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The Archives: March-June 2004

Friday, June 4, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Editorial: George Tenet Resigns The New York Times Whether George Tenet's resignation as director of central intelligence was voluntary or forced, the timing was terrible Report Blames Agencies Over Prewar Intelligence Douglas Jehl The New York Times George J. Tenet's resignation may have been hastened by a critical, 400-page report from the Senate Intelligence Committee that was presented to the Central Intelligence Agency for comment last month Wanted: Intelligence Czar to Oversee All 15 Agencies Jane Harman The Los Angeles Times The way it's currently structured, the director of Central Intelligence is supposed to do two jobs at once Retiring congressman says he would consider return to CIA as director Jim Drinkard USA Today House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss emerged Thursday as an early candidate to replace George Tenet as director of the Central Intelligence Agency Under the Banner of the 'War' on Terror William Greider The Nation What this President effectively accomplished was to restart the cold war, albeit under a new rubric. The justifying facts are different and smaller, but the ideological dynamics are remarkably similar U.S. Training a New Iraqi Military Force to Battle Guerrillas on Their Own Terms Jeffrey Gettleman The New York Times American military advisers are forming an all-Iraqi counterinsurgency force and training it in guerrilla tactics like ambushing trucks and hiding alongside the road camouflaged as bushes How D-Day compares with Iraq Georgie Anne Geyer Universal Press Syndicate The Chicago Tribune Sunday will underline, as probably nothing since the Iraq war began a year ago in March, the changes the world is seeing in America today--and most of them are far from complimentary Empire Falls Ian Williams AlterNet An increasingly desperate Bush administration is losing its might and therefore its ability to decide what is right for Iraq. Proof: the new UN draft resolution Iraqi smear campaign was 'dirty politics at its worst' James Drummond Financial Times (UK) Pachachi charged that the appointment of Iraq's interim government had been hijacked by a determined clique on the US-appointed Governing Council, rather than being left to United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi Delusion on a psychotic scale David Leigh and David Pallister The Guardian (UK) In the face of all the evidence, the Iraq Survey Group is still searching for WMD The Prism Of Abu Ghraib Scott Cooper The Washington Post The ghosts of Vietnam continue to haunt the Army, which came out of that war affected by a sense of demoralization that the institution still has not shaken Traditions, Terrorism Threaten Afghan Vote Pamela Constable The Washington Post As Afghanistan prepares to hold its first elections in September, a flurry of attacks by armed Islamic groups on aid workers, election preparation teams and foreign troops have raised concerns The 'Patriot' Search Brian Braiker MSNBC Buying a home? Prepare to pay to have your name checked against a government list of suspected terrorists An Icon, and Then He's Gone John M. Glionna The Los Angeles Times The emblem of the '89 Tiananmen democracy protests is a man facing down tanks. His identity and fate are a mystery Signatures Sufficient for Chávez Recall Vote, Venezuelans Say Juan Forero The New York Times Foes of President Hugo Chávez have collected enough signatures to trigger a recall referendum that could end the tumultuous rule of the leftist firebrand, electoral authorities announced this afternoon	For Personal Reasons, Or Is He the Fall Guy? Glenn Kessler The Washington Post Was Tenet finally being served up as a sacrificial lamb by an administration that loathes to admit a mistake? Storm warnings for Bush in Ohio Tim Russo Salon.com The John Kerry campaign offices may still be dark in this key battleground state, but an invisible tidal wave is growing here against the president Bye, George Fred Kaplan Slate This may be the most remarkable sign of the scandal-strewn depths—that even Abu Ghraib can be buried in the rubble Bush speech spins the winds of war Derrick Z. Jackson The Boston Globe It was symbolic of a Bush who is so chained to an immoral conflict and so numb to its grief that he has no choice but to continue to spin Saddam into Hitler Shakespeare turns a spotlight on Bush and Iraq Arianna Huffington Arianna Online WorkingForChange.com The dying Henry IV had told his son to engage in foreign wars to distract the people from domestic crises: "busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels" Remarks of Senator John Kerry on Strengthening Our Military JohnKerry.com My first order of business as commander in chief will be to expand America’s active duty forces. Not to increase the number of soldiers in Iraq, but to add 40,000 new soldiers to prevent and prepare for other possible conflicts Liberal activists lukewarm on Kerry Mary Leonard The Boston Globe When more than 2,000 progressive activists from across the country gathered under a "Take Back America" banner yesterday, it was Howard Dean, not John F. Kerry, who stole their hearts Kerry Presents Himself as a Patriot With a Different View Robin Toner The New York Times Mr. Kerry has used this two-week window around Memorial Day to introduce himself, aggressively, as an alternative commander in chief
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The New Defeatism Victor Davis Hanson National Review Are we giving up, even as we’re succeeding? Editorial: A Better CIA The Wall Street Journal What is unforgivable is the Agency's ex post facto attempt to blame its WMD errors on everyone else From al Qaeda's terror playbook Claude Salhani The Washington Times The terrorists hope additional attacks on foreign workers will eventually scare them away, creating a vacuum in the oil industry	Brooklyn Cheese Artist Makes Bed of Ham Desmond Butler Associated Press Yahoo! According to the artist, no concern about cockroaches has been raised. "They are welcome," he said. "Imagine what this looks like from the point of view of an insect"

Thursday, June 3, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Al Qaeda's Small Victories Add Up Anthony H. Cordesman The New York Times The International Institute of Strategic Studies in London has estimates that Al Qaeda and its affiliates now have a strength of 18,000 men, many joining the movement as a result of the Afghan and Iraq conflicts Torture and Secrecy Steven Aftergood In These Times The authority to classify information, once granted, is liable to be abused. Broad categories of information are sequestered as national security secrets even when they are innocuous Bush takes refuge in history Sidney Blumenthal The Guardian (UK) "Bush's speech was a vision speech with no connection to facts on the ground. That seems to be the limit of his understanding and ability. Even Vietnam doesn't look so bad in retrospect." The real democrat in the race Jeff Jacoby The Boston Globe John Kerry, by contrast, articulates a foreign policy that uncannily resembles that of George Bush the Elder Troops Told They Can't Leave Army Esther Schrader The Los Angeles Times 'Stop-loss orders' keep soldiers in service if their units are set to be deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. Officials call move 'finger in the dike.' Dying Devotion to Young Cleric Springs From Poverty, Patriotism Daniel Williams The Washington Post Branded by the Bush administration as a criminal and a thug who has minimal support among Iraq's Shiite majority, Sadr is viewed very differently from the garbage-carpeted streets of Sadr City Envoy Bowed to Pressure in Choosing Leaders Rajiv Chandrasekaran The Washington Post "I sometimes say -- I'm sure he doesn't mind me saying that -- that Bremer is the dictator of Iraq," Brahimi said If Saudis pump more oil, will gasoline prices fall? David R. Francis The Christian Science Monitor World demand, surging above forecasts, could soak up extra Saudi production and leave prices at a high level Once seen as an alarmist fear, an attack on key Saudi oil terminal could destabilise Terry Macalister The Guardian (UK) "I think it would be difficult to put an upper limit on the kind of panic reaction you would see in the global oil markets following the loss of Saudi supplies" Tough US rhetoric as Iran's nuclear intent remains unclear Scott Peterson The Christian Science Monitor Questions remain about the intent of Iran's nuclear programs, according to a critical new report by UN inspectors It's Not the American Way Richard Cohen The Washington Post While I accept the government's case, I cannot accept the insistence that it can, when it so chooses, keep a U.S. citizen -- and Padilla is one -- detained for as long as it sees fit Tribunal lawyers say defense short on resources Toni Locy USA Today The military lawyers for two alleged terrorists who face the first trials by U.S. military tribunals since World War II say their efforts are being stymied by the Defense Department's failure to provide interpreters and other resources Beware of “Credible Intelligence” Ray McGovern CommonDreams.org Fanning further fear of terror is the only remaining ploy to boost the president’s sinking poll numbers. The struggle against terrorism is the issue on which George W. Bush still gets relatively good marks New story emerges of an infamous massacre Robert Marquand The Christian Science Monitor A massacre did take place in Beijing 15 years ago, eyewitnesses say - just not in Tiananmen A creaking partnership The Economist (UK) Though the Americans and Europeans are getting together four times this month, they still find it hard to get on Indonesia Deporting U.S. Human Rights Advocate Sari Sudarsono and Richard C. Paddock The Los Angeles Times Sidney Jones, the Southeast Asia director of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said she had not been informed of the charges	Voice of a Superpower Steven Kull Foreign Policy So what do Americans think about Iraq, terrorism, homeland security, North Korea, free trade, and George W. Bush? A “virtual interview” with the American public offers clues for November’s election—and beyond Bush and Kerry's dueling visions Thomas Oliphant The Boston Globe Much less attention has been paid to what Kerry has been doing, precisely because it is softer, more methodical, but not - it turns out - without purpose Churchgoing closely tied to voting patterns Susan Page USA Today The religion gap is the leading edge of the ''culture war'' that has polarized American politics, reshaped the coalitions that make up the Democratic and Republican parties and influenced the appeals their presidential candidates are making The Voters in South Dakota Send a Woman to Washington for the First Time Stephen Kinzer The New York Times Of about 80 people who voted at the stately brick courthouses, 9 said they had chosen their candidate partly because they wanted to let the Bush administration know they were unhappy with its Iraq policies Faith-Based Chief Cites 'Culture War' Peter Wallsten The Los Angeles Times Towey warned that when faith was driven out of that public square, "you almost wind up creating a godless orthodoxy." The Campaign Comes to Rome John L. Allen Jr. The New York Times Mr. Bush and the pope agree on cultural issues like abortion and gay marriage. None of that, however, can mask their deep differences on international policy Rice plays enigmatic role in Bush's foreign policy Carolyn Lochhead The San Francisco Chronicle Former Democratic Vice President Al Gore called her incompetent last week, giving voice in public to what some foreign policy analysts in Washington have been mumbling in private for months The patriot Mary Jacoby Salon.com Armed Services chairman John Warner is determined to get to the bottom of the Abu Ghraib scandal -- even if it costs George W. Bush the election Republicans Ponder Not Adopting a Budget This Year Edmund L. Andrews The New York Times Republicans are concluding they would be better off with no budget plan than with one that would require them to pay the cost of permanently extending last year's tax cuts Pelosi pulls bandwagon for recapturing Congress John Wildermuth, Edward Epstein The San Francisco Chronicle A pair of special election wins in strong Republican states, combined with President Bush's skidding national popularity, has Democratic leaders giddy over the once-unthinkable possibility of taking back Congress Lott Defends Treatment of Iraqi Prisoners Helen Dewar The Washington Post Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) proved he has not lost his knack for inflammatory rhetoric when he defended "really rough" treatment of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers, including the use of dogs against a prisoner "unless the dog ate him"
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Oversee the PATRIOT Act Paul M. Weyrich & David Keene The American Spectator Increasingly, conservatives we talk to outside Washington express real concern about providing Federal law enforcement with more power in the name of national security A one-time Bush skeptic admits his error Joshua Muravchik The Houston Chronicle I found candidate Bush too little engaged with this challenge. But since 9/11, he has offered the kind of leadership that ranks him with the greatest presidents of my lifetime Standing by House of Saud Patrick Bishop The Washington Times It may be hard to love the Saudis, but it is in our interests to continue supporting them as they try to weather what is looking like a particularly bad patch Reuters' Angry Iraqi Dan Dickinson The Weekly Standard The aggressively neutral news service always manages to find Iraqi men-on-the-street who hate America. Coincidence? President Bush speaks at Air Force Academy Graduation WhiteHouse.gov We are fighting enemies who want us to retreat, and leave Iraq to tyranny, so they can claim an ideological victory over America . They would use that victory to gather new strength, and take their violence directly to America	Meanwhile: Soverny for I-raq and a new nose for sis Michael Johnson The International Herald Tribune As Iraq moves uncertainly toward what President George W. Bush calls "soverny," U.S. News and World Report splashed a cover story on "Makeover Nation" - not Iraq's makeover but the plastic surgery craze in America In a wave, meter fairy makes tickets go away Nicholas Spangler The Miami Herald The citizenry had been unusually assiduous in making good on their metered obligations this day, but this, perhaps, was a block of scofflaws needful of his help Tom Toles Ucomics.com Odd. That's just what I wanted to hear. Ben Sargent Ucomics.com Heeeere we go again…

