's seizure of the Red Mosque: Al-Qaida's deputy leader issued a video Wednesday calling for Pakistanis to wage a holy war against their government in retaliation for the attack by Pakistan's army on the Red Mosque in Islamabad. Ayman al-Zawahri's 4-minute, 24-second address focused entirely on the clashes between Islamic students and Pakistan's army at the mosque. Zawahiri spends a lot of his time on recruitment these days. Just a few days ago, he asked volunteers to go to Iraq to fight the Americans there, and to tell Iraqis to play nice with his foreign terrorists. He's also tried to get lunatics to attack European and American targets. Now he wants to add a front in Pakistan, where he can keep...
Fred Thompson sent an essay over to my good friends at Power Line to discuss the nature of legal representation -- and what it means for the lawyers. He notes that the current smear tactic of branding the attorney with the views of the client has been tried by his opponents before. Of course, Fred hasn't lost a race yet: A lawyer who is a candidate or a prospective candidate for office finds himself in an interesting position because of the nature of the legal profession and the practice of law. This is true when the practice was as varied as mine, and its especially true when the office being considered is the Presidency of the United States. The easiest and most generally used tactic when running against a lawyer is to trade off a general perception that most people dislike lawyers. Goodness knows that a lot of lawyers have...
The White House report on Iraq will show mixed progress on benchmarks demanded by Congress, ABC News reports tonight. The Iraqi government has made satisfactory progress on almost half of the benchmarks, almost all related to security, while disappointing on most of the political goals: An eagerly awaited White House report on Iraq will be released tomorrow, which will claim the Iraqi government has made satisfactory progress on 8 of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress. This is the first assessment of the Iraqi government's success rate since President Bush ordered the troop surge in January. White House officials tell ABC News' Jonathan Karl the report will cite encouraging signs that should eventually lead to a reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq. The report notes that progress is "satisfactory" on eight of the benchmark criteria, mostly dealing with the Iraqi security forces. This actually sounds better than the initial buzz...
July 12, 2007
After researchers found a beneficial side effect while testing the blood pressure medicine Sildenafil -- better known as Viagra -- the pharmaceuticals have discovered the vast market for sexual-enhacement medications. They tend to play on the insecurities men and women have had for millenia about performance. Now Johnson & Johnson want to tackle the Great White Whale of male insecurity, but the Food and Drug Administration questions the need to medicate men into having more staying power: In the hunt for a new sex pill for men, Johnson & Johnson has staying power. The health-products giant hasn't given up on what it hopes will become the first drug approved for premature ejaculation, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected it in 2005. Regulators questioned whether helping men last longer during sex was a clear medical benefit, and may have had concerns about side effects of the drug, dapoxetine....
Whenever I have a great interview subject on CQ Radio, I get e-mails asking for transcripts. That process takes a little bit of time; my transcriber likes to make sure it gets done correctly, and of course she can't start until the show is complete. However, in the case of my interview with Ambassador Said T. Jawad of Afghanistan, many people have an interest in amplifying the remarks made by the Ambassador. One enterprising blogger, Jeff Kouba of the re-launched Peace Like A River, took on the job himself. He's transcribed the first half of the interview -- and here's a taste: CQ: Some critics in our country who are opposed to intervention in this region say that long lasting democracy is really not a possibility for Afghanistan, for Iraq, or other nations in that region, and that we should be directing our efforts in different directions. Some of my...
The Democrats made a lot of promises in the last electoral cycle, most of which they have yet to fulfill: serious earmark reform, action on a long list of legislative priorities, ending the power of lobbyists, and so on. Not only have voters learn to live with bitter disappointment from the worst Do-Nothing Congress in decades, but even Arlen Specter has been surprised by the level of mendacity by the opposition. The ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, who has served as a moderate enabler on some of the Democratic attacks on the administration, expressed his frustration about broken promises on judicial confirmations, which have ground to a halt: Specter has accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) of breaking promises they made regarding Leslie Southwick, President Bush’s pick for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Specter aired his grievance with Reid and...
The Washington Post editorial board scolds leading anti-war Democrats for their wishful thinking on the consequences of a withdrawal from Iraq. The essay informs them that just wishing that Iraq isn’t the central front of the war on terror doesn’t make it so, and that the rush to pull out now when Congress had agreed to wait for September seems inexplicable. It would be inexplicable indeed — if the problem was just wishful thinking. At Heading Right, I argue that the consequences of withdrawal now will lead to a regional conflict, one in which almost every nation in Southwest Asia would be tempted to participate. At the very least, a retreat leaves significant portions of Iraq in the hands of al-Qaeda, giving them another free and clear base of operations against the West. We would only have to return after the next massive attack, and it would be much more...
Have you heard the joke about the president of Iran -- or more accurately, the joke that is the president of Iran? Monica Maggioni at Foreign Policy reports that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has become a laughingstock in Iran, and not just among the hoi polloi waiting in hours-long gas lines. Even the ruling elite have started snickering up their sleeves, but the punch line may not be humorous at all: Since his election in June 2005, Iranians have had conflicted feelings about their president. At first, he evoked interest and curiosity. And there were great expectations from this humble man who was promising economic reform, an anticorruption campaign, and a rigid moral scheme for daily life. Then came fear—when Ahmadinejad began to destroy any chance of good relations with the outside world. But today in Iran, laughter is supplanting fear. Mocking the president has become a pastime not only for rebellious...
