Some news that’s surfacing slowly is Iran’s new bluster on refining higher grade uranium. Russia and Israel seem to be talking the same language, while China still isn’t willing to sign on to harsh sanctions, something SecDef Gates is promising will come sooner rather than later. Even as it will take some time to reconfigure [...] [...more]
TM NOTE: I interviewed Kristen Breitweiser back in Sept. 2006 when she wrote her book, the podcast still available among the “best of” section. So I was very interested to get her reaction to the news about A.G. Holder bringing the terrorists to justice. She wrote about it in the post below. No doubt an [...] [...more]
updated Justice is on its way. The person I’m thinking about today being Kirsten Breitweiser, whom I interviewed a couple of years ago, and how badly she wanted to see Khalid Sheikh Mohammed brought to justice and how concerned she was that the Bush-Cheney “harsh interrogation techniques” would circumvent that reality. But it’s all about to [...] [...more]
As if we needed more instruments of division to get in Pres. Obama’s way (see video). Oh, and please ignore that CIA case over rendition too. House Res. opposing the Goldstone report passes overwhelmingly. Meanwhile, an Italian court convicts 23 Americans in rendition case. Oh, didn’t hear about that? An Italian court on Wednesday convicted 22 CIA [...] [...more]
updated version cross-posted at Huffington Post His name is Matthew Hoh and this could turn into a story that will haunt Pres. Obama’s decision on Afghanistan every day until the strategy is announced. I’m sure it is already. Hoh simply doesn’t believe in where the U.S. mission has been and where Obama is about to take [...] [...more]
Where is the leadership? Where is the decision making? Where is a firm decision leading in a solid direction? SNL answers those questions. This is what happens when a president who wants to “bring people together” doesn’t have an ideologically driven core that clearly points the way. We get months of vamping on the way to allowing other people [...] [...more]
Anyone watching “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos this past Sunday saw he was clearly out muscled by the non-stop motor mouth debate tactics of Liz Cheney. Tom Shales takes Stephanopoulos to task for letting the rising right wing star get the better of him, though nothing less than a Vaudevillian hook would have succeeded in [...] [...more]
It’s lonely out here. And for a very good reason. But even though the Taliban will out last our efforts, the fact remains that if we don’t secure Afghanistan to the point where women aren’t subjugated, tortured and murdered, Afghanistan will likely once again turn to teeter on failed state status, something candidate Obama pledged [...] [...more]
“The Great White Hope” controversy Racism and Republicans linked again. See video. Sheesh. It takes a lot of nerve for Stephen Atta had a meeting in Prague Hayes to call someone else on honesty, but that’s what he does to Greg Sargent, who has been in an amusing back and forth with Cheney’s hagiographer for a few [...] [...more]
Lots of stirring on Holder hiring a prosecutor to look into alleged CIA interrogation abuses. Even with Holder’s breathless “I fully realize that my decision to commence this preliminary review will be controversial”, caution is in order; for starters because it’s only a preliminary review. For all the hoopla that Holder has appointed a [...] [...more]
–bumped– “To avoid getting raped, after 6 p.m., women are not allowed to go out of the house,” said Maria Bitondo, who said she was among three women attacked by a soldier last month. “With the soldiers here, no woman is safe to go out and walk. We do not even go to the bathroom at [...] [...more]
“We’ve addressed these rumors before. They are nothing more than typical Washington parlor games. It’s disappointing that while we are focused on reviving the economy and fighting two wars, others spend their time pointing fingers in an attempt to promote their own status.” – White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, via Wall Street [...] [...more]
Bagram It’s edging towards being official. Having supported Obama’s initial Afghanistan policy, it’s becoming abundantly clear that we’re edging closer to no man’s land on policy: The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is preparing a new strategy that calls for major changes in the way U.S. and other NATO troops there operate, a vast increase in the [...] [...more]
Police in Iran have crashed the mourning of Neda. The CNN piece here reports almost 3,000 mourners, plus Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, his wife, were present as well. The Guardian has a provocative article about Secretary Clinton allegedly “indicating,” which in the Guardian title is judged as “threatening”, Britain about disclosing any CIA torture evidence [...] [...more]
The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfard is very excited today. After reading the Washington Times piece that Liz Cheney might run for office (something that was telegraphed a long time ago), he’s taken to writing Ms. Cheney’s name on paper like a high school girl dreaming of becoming a Mrs: Should it be Senator Cheney or [...] [...more]