Saturday, May 8, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Transcript: Rumsfeld Testifies Before House Armed Services Committee FDCH E-Media The Washington Post Transcript: Rumsfeld Testifies Before Senate Armed Services Committee FDCH E-Media The Washington Post Are there times when we have to accept torture? Ariel Dorfman The Guardian (UK) Make no mistake: every regime that tortures does so in the name of salvation, some superior goal, some promise of paradise The Empire Strikes Out Ben Macintyre The New York Times Military domination is fatally undermined when occupiers, even if only a tiny minority of them, misuse their power to demean the conquered. The perils of such behavior resonate throughout history Good Soldiers and 'Bad Guys' David Rieff Mother Jones The horrors of Abu Ghraib should prompt something long overdue -- serious media scrutiny of the military's actions in Iraq Editorial: An Inadequate Response The Washington Post The defense secretary and his deputies continued to portray the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison as isolated acts by individuals. They defended, or refused to acknowledge, the policy decisions that made the abuses more likely A Combustible Mix at Iraq Prison Richard A. Serrano and Greg Miller The Los Angeles Times Deeply troubled, Darby slid an anonymous letter under the door of the office of the Army's Criminal Investigative Division, the unit charged with looking into soldier misconduct at the prison Fallouja's Fighters Trade Weapons, Not Allegiances Alissa J. Rubin The Los Angeles Times The compromise relies entirely on former generals in the Iraqi military to form a security force of former soldiers from the heavily Sunni Muslim Fallouja area Pakistan's Uneasy Role in Terror War Pamela Constable The Washington Post Pakistani authorities have bristled at the American criticism, saying they remain determined to uproot Islamic terrorism but must balance the concerns of their allies with the need to respect public opinion and keep the peace at home Afghans lament a loss of attention Ashish Kumar Sen The Washington Times According to recent news reports, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is negotiating with former Taliban members with an eye to the September elections. Some Afghans feel betrayed by his decision to reach out Fighting the Good Infight James Surowiecki with Ben Greenman The New Yorker Has there ever been a corporate model that would work well for intelligence agencies? Warnings Go Unheeded Over North Korea Threat Michael R. Gordon International Herald Tribune The New York Times North Korea's nuclear arsenal, which was once thought to number one or two weapons, appears to be growing substantially on President George W. Bush's watch Report of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in the Darfur, Sudan Microsoft Word (.doc) format UN High Commissioner for Human Rights It is the manner of the response to this rebellion by the Government of Sudan which has led to the current crisis in Darfur	Poll: Bush down; Kerry no gain Associated Press The Miami Herald The AP-Ipsos poll found the race between Bush and Kerry remains close, with Bush's support at 46 percent, Kerry at 43 percent and independent candidate Ralph Nader at 7 percent Poll: Americans split on worthiness of war CNN When asked if it was worth going to war in Iraq, 50 percent said it was, while 47 percent said it was not For Six Hours Onstage, the Rumsfeld Survival Rules Displayed, by the Man Himself Katharine Q. Seelye The New York Times The Donald H. Rumsfeld who testified on Capitol Hill on Friday was by turns contrite and confident, penitent and testy, an unusual mix for a defense secretary known for his mastery of the public stage Most Want Rumsfeld to Stay, Poll Finds Richard Morin and Claudia Deane The Washington Post Seven in 10 Americans said Rumsfeld should not be forced to quit, a view held by majorities of Republicans, Democrats and self-described independents GOP Allies in Congress Shore Up Rumsfeld Richard Simon and Elizabeth Shogren The Los Angeles Times Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the committee's top Democrat, said, "If I thought that his resignation would change the policies of this administration relative to Iraq, I'd be all for it" Shock Over Abuse Reports, but Support for the Troops Andrew Jacobs The New York Times In interviews with dozens of people across the country, many said that they were repulsed by the images but that they also felt protective of American troops Rush: MPs Just 'Blowing Off Steam' Dick Meyer CBS News Now, don't you feel like a dopey dittohead for letting a little outbreak of prisoner sadism bug you? These were just boys and girls blowing off steam during a stressful situation The Misunderestimated Man Jacob Weisberg Slate The soft bigotry of low expectations means Bush is seen to outperform by merely getting by. Finally, elitist condescension, however merited, helps cement Bush's bond to the masses A Giddy Heartland Gives Bush Warmth Missing in the Beltway Jim Rutenberg The New York Times The bus tour, which began in Michigan on Monday, is Mr. Bush's latest effort to do an end-run around the Washington press corps that covers him daily, and which he derisively calls "the filter" Remarks of Senator John Kerry at the Democratic Leadership Council JohnKerry.com As President, I will never hesitate to use American power to defend our interests anywhere in the world. I will make America's armed forces even stronger Where’s Kerry? Eleanor Clift Newsweek If ever there was a moment for John Kerry to come out swinging, this is it. It is the biggest story of the war, and he is essentially silent Kerry's Words, and Bush's Use of Them, Offer Valuable Lesson Jodi Wilgoren The New York Times President Bush's re-election campaign sent squadrons of researchers to scour Senator John Kerry's three decades in public life in search of material to use against him. But they turned up nothing as potent as 13 words that spilled from Mr. Kerry's mouth A to-do list for Kerry Dan Payne The Boston Globe HAND WRINGING and rejoicing both premature. Election is 26 weeks away. Here's to-do list for John Kerry Shedding Populist Tone, Kerry Starts Move to Middle David M. Halbfinger The New York Times He has dropped the red-meat riff on "Benedict Arnold C.E.O.'s." He is talking up tax cuts for corporations, playing up his deficit-cutting credentials and taking on teachers over pay-for-performance The Media, Politics and Censorship Bill Moyers AlterNet It's the system, dear Brutus, the system...a cartel, in effect, of big companies and big government scratching each other's back A Progressive Response to the Nader Campaign Jeff Cohen CommonDreams.org Progressives seemed to demobilize in 1993 after Bill Clinton ended 12 years of Republican rule. In the absence of powerful and independent networks of activists, we saw that a Democratic White House was capable of enacting pro-corporate Republican-oriented policies. We won't be fooled again
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Democracies and Double Standards Newt Gingrich The Wall Street Journal Explaining our anger at these misdeeds and our determination to punish the wrongdoers is appropriate. Appearing overly contrite or overly apologetic, however, will be a big mistake Democracy Now Robert Kagan and William Kristol The Weekly Standard Among the biggest mistakes made by the Bush administration over the past year has been the failure to move Iraq more rapidly toward elections Swift Invasion, Slow Victory Tom Donnelly The Weekly Standard We are beginning to grasp that true victory is going to take some time. But we shouldn't forget that we are in the process of winning and can complete the win if, at last, we begin to do the things a long war demands Kerry in the Dole-Drums Robert Moran National Review You can't beat something with nothing, and John Kerry is fast becoming nothing Our Weird Way of War Victor Davis Hanson National Review Our enemies realize that the struggle, lost on the battlefield, can yet be won with images and rhetoric offered up to alter the mentality and erode the will of an affluent, leisured and consensual West Crisis of Confidence David Brooks The New York Times I wish the U.S could still go off, after Iraq, at the head of "coalitions of the willing" to spread democracy around the world. But the brutal fact is that the events of the past year have discredited that approach. Nor is the U.N. a viable alternative	The Boondocks Aaron McGruder Ucomics Colin! You're moonlighting at Pottery Barn?

Friday, May 7, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
How to Get Out of Iraq The Nation A forum with Jonathan Schell, Noam Chomsky and Ann-Marie Slaughter, among many others U.S. Faces Lasting Damage Abroad Robin Wright The Washington Post The White House damage-control campaign, including the long-awaited apology from President Bush yesterday, is likely to have only limited, if any, success in the near term Act Now or a Civil War May Hit Iraq Anthony H. Cordesman The Los Angeles Times One of my biggest concerns is that American officials simply don't seem to recognize that U.S. tactical military "victories" are often, in fact, political defeats Red Cross Says That for Months It Complained of Iraq Prison Abuses to the U.S. Neil A. Lewis and Eric Lichtblau The New York Times The International Committee of the Red Cross regularly complained to senior United States officials in Iraq and in Washington over the last several months about prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib prison 'Cooks and drivers were working as interrogators' Julian Borger The Guardian (UK) Many of the prisoners abused at the Abu Ghraib prison were innocent Iraqis, picked up at random by US troops and incarcerated by underqualified intelligence officers W.Va. reservist caught up in a storm of controversy John Woestendiek The Baltimore Sun "You're on every channel," she says she told her daughter. "There you are, and there's a naked Iraqi, and there's you with your thumb up" Indian Contract Workers in Iraq Complain of Exploitation David Rohde The New York Times Laborers from India working for U.S. military subcontractors in Iraq have said that they were exploited, underpaid and prevented from leaving Iraq Contractors in Sensitive Roles, Unchecked Joel Brinkley and James Glanz The New York Times The military's reliance on civilians to serve as interrogators and translators in Iraq is now so great that many people are being sent abroad without complete background investigations or full qualifications Powell wasn't told of $25 billion Iraq request Kathy Kiely and Barbara Slavin USA Today Powell's associates tried to downplay the mix-up. But it underscores the continuing rift between President Bush's departments of State and Defense and deepens the impression that the nation's top diplomat is being cut out Searching for the truth on escalating war costs Derrick Z. Jackson The Boston Globe With the $87 billion in supplemental funds already approved in November, that would make $112 billion in supplemental funds approved or requested in the last seven months. That is quite far from Bolten's "well below $50 billion" Bush runs out of options as chaos deepens Guy Dinmore Financial Times (UK) Analysts point to an absence of clearcut strategy that has seen repeated personnel changes and policy reversals resulting from continuous battles between the State Department and the Pentagon Gamble Brings Old Uniforms Back Into Style Rajiv Chandrasekaran The Washington Post Fallujah is now caught in a time warp. Iraqi soldiers wearing their crisp, olive-green army uniforms -- a sight unseen since former president Saddam Hussein's government was toppled more than a year ago -- now man checkpoints In Fallujah, civility returns Scott Peterson The Christian Science Monitor As this Iraqi front line quiets down - there hasn't been any shooting in Fallujah in days - the payout is part of a concerted American strategy to shift away from war, and to resume the campaign to win hearts and minds Bush's New, New Lie Christopher Scheer AlterNet June 30 simply marks the selection of yet another "governing council," picked by foreigners (in this case, the UN) to act as a front for the U.S.-led occupation army The Aura of Election Robert Wright Slate The key is to realize that elections can be incremental. They can occur in stable parts of the country before occurring in unstable parts The Rise of bin Laden Ahmed Rashid The New York Review of Books Ghost Wars, which has taken twelve years to write, spells out the CIA's covert work in Afghanistan ever since the Soviet Union invaded that blighted country in 1979 The Oil Crunch Paul Krugman The New York Times Murdoch explained the payoff: "The greatest thing to come out of this for the world economy, if you could put it that way, would be $20 a barrel for oil." Crude oil prices in New York rose to almost $40 a barrel yesterday, a 13-year high Bush and the Lesser Evil Anthony Lewis The New York Review of Books In a significant respect, the danger to liberty is more serious than in past episodes. We regretted previous repressions when the war or stress ended. But it is hard to envisage an end to the current war Editorial: The Military Archipelago The New York Times The road to Abu Ghraib began in 2002 at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where a military detention system was built in a location sheltered from public visibility and judicial review Guantánamo prisoner abuse cases called mild Juan O. Tamayo The Miami Herald Southcom said neither of the two confirmed cases of prisoner abuse at Guantánamo rises to the level of the abuses in Iraq Report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba The Washington Post Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format	Editorial: Donald Rumsfeld Should Go The New York Times Donald Rumsfeld has morphed, over the last two years, from a man of supreme confidence to arrogance, and almost willful blindness Resign, Rumsfeld The Economist (UK) Responsibility for what has occurred needs to be taken—and to be seen to be taken—at the highest level too. It is plain what that means. The secretary of defence, Donald Rumsfeld, should resign. And if he won't resign, Mr Bush should fire him You're Fired Peter Beinart The New Republic Surely people of goodwill from both sides of the great red-blue, hawk-dove divide can put aside their differences and agree on at least one thing: Donald Rumsfeld needs a new job His 'Rules' now ring with irony USA Today Some of ''Rumsfeld's Rules'' seem ironic, even poignant, in light of the furious criticism now being leveled at the defense secretary over the inmate-abuse incidents at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison Kerry says Rumsfeld should resign over Iraq inmate abuse Glen Johnson The Boston Globe "As president, I will not be the last to know what is going on in my command," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said Abuse photos undermine Bush's religious rhetoric Don Lattin The San Francisco Chronicle The abuse of Iraqi prisoners by some U.S. soldiers points to the danger of President Bush describing the occupation of Iraq and the war on terror as battles between forces of good and the "evildoers" The System Was Lacking E. J. Dionne Jr. The Washington Post If Rumsfeld really thinks "the system worked" and if Myers really just sat by as the chain of command operated in its desultory way, neither is suited to lead the brave people defending our country Neo-con man Molly Ivins Creators Syndicate WorkingForChange.com In our continuing quest to understand how we got where we are, let us turn our attention to Ahmed Chalabi Smart Mobs vs. Amway Brad deGraf AlterNet In the battle for votes, strategy is everything. The Republicans' model -- while incredibly organized -- is top-down; the Democrats may be less organized but their webbing is strong Big Worries About John Kerry John Nichols The Nation Will Kerry be the Dole of 2004? That's the question that the Massachusetts senator needs to sort out this month Centering Kerry Peter Hart TomPaine.com Pundits like to point to the supposed electoral benefits of Clinton-style "triangulation" as evidence that moving to the right helps win elections for the Democrats. But on closer examination, that argument falls apart Kerry Not Key Target in '70s FBI Inquiry John M. Glionna and Stephen Braun The Los Angeles Times The agency's files on the Vietnam Veterans Against the War hint at his passion and influence but offer little on his role in the group Bush, Kerry toss mud at each other's strong suit David Jackson The Dallas Morning News Not so long ago, few imagined President Bush on the political defensive over national security. Or John Kerry forced to explain his Vietnam experience Welcome to Ohio—and the heart of the election battle The Economist (UK) Ohio is crucial to the Bush re-election campaign: no Republican has ever won the White House without winning the Buckeye State Rocky Mountain High Terence Samuel The American Prospect Gore lost Colorado by nine percentage points. But this November, Colorado’s ballot will include a very tight Senate race for an open seat in which polls show the Democrat, Ken Salazar, leading Ballyhoo Over 'Battleground States' Richard Morin and Gary Langer The Washington Post Barely a month ago President Bush was trailing presumed Democratic nominee John Kerry. Today he's narrowly ahead -- with most of that movement outside the anointed battlegrounds, suggesting that other states may now be in play The Condensed Joseph Wilson Bryan Curtis Slate Slate reads The Politics of Truth so you don't have to Nancy Reagan tackles Bush on stem cells Gary Younge The Guardian (UK) While Mrs Reagan, whose husband has Alzheimer's disease, has never publicly contradicted Republican presidents while in office, she has made known her views on the subject and her disappointment with the current administration's policy
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Editorial: Blood in the Water The Wall Street Journal We'd like to know who thought it'd be smart to leak that Mr. Bush had "reprimanded" Mr. Rumsfeld in a private meeting for not fully alerting him to the details of the abuses If Rumsfeld Is Driven Out, We All Lose Midge Decter The Los Angeles Times Out of such kindergarten stuff is fabricated the latest, and most joyful, assault on one of the most capable public servants in living memory False analogies Diana West The Washington Times Abu Ghraib is, more than anything else, the fulfillment of the media dream, the Vietnam they think they never had (or had a very long time ago), the aberration to obsess about, the disgrace to exult in and the opportunity — and this is key — to shift the political landscape	Tom Toles Ucomics.com Administration Pinball