Millions of people own TiVos, but many have no idea how many features it has for the user. That includes me. I just discovered that TiVos that connect to the Internet through home networks can access podcasts, as well as a number of other services on the Web. And one of the podcasts you can access is my BlogTalkRadio show, Heading Right Radio. If you have a Series 2 DVR from TiVo (not from DirecTV) and access to the Internet, select the extra features in Music, Photos, and More. One of the options there is Podcaster, and it has a number of preloaded links to a variety of commercially produced podcasts. It also has an option to add your own favorites to the TiVo system. All you need is the URL for the RSS feed of the podcast, which you have to enter manually using the remote and a virtual...
Gallup has its latest national polling on the presidential primaries, and it challenges a few recent assumptions. On the Democratic side, the addition of Al Gore has much less impact on the support for the two frontrunners. For Republicans, the addition of Thompson would shake up the race, but a more recent declaration of rigor mortis seems far off base: With only about six months remaining before the Iowa caucuses, the races for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations remain in a steady state. Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat Hillary Clinton continue to hold statistically significant leads over the rest of their respective fields of competitors. The most notable recent change this year has been on the Republican side, where John McCain's recent dip in the polls and Fred Thompson's recent gains have resulted in the two switching second and third places. Even though Al Gore would draw significant support...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), I'll talk with Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice. We'll talk about centrism, both in the political world and in the blogosphere. We'll also talk about Unity '08, which Joe has championed, and the difficulties of piloting a group blog with such a diverse stable of writers. Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! UPDATE: Joe joined us about halfway into the program. He's a great guest, and hopefully we can have him back again soon. Tomorrow, we'll have Charles Hill from Rudy Giuliani's campaign, and we'll go at the special time of 10 am CT. Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link:...
Earlier this week, Rudy Giuliani announced the expansion of his advisory staff with new appointments on foreign policy. Among the distinguished new members of the staff are notables such as Norman Podhoretz, one of the original conservative thinkers and writers, as well as being the father of our friend at NRO and the New York Post, John Podhoretz; former Wisconsin Senator Bob Kasten; and Martin Kramer, the scholar and expert on Middle East studies, among others. The choices show Giuliani tilting to a solidly conservative national-security approach to foreign policy, undoubtedly intended to assure the GOP base about the direction of a Giuliani presidency. The man in charge of the group, Charles Hill, will join me tomorrow morning at 10 am CT. Hill has served under George Schultz at State during the Reagan administration, following an extraordinary career in the foreign service that put him in the world's hot spots...
The BBC issued a humiliating apology this afternoon after its promotional video of an upcoming documentary falsely portrayed Queen Elizabeth II as walking out on a photo shoot. The editing strongly suggested that the monarch stormed out of a session with Annie Leibovitz after a disagreement -- but it turns out that the footage was from her entrance, not exit: The British Broadcasting Corp. apologized to Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday for saying she had walked out of portrait sitting with photographer Annie Leibovitz. The BBC said a promotional trailer released Wednesday from the upcoming documentary, "A Year With the Queen," showed the monarch arriving, not departing. That scene showed the queen walking down a Buckingham Palace corridor, wearing a crown and her Order of the Garter robes, and telling her lady-in-waiting: "I'm not changing anything. I've had enough dressing like this, thank you very much." The Beeb blamed the...
The House just passed a resolution that demands a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. The final vote had more Democrats crossing over to oppose it (10) than Republicans crossing the aisle to support it (4), and it faces a certain veto if it even gets through the Senate: Iraq has achieved only spotty military and political progress toward a democratic society, the Bush administration conceded Thursday, an unenthusiastic assessment followed quickly by a House vote to withdraw U.S. troops by spring. The measure passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled House despite a veto threat from President Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September. ... A few hours after Bush's remarks, Democratic leaders engineered passage of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1, 2008. The measure envisions a limited residual force to train...
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Earlier today, a Hindu minister started to give the benediction on the Senate floor. This honor traditionally is offered to a diverse range of representatives of the many faiths that live together in peace and freedom in the United States, a testament to our belief in religious liberty. Unfortunately, he couldn't complete his benediction because of a few idiots who apparently believe that Christianity means acting rudely to others. And as Americans, they're hardly the kind of ambassadors we need, either. The Times of India noticed the display: Christian activists briefly disrupted a Hindu invocation in the US Senate on Thursday, marring a historic first for the chamber and showing that fundamentalism is present and shouting in the US too. Invited by the Senate to offer Hindu prayers in place of the usual Christian invocation, Rajan Zed, a Hindu priest from Reno, Nevada, had just stepped up to the podium...
July 13, 2007
The Iranians will allow the IAEA to inspect its heavy-water plant in Arak, apparently intending to forestall another round of economic and diplomatic sanctions. The inspectors will check to see if the Iranians are producing and storing plutonium, which would give them another means of producing nuclear weapons besides their uranium-enrichment cascades: Iran has agreed to let inspectors visit this month a nuclear reactor being built which could produce plutonium, the UN nuclear watchdog has said. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced a delegation would visit the Arak heavy water reactor following two days of talks in Tehran. Heavy-water reactors produce plutonium, which can be used in nuclear weapons as an alternative to enriched uranium. Perhaps CQ readers can help here. The normal output of a heavy-water reactor produces plutonium -- so what do IAEA inspections gain? It doesn't sound like the Iranians risk much by having IAEA inspectors...
