The Underlying Problem in Iraq

It truly doesn't get much more basic...

Intelligence problems persist in Iraq

Pat Lang, a former high-ranking official at the Defense Intelligence Agency and a very legitimate Middle East expert, has a fantastic blog post up about the failures of intelligence in Iraq. If you're interested in why we're having such a difficult time militarily in Iraq, and especially if you like the intel details, go read the whole thing. Lang is occasionally ornery, but the [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Intelligence, Defense Intelligence Agency

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Today's History Lesson

Just a little something to consider...

Irony Alert

Almost seven years ago to the date: “We are going to restore honor and dignity to the White House.” George W. Bush, 7/5/00. Bonus irony alert: “On the first hour of the first day, we will restore decency and integrity to the Oval Office. They will offer more lectures and legalisms and carefully worded denials. We offer another [...]

Tags: Honor, Dignity, White House, George W. Bush

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Your Transparent Government

One more to add to the list of "things that aren't as they're supposed to be"...

FDA Officials Operated Under Veil of Secrecy

"For years, the public calendars of two top federal drug safety officials were largely blank - devoid of the required detail about their contacts with the industry they regulated. Open government experts and lawmakers said it is only the latest example of the lack of transparency at the Food and Drug Administration and a violation of the spirit of open government," reports [...]

Tags: FDA, Food and Drug Administration

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Good Points

A few of the bloggers are spelling out what they think is the "real" reason behind the commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence.  And, they're making sense.  Read on..

Why Libby Got Off

For the first time in quite a while I watched some cable news last night. And I've read this morning's editorials. And, other than a brief mention by Keith Olbermann, I haven't seen anyone addressing the central point of Libby's commutation. Take a look at this: ...House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said the president "did the right thing today…. The prison sentence was overly harsh and the punishment did not fit the crime." Intentionally or not, Rep. Blunt is expressing something important here. If we just look at his [...]

And, Jill at Brilliant at Breakfast has an excellent roundup of Libby Posts...

Around the blogroll: Scooter Libby edition

But, Wait!  There's More!  Think Progress points us to some newspapers that editorialized against the President's decision:

Editorials On Pardon: Bush ‘Did Not Sound Like A Leader,’ ‘Sent Terrible Message,’ ‘Indefensible’

Yesterday, President Bush spared Scooter Libby from a 2½-year prison term, issuing an order that commutes his sentence. Libby will never have to go to jail, but his felony conviction will stand, and he will still serve two years probation and owe $250,000 in fines. In March, Americans opposed pardoning Libby by a 3 to [...]

Before we leave this topic, consider a Bonus Quote of the Day

And, for balance: Libby - Reactions From The Authoritarian Right

Tags: Olbermann, Libby, Commutation

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We Read Reports

Granted, you don't expect a CREW report to be unbiased.  With that understood, this is most interesting.

CREW: Bush administration is ‘crossing the line.’

CREW released a report today called Crossing the Line: The Bush Administration’s Efforts to Expand Its Powerful Reach, “which details the Bush administration’s repeated constitutional overreaching and abuse of executive power and prerogative.” Some highlights: – Recently it was revealed that the vice president has unilaterally exempted himself and his office from the executive order [...]

Tags: CREW, Bush Administration, Executive Power

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Terror Attacks

Not impressive to some.  In fact, they're being called...

Almost laughable

....There's been ample discussion about the recent attempted attacks in Britain, the sophistication of the would-be terrorists, and the connection they may or may not have had to al Qaeda. Former Scotland Yard Detective John O'Connor's comments on CNN [...]

Tags: Terrorists, Bombs, al Qaeda, Scotland Yard

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Not A Good Sign

Things aren't going well in the McCain campaign.  Not well at all...

McCain Meltdown: Axes At Least 50 Campaign Staffers Hours Before Fundraising Announcement

WASHINGTON - 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 [...]

Tags: McCain, Presidentail Campaigns

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In The Rear View Mirror

History.  Important history.

Bring it on, four years later

Four years ago today, President Bush invited Iraqi insurgents to attack U.S. forces. He said, recklessly, "There are some who feel like -- that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring’em on. We've got the force necessary to deal with the security situation." It's bad enough that he callously dismissed the [...]

Tags: Bring It On, Iraq War, Insurgents

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Scanning The Headlines

We've all heard the reports about how the President pretty much ignored the pre-9/11 report.  So, one can only surmise how day to day events are treated.  We do have a bit of hard evidence about THAT..

Is our president reading?

It’s hardly the most important element of Peter Baker’s piece on Bush’s behind-the-scenes persona, but he does tackle the enduring question: Does Bush read newspapers? To an extent, Bush walls himself off from criticism. He does read newspapers, contrary to public impression, but watches little television news and does not linger in the media echo chamber. Now, [...]

Tags: George W. Bush, Peter Baker, Newspapers

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Reporter For The White House

I oftentimes wonder how some of these so-called "reporters" can live with themselves...

When all else fails....

The Iraq polls are increasingly grim for Bush, with 66 percent of people now saying get the hell out, with a full 40 percent of that total saying do it now. What's a highly unpopular administration to do when the nation has lost all confidence in the war? Go back to the tried and true. Get NYT's reliable Iran war drum beater and reporter Michael Gordon to pen yet another article beating the drum on Iran. Yup, he's back, this time with some really extraordinary claims about [...]

Tags: Iraq, Iran, New York Times, Michael Gordon

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