Thursday, May 6, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Restoring Our Honor Thomas L. Friedman The New York Times That overhaul needs to begin with President Bush firing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld — today, not tomorrow or next month, today Editorial: Mr. Rumsfeld's Responsibility The Washington Post Mr. Rumsfeld's decisions helped create a lawless regime in which prisoners in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been humiliated, beaten, tortured and murdered -- and in which, until recently, no one has been held accountable Bush Scolds Rumsfeld on Abuse Inquiry Edwin Chen, John Hendren and Janet Hook The Los Angeles Times A clash erupted Wednesday between the White House and the Pentagon over the handling of the Iraq prison abuse investigation, with President Bush telling Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that he felt personally blindsided Transcript: President Bush's Interview with Al Hurra TV FDCH E-Media The Washington Post BUSH: First, people in Iraq must understand that I view those practices as abhorrent Transcript: Bush Interview With Al Arabiya FDCH E-Media The Washington Post President Bush gave an interview to the Al Arabiya Arabic language television station in which he described the acts committed against Iraqi prisoners "abhorrent" Prisoners Eager to Voice Their Grievances Patrick J. McDonnell The Los Angeles Times After the prisoners' outburst, Army officials hastened to usher the members of the media back into a pair of buses, refusing to let journalists interview any inmates or photograph them A Sorry State Chris Strohm The New Republic Who will apologize for Abu Ghraib? And who won't? We rank the apologies, the non-apologies, and the apologies for the non-apologies Anger over Bush lack of apology CNN Arabs have reacted with widespread anger after he failed to make a personal apology Why Bush Didn't Apologize Fred Kaplan Slate An Iraqi who watched the two American generals apologize, and then watched the American president fail to, would certainly notice the difference Losing the Moral High Ground Richard Wolffe Newsweek Why do they affect Bush’s credibility? There were many reasons for invading Iraq, and one of the few that survives is human rights Shocking and Awful Maureen Dowd The New York Times For the defense chief and the president to party two nights in a row, Friday at Rummy's house and Saturday at the Washington Hilton, is, to borrow a Rummy line, "unhelpful in a fundamental way." "Stress and duress" Tim Grieve Salon.com Human Rights Watch's Kenneth Roth says America's use of coercive interrogation techniques inevitably leads to nightmares like Abu Ghraib Torture by the book Vikram Dodd The Guardian (UK) Two CIA interrogation manuals surfaced in 1997 after the Baltimore Sun obtained them under freedom of information laws. Reading them in the context of the pictures from Iraq and accounts from Guantánamo suggests that the advice they contain is still being applied CACI in the Dark On Reports of Abuse Anitha Reddy and Ellen McCarthy The Washington Post For the past few days, CACI has been in the awkward position of defending itself against accusations in a report it has not been given by the Defense Department but which has been widely circulated The danger of market forces Julian Borger The Guardian (UK) The Iraq torture scandal has emphasised the disturbing consequences of the US military's reliance on private contractors 9/11: What Could Have Been Tamim Ansary TomPaine.com Imagine the impact on the Muslim world if today, had the news from Afghanistan told of a country cleared of landmines—in which schools and clinics and hospitals had gone up in even the smallest villages, in which good highways made it possible for people to move among the cities and villages freely The Next Step in Iraq Dennis Kucinich and Michael O'Hanlon The American Prospect On May 4, the Pentagon announced that at least 135,000 troops would remain in Iraq through the end of 2005. Is this the right strategy? U.S. Begins Raids to Isolate Radical Cleric Daniel Williams The Washington Post Officials said they do not want to attempt a repeat of last month's assault on Fallujah because it could provoke a Shiite revolt Time to Deal With Iran James Dobbins The Washington Post This must sound odd to American ears, accustomed to hearing the Iranian regime described as a member of the "axis of evil." But this would not be the first time Tehran has come to Washington's aid in the war on terror Is the U.S Entering a New Cold War With Russia? Kelley Beaucar Vlahos Fox News The tenor of Russian-American relations has gone from elation to guarded optimism, and most recently, to wariness and doubt that high expectations for democracy and friendship can ever be fulfilled US and Russia nukes: still on cold war, hair-trigger alert Scott Peterson The Christian Science Monitor As the US rushes to deploy a missile shield this summer designed to intercept North Korean warheads, Clinton-era plans that would improve both US and deteriorating Russian detection systems are stalled N. Korea May Have a Missile That Can Hit Guam Barbara Demick The Los Angeles Times Pyongyang is ready to deploy a longer-range ballistic weapon, South Korean newspapers report. Hawaii might even be within reach U.S. Fears of a Lurch to the Left in South America Fail to Materialize Henry Chu The Los Angeles Times Most of the continent's leaders, even those with radical backgrounds, have shown themselves to be pragmatists who govern from the center A country controlled by `thugs' John McCain and Madeleine Albright The Miami Herald The world's democracies and Burma's neighbors must press the junta until it is willing to negotiate an irreversible transition to democratic rule Peace precarious in eastern Congo Carter Dougherty The Washington Times Throughout the eastern provinces that rebelled against the capital of Kinshasa in 1998, the one-year old Congolese peace process has conspicuously failed to bring about concrete improvements on the ground	Colin Powell Wants Out Wil S. Hylton GQ Magazine Four years into an embattled Bush administration, Colin Powell is hard at work at something he's never had to worry about before: salvaging his legacy Americans express worry, Bush support drops in poll Randy Lilleston USA Today In a three-way race with independent Ralph Nader, both Kerry and Bush drew 47%, with Nader receiving 3% NBC poll: Pessimism not sticking to president Alex Johnson MSNBC If the presidential election were held today, Bush would still edge Kerry by 46 percent to 42 percent Kerry defends campaign amid Democrats' criticism Glen Johnson The Boston Globe John F. Kerry yesterday countered whispers of criticism within some Democratic circles that he was running a lackluster campaign for the presidency Editorial: Another Vision of Iraq The New York Times Instead of taking shots at the president, John Kerry is offering grounded, pragmatic ideas for rescuing American policy in Iraq A suddenly segregated red and blue US? Dante Chinni The Christian Science Monitor It's true that the like-minded have always tended to live near one another, but never have the divisions been so clear or so organized around politics Odds Are, Nevada Will Be a Tossup Mark Z. Barabak The Los Angeles Times Democrats regard Nevada as highly competitive, thanks to nearly dead-even voter registration and an issue that juts up like the rugged peaks rising from the brown desert floor: Yucca Mountain Outsourcing the U.S. election Barrie McKenna The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) "He talks about protecting American jobs and then he waves from a bus manufactured in Canada" Utilities Have Helped Bush, GOP Elizabeth Shogren The Los Angeles Times The 30 companies that own most of the dirtiest power plants in the country, and their trade association, have raised $6.6 million for President Bush and the Republican National Committee since 1999, and were given relief from pollution regulations Feith Meets Cabal Robert Dreyfuss TomPaine.com Putting a happy face on the United States' this-way-and-that policy reversals since the end of the war, Feith touted the Pentagon's newfound "flexibility" in decision-making Disney Has Blocked the Distribution of My New Film Michael Moore michaelmoore.com Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owns Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11" Europe leaves the U.S. behind Steven Hill Center for Voting and Democracy WorkingForChange.com Why are Europeans outpacing Americans on so many social, political and economic fronts?
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Editorial: Abuse and the Army The Wall Street Journal The military has its faults and bad actors, but over the decades it has shown itself to be one of America's most accountable institutions. The Abu Ghraib episode is another test of its fortitude Editorial: Criminal behavior, political profiteers The Washington Times The assertions that Mr. Rumsfeld should resign over this are ludicrous and mendacious in the extreme At the Heart of Matters Jonah Goldberg National Review The important thing to keep in mind is that in a major operation — on a person or a nation — the patient is the most vulnerable, and looks the most horrible, halfway into the procedure, not at the beginning or the end The U.S. Loses by Quitting in Fallouja Max Boot The Los Angeles Times The former images signal to Iraqis (and the rest of the Arab world) that the Americans are hopelessly depraved, the latter that they are fatally weak. It is hard to think of a more debilitating one-two punch Little Red Corvette Hugh Hewitt The Weekly Standard Do the pictures of John Kerry in his Lycra cycling suit make you wonder if he's running for the right reasons?	Peace Talks Just An Excuse To Visit Scenic Mideast The Onion "There's absolutely no chance that these talks will ever work, but I was like, 'Free trip to the disputed zone? No way I'm gonna turn that down!'" Bush Sets Guinness Record for Days Without Apology Andy Borowitz The Borowitz Report According to the Guinness experts, the last documented apology by Mr. Bush occurred in the 1970’s during a golf game with longtime golfing buddy Charles “Whiffy” Wiffington Lone Wolf Ashcroft Given Rookie Partner The Onion "I'm the chief law officer of this country," Ashcroft said. "I don't have time to explain every move I make. I'm not a friggin' kindergarten teacher."