It looks as if Pervez Musharraf has decided to go all in against the extremists in Pakistan. After the assassination attempt and the siege at the Red Mosque, Musharraf told his nation that he would fight the extremists madrassa by madrassa if necessary: President Pervez Musharraf pledged to combat Muslim extremists across Pakistan yesterday as furious crowds demonstrated against the storming of the Red Mosque and two suicide bomb attacks left six dead. In a televised address to the nation, Gen Musharraf said that those inside the mosque and its adjacent madrassa, or Muslim college, were "terrorists" who directly threatened Pakistan's security. They had also tarnished Islam's reputation as a tolerant and peaceful religion. "What do we as a nation want?" he asked. "What kind of Islam do these people represent? In the garb of Islamic teaching they have been training for terrorism. They prepared the madrassa as a fortress...
E.J. Dionne offers an unusual take on the revelation of Senator David Vitter's relationship with a purported prostitution ring in Washington, DC -- forgiveness. Dionne wants a truce on the outing of sexual peccadilloes, so that we can get back to the actual business of governing. Dionne's heart is in the right place, as it usually is, but in this case his sympathy is somewhat misplaced: Perhaps because no one else will do it, I want to offer a qualified defense of Sen. David Vitter, the socially conservative Louisiana Republican who faces a bit of a problem. .. My defense of Vitter is qualified because I believe that married guys have a moral obligation not to seek the pleasures of "escort services." Nor do I like hypocrisy. During the battle over the impeachment of Bill Clinton, Vitter wrote in the New Orleans Times-Picayune that if no "meaningful action" were taken...
Jeff Kouba at the recently-relaunched Peace Like A River has transcribed and posted the second half of the transcript of my interview with Ambassador Said T. Jawad of Afghanistan. In this half, I asked Ambassador Jawad about the issues with the drug trade, whether he felt Afghanistan had been abandoned by the West, and questioned how his nation was approaching gender equality, especially in education. Ambassador Jawad gave direct and frank answers and didn't hesitate to give details: CQ: Do you feel that Afghanistan has been shortchanged in terms of support following the invasion and occupation of Iraq? Ambassador Jawad: Afghanistan is shortchanged, that's for sure. I don't know if it was after the Iraq invasion, because after the Cold War when the Soviets were gone we were also shortchanged, there was no Iraq back then. There has been underinvestment in Afghanistan. I don't know how much of that relates...
The US Senate sent General David Petraeus to Iraq in January in full understanding of his intent to implement a new counterinsurgency strategy as a means to control the violence in Iraq. After 108 days of stalling on funding these operations, Congress finally cut the check less than two months ago. Petraeus finally got the rest of the combat troops requested for the operations last month. Now Congress wants to pull the plug, and Charles Krauthammer calls foul. At Heading Right, I talk about the very confused messages coming from Congress. They send Petraeus to Iraq when he clearly states his intention to conduct a large-scale counterinsurgency strategy, they hold up his funding, and just when he gets all of the troops he requested, they try to pull the rug out from underneath him. Given that the military benchmarks have largely been met at this point, why does Congress want...
Today on CQ Radio (special time: 10 am CT), Rudy Giuliani's chief advisor on foreign policy, Charles Hill, will join me. Hill has served under George Schultz at State during the Reagan administration, following an extraordinary career in the foreign service that put him in the world's hot spots for 20 years: Viet Nam, Israel, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other assignments. Hill also served the UN as a special advisor to then-Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. We'll ask him about Rudy's policy direction, how Rudy will approach the issues in various hot spots of the world, and about Hill's own remarkable career. Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link:...
The debate over the Fairness Doctrine continued in the Senate today, as Dick Durbin blocked Norm Coleman from offering an amendment that would forbid content control in political speech on the airwaves. Coleman and Durbin then got into a series of volleys on the nature of speech and broadcast licensing, which capsulizes the differing approaches to freedom between the two parties: Mr. Durbin: I'm sorry to interrupt you but I really wish that through the commerce committee or the appropriate committee of jurisdiction, we can really get into this question. But the senator is arguing that the marketplace can provide. What is the senator's response if the marketplace fails to provide? What is the marketplace does not provide opportunities to hear both points of view? Since the people who are seeking the licenses are using America's airwaves, does the government, speaking for the people of this country, have any interest...
If readers noticed an unusually quiet period at Captain's Quarters, it's because I took the afternoon off to travel to Winona, Minnesota. What's in Winona besides beautiful landscapes and clean air? It's the annual Gaeltacht Minnesota Irish-language workshop weekend -- and I'm attending for the first time in three years. I''ve written occasionally about my love for the Irish language. It has a distinctive, poetic beauty but is very challenging to learn. One of six Celtic languages -- a branch on its own from the Indo-European language root -- it uses a verb-subject-predicate structure that takes time to absorb. Gaeilge uses intriguing and maddening processes such as lenition and eclipsis that change the spelling and pronunciation of words in certain circumstances, which is like learning a vocabulary that likes to play hide-and-go-seek. For instance, here's the start of an article from the Irish-language website Beo about an American city. Can...
Gary Sheffield has a book to promote, and the obnoxious superstar has fallen back on one of his tried-and-true attention-grabbing schemes -- accuse a former manager of racism. Sheffield accused Yankees skipper Joe Torre of treating blacks different than whites and claims that Jeter wasn't "black enough" to notice the difference: New York Yankees manager Joe Torre treats black players on his team worse than white players, controversial baseball player Gary Sheffield has charged. "I know when I was [with the Yankees], the couple of blacks that were there, every one of them had an issue with the organization," Sheffield, who played outfield for the Yankees between 2004 and 2006, told Andrea Kremer in an interview that airs Tuesday on HBO's "Real Sports." When pressed on who specifically within the organization black players were upset with, Sheffield said, "They had an issue with Joe Torre." "They weren't treated liked everybody...
July 14, 2007
Pervez Musharraf has sent his army north towards the frontier, apparently modifying a truce he made with the radical Islamists controlling the region. The agreement appears to be over as groups in Waziristan began calling for jihad against Musharraf after the siege and capture of the Red Mosque: Thousands of troops were deployed to Pakistan's northwestern frontier to try to dissuade outlawed Islamic militants from launching a holy war against the government for its bloody attack on a radical mosque, military officials said Saturday. As the troop movements proceeded in at least five areas of the North West Frontier Province, a suicide bomber struck in another region of the border, his explosives-laden vehicle killing at least eight soldiers in a military convoy, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arhad said. ... "With help from local tribal elders, we are trying to ensure that militants lay down their arms, and stop issuing...
The Times of London reports on a crossroads in Jabour that demonstrates the successes and the dangers of the surge in Iraq. While the soldiers would prefer to be elsewhere, the efforts to close down lines of communication for al-Qaeda and other terrorists has created an "Iraqi surge" in the area -- the creation of a new police unit from tribal volunteers who want the momentum to stay against the terrorists. The tribal leaders remain cautious about cooperating too much with the Americans, however, because they are afraid we're leaving: This shabby outpost is at the heart of President Bush’s Iraqi strategy. And it is, therefore, at the centre of a raging political debate in Washington that could yet see US troops hurried home. It is one of four such camps established in the lawless Arab Jabour region since mid-June as part of Mr Bush’s troop “surge” – his last-ditch...
I missed this breaking news story at ABC yesterday, but apparently radical Islamists want to attack America. The dean of Jihadi U, where grade inflation has apparently threatened their accreditation, now says that we will see much more massive attacks in the US this summer: As senior intelligence and law enforcement officials met again today in the White House Situation Room to deal with the "summer terror threat," a top terror commander said an attack was coming that would dwarf the failed bombings in London and Glasgow. Taliban military commander Mansour Dadullah, in an interview broadcast on ABC News' "World News With Charles Gibson," said the London attacks were "not enough" and that bigger attacks were coming. "You will, God willing, be witness to more attacks," he told a Pakistani journalist in an interview conducted just four days ago. Dadullah presided over a graduation at a jihadi training camp in...
Normally I think Chris Cilizza's political analysis is top notch, but everyone has a bad day now and then -- and today is the day for Chris, Michael Shear, and Dan Balz. In giving the backstory on the conflicts behind the scenes that caused the housecleaning at Team McCain, they wildly overstate McCain's position in the race when it began: After weeks of internal struggles over who would run John McCain's presidential campaign, three key aides went to the candidate in January and told him he had to take action. Rick Davis, the campaign's chief executive, they said, should be pushed aside, and McCain had to make it clear that Terry Nelson, the campaign manager and a veteran of President Bush's 2004 team, was in charge. But the senator from Arizona refused, telling the three aides -- John Weaver, Mark Salter and Nelson -- that he would not strip Davis...
Osama bin Laden made a big splash today in the media by appearing in his first video in over a year. He looks sprightlier than ever -- but that's because he took off a few years through recycling: Osama bin Laden stresses the importance of martyrdom for Muslim causes in a videotape that purportedly contains a 50-second message from the al Qaeda leader. ... The videotape was made in the last four weeks, but the clips appear to be old, said Octavia Nasr, CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs. There is no indication of where it was shot, and CNN cannot verify its authenticity. ... Bin Laden was one of several men appearing and speaking on the tape. They include Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq who was killed in a U.S. airstrike June 7, 2006. Jihadist websites have been pushing rumors of a new message...
One Republican presidential candidate has called it quits -- and probably not the one most would have guessed. Jim Gilmore, former governor of Virginia, has decided to end his campaign after two quarters of having no impact on the race at all: Former Virginia governor James S. Gilmore III ended his long-shot Republican presidential campaign yesterday, saying he was unable to raise enough money to communicate his conservative vision to Americans. He held out the possibility, however, that he might soon run for public office again in Virginia. Gilmore, the son of a butcher who had improbably risen to become a local prosecutor, a state attorney general and a governor of Virginia, dropped out of the crowded GOP primary field a day before reporting that he had raised $211,000 between April and June. Since January, he has raised $381,000, while his rivals have collected tens of millions of dollars. In...
July 15, 2007
North Korea announced that it has closed their nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, an essential step in their nuclear disarmament that many had despaired of Kim Jong-Il ever taking. The closure follows the delivery of over 6,000 tons of fuel oil and the transfer of $25 million in previously frozen funds. The IAEA has sent its inspectors to the plant to verify its closure and to monitor its status: After four years of off-and-on negotiations, North Korea said it began closing down its main nuclear reactor Saturday, shortly after receiving a first boatload of fuel oil aid. The closure, if confirmed by U.N. inspectors, would mark the first concrete step in a carefully orchestrated denuclearization schedule that was agreed on in February, with the ultimate goal of dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program in exchange for fuel and other economic aid, and increased diplomatic recognition. More broadly, it constituted the first...