Wednesday, May 5, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
U.S. Army report on Iraqi prisoner abuse NBC News MSNBC Complete text of Article 15-6 Investigation of the 800th Military Police Brigade by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba Accountability at Issue in Abuse of Prisoners Esther Schrader The Los Angeles Times Already, mid-level military officers implicated in the case are accusing higher-ups of attempting to shirk responsibility CIA May Have Had a Role in Hiding Iraqi Prisoners Bob Drogin The Los Angeles Times The CIA is seeking to determine whether its operatives had a role in the imprisonment of so-called ghost detainees, Iraqi prisoners who were held without names, charges or other documentation at U.S.-run detention facilities Revulsion Over the Torture Provokes Scorn for the U.S. Neil MacFarquhar The New York Times Such reactions were not limited to the Arab world. Overall the treatment of the prisoners was seen as a vivid example of the chaos enveloping the entire enterprise Prison Mutiny Christopher Hitchens Slate Either these goons were acting on someone's authority, in which case there is a layer of mid- to high-level people who think that they are not bound by the laws and codes and standing orders. Or they were acting on their own authority, in which case they are the equivalent of mutineers Hired Guns with War Crimes Past Louis Nevaer Pacific News Service AlterNet Due to its "outsourcing" of privatized security services, the CPA has put terrorists, mercenaries and war criminals on the payrolls of companies contracted by the Pentagon U.S. addresses control of security companies Sharon Behn The Washington Times Pentagon officials are moving to tighten control over security contractors whose intelligence-gathering activities in Iraq are largely outside the control of U.S., military, international or Iraqi law U.S. civilian workers in Iraq tell haunting stories of war Seth Borenstein and Scott Dodd The Philadelphia Inquirer "It ain't worth it," Ratliff, who worked for Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root, said last week. "Not the stuff you'd see and the way you had to live" Why being right on WMD is no consolation to Iraqi scientist labelled enemy of Jonathan Steele The Guardian (UK) Held in solitary confinement in an American prison at Baghdad's international airport, Dr Saadi is denied the right to read newspapers, listen to the radio, or watch television Military has few, if any, good options in Iraq Edward Epstein The San Francisco Chronicle The question that divides strategists is whether the United States should gird itself for the long haul or make a deal now, probably under United Nations auspices, and hope for the best Drop the perverse Wilsonianism and get out now John R. MacArthur The Providence Journal I understand that full-scale civil war between the Sunnis and Shi'ites may well break out after we leave, with or without U.N. peacekeepers. But if that happens, we must assume a second moral obligation: to accept as many refugees as possible Exit Strategy Christopher Dickey Newsweek I think what folks really want is a plan for getting out of Iraq, putting it behind us, and making the world safer for Americans in the process Policing Iraq Fred Kaplan Slate We can no longer directly shape the course of modern Iraq. Therefore, we should avoid doing anything that intensifies resentments and thus pushes the country's course in a more anti-American direction An Al Qaeda 'Chemist' and the Quest for Ricin Joby Warrick The Washington Post Today, exactly how many jars of ricin the 29-year-old Benchellali may have produced -- and their whereabouts -- is an urgent question for European governments facing a wave of terrorist attacks and threats Mideast tensions send oil price soaring Kevin Morrison and Roula Khalaf Financial Times (UK) Oil prices on Tuesday reached their highest level since the lead-up to the first Gulf war amid fears over oil supplies from an increasingly violent Middle East A New Rift? Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball Newsweek Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has blamed ‘Zionists’ for a weekend terror attack. While his comments seemed designed for a domestic audience, they could damage relations with Washington U.S. Retreats From Bush Remarks on Sharon Plan Glenn Kessler The Washington Post U.S. officials and foreign diplomats described the statement as an effort by the Bush administration to repair the international damage from the president's remarks last month, which had drawn sharp criticism Those Friendly Iranians Nicholas D. Kristof The New York Times Left to its own devices, the Islamic revolution in Iran is headed for collapse, and there is a better chance of a strongly pro-American democratic government in Tehran in a decade than in Baghdad Pakistan's Real Bulwark Alfred Stepan and Aqil Shah The Washington Post In the 1997 elections, they were reduced to two. But in October 2002, three years after Musharraf's 1999 coup, the MMA Islamist alliance secured 45 of the 272 national seats Mexico-Cuba rift signals Latin realignment Ken Bensinger The Christian Science Monitor Once Cuba's ally, Mexico shifts closer to the US further isolating other left-leaning states in the region	Premature panic Tim Grieve Salon.com The doom-and-gloom brigade is savaging Kerry because the race is still tied after Bush's horrible April. But the campaign has barely begun Service Winner William Saletan and Jacob Weisberg Slate Kerry, I fear, is much more like Gore than like Clinton. The stuff being thrown at him is stickier than the stuff he's putting out Kerry Finding Himself Strapped to Clinton In Three-Legged Race Robert Sam Anson The New York Observer Therein lies the catch in aping Mr. Clinton’s philosophy of staking out position rather than taking them: Your opponent moves an inch, you’re his echo Speak up, Mr. Kerry Tony Blankley The Washington Times Mr. Kerry, the opposition candidate for president, has failed to dispute and engage the president's policies in any substantial manner Bush's mess is Kerry's peril Robert Kuttner The Boston Globe Kerry has occasionally suggested that having blundered into this mess, we owe it to the Iraqis to "stay the course" War looms large in Latino vote Carla Marinucci The San Francisco Chronicle President Bush's efforts to reach out may not offset one of the big unknowns of the 2004 election: how Latinos will vote based on an issue that has directly affected their communities, the war in Iraq Welcome to Rangerville Jodi Enda Mother Jones George W. Bush has built a fundraising machine like nothing ever seen in American politics -- thanks largely to the residents of super-wealthy suburbs like Indian Hill, Ohio The Divine Calm of George W. Bush Rick Perlstein The Village Voice It is one of the abiding mysteries of the Bush presidency: that when feces start hitting the fan, the man at the center seems not to have a care in the world Bush, in Ohio, Paints Kerry as Unreliable Mike Allen and Dan Balz The Washington Post Bush generally has allowed his campaign's advertising and Vice President Cheney to carry most of the attacks against Kerry, but he took the lead Tuesday The Making of George Bush, Macho Man Zachary Roth AlterNet Election 2004 has already been cast as the battle between the strong but stubborn George Bush and the nuanced but flip-flopping John Kerry "Americans have not been energized" Mark Lytle Salon.com Historian James Chace talks about the presidential campaign of 1912 and how its spirit of progressive reform could energize the 2004 election Waiting for the Bubble's Burst to Free America's State of Mind Pierre Tristam Daytona Beach News-Journal CommonDreams.org Maybe it isn't that Schlesinger got the cycle wrong, but that the fluid meaning of conservatism and liberalism has made the cycle irrelevant Poll finds Kerry, Bush in a dead heat in N.H. Joe Magruder Associated Press The Boston Globe Kerry had 49 percent to Bush's 45 percent in the University of New Hampshire poll A Democratic Senate? Fred Barnes The Weekly Standard Even if George W. Bush wins reelection, the Democrats now have a chance to recapture the Senate Ralph Nader, Suicide Bomber Harry G. Levine The Village Voice Ralph Nader ran so he could hurt, wound, and punish the Democrats. His primary goal was not raising issues, much less building the Green Party. He actively wanted Gore to lose.
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
“We Know the Truth” National Review The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth released the following letter to John Kerry, signed by 189 fellow veterans of the Navy vessels featured so prominently in the senator's campaign ads Editorial: Kerry's problem with veterans The Washington Times Taking incoming fire from veterans around the country should make Mr. Kerry feel even more imperiled as he attempts to become commander of America's armed forces Unacceptable and Un-American Jed Babbin The American Spectator The Iraqis are unready. Thirteen months after the fall of Saddam's regime -- hell, six months after his capture -- Iraq is not ready for a new government, and a new government is not ready for Iraq `Superpower can be defied' Patrick J. Buchanan The Miami Herald Fallujah belongs to the insurgents. The enemy has established a sanctuary, a base camp in U.S.-occupied territory in a war zone, as has radical Shi'ite Sheik Moqtada al-Sadr in Najaf 'We Have Other Priorities' Claudia Rosett The Wall Street Journal The harder the United Nations tries to keep a lid on Oil for Food, the more the scandal keeps boiling over	Cooper to Receive Honorary Doctorate Associated Press Yahoo! He was known for shocking audiences with gruesome concert performances featuring simulated hangings and infant dolls gushing blood. More recently, he's been known in the Phoenix area as a family man who sometimes coaches Little League

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
US diplomats' letter to Bush BBC (UK) The full text of a letter from some 50 retired US diplomats urging President Bush to reverse his Middle East policy A War for Us, Fought by Them William Broyles, Jr. The New York Times Since 9/11, the war on terrorism has often been compared to the generational challenge of Pearl Harbor; but Franklin D. Roosevelt's sons all enlisted soon after that attack. Both of Lyndon B. Johnson's sons-in-law served in Vietnam Military Defenders for Detainees Put Tribunals on Trial Neil A. Lewis The New York Times The Bush administration's plan to use military tribunals to try some of the detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, which has faced considerable skepticism, has been receiving some of its sharpest attacks from the military defense lawyers Visiting a changed Fallujah Colin Freeman The San Francisco Chronicle Festooning the town, from the sports club gates to the bullet-marked street corners, brightly colored posters now celebrate the resistance movement in defiant glory The Fallacies of Fallujah Richard Cohen The Washington Post Fallujah is not Stalingrad or Madrid or anything other than Fallujah. But it is the place that the United States vowed to take and where, with all its firepower, it halted when confronted with confusion and a grim reality U.S. Sent Specialists To Train Prison Units Bradley Graham and Thomas E. Ricks The Washington Post Presented with reports of abusive behavior by U.S. military guards at Baghdad's main prison, the Army two months ago quietly dispatched to Iraq a team of about 25 military police Can a nation lose its soul? Susan B. Thistlethwaite The Chicago Tribune We are a nation that tortures prisoners. There is a breakdown between our expressed values of democracy and human rights and the torture of Iraqis Editorial: Pentagon too slow to decry shameful U.S. acts in Iraq USA Today Nearly as disturbing as the repulsive behavior by some U.S. soldiers is the fact that the Pentagon has been so slow to share the sense of outrage over their actions, even though it has known about the allegations for almost six months What about the other secret U.S. prisons? Reed Brody The International Herald-Tribune Across the world, the United States is holding detainees in offshore and foreign prisons where allegations of mistreatment cannot be monitored Contractors Fall Through Legal Cracks T. Christian Miller The Los Angeles Times A senior U.S. official involved in detention issues said the Defense Department was struggling to determine a legal basis upon which to pursue prosecution of the civilians, who were working as interrogators and translators at Abu Ghraib prison Contract Workers Implicated in February Army Report on Prison Abuse Remain on Joel Brinkley and James Glanz The New York Times More than two months after a classified Army report found that two contract workers were implicated in the abuse of Iraqis at a prison outside Baghdad, the companies that employ them say that they have heard nothing from the Pentagon How Ahmed Chalabi conned the neocons John Dizard Salon.com The hawks who launched the Iraq war believed the deal-making exile when he promised to build a secular democracy with close ties to Israel. Now the Israel deal is dead, he's cozying up to Iran -- and his patrons look like they're on the way out Time for Bush to See The Realities of Iraq George F. Will The Washington Post Traditional conservatism. Nothing "neo" about it. This administration needs a dose of conservatism without the prefix When Bureaucracy Kills Brendan Miniter The Wall Street Journal The biggest problem is that no one is held accountable if soldiers in the field don't get the gear they need. The end result can be seen in the plywood and sandbags soldiers are now using in Iraq in a vain attempt to armor their vehicles ‘Sharon is Weaker’ Dan Ephron Newsweek A political scientist assesses whether the Israeli prime minister can survive his party’s rejection of a plan to withdraw settlers from the Gaza Strip Next steps for US after the Gaza vote Howard LaFranchi The Christian Science Monitor The always threatening waters of Middle East affairs turned all the more treacherous for the United States after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party on Sunday soundly rejected his plan for withdrawal from Gaza Saudis Uneasily Balance Desires for Change and Stability Neil MacFarquhar The New York Times Saudis seem caught between competing desires. On one hand, they want the royal family to yield power so citizens may have more say over their own lives. On the other, they fear the chaos spread by Islamic militants Georgia's rebels ready for war Tom Parfitt The Guardian (UK) Civil war in Georgia moved a step closer yesterday as rebel leader Aslan Abashidze defied a call from President Mikhail Saakashvili to disband his paramilitary supporters A spike in apprehensions at border Kris Axtman The Christian Science Monitor With high-tech patrols and hardship in Mexico, more migrants are caught than any time since 9/11 In Sudan, Militiamen on Horses Uproot a Million Marc Lacey The New York Times A tide of a million people in western Sudan has been displaced by a conflict between Arab nomads and settled African farmers	Stakes high in Kerry TV ad blitz Marc Sandalow The San Francisco Chronicle John Kerry launched one of the most expensive advertising campaigns in political history Monday, hoping to counter President Bush's persistent attacks and reassure jittery Democrats Come on down South, John Kerry! Fran Marscher The Christian Science Monitor If John Kerry wants to be president, he ought to come down South and ask us Southerners to vote for him. Say it nicely, and we might do it Speak for Yourself, Senator Bruce F. Cole CommonDreams.org You have lost your bearings, Senator Kerry. I will not follow you to wherever your broken compass leads. Get it fixed, or forget your quest for my vote Right Face, March! David Brooks The New York Times John Kerry is doing exactly what he should be doing right now. He is in a post-primary molting season. He's emerging from the shadow of Howard Dean and becoming more like the policy twin of Joe Lieberman Bush, Kerry Awash in Money Lisa Getter The Los Angeles Times This year's presidential race — fueled by more than a million donors, including many who have never given before — is well on its way to becoming the country's first $1-billion political campaign Will Roy Moore crack the Bush base? Fred Clarkson Salon.com The "Ten Commandments Judge" is mulling a run for president from the right. Even his conservative admirers say he probably can't damage Bush -- but they hope he doesn't try Bush team takes hit on secret files Charlie Savage The Boston Globe The Bush administration is coming under fire for allegedly allowing political concerns to determine what it deems to be sensitive national security material after a series of document declassifications Editorial: Specter's course Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sen. Arlen Specter's narrow victory in Tuesday's primary, his statement the next day appearing to edge away from President Bush, who had campaigned for him, and the voting patterns in his win offer insight into how he may run Charge raises sparks in debate Lesley Clark The Miami Herald U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch rocked an otherwise sedate U.S. Senate debate Monday night, accusing his Democratic rival, Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, of delivering the White House to the Republicans by abandoning Al Gore during the razor-thin 2000 election GOP hopes black mayor can nab House seat in N.Y. Liz Trotta The Washington Times Long Island's first black mayor, James Arthur Garner, is a conservative Republican who the GOP believes can unseat four-term Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and attract black voters
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Kerry's vision thing Michael O'Hanlon The Washington Times Mr. Kerry must offer a broad foreign policy vision to the American people. He needs to get beyond immediate issues to address the historic challenge of the day — which is, not to mince words, the clash of civilizations between the Islamic and Western worlds Dissent Stinks if It Exploits the Pain of GIs Bill O'Reilly The Los Angeles Times A case can be made that Trudeau is attempting to sap the morale of Americans vis-à-vis Iraq by using a long-running, somewhat beloved cartoon character to create pathos The Kerry-Kofi Plan for America’s Future Anne Bayefsky National Review John Kerry's would-be foreign policy, articulated in a speech at Westminster College in Missouri on Friday, ought to ring alarm bells across America Iraq then and now Walid Phares The Washington Times At the present time, there is no national military organization in Iraq that can defeat the U.S.-led coalition and bring back the Ba'ath regime or establish a Taliban rule	Beloit College Mindset List: 1918 Adam Underhill McSweeney's They shall never know war again, now that the War to End All Wars has forged a new era of world peace

Monday, May 3, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Questions of War Seymour M. Hersh The New Yorker American soldiers brutalized Iraqis. How far up does the responsibility go? Torture commonplace, say inmates' families Luke Harding The Guardian (UK) For the families standing in the dusty car park of Abu Ghraib prison yesterday, the revelations of torture and abuse came as no surprise Report on Iraqi Prison Found 'Systemic and Illegal Abuse' Patrick J. McDonnell, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Nick Anderson The Los Angeles Times The alleged abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. military police at a notorious prison near Baghdad was the result of "systemic" problems that included poorly trained, overextended guards who were encouraged to go outside their proper roles The U.S. Has Lost the Battle of the Photographs Juan Cole TomDispatch The Bush administration, despite the savvy of its spinmeisters and Hollywood-trained publicists, has lost the war of images abroad. Although it has had more success in managing war images at home, cracks have increasingly opened up on the domestic front as well Who wins in the Fallujah handover? Scott Peterson The Christian Science Monitor As marines cede control of the city to a new Iraqi security force, local insurgents are calling it a victory over occupiers U.S., Seeking to Stabilize Iraq, Casts Baathists in Lead Roles John F. Burns and Ian Fisher The New York Times The fact that the man named by the Americans to head the new army would not distance himself from Mr. Hussein indicates how far things have moved in the past month Beyond the law Peter Singer The Guardian (UK) Also playing a role in this deeply disturbing episode - in which Iraqi prisoners were beaten, raped and forced to perform simulated sexual acts - were private contractors, hired to serve as interrogators War-zone security is a job for ... private contractors? Clayton Collins The Christian Science Monitor The result, critics fear, may be a growing force of less disciplined, more mercenary guards thrown into a volatile situation with few rules to guide their actions What Do We Do Now? Howard Zinn The Progressive It seems very hard for some people--especially those in high places, but also those striving for high places--to grasp a simple truth: The United States does not belong in Iraq Success Requires Patience Niall Ferguson The Washington Post There is a suggestive relationship between the duration of American military presence and the success with which occupied countries have achieved economic growth and the transition to enduring democratic institutions In the clutches of the Al-Mahdi Army Phillip Robertson Salon.com On the way to Najaf, I fell into the wrong hands Team Players James Surowiecki The New Yorker The intelligence community owes its failings to a history of bureaucratic turf wars, occupational secrecy, and sibling rivalry—a kind of dysfunction that seems typical of the public sector. But its chaotic structure resembles something else: the ideal corporation, as envisioned by management gurus in the nineties Bush to Pitch a New Mideast Reform Initiative to Region Paul Richter The Los Angeles Times White House hopes the retooled plan gets good reviews from the Arab League and G-8. But skepticism is up since earlier approach failed Gamble on Sharon Goes Awry for Bush Glenn Kessler The Washington Post President Bush took a huge diplomatic gamble two weeks ago when he forcefully embraced Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza and handed Israel key concessions on a final peace deal Let Freedom Ring? Not So Fast. China's Still China Joseph Kahn The New York Times The leadership team headed by the president and party chief Hu Jintao that many hoped would tolerate more open debate has instead slapped new restrictions on free speech and the press	If Election Hinges on Iraq, Kerry May Need Added Firepower Ronald Brownstein The Los Angeles Times Perhaps the most pressing challenge for Kerry is to find ways beyond his biography to reassure Americans that he can be trusted to protect their security Kerry's Low Profile May Cost Crucial Latino Votes Michael Finnegan The Los Angeles Times Kerry's slow start in appealing to Latinos has complicated his quest to keep Bush from making inroads with a voting bloc that's expected to play a key role this year Kerry’s Trials Jeffrey Toobin The New Yorker Kerry practiced law for six years. During that period, he began inching back into public view in Massachusetts, rebuilding a reputation both for aggressive investigation and for showmanship which he still enjoys today Kerry and the Hawks Ruth Conniff The Progressive Today, Democratic Presidential candidate Kerry is singing a different tune Bush bus to travel troubled territory Judy Keen USA Today There's a reason Bush chose the Midwest as his first destination for all-out campaigning. All four of the states he will visit are considered tossups Missouri Voters Favor None Of the Above Dan Balz and Richard Morin The Washington Post In the opening stages of the presidential campaign in this habitual battleground state, the news for President Bush is far from encouraging. For his Democratic challenger, John F. Kerry, it's even worse The cult that's running the country Joseph Wilson Salon.com Joseph Wilson blasts the secretive neoconservative cabal that plunged America into a disastrous war, in this excerpt from his new book Patriot Act Tara McKelvey The American Prospect Nine months after Valerie Plame was outed, her husband blames Scooter, Karl, and that “lying SOB” Dick Cheney. An interview with Ambassador Joseph Wilson Buyer's Remorse John Fund The Wall Street Journal The irony is that Mr. Kerry has wanted the White House so badly, and for so long, that he has become almost a caricature of an opportunistic, programmed candidate Voters don't see Kerry as likable Donald Lambro The Washington Times Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry has a serious likability problem, with many voters seeing him as cold, aloof and distant The Frame Don Hazen AlterNet Kerry should be saying "Let's make America stronger again." The message should be: The Bush guys and the conservatives in general have weakened the country God save America ... John Sutherland The Guardian (UK) The race for the White House will be decided by fundagelicals. That's good news for twice-born George Bush Small Donors Grow Into Big Political Force Paul Farhi The Washington Post Driven by partisanship, technology and changes in campaign-finance laws -- the 2002 McCain-Feingold law banned large direct contributions to the political parties -- campaign cash has become democratized In the Fulbright Mold, Without the Power David E. Rosenbaum The New York Times The current chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard G. Lugar, has limited influence on the nation's foreign policy
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The cost of losing Mark Steyn The Washington Times Mr. Koppel's "Nightline," after all, is in direct descent from the old Life magazine pictorials intended to demoralize Well, It Was a Good Idea in '46 Larry Miller The Weekly Standard Hey, bonehead, the only reason there ought to be a United Nations in the first place is so that you do get involved, so that every so often you put your baby blue helmets in between the bad guys and the screaming people before they get chopped up Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Michael Rubin National Review Ironically, it was the Defense Department and not the State Department which sought to implement the recommendations of the Future of Iraq Program's "Transition to Democracy" report The Cruelest Month William Safire The New York Times A certain grim logic suggests a turn for the better may be coming this summer	This Modern World Tom Tomorrow Salon.com Clearly, a distraction was urgently required

Sunday, May 2, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
On world stage, critics of US grow louder The Boston Globe Even in former citadels of pro-America sentiment in Asia, Europe, and Latin America, people are starting to chafe and complain Lesser Evils Michael Ignatieff The New York Times We have not begun to ask the really hard questions. The hardest one is, Could we actually lose the war on terror? The Hunt For Bin Laden Linda Robinson and Mark Mazzetti U.S. News and World Report Osama bin Laden, senior military and intelligence officials say, has forsaken his Arab bodyguards and, when the need arises, travels with a small number of Pashtun tribesmen in Pakistan's untamed borderlands How to Get Out of Iraq Peter W. Galbraith The New York Review of Books Americans like to think that every problem has a solution, but that may no longer be true in Iraq Grand Designs Corey Robin The Washington Post Sept. 11 has given the neocons an opportunity to articulate, without embarrassment, the vision of imperial American power that they have been harboring for years Covert Searches Are Increasing Under Patriot Act Richard Schmitt The Los Angeles Times Civil liberties groups see a dangerous trend, but the Justice Department says added surveillance shows improvements in fighting terrorism Wolfie's Fuzzy Math Maureen Dowd The New York Times Americans won't take casualties for the credibility of the Bush administration. That's not a good enough reason for people to die Wolfowitz is numerically challeged Les Payne Newsday The chief architect of the U.S. war in Iraq did not know - and showed no sign that he cared - how many U.S. soldiers have been killed implementing his blueprint Iraqi Prisoner Abuse Appears More Extensive T. Christian Miller The Los Angeles Times Several accounts describe infliction of physical and mental pain. A sergeant charged in the investigation says intelligence officers encouraged such actions Life on the Front Lines Paul Quinn-Judge Time After a tense standoff, the U.S. pulls back from Fallujah. But for the Marines on the ground, the war rages on A 1930s Lesson in Stillborn Democracy Joel Rayburn The Los Angeles Times The premature withdrawal of British troops in 1932 set the stage for the Iraqi army's seizure of power and vicious suppression of Shiites and ethnic minorities Still on the Take Adam Davidson The Los Angeles Times Contracting officers at the U.S. government agencies would never accept a bribe, kickback or gift. Not even a wristwatch, he said. But he insisted that wasn't the case when it came to the U.S. government's surrogates: the private contractors who do much of the actual rebuilding and the Iraqi officials put in charge of the ministries For Bush, Same Goal in Iraq, New Tactics Richard W. Stevenson and David E. Sanger The New York Times Always reluctant to acknowledge publicly that events are not unfolding as expected, President Bush's senior aides are characterizing the moves as course corrections en route to an unchanging goal After Days in Wait, the Tip-Off, Ambush and Explosion, Followed by Dancing in the Christine Hauser and Warzer Jaff The New York Times This incident offered a rare glimpse into the planning and execution of an ambush by a tight network of fighters who hide near major convoy routes in crowded districts, attack, then slip away undetected 'We've had a lot of experience of US weapons' Patrick Graham The Observer (UK) In fact, it was the US army that never really 'got' Falluja, militarily or culturally. For over eight months, it has been beyond their control, caught up in a cycle of violence Guantanamo -- A Holding Cell In War on Terror Scott Higham, Joe Stephens and Margot Williams The Washington Post The newest prison in the war on terrorism is a multi-winged $31 million complex of gray concrete and steel designed to hold 100 captives for years to come Spy World Success Story David Ignatius The Washington Post As the nation debates how to reform the intelligence community, people should take a careful look at one of Washington's hidden jewels -- the State Department's tiny Bureau of Intelligence and Research	Kerry's Latest Colors Howard Fineman and T. Trent Gegax Newsweek In theory, it's foolish to take on a sitting president in his role as the commander in chief. But that's what Kerry has decided to do Calculating the Politics of Catastrophe David E. Sanger The New York Times How would another terror attack before the presidential election, even one that proves a pale shadow of Sept. 11, affect the way voters view the president or his challenger? Bush Executive Powers in the Balance Charles Lane The Washington Post To a significant extent, what the court will be ruling on is the Bush administration's effort to carve out greater presidential power and privilege, in the realms of foreign and domestic policy Senate Partisanship Worst in Memory Helen Dewar The Washington Post Senate Democrats, angry at being excluded from final decisions on bills, are balking at authorizing House-Senate conferences on several measures Demonizing the women's march Ellen Goodman The Boston Globe So, does Karen Hughes actually think that every prochoice voter is a nascent terrorist?
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Guns, Butter and Terror Christopher DeMuth The Wall Street Journal To the long list of good reasons for confronting the many wasteful and counterproductive policies that are holding our economy far below its potential, we may now add urgent reasons of national security 'Lowering Our Sights' Robert Kagan The Washington Post Bush himself is the great mystery in this mounting debacle. His commitment to stay the course in Iraq seems utterly genuine. Yet he continues to tolerate policymakers, military advisers and a dysfunctional policymaking apparatus that are making the achievement of his goals less and less likely	The source of America's discontent Dave Barry The Miami Herald Congress recently tried to pass a law against outsourcing, only to discover that all federal legislation since 1997 has actually been produced in Taiwan Tom Toles You mean Kerry, right? Doonesbury Garry Trudeau Want to hear my fantasy outcome? Bush: "Mission Accomplished" Was Typo Andy Borowitz The Borowitz Report Dr. Rice admitted that Mr. Bush received a President’s Daily Brief or PDB dated September 4, 2001 entitled, “Bin Laden Determined to Sneak Typos into Banners Onboard Aircraft Carriers”

Saturday, April 10, 2004 - Wednesday, April 28, 2004:
I'm out of town, with little Internet access.
I look forward to updating the page again when I return.