Mahmoud Abbas has worked quickly to consolidate power in the West Bank after shedding Hamas and Gaza last month. Abbas has had Israel remove 178 Fatah militants from their wanted lists, and in exchange, all of them have publicly renounced terrorism against Israel. Abbas also won another concession that may not please Israelis at all -- and could threaten Olmert's already weak position: Scores of Fatah militants in the West Bank have signed a pledge renouncing attacks against Israel in return for an Israeli promise to stop pursuing them, a Palestinian security official said Sunday. The deal would grant amnesty to 178 Fatah gunmen who will join the official Palestinian security forces, and Israel will remove them from its lists of wanted militants, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details of the agreement. ... And in another gesture of support,...
The Times of London reports today that the Red Mosque leadership -- now reaching room temperature in Islamabad -- took orders from al-Qaeda's senior leadership. Pakistani intelligence officials found letters from Ayman al-Zawahiri to the two brothers who ran the mosque, and that eighteen foreign fighters joined the mosque just before it took hostages and set up the standoff: AL-QAEDA’S leadership secretly directed the Islamic militants whose armed revolt at the Red Mosque in Islamabad ended last week with more than 100 deaths after it was stormed by the Pakistan army. According to senior intelligence officials, the troops who finally took control discovered letters from Osama Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. They were written to Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz, the brothers who ran the mosque and adjacent madrasah. Government sources said up to 18 foreign fighters -- including Uzbeks, Egyptians and several Afghans -- had arrived weeks before...
I must admit, I have not had the pleasure of reading Rod Liddle's writing in the past, but after today's column in the Times of London, I'll have to catch him more often. He tackles a number of topics, but manages to skewer both the BBC and the new Mrs. bin Laden with a masterful display of Fleet Street scorn. First, Liddle takes up the recent case of BBC bumbling, where the network ran a doctored clip from their upcoming documentary that made it look as though Queen Elizabeth II stormed out of a photo shoot in a fit of pique. The BBC had to issue a profuse apology for misleading its viewers, and hilariously asked its producers to report any other cases of the BBC misleading viewers in their promos. That opened the floodgates for Liddle (via Memeorandum): By lunchtime on Friday the queue of contrite producers outside Bennett's...
Nouri al-Maliki may have provided a push for Congress to get more aggressive with the White House over troop withdrawals in Iraq yesterday. However, the Prime Minister sounded a rather contradictory note, expressing confidence in Iraq's ability to secure itself while pleading for more time and pledging more progress on political reform. The New York Times reports on only one of these contradictory statements: Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki declared Saturday that Iraqi forces could secure the country on their own “any time” American troops decided to withdraw, his first response to the White House report this week that found his government falling well short of many political reforms and military goals sought by Congress. Mr. Maliki has been under attack by American officials and many Iraqi politicians for leading a government mired in disputes and unable to make progress on major legislation seen as crucial to stabilizing the country....
Events over the last few days have indicated that Pervez Musharraf has rethought his hands-off deal with radical Islamists in Waziristan. After the Red Mosque siege and seizure, the Waziris have apparently concluded the same thing. Today they announced that the Waziri tribes would wothdraw from the agreement and, in effect, declared war on Pakistan: Pro-Taleban militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan region say they have ended their truce with the government. In a statement issued in Miranshah, the main town, the militants accused the government of breaking the agreement. It came as Pakistan deployed more troops in the area fearing "holy war" after the storming of the militant Red Mosque last week that left 102 dead. More than 50 Pakistanis, including soldiers and police recruits, have died in three attacks in the last two days. The announcement was more or less a formality. The Taliban and al-Qaeda had obviously unleashed...
July 16, 2007
The degree of the self-inflicted catastrophe that Hamas created with its rebellion has come into clearer focus after polling Gaza voters. The territory used to serve as Hamas' political power base, but now a plurality of voters support their rival, Fatah. Even worse, two-thirds of previous Hamas voters would not repeat that mistake: The violent takeover of the Gaza Strip has cost Hamas some support there and bolstered its rival, Fatah, according to a poll released Sunday. Hamas swept through Gaza last month, vanquishing numerically superior forces aligned with Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who responded by dismissing the Hamas-led government and installing a new one with his backers. The poll of Gaza residents shows a backlash. Hamas got only 23 percent support, down from 29 percent in the previous survey last month, while Fatah climbed from 31 percent to 43 percent. The poll, the first major...
The City Journal has a fascinating look at the counterterrorism operations in the nation's two largest metropolitan areas, New York and Los Angeles. Judith Miller, formerly of the New York Times, compares and contrasts the approaches both take in protecting their residents from terrorist attacks. Differing geography, laws, and culture make the effort unequal in ways that Angelenos may not know -- but which could put them at a much higher risk: Three time zones, 3,000 miles, and a cultural galaxy apart, New York and Los Angeles face a common threat: along with Washington, D.C., they’re the chief American targets of Islamic terror. And both cities boast top cops, sometime rivals—the cities are fiercely competitive—who know that ensuring that a dog doesn’t bark will determine their legacies. After investing millions of dollars in homeland security, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly of New York and Chief William J. Bratton of L.A....