Friday, April 9, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Testimony of Condoleezza Rice Before 9/11 Commission The New York Times LexiCondi William Saletan Slate National Security Adviser Condi Rice resorted to similar tactics in her testimony before the 9/11 commission. Here's a glossary of her terms The Issue Is Iraq Michael Hirsh Newsweek For too long, official Washington, not to mention the nation’s leading pundits, have been missing the real elephant in the 9/11 hearing room: whether the Bush administration has completely misconceived the war on terror Walk Softly, But Carry a Big Stick Jennifer Barrett Newsweek By neglecting to use its "soft power"—focusing more on diplomatic efforts and on achieving the cooperation of allies—Nye warns that the United States risks not only losing popularity among allies, but losing ground in its war against terrorism Sticking to Their Scripts David E. Sanger The New York Times At every turn in her three hours of often-contentious testimony, she stuck to the White House script: Everything that could have been done to prevent the attacks had been done Zeroing In on One Classified Document David Von Drehle The Washington Post They sparred over Clarke's second charge, that top officials, including Bush and Rice, were listless in the face of the summertime "threat spike." A coalition showing signs of fracture Ewen MacAskill The Guardian (UK) To the dismay of US central command, Japanese and South Korean forces have retreated to their compounds after coming under fire, while Ukrainian and Kazakh forces have been driven out of the town of Kut by Shia fighters One Year Later: Where Is Iraq? John Daniszewski The Los Angeles Times Today, I can no longer walk down Sadoun Street. As an American, it is not safe for me to do so. During my last trip to Iraq a few weeks ago, I could only drive past the cafes, shops and ice cream parlors where I had once lingered Fury Ignites Solidarity in Iraq Naomi Klein The Los Angeles Times "We should thank Paul Bremer," Salih Ali told me. "He has finally united Iraq. Against him" Baghdad Clashes Batter Residents' Hopes Edmund Sanders The Los Angeles Times The metropolis has become a war zone again, with fear and chaos spreading. 'We are being drawn into a darkness,' a student says Bitter Baghdad Seeing Disaster As Rebels Rise Tish Durkin The New York Observer In response to all this, the White House will not respond. Both with and through its Iraqi district office, the Coalition Provisional Authority, it will rationalize, pinning the spike in hostilities on the usual suspects Signs That Shiites and Sunnis Are Joining to Fight Americans Jeffrey Gettleman The New York Times This new Shiite-Sunni partnership was flourishing in Baghdad on Thursday. Convoys of pickup trucks with signature black Shiite flags flapping from their bumpers hauled sacks of grain, flour, sugar and rice into Sunni mosques Why Falluja Remains a Crossroads for Collision Michael R. Gordon The New York Times Falluja is not the only testing ground for whether the Americans are capable of reasserting control. Millions of Iraqis will be watching to see who prevails Caught by surprise Peter W. Galbraith The Boston Globe I have no doubt that, in spite of everything, Iraq is much better off without Saddam. But as an American, I feel betrayed by my own government's failure to plan for the day the statue fell America's circle of enemies swells as attacks persist Georgie Anne Geyer The Chicago Tribune One has to wonder how American officials in Baghdad could have made the decision last week to arrest the firebrand Shiite preacher of the Baghdad poor and slums, Moqtada Sadr Mounting violence overseas unnerves Wall Street Ron Scherer The Christian Science Monitor Widening war in Iraq and terrorist hits in Europe create roller-coaster days for stock market, but not major retreat In Iraq, a 'perfect storm' Dan Murphy The Christian Science Monitor The unexpected series of incidents - combined with the 100-day countdown to the US hand-over of political power to Iraqis - has built bridges between the US-led coalition's enemies inside Iraq and drawn more people to the insurgency Byrd Calls for an Exit Door from Iraq Sen. Robert Byrd I have watched with heavy heart and mounting dread as the ever-precarious battle to bring security to post-war Iraq has taken a desperate turn for the worse in recent days and hours Bush's Tet Robert Parry Consortium News Like the Vietcong-North Vietnamese offensive during the Tet holiday in 1968, this April's Iraqi uprising in both Sunni and Shiite regions has altered the perception of the reality on the ground The Phantom Sovereign Jonathan Schell TomDispatch.com US policy for Iraq has taken leave of reality as thoroughly as America's claims regarding weapons of mass destruction did before the war Getting Us Out Robert Dreyfuss TomPaine.com President Bush’s Iraq policy is now certifiably criminally insane, and only a soft coup d’etat, a la 1968, can stop him Provincial Capital in Afghanistan Is Seized by a Warlord's Forces Carlotta Gall The New York Times Forces loyal to Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum seized control of the capital of Faryab Province in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, forcing the governor to flee and drawing a sharp rebuke from President Hamid Karzai U.S. Developing an Unlikely Military Bond With Vietnam David Lamb The Los Angeles Times Washington sees a terrorist-free Vietnam as a stabilizing regional force, and Hanoi considers its relationship with the U.S. a counterweight to neighboring China	Bush Presidency Could Be Ultimate Casualty of War Mark Z. Barabak The Los Angeles Times President Bush is facing a political reality that once seemed implausible, one in which setbacks on the defense and foreign policy front are crowding out good economic news at home Missing in action Tim Grieve Salon.com As the war in Iraq spins out of control, why isn't John Kerry launching a frontal assault on Bush's failed policies? Kerry Assails Bush's Foreign Policy Lois Romano The Washington Post "Why is the United States of America almost alone in carrying this burden and the risks which the world has a stake in?" the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee asked a packed town hall gathering The performer lost in her performance Alan Gilbert Salon.com Condoleezza Rice was my graduate student, and a woman raised to excel. But she failed the American people because she forgot a higher duty than excellence: Truth Why Rice is a bad national security adviser Fred Kaplan Slate She is the one decision-maker who is supposed to coordinate the views of the various agencies and present them as a coherent picture to the president of the United States. Her testimony today provides disturbing evidence that she failed at this task Editorial: The Rice Version The New York Times If Ms. Rice were not set on burnishing the commander in chief's image as the hero of 9/11, she might have been able to admit that Mr. Bush is a hierarchical manager who expects his immediate underlings to run things, and who guessed wrong about what deserved the administration's most immediate and intense attention Powell Calls U.S. Casualties 'Disquieting' Dana Milbank and Robin Wright The Washington Post Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency A New 9/11 Debate E. J. Dionne Jr The Washington Post The very questions that the Bush administration did not want asked about its stewardship on the terror issue before Sept. 11 are now plainly before the public Bush’s Attack Dog Needs a New Leash Joe Conason The New York Observer Mr. Frist should apologize to the man he slandered Conservatives loyal to liberal Specter Ralph Z. Hallow The Washington Times Strange is the only way to tag the Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary contest scheduled for April 27 Editorial: Clintonizing Kerry The Christian Science Monitor Kerry's plan to halve the budget deficit is a step toward the political center Kerry's Crucible William Greider The Nation His performance on the second half of the challenge--defining John Kerry--seems weaker, with dismaying echoes of Clinton/Gore. I hope that judgment is premature, but the candidate does not have all summer to craft a compelling self-portrait Hispanics favor Kerry over Bush Brian DeBose The Washington Times 58 percent of likely Hispanic voters favor Mr. Kerry, while 33 percent liked Mr. Bush Kerry hires online chief from MoveOn John Mercurio CNN Zach Exley, the director of special projects for the MoveOn PAC, is going to the Kerry campaign to become its director of online communications and organization One Good Month Paul Krugman The New York Times America hasn't had an Argentine-level slump, but we have a lot to recover from. After three years of lousy job performance, we should be seeing very big employment gains — and even after last month's report, we're not
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Side Show Clifford D. May National Review Its mission is not to stage a reality-TV show, not to hold an inquisition, not to promote books (and, no doubt, movie deals), not to scold Rice as though she were a student who claimed her dog had eaten her homework Connecting the Dots Herbert E. Meyer National Review The most vital, most actionable pieces of intelligence aren't "secret" at all. They are visible to anyone with a reasonable grasp of politics and economics Condi and the Louts George Neumayr The American Spectator The 9/11 commission, for all its talk about "causes," is more interested in feckless fingerpointing than in critiquing the liberal culture that softened America up for an attack Confronting fanaticism in Fallujah Austin Bay The Washington Times It's now up to U.S. forces in Iraq, and available Iraqi security units, to provide a new televised precedent, an icy "city and neighborhood squeeze" documented on camera Editorial: A panel of partisans The Washington Times Miss Rice's cool performance revealed as much about the partisan intent of some of the commissioners as it did the administration's actions against al Qaeda	Infograph: The Hunt for Bin Laden The Onion Tom the Dancing Bug Ruben Bolling Salon.com Bush administration reveals plan to attack rising gasoline prices Lección Seven de Spanglés: David Beckham Introducción Chortler.com La wife de Señor Beckham is Victoria, una great y muy talented singer por las Muchachas de Spice

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - Thursday, April 8, 2004: A long break caused by workload and travel. Hope to be back soon.

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Interview: Richard Clarke Julian Borger The Guardian (UK) Julian Borger in Washington talks to former White House insider Richard Clarke about US's vulnerability to al-Qaida before the September 11 attack Logic Jam Ryan Lizza The New Republic The administration's efforts to discredit Richard Clarke would make more sense if they didn't contradict one another A charter to intervene George Monbiot The Guardian (UK) Human rights interventions can only be divorced from imperialism with new UN rules Al Qaeda bluffing about having suitcase nukes, experts say Anna Badkhen The San Francisco Chronicle A suitcase nuclear bomb detonated in the center of a metropolitan area can instantly kill tens of thousands of people and expose hundreds of thousands more to levels of radiation that would kill them within 24 months The Game of Risk Irwin M. Stelzer The Weekly Standard Put all of this together, and you have the possibility of a long, hot summer in America Who's Afraid of the PDB? Thomas Blanton Slate The most contentious and long-running conflict has focused on the commission's access or lack thereof to the Presidential Daily Briefs It's hard to say war wasn't worth it Joan Vennochi The Boston Globe Was war with Iraq worth it? Even politicians like Kennedy, who voted against the war, have a difficult time saying no. They are afraid such a direct response will be interpreted to mean that Americans died and are dying there for no good reason U.S. Team in Baghdad Fights a Persistent Enemy: Rumors Thom Shanker The New York Times A daily intelligence document called the Baghdad Mosquito chronicles Baghdad's street talk, however ill founded Flawed interim constitution Bruce Fein The Washington Times The flimsy interim constitution confirms the probability Iraq will be torn asunder after United States control ends on June 30. President George W. Bush will pay a steep political price Killing of Yassin a turning point Ilene R. Prusher and Ben Lynfield The Christian Science Monitor The worry that Hamas would "win" in the withdrawal from Gaza - similar to the way Hizbullah scored a self-declared victory when Israel withdrew from South Lebanon in the spring of 2000 - has unleashed an Israeli military drive Road map's lost route Simon Tisdall The Guardian (UK) Many in Washington now believe his aim is merely to contain the Israel-Palestine conflict until the November US presidential election is out of the way Handing Hamas a Martyr Amy Wilentz The Los Angeles Times If other assassinations of Hamas leaders are any indication, the immediate result of Yassin's killing will be a rash of suicide bombings aimed at Israeli civilians. His killing will harden Palestinian attitudes and further undermine the Palestinian political center, what little is left of it A Day When the White House Reversed Stand on the Killing Steven R. Weisman The New York Times Only later in the afternoon did the administration shift tone and criticize Israel's action as harmful to the cause of bringing peace to the region Democracy on trial along with Pakistani opposition leader Juliette Terzieff The San Francisco Chronicle Pakistan is moving ahead with a jailhouse trial of the nation's top opposition leader, Javed Hashmi, for treason and attempting to incite rebellion among the armed forces U.S. Announces Gains in Eradicating Andean Coca Christopher Marquis and Juan Forero The New York Times Some American officials involved in the aerial spraying programs in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia warn that pilots are increasingly vulnerable to attacks by well-armed guerrillas as they go after plantations in the most remote areas	Misoverestimated Michael Steinberger The American Prospect His troubles with Cheney and Bush have rendered Powell a sympathetic figure outside conservative circles -- a tragic figure in the minds of many liberals. In fact, though, Powell has mostly been hobbled by his own liabilities An Accuser's Insider Status Puts the White House on the Defensive Todd S. Purdum The New York Times Mr. Clarke is far from the first person to disagree with the president's Iraq policy. But his insider status gives him special standing and credibility — a reality that a parade of Bush administration officials implicitly acknowledged with their swift and unified efforts Lifting the Shroud Paul Krugman The New York Times Something remarkable has been happening lately: insiders are finding the courage to reveal the truth about the Bush administration Four 9/11 Moms Watch Rumsfeld And Grumble Gail Sheehy The New York Observer The Four Moms had submitted dozens of questions they have been burning to ask at these hearings. Mr. Rumsfeld is a particular thorn in their sides In Defense of Liberalism Walter Cronkite AlterNet Senator, some detailed explanations are in order if you hope to have any chance of defeating even a wounded George II in November. You cannot let the Bush league define you or the issues. You have to do that yourself. Take my advice and lay it all out, before it's too late Ralph Rocks the Vote Jonathan Darman MSNBC 12 percent of young voters said they favored Nader over the Republican and Democratic Party candidates The campaign up to now Mark Shields CNN When there are not successes and improvements to trumpet and to run on, the incumbent must resort to option two, the Low Road: "Look, I may no be a day at the beach, but my opponent is no month in the country, and besides, he has been known to steal a hot stove and go back for the smoke" Dr. Dean's new Rx Lisa Chamberlain Salon.com Howard Dean launches a new organization, Democracy for America. His first goal: Defeat Bush by taking on Nader In Kerry speaking style, something presidential Peter S. Canellos The Boston Globe A man in a toga telling those around him what he thinks they should know Mud? Kisses? We try the political ad game David Shuster MSNBC The 'Hardball' team investigated the art of political advertising -- by making its own. Next time, we might leave it to the experts… Scandals Keep Many Wary of Wall Street Jonathan Peterson The Los Angeles Times This unease could prove a factor in the presidential election because it ties directly into voters' concerns about the economy in a year that has seen stagnant job growth and the stock market sinking again One Nation, Enriched by Biblical Wisdom David Brooks The New York Times The lesson I draw from all this is that prayer should not be permitted in public schools, but maybe theology should be mandatory
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
When The House Looks Like The Senate Paul M. Weyrich Accuracy in Media Some critics complained that the resolution was a waste of time since it wasn't binding. I take the contrary view. Politics in this country is best when voters understand the differences between the parties Israel Applies Bush Doctrine to Hamas Joel C. Rosenberg National Review The Bush administration's initial reaction to Israel's act of self-defense has been mealy-mouthed, pathetic, and morally offensive Clarke’s Highs and Lows Jim Geraghty National Review Richard Miniter reported in his book Losing bin Laden, and Robert Novak verified, that on Oct. 12, 2000, the day of the devastating terrorist attack on the USS Cole, Clarke was the only member of Clinton's inner circle urging an attack on al Qaeda Two unwelcome admirers for Kerry Robert Novak The Houston Chronicle Climaxing over three centuries of defeat and decline on the world stage, Spaniards bowed to terrorism when they voted. Americans are considerably less likely to make that choice John F. Who? Brendan Miniter The Wall Street Journal This is where the strategy--dreamed up by Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe--of an accelerated, nonbruising primary season will start to cut against the Democratic candidate	"I remember the day ... " Jason Roeder Salon.com Commentaries rejected by "All Things Considered." Then it's settled Tony Auth Ucomics

Monday, March 22, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
The secret history of secrecy John D. Podesta and Judd C. Legum Salon.com Excessive secrecy does not lead to improved national security. Time and again, just the opposite has proved true. Of course, there are secrets worth protecting, but a culture of secrecy has led to regrettable policy choices, wasted resources and a decline in public trust Terrorism web emerges from Madrid bombing Peter Ford The Christian Science Monitor The ties that are emerging between a key suspect in the bombing and Islamic militants elsewhere in Europe and North Africa point to a widening web of organizations that may have few direct links to Al Qaeda but are bent on the same goals Carter savages Blair and Bush: 'Their war was based on lies' Andrew Buncombe The Independent (UK) Jimmy Carter, the former US president, has strongly criticised George Bush and Tony Blair for waging an unnecessary war to oust Saddam Hussein based on "lies or misinterpretations" After Madrid David Remnick The New Yorker The statistics of carnage, however, are only a small part of terror’s achievement. Al Qaeda and its ideological tributaries have aggravated animosities among governments in Europe and the United States and threatened the structures of mainstream Islam A Campaign For the Allies Too Sebastian Mallaby The Washington Post The Dayton deal represented the perfect balance in American statecraft: the iron fist of American leadership wrapped in the velvet glove of America's allies. The worry about Kerry is that he doesn't always get the iron part. But Bush, on the other hand, doesn't always see the virtue of velvet In Kosovo, Two Worlds Divided by One River Daniel Williams The Washington Post The upheaval has set back laborious efforts to reconcile ethnic Albanians, who are striving for independence for the province, and Serbs, who want it to remain in the hands of Serbia and Montenegro Post-9/11 collision of privacy and security Janna Malamud Smith The Christian Science Monitor In policy and practice, the US government needs to enforce more concretely America's collective commitment to privacy. Canada, for example, has a "privacy commissioner." Why doesn't the US? War scorecard shows anniversary is nothing to celebrate Jules Witcover The Baltimore Sun All in all, this is not a very happy anniversary for George W. Bush, for his embattled presidency, or for a country bitterly divided over the war he launched under questionable circumstances one year ago Delivery Delays Hurt U.S. Effort to Equip Iraqis Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt The New York Times Senior American commanders in Iraq are publicly complaining that delays in delivering radios, body armor and other equipment have hobbled their ability to build an effective Iraqi security fo Saudi reformers recoup after blow Faiza Saleh Ambah The Christian Science Monitor Activists in Saudi Arabia are trying to continue on the path of political reform despite last week's detention of their top leaders, criticism from the government, and being labeled "a true enemy" by the country's highest religious authority Yassin Instilled Passion for Glory of 'Martyrdom' Laura King The Los Angeles Times Yassin always denied any personal involvement in the planning and execution of suicide attacks. But in mosque sermons and teachings, he repeatedly portrayed them as a divinely inspired means for the weak to strike at the powerful Europe and U.S. Respond Differently to Killing of Sheik Brian Knowlton The New York Times The White House did not explicitly denounce the killing, but Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman, said that "we are deeply troubled" by the attack Murder, She Said Tim Shorrock Mother Jones An ambush in Indonesia killed Patsy Spier's husband–and landed her in the middle of a foreign-policy minefield Will Mexican wave divide U.S.? Ron Grossman The Chicago Tribune A Harvard political scientist says the immigration surge likely will create 2 Americas; a visit to West Texas offers another view Globe and Mail Update Paul Knox The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) In Port-au-Prince, a city of more than two million people, it can be necessary to shift into four-wheel drive in the middle of town	Shallow Electorate's Deep Flaws Marge Piercy The Los Angeles Times When will we seek out leaders, not photogenic 'pals' who appear no smarter than we are? Bush Camp to Spotlight Kerry's Fiscal Policy Mike Allen and Dan Balz The Washington Post President Bush's campaign plans to pivot today from Sen. John F. Kerry's national security record to an effort to portray the presumptive Democratic nominee as a reckless spender whose promises would far exceed his capacity to pay for them Signs of the Times Tom Engelhardt Mother Jones I noted, among so many other, lovingly produced, hand-drawn signs: "Morning in America" (with a red "u" in the process of being slipped between the "o" and "r"); "Give Martha's cell to Cheney"; "Unmanned Drone" (with George's head looming over the White House) Soros presses anti-Bush effort Susan Milligan The Boston Globe While Soros is restricted under the McCain-Feingold Act from making unlimited contributions to political parties or candidates, he has been allowed to commit millions to organizations that run ads critical of the administration Kerry Campaign Relying On Help of Groups' Ads Thomas B. Edsall and Sarah Cohen The Washington Post The general election campaign began in March with President Bush holding $110 million in the bank, 46 times as much as his all-but-certain Democratic opponent, Sen. John F. Kerry
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Creeping Democracy William Safire The New York Times When creeping democracy gradually brings a better life to people of the region, the basis for hatred and terror will erode and the suicide bomber will pass from the scene Editorial: Sins of Commission The Wall Street Journal It was always a terrible idea for the September 11 commission to drop its report in the middle of a Presidential election campaign, and we are now seeing why. That body is turning into a fiasco of partisanship and political score-settling 9/11: For The Record Condoleezza Rice The Washington Post Despite what some have suggested, we received no intelligence that terrorists were preparing to attack the homeland using airplanes as missiles, though some analysts speculated that terrorists might hijack airplanes to try to free U.S.-held terrorists On Richard Clarke Stephen F. Hayes The Weekly Standard Everyone knew bin Laden was a serious threat. Clarke's job, before he was demoted to his position as cyberterrorism czar, was to propose policies to address that threat. But his chief policy recommendation--arming the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan--was already under consideration and in any case would have done little The Crisis in Europe William Kristol The Weekly Standard Whatever the motives of Spanish voters, however much the Aznar government mishandled the aftermath of the attack--last Sunday's Spanish election was a victory for terror	Liberal Radio Network Employment Application Bruce McCall The New Yorker We are an equal-opportunity, pro-choice, antiwar, non-smoking, non-sectarian network with a fiftyfifty male/female staff that recycles. Always remember to buckle up for safety! Bin Laden Betrayed, Increased Reward Cited The Bentinel "When I heard the reward for turning him in was only $25 million, I was not interested," said the informant Shahzada Meer, "But when I heard it was doubled to $50 million, I decided it was worth it to turn him in"

Sunday, March 21, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
It's All One War Now Michael Hirsh and Mark Hosenball Newsweek It is somewhat ironic that Bush, perhaps the most unilateralist American president in years, is now fighting a war for cooperation Transatlantic Wounds Won't Heal Overnight Doyle McManus The Los Angeles Times Ironically, the most immediate problems the U.S. is facing are not with France and Germany, the two major allies that opted out of the Iraq war entirely. Instead, they are with countries whose governments joined Bush's coalition Nation-Building Exposes GOP's House Divided Jacob Heilbrunn The Los Angeles Times The neocon dream of exporting democracy clashes with the traditional Republican view of a foreign policy grounded in "realism" You Cut the Head, but the Body Still Moves Milt Bearden The New York Times There is today a sense of belonging in the jihadist movement, evil as it is, but nothing approaching a central command It's good to be afraid Mary Riddell The Observer (UK) Al-Qaeda will be casting its virtual vote for Bush, not Kerry. Terrorists want a kick-ass President whose rhetoric and policies nourish jihad and, probably, they will get one Know thine enemy Anthony Sampson The Observer (UK) As the fear of terror stalks the West, we have to keep it in perspective and frustrate the first objective of terrorists throughout the years - to provoke the enemy to behave badly and so widen the conflict Getting SMART about national security Lynn Woolsey The San Francisco Chronicle Working with Physicians for Social Responsibility, I have crafted legislation to create a Sensible, Multilateral American Response to Terrorism (SMART) security platform for the 21st century It's Folly to Think They Struck Us Simply for Iraq Gustavo de Arístegui The Washington Post The terrorist mind is always much more twisted than that. Simplistic analyses only lead to confusion and to the weakening of the common position all democracies must defend in the face of terror Pakistan Battle Pierces Solitude of Tribal Area David Rohde The New York Times Pakistani military officials are backing away from suggestions that militants are protecting Al Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, Ayman Where's Bin Laden? Michael Ware Time U.S. special-forces commanders recently gave TIME access to Camp Blessing, located in Nangalam in eastern Afghanistan How We Got Homeland Security Wrong Amanda Ripley Time If all the federal homeland-security grants from last year are added together, Wyoming received $61 a person while California got just $14 Did Bush Press For Iraq-9/11 Link? 60 Minutes CBS News In the aftermath of Sept. 11, President Bush ordered his then top anti-terrorism advisor to look for a link between Iraq and the attacks, despite being told there didn't seem to be one Green Zone Colors View of Occupation J. Michael Kennedy The Los Angeles Times For Americans, the center of U.S. military and civilian operations is a secure bubble in a hostile city. To Iraqis, it's a symbol of colonialism Bremer Pushes Iraq on Difficult Path to Self-Rule Dexter Filkins The New York Times The tenure of L. Paul Bremer III, the chief American administrator in Iraq, has been full of both impressive achievements and roundly criticized decisions War Plans Meaner, Not Leaner William M. Arkin The Los Angeles Times Rumsfeld and his planners betray a blind spot. Military triumphs are only part of the picture. Unless as much planning goes into the peace that follows victory, even the best-laid war plans can't create a better world After 9/11, U.S. policy built on world bases James Sterngold The San Francisco Chronicle The policy has involved not just resorting to military action, or the threat of action, but constructing an arc of new facilities in such places as Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Qatar and Djibouti that the Pentagon calls "lily pads" A New Europe Stryker McGuire Newsweek These days, what increasingly unites Europeans and their leaders is their distrust of America and its policies Pyrrhic Victory? George Wehrfritz Newsweek Chen Shui-bian survives an assassination attempt and wins a disputed election. He faces a constrained future El Salvador vote divides 2 Arab clans Hugh Dellios The Chicago Tribune First setting foot in Central America, selling fabric from sacks on their backs, the two friends never imagined that Saleh's grandson and Handal's great-nephew would today be facing off across El Salvador's bloodied political divide as the two leading candidates for president The Strip-Mall Revolutionaries Joshua Kurlantzick The New York Times The Cambodian Freedom Fighters (C.F.F.), a militant group dedicated to the overthrow of Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, meets each Saturday at 6 p.m. in an accountant's office in a strip mall in Long Beach, Calif	Poll: Neck and Neck Brian Braiker Newsweek Bush gets 45 percent of the vote to Kerry’s 43 percent--a statistically insignificant difference--while Nader appeals to 5 percent of the voters. Still, if Nader were to pull out now, the race only slightly shifts in Kerry’s favor, moving to a 48 percent to 48 percent The anatomy of a smear campaign Richard H. Davis The Boston Globe The deeply personal, usually anonymous allegations that make up a smear campaign are aimed at a candidate's most precious asset: his reputation. The reason this blackest of the dark arts is likely to continue is simple: It often works How Blue and Red Emerged From Old Blue John Tierney The New York Times Mr. Bush, class of '68, was the president of DKE, a fraternity popular with jocks; Mr. Kerry, two years older, was in the Fence Club, the fraternity of choice for old-money families from New England When Spin Spins Out of Control Sheryl Gay Stolberg The New York Times From scientific data to health facts to intelligence in the war in Iraq, the Bush White House has been dogged by a string of high-profile controversies over how it handles information Cubans’ support for Bush declines, South Florida poll shows Rafael Lorente The South Florida Sun-Sentinel Six in 10 Cuban-American voters say they likely will cast ballots for President Bush in November, a substantial drop from the support he received in 2000 McCain should be on Kerry's mind Thomas Oliphant The Boston Globe At a minimum, thinking about McCain could help Kerry realize that it is essential that he point expansively and in detail to the future from now on; a purely party campaign, even an astonishingly unified one, is not adequate Kerry seeks balance, Bush readies barrage Patrick Healy The Boston Globe When John F. Kerry cursed about a Secret Service agent who had collided with him Thursday on a snowboarding run, Republican strategists rejoiced Kerry Challenged by Harsh Campaign Matea Gold The Los Angeles Times As the president's campaign unveiled its first attacks, Kerry's campaign was in the middle of a move, uprooting its staff from a cramped townhouse on Capitol Hill to a large suite in an office building in downtown Washington Some Democrats Say Kerry Must Get Back on the Trail David M. Halfbinger and Adam Nagourney The New York Times As the White House greeted Mr. Kerry's claim on the Democratic nomination with an avalanche of advertisements and attacks, the challenger seemed at least a little spent Engagement Is a Constant In Kerry's Foreign Policy Glenn Kessler The Washington Post Throughout his nearly 20 years in the Senate, the Massachusetts Democrat has expressed a deep commitment to negotiation and international institutions as a way to advance U.S. interests Numbers do not favor Kerry's bid Donald Lambro The Washington Times Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will have to carry nearly three-fourths of the states in the North, Midwest and West to overcome President Bush's strength across most of the South Quid Pro Quack Maureen Dowd The New York Times Not since Tony Soprano discovered ducks in his swimming pool have ducks revealed so much about the man
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Bush critics are missing true enemy John R. Ferris The Houston Chronicle The war in Iraq has made the United States feared, which is a good thing. It cannot be loved in the Middle East; it's better to be hated and feared than hated and dissed Cheney continuity Arnold Beichman The Washington Times Unless Mr. Cheney suffers some physical breakdown, highly unlikely, replacing him now would be a sign of White House panic and loss of nerve	Death, taxes, airline food Dave Barry The Miami Herald According to his official biography, Commissioner Everson used to be a vice president at a major company in the field of -- I am not making this up -- airline catering The New Economy Tom Toles The New York Times Doonesbury G.B. Trudeau Ucomics It's causing some problems with the Guard in Iraq… The Boondocks Aaron McGruder Ucomics My fellow Americans...