The Guardian reports that the Bush administration, led by Dick Cheney, has decided to emphasize the military options in dealing with Iran. This would change the policy from last year's decision to emphasize the diplomatic approaches to ending the Iranian nuclear program, and it apparently comes over the objections of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates: The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned. The shift follows an internal review involving the White House, the Pentagon and the state department over the last month. Although the Bush administration is in deep trouble over Iraq, it remains focused on Iran. A well-placed source in Washington said: "Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo." ... Last year Mr Bush came...
Everyone wants to know why Fred Thompson hasn't officially declared his candidacy yet. After all, with Jim Gilmore's departure, the Republicans have an empty podium for the next debate. Why doesn't Fred jump in and start getting tested? One answer could be that Fred wants to hit the hustings in the top spot -- and that's he's building his coalition carefully before his launch. US News reports that Fred has had some success in getting evangelical groups to consider supporting him, reaching out to one group that could give him instant momentum. At Heading Right, I look at advantages he might have over some of the other GOP candidates, and the strategy of holding cards close to the vest until one gets a winning hand. UPDATE: The Democrats think Fred has other motivations for his long flirtation: The “Law & Order” actor and former U.S. senator from Tennessee is delaying...
Rudy Giuliani's ability to win the Republican primary hinges on convincing GOP voters that he supports federalism and constructionist views on the Constitution. It takes his socially-liberal policy views off the table to a large extent if he can convince Republicans of his sincerity on those points, and nowhere will that be more evident than in his appointments to the bench. His new effort in that regard seems solidly calculated to confirm that commitment: GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani will unveil his "Justice Advisory Committee" this week on a two-day swing through heavily Republican western districts of Washington, D.C., home of the first presidential caucuses in 2008. The committee signals an important moment for building his relationship with social conservatives a he tries to convince skeptical Iowans he can compete seriously in the caucuses. Former U.S. solicitor general under President Bush, Ted Olson, will chair the panel. Former Bush administration Deputy...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), we'll have a number of guests talking about the Fairness Doctrine. Our friend NZ Bear of the Truth Laid Bear will join me as co-host and will discuss his Fairness Doctrine website, where people can stay abreast of FD developments. The NRSC's communications director, Rebecca Fisher, will join us for a few minutes in the first half to talk about their new site and their petition, and we believe that Senator Norm Coleman will join us in the second half. Last week, the Democrats blocked Coleman from offering legislation banning government control of political speech, and we'll ask him what his plans are next. This comes at a critical time for free speech. One third of Americans believe that the government should control political speech not just on the airwaves, but also on the Internet, according to a recent Rasmussen poll (via...
Britain has decided to escalate the diplomatic crisis over Russia's refusal to extradite the suspect in the Litvinenko assassination. The UK will expel four Russian diplomats in protest over the protection given to Andre Lugovoi: David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, today announced that four Russian diplomats will be expelled following Moscow's failure to hand over the man suspected of murdering Alexander Litvinenko. The Russian foreign office has reacted by labelling the expulsion "immoral", and claims it will have serious consequences. Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Miliband said that Russia's failure to cooperate with the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi was "extremely disappointing". That may not be the end of the retribution, either. The new government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown says it will now review its relationship with Russia "on a range of issues," which comes close to hinting at a complete diplomatic break. Britain has also arranged for...
Most if not all of the American presidents of the last two generations have attempted to make peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. They have all met with failure, mostly due to a failure to recognize that the Palestinians didn't want peaceful coexistence with the Israelis, and the failures have reflected poorly on American administrations from both parties. Now George Bush has called for a regional peace conference, probably hoping for some legacy of accomplishment in an area where others have fallen short: Declaring a "moment of choice" in the Middle East, President Bush said Monday he would call Israel, the Palestinians and others in the region to a peace conference aimed at restarting stalled talks and moving faster toward a Palestinian state. Such a session could result in Israelis sitting at the same conference table as countries such as Saudi Arabia that do not recognize Israel diplomatically. Bush...
The passing of Lady Bird Johnson produced a slew of complimentary obituaries and remembrances of the former First Lady. Normally, Christopher Hitchens would supply the antidote for all of the flowing saccharine, but Hitchens is on assignment this week. Instead, Jack Shafer at Slate offers the belated rebuttal, pointing out Lady Bird's role in amassing the Johnson fortune through a quaint form of graft, but one that may have some resonance in today's political issues: In 1943, the year Lady Bird Johnson purchased KTBC, the Federal Communications Commission, which reviewed all broadcast-license transfers, was close to being abolished, Caro writes. Lyndon Johnson used his political influence in both Congress and the White House to prevent that from happening. The FCC was among the most politicized agencies in the government, Caro asserts, and it knew who its friends were. Johnson socialized with FCC Commissioner Clifford Durr at the time, "sometimes at...
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine from my teen-age years and who reads CQ on a regular basis. Unfortunately, she has had to start divorce proceedings, but has no representation. Her husband won't pay support for their several children unless she asks him for it, and she's had to go on public assistance in the meantime. Hopefully, one or more of our CQ friends in Utah can give her a hand in accessing legal resources in Utah so that she can make sure she protects her interests and the interests of her children. Please e-mail me anything I can forward to her, with the subject line, "Legal assistance". She can also use your prayers, and thanks in advance for either....
July 17, 2007
The national intelligence estimate will state that the Iranians have an active cell of al-Qaeda leadership in their eastern mountain area, Eli Lake reports today in the New York Sun. The same Quds force that has assisted Shi'ite and Sunni terrorists in Iraq has allowed the senior AQ figures to operate since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, and they have ties to the Iraq branch of AQ as well: One of two known Al Qaeda leadership councils meets regularly in eastern Iran, where the American intelligence community believes dozens of senior Al Qaeda leaders have reconstituted a good part of the terror conglomerate's senior leadership structure. That is a consensus judgment from a final working draft of a new National Intelligence Estimate, titled "The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland," on the organization that attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The estimate, which represents the...
Tom Vilsack dropped out of the Democratic presidential race in February, one of the first significant also-rans to acknowledge reality. The former governor of Iowa endorsed Hillary in March, giving her a boost in the key state. However, that seems to have come as part of a quid pro quo, as her backers have piled contributions onto the defunct Vilsack candidacy -- and some of the money wound up in Vilsack's pockets: Shortly after endorsing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack received nearly $90,000 in donations to his defunct presidential campaign from some of Clinton's major backers, campaign finance reports show. The donations, disclosed in Federal Election Commission filings over the weekend, came from Clinton fundraising bastions of New York, California, Texas, and Washington, D.C. None came from Iowa, where Vilsack served two terms as governor. ... In May and June, at least 45 Clinton...
The CEO of Whole Foods Market apparently likes role playing, especially on the Internet. In fact, he likes it so much that he donned the full sock-puppet, praising his company and his own good looks while pretending to be someone else entirely on Yahoo message boards. The SEC has begun an informal investigation into his activities: On the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog — or the chief executive of a Fortune 500 company. Or so thought John Mackey, the chief executive of Whole Foods Market, who used a fictional identity on the Yahoo message boards for nearly eight years to assail competition and promote his supermarket chain’s stock, according to documents released last week by the Federal Trade Commission. Mr. Mackey used the online handle “Rahodeb” (an anagram of his wife’s name, Deborah). In one Internet posting sure to enter the annals of chief-executive vanity, Mr. Mackey wrote as...
The Associated Press reports that the national intelligence estimate says that al-Qaeda remains the biggest terrorist threat to the American homeland. The NIE also warns that Hezbollah in Lebanon may also start planning attacks on America in the near future if it thinks we may attack Iran, and that non-Muslim terrorists may soon join the fray: The terrorist network Al-Qaida will likely leverage its contacts and capabilities in Iraq to mount an attack on U.S. soil, according to a new National Intelligence Estimate on threats to the American homeland. ... Al-Qaida is likely to continue to focus on high-profile political, economic and infrastructure targets to cause mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction, economic aftershocks and fear. "The group is proficient with conventional small arms and improvised explosive devices and is innovative in creating new capabilities and overcoming security obstacles." The group has been able to restore key elements it would need...
The weekly poll numbers have come out from Gallup and Rasmussen, and the news is that there is not much new. Hillary's lead has remained constant for two months now, and it looks like the race has concluded for the Democrats' top slot on the ticket. The only suspense is who will get to bask in Hillary's glory at the bottom of the ticket, and get free passes to funerals if elected. The GOP looks a little more murky. The two polls disagree on the frontrunner, as I note at Heading Right. We discover that a dead man has not reached rigor mortis after all. Also, a surprising figure has surged to the top of the second tier in this week's poll, replacing Mike Huckabee and probably disquieting the power structure of the GOP -- or at least delighting his legion of on-line fans....
General Peter Pace, the outgoing chair of the Joint Chiefs, has called the surge a success, saying that it has brought about a "sea change" in security for Iraq. Time Magazine reports on his remarks from Ramadi, which in itself demonstrates a level of success, as the Anbar Province has changed markedly from the lost cause it appeared a year ago (via Hugh Hewitt): In his most optimistic remarks since the U.S. troop buildup began, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that Iraq has undergone a "sea change" in security in recent months, and that this will influence his recommendation to President Bush on how long to continue the current strategy. After conferring with Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin and other commanders in this provincial capital west of Baghdad, Pace told reporters he has gathered a positive picture of the security environment not only here...
No one had to get a bigger charge out of George Galloway's pending suspension from the UK House of Commons than Norm Coleman. The British Parliament has acted to punish Galloway for his dishonesty in hiding the source of his funding for his Mariam Appeal fund -- Saddam Hussein and Galloway's take in the Oil-For-Food scandal. Galloway's apologists laughed off Senator Coleman's interrogation of Galloway, but the Minnesota Senator gets the last laugh -- and takes it: The anti-war Respect MP was criticised by the Standards and Privileges Committee for “concealing the true source of Iraqi funding” to a charity he set up and failure to co-operate with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. It backed a finding that there was “strong circumstantial evidence” that his Mariam Appeal received cash from the regime of Saddam Hussein, the payments delivered through the UN’s Oil for Food Programme “with Mr Galloway’s connivance”. It...
Michael Yon has another excellent dispatch from his embed mission in Iraq, although this piece gives more of an in-depth look at the connection between men and machines. Yon profiles the travails of a Stryker used by the men of the 1-24th Regiment as an example of how tough it is to lose one. The General Lee saved lives on more than one occasion in 2005, until IEDs finally retired it: The patrols can be tedious. Fatigue accumulates after months of fighting, and it seems most units who are performing routine missions go against the grain of strict regulation and plug music into their comms to keep them alert. When they beep into the comms to talk, the music clicks off. It’s against the regs, but when everyone is tired—and weary—it works for a while. Some soldiers will listen to music before combat missions, sort of like Apocalypse Now, and...
Today on CQ Radio (2 pm CT), I'll have Eli Lake from the New York Sun on the show to talk about the latest National Intelligence Estimate and its revelation about al-Qaeda's connection to Iran. We'll also review the latest on George Galloway and Norm Coleman to see who's laughing now, and we'll preview the "publicity stunt" that Harry Reid will conduct tonight in the Senate. UPDATE: The Heritage experts will join us tomorrow instead of today. Call 646-652-4889 to join the conversation! Also, you can subscribe to CQ Radio through iTunes now by clicking this link:...
This news flash from ABC came across my desk during my CQ Radio show: The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico. An FBI intelligence report distributed by the Washington, D.C. Joint Terrorism Task Force, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, says the illegal ring has been bringing Iraqis across the border illegally for more than a year. ... The FBI report, issued last week, says the smuggling organization "used to smuggle Mexicans, but decided to smuggle Iraqi or other Middle Eastern individuals because it was more lucrative." Each individual would be charged a fee of $20,000 to $25,000, according to the report. The people to be smuggled would "gather at a house on the Mexican side of the border" and then cross the Rio Grande into the...
With the Senate about to conduct a pajama party tonight to discuss all the ways in which we can retreat in the face of our enemies, John McCain seems almost alone in the Senate in confronting Harry Reid on the consequences of his actions. They want to conduct a series of votes overnight in order to force Republicans into cloture on an amendment that would demand a pullout of Iraq by next April and beginning in September: They called for sleeping cots to be rolled into a room off the Senate floor and told members to prepare for repeated votes throughout the evening. Senators even left open the possibility of dispatching the sergeant at arms to summon colleagues from their homes to the floor if lawmakers ignored the debate. The threat was reminiscent of a 1988 debate on campaign finance reform in which Capitol police carried Oregon Republican Sen. Robert...
The Atlanta Falcons may have to count on their backup quarterback in the 2007 season. According to ABC News, a grand jury indicted the star QB on felony charges surrounding an alleged dogfighting conspiracy centered at his mansion: Michael Vick has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the dogfighting probe of his property in Virginia. The Falcons quarterback was indicted for conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District in Richmond, Va. Three others -- Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips and Tony Taylor -- also were indicted by the grand jury on the same charges. According to court documents filed by federal authorities earlier this month, dog fights have been sponsored by "Bad Newz Kennels" at the property since at least 2002. For the events, participants...
July 18, 2007
Harry Reid kept the Senate in business all night long as a way to publicize the fact that Republicans won't allow cloture on an amendment for retreating from Iraq. For some reason, Reid apparently thought that this would somehow break the will of the Republicans in a manner that had escaped the Democratic effort to complain about the same cloture rules they used repeatedly to block legislation and presidential appointments when Reid was Minority Leader instead of Majority Leader. In the end, not only didn't Reid move the Republicans, he took most of the night off himself: So much for forcing Republicans to filibuster all night. As the clock struck midnight and Tuesday became Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid loosened up a bit on his plans to teach members of the minority that Democrats set the schedule on the debate over Iraq. ... Speaking of those mandatory attendance tallies,...
Britain acted to expel Russian diplomats on Monday for failing to extradite alleged assassin Andrei Lugovoi because they had reason to believe Vladimir Putin had sent a second assassin to the UK. The target this time? Boris Berezovsky, a strident Putin critic who had survived murder plots when living in Russia: Boris Berezovsky fled Britain three weeks ago on the advice of Scotland Yard, amid reports that he was the target of an assassination attempt by a suspected Russian hitman. The exiled tycoon and fierce critic of President Putin of Russia told The Times last night that he had been warned that it was not safe for him to remain in London, where he had been living since being granted asylum in Britain. ... Reports last night claimed that an assassin was captured at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, West London, moments before he planned to kill Mr Berezovsky,...
Update: US confirms. See Update 1. The US captured a senior figure for al-Qaeda in Iraq on July 4th, the BBC reports this morning. Khaled Mashhadani told investigators that he acted as a conduit between the real AQI leader and senior al-Qaeda leadership outside of Iraq: US forces say they have arrested a senior member of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group accused of being behind some of Iraq's deadliest violence. The man was named as Khaled Mashhadani. He was captured earlier in July in the northern city of Mosul, officials said. US military officials said he had told interrogators that the group's supposed leader, Omar al-Baghdadi, was a front. Mashhadani may give the US enough information to target the real leader of AQI, if it isn't Omar al-Baghdadi. Interestingly, some think that Khaled Mashhadini is Omar al-Baghdadi. Nibras Kazimi gave a run-down on al-Baghdadi four months ago: This is what...
Democrats have decided to pass a 20,000% tax increase as part of their new fiscal program for America. The target -- this time -- is cigars, on which they plan to escalate the current federal nickel tax to $10 per stogie (via Professor Bainbridge): The Democrat controlled Congress has sought an extra $35-billion to $50-billion for the state children's health insurance program. The program distributes payments to the states to help buy coverage for kids not poor enough for Medicaid. Cigarettes, which accounted for more than 95 percent of tobacco tax collections last year, are the main focus of the bill. Federal taxes on a pack would jump from 39 cents to $1. But the legislation has dragged cigars along for the ride. The industry operates under a 4.8 cents-per-cigar tax cap. Under the proposed bill, taxes on "large cigars," a category that includes all but the tiny cigars sold...