Saturday, March 20, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Clinton Aides Plan to Tell Panel of Warning Bush Team on Qaeda Philip Shenon The New York Times Senior Clinton officials say they repeatedly warned their Bush administration counterparts in late 2000 that Al Qaeda was the worst security threat facing the nation The Media on Terror's Trail -- The Watchdog Takes a Snooze Philip Smucker MediaChannel.org CommonDreams.org While it is busy rewarding itself with accolades for bravery and insight for coverage of the war on terror, the American Fourth Estate might also take the time to examine what went wrong in its own ranks over the past two and one-half years What happened to the antiwar movement? Petra Cahill MSNBC Despite the failure to stop the invasion, the antiwar movement hailed the global reach of the protests and what they viewed as a real presence in the debate "We are sleeping lions. We're waiting to eat Americans" Jen Banbury Salon.com For the first time, I've started to feel unsafe in Iraq Bombing Iraq Discussed on 9/12, Ex-Aide to Bush Says Associated Press The Los Angeles Times The Bush administration considered bombing Iraq in retaliation almost immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a former senior counter-terrorism advisor in the White House said The Tyrant Is Gone but the Trauma Remains The Los Angeles Times A year after U.S. troops invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein is a prisoner, but the nation he once dominated is riven by violence and instability, and its continued occupation has aggravated anti-Americanism throughout the region A Unexpected Visit by Powell to Baghdad Sets Off an Angry Walkout by Journalists Steven R. Weisman and Jeffrey Gettleman The New York Times Arab journalists walked out of a briefing by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday to protest the deaths of two employees of Al Arabiya television who were shot by American soldiers A Day For Marching Medea Benjamin The Washington Post We are marching because we don't want any more of our soldiers to die. We want the United States out, and the United Nations in Hussein's Fall Leads Syrians to Test Government Limits Neil MacFarquhar The New York Times Syrians who oppose the government do so with some trepidation because it used ferocious violence in the past to silence any challenge. Yet the fall of Mr. Hussein changed something inside people Transatlantic Alliance Remains Vital to U.S. and Europe in Post-9/11 World Council on Foreign Relations To revitalize the Atlantic alliance, Europe and America must forge new "rules of the road" governing the use of force, adapt NATO to meet today's threats coming from outside Europe, and launch a major initiative to bring about political and economic reform in the greater Middle East With Taiwan in Mind, China Focuses Military Expansion on Navy Edward Cody The Washington Post For the past 18 months, foreign military experts have observed, the military has concentrated particularly on strengthening its sea power. The main reason, they say, is to provide the government in Beijing with a credible military option if Taiwan crosses Beijing's red line -- a formal declaration of independence $27 Million Sought for Nuclear Arms Study Walter Pincus The Washington Post At a time when President Bush has made nuclear nonproliferation a major goal, the administration is seeking $27.6 million to continue a study next year of a possible new nuclear weapon and projecting that it could cost $485 million over the next five years if it goes into development	Key Florida Voting Bloc Up for Grabs John-Thor Dahlburg and Edwin Chen The Los Angeles Times Between now and election day, the incumbent and his opponent are likely to spend so much time campaigning in Florida that "they are going to pick up suntans" 90-Day Media Strategy by Bush's Aides to Define Kerry Jim Rutenberg The New York Times The aides are following a tight timetable, they said, and they want to have defined Mr. Kerry on their terms between now and early June, when they expect voters to stop paying close attention to politics Campaign Mantra Is Rapid Response Howard Kurtz The Washington Post The failure to respond quickly, as Michael S. Dukakis learned against Bush's father in 1988, can be disastrous. Rapid response is especially important for Kerry, who currently has only a fraction of the opposition's $100 million war chest Advisor affirms Bush's Cuba policy Peter Wallsten and Lesley Clark The Miami Herald Karl Rove, President Bush's key political strategist, wins a standing ovation when he promises a Miami audience tougher sanctions on Castro Gaffes and Senate Speak Eleanor Clift Newsweek The good news for Kerry is that he fights better when he’s behind, and the way things are going, he’ll soon be behind In search of the voice of the people Don Aucoin The Boston Globe At a time when voters seem to respond to the conversational style perfected by Bill Clinton and adopted by John Edwards, Kerry's discourse tends toward an old-fashioned sonorousness. Two decades in the US Senate will do that to a guy After 19 Years in Senate, Kerry of Today Is Far From Kerry of 1985 Katharine Q. Seelye The New York Times Over 19 years of voting, Senator John Kerry has disavowed some of his earlier stances on military spending and has moved to embrace a more vigorous intelligence operation
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Hidden Numbers Robert Moran National Review This poll is worth reviewing, despite its sponsors and limited coverage. In fact, there are several data nuggets within it that both camps are sure to be studying Progressive President John Samples National Review George W. Bush is the best Democratic president of my lifetime President Bush's Remarks The New York Times The following is the text of President Bush's speech marking the anniversary the start of military action in Iraq Too Quiet on the Home Front David Brooks The New York Times Compassionate conservatism never really had much of a life, but its collapse has had a debilitating effect on the Bush presidency The Spanish Disposition Pablo Pardo The Weekly Standard For Spaniards--as for much of the European public--Iraq was never seen as a problem, and even Islamic terrorism generally was seen as a minor issue	Leave No Child in Charge Tom Toles The New York Times H.R. 3687 U.S. Congress As used in this section, the term `profane', used with respect to language, includes the words ...

Friday, March 19, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
The A-word James Pinkerton Salon.com Is everyone who fails to follow Bush guilty of "appeasement"? The next American empire The Economist (UK) George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld have pledged to change the way America's armed forces are distributed around the globe. What do they have in mind? Strained U.S.-European Relations Turn Pragmatic Jeffrey Fleishman The Los Angeles Times Although most people in London, Paris, Berlin and other capitals feel an affinity for Americans, that closeness does not extend to a White House seen as rash and militaristic at a time when globalization needs patience and diplomacy . . . Or Rejecting Manipulation? E. J. Dionne Jr. The Washington Post It's reasonable to think that the terrorists of al Qaeda wanted to affect the Spanish elections. What's hard to understand is why our own hawks are so eager to hand al Qaeda a victory by rushing to put down Spanish voters as wimps TV Networks Have Been Getting Ready Elizabeth Jensen The Los Angeles Times U.S. television networks have been quietly maneuvering to get people and equipment into Afghanistan and Pakistan in case the terrorist mastermind is found Going Backward In the Balkans Morton Abramowitz The Washington Post Once again violence is making policy in the Balkans. This week's ethnic fighting in Kosovo is the worst since the 1999 war there, and makes it more likely that Kosovo will ultimately be partitioned between Serbs and Albanians Better and worse: a progress report on Iraq Dan Murphy The Christian Science Monitor US gets high marks in reconstruction, but takes home failing grades in security, employment, and democracy-building Bush's Distortions Misled Congress in Its War Vote Edward M. Kennedy The Los Angeles Times The prime minister of Spain paid a high price Sunday for supporting us in the war, and for misleading the Spanish people. President Bush is likely to pay a similar high price in November Editorial: One Year After The New York Times One year ago, President Bush began the war in Iraq. If we had known then what we know now, none of this might have happened Off the Mark on Cost of War, Reception by Iraqis Dana Milbank and Robin Wright The Washington Post There is evidence that the economic lives of Iraqis are improving, thanks to an infusion of U.S. and foreign capital. But the administration badly underestimated the financial cost of the occupation and seriously overstated the ease of pacifying Iraq Iraq Attacks Blamed On Islamic Extremists Rajiv Chandrasekaran The Washington Post U.S. military commanders across Iraq say that a combination of foreign and indigenous Islamic extremists have eclipsed loyalists of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party as the dominant organizers and financiers of attacks Ducking For Cover Eliza Barclay TomPaine.com Not all journalists chose to be embedded. Many went as unilateral members of the press. These journalists were often at greater risk than those embedded, but had significantly more freedom to move around and talk to non-military bystanders El Salvador vote recalls cold-war power play Catherine Elton The Christian Science Monitor US officials are even making highly controversial statements that hint that relations, including immigration policy, could be affected if the leftist candidate wins Airlift Aristide: A Flight to Exile Peter Eisner The Washington Post There were two reporters aboard the flight that flew Aristide this week to Jamaica, where he plans to spend the next several months, perhaps strategizing his next steps toward a potential return to power	Enemies of the States William Saletan Slate If you oppose George Bush's policies, or if you're supported by anybody who opposes George Bush's policies, you're anti-American Bush and Kerry Have Similar Road Maps to Victory Ronald Brownstein The Los Angeles Times Both campaigns believe they each have about 200 electoral votes of the 270 needed. And it appears that Ohio is the most coveted prize Setting down markers for the unthinkable Michael Moran MSNBC The Madrid blast, and particularly the electoral backlash against Spain’s government that followed, is sharpening the way Bush and the Democrat challenging him for his job, Sen. John Kerry, are framing their arguments "Who cares what you think?" Bill Hangley Jr. Salon.com Bush-lovers hear an unflinching, confident leader putting a rude whiner in his place. Bush-haters hear a blinkered aristocrat callously dismissing an aggrieved constituent. Both sides, though, have always tended to agree that this sounds like the real Bush Taken for a Ride Paul Krugman The New York Times In the world according to President Bush's supporters, anyone who demands accountability is on the side of the evildoers All Together Terence Samuel The American Prospect It is too early to call them signs of trouble, but there have been hints about what could divide the Democrats. And both times, not surprisingly, the problems were the handiwork of clever GOP maneuvers Frost Gaining Ground on Sessions in Texas House Race Jennifer Mock CQ The New York Times Frost -- a former chairman of both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the House Democratic Caucus -- brings considerable assets to his underdog candidacy Dems see a rising star in Illinois Senate candidate Debbie Howlett USA Today Today, three days after his landslide victory in that crowded field, the self-described ''skinny guy with the funny name'' is the odds-on favorite to win in November and become the only African-American in the Senate Kerry 'on vacation': the risks and rewards Linda Feldmann The Christian Science Monitor As Democratic standard-bearer John Kerry relaxes at his home in Ketchum, Idaho, there's a calculation at work that he can vanish from public view for five days without the Bush campaign filling the void Kerry Capitalizing on Party Resources to Fill Coffers Jim VandeHei and Thomas B. Edsall The Washington Post Sen. John F. Kerry is setting the stage to raise as much as $100 million for his presidential campaign by seizing control of his party's fundraising machinery, winning the support of top money people for vanquished rivals, and attracting thousands of new small donors via the Internet
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Road to Victory Is Paved With Trust Frank Luntz The Los Angeles Times The president's objective is exactly as it should be: Define Kerry as a candidate who lacks credibility Terror is losing Paul Wolfowitz The New York Post Our soldiers are making it possible for people to build free and stable governments that will join the fight against terrorism - and our children and grandchildren will be safer for it The Price of Freedom in Iraq Donald H. Rumsfeld The New York Times As the continuing terrorist violence in Iraq reminds us, the road to self-governance will be challenging. But the progress is	Satire Outsourced to China The Specious Report As our contribution to U.S. economic recovery, 85% of all editorial content in The Specious Report is now being produced offshore

Thursday, March 18, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
US vs. Europe: two views of terror Howard LaFranchi The Christian Science Monitor Ever since George W. Bush's first reaction to Sept. 11 was that this is "war," debate has simmered over whether fighting terrorism is best handled as a military operation or as law-enforcement, using intelligence cooperation, police work, and the courts Last rites for the Bush doctrine Sidney Blumenthal The Guardian (UK) For the neoconservatives, the political meaning of 3/11 must be forced into the Procrustean bed of Bush's 9/11. Bush's campaign, after all, turns on the pre-emptive strike Welcome to the Titanic Timothy Garton Ash The Guardian (UK) 1) Blair was wrong to take us to war on Iraq, which has not helped us defeat al-Qaida; 2) Blair is right to warn us that we are all threatened by an Islamist terrorism which predates the Iraq war The American Mission? William Pfaff The New York Review of Books Zbigniew Brzezinski's The Choice is a nuanced expression of the conventional wisdom among American foreign policy experts, and a condemnation of the self-defeating arrogance of the Bush administration's conduct Pride and Prejudice Maureen Dowd The New York Times Mr. Bush did his "Beavis and Butthead" snigger as a Dutch reporter noted that most of his countrymen want to withdraw Dutch troops from Iraq because they think the conflict "has little to do with the war against terrorism, and may actually encourage Why catching bin Laden is difficult Scott Baldauf and Faye Bowers The Christian Science Monitor The US has launched a new effort in Afghanistan, yet still faces hurdles such as internal mistrust and false information ‘An Enormous Waste of Money’ Jennifer Barrett Newsweek We’re still living in a world where politics trumps security. The things that tend not to work are the broad surveillance measures. We are spending $10 billion on a program to fingerprint foreigners, for example More Private Forces Eyed for Iraq Walter Pincus The Washington Post The U.S.-led authority in Iraq plans to spend as much as $100 million over 14 months to hire private security forces to protect the Green Zone, the four-square-mile area in Baghdad that houses most U.S. government employees and some of the private Pakistan to be designated non-Nato ally of US Farhan Bokhari Financial Times (UK) The US on Thursday said it would name Pakistan a key non-Nato ally, elevating the country's military status as Pakistani troops launched a fresh operation against suspected members of al-Qaeda Iran, U.S. flirt with better ties Preston Mendenhall NBC News MSNBC A year after U.S. troops got mired down in Iraq, the mullahs have gone nowhere. On the contrary, they are fresh from a (questionable) election victory Defense Reform for a New Strategic Era Center for Strategic and International Studies A new CSIS report proposes a reorganization of the civilian component of the Department of Defense that will result in the first truly integrated Pentagon Military might tested, after the battles Brad Knickerbocker The Christian Science Monitor Warfighting doctrine, tactics, weaponry, recruiting and retaining military personnel, the role of women now fighting and dying in combat, an unprecedented use of National Guard and Reserve forces in an active duty role - all are being tested Africa adopts new self-help plan Abraham McLaughlin The Christian Science Monitor In Ethiopia, delegates from 45 nations will inaugurate the Pan-African Parliament, a first-of-its-kind body that will eventually make continent-wide laws Salvadorans' pay key to election Catherine Elton The Houston Chronicle Some analysts believe the ruling party's campaign was buoyed by recent statements from high-level U.S. officials A Bitter Chávez Castigates U.S., Saying It Misjudges Him Christopher Marquis The New York Times Mr. Chávez, who has been fending off a recall referendum, admits he is baffled that so many people — particularly the Bush administration — seem to dislike him so intensely	Memorandum of SCALIA, J. New York Times / Findlaw.com Knowing that the Vice President, with whom I am well acquainted, is an enthusiastic duck-hunter, I asked whether Mr. Carline would like to invite him to our next year’s hunt Kerry, Cheney trade charges on leadership Glen Johnson The Boston Globe "Did you see the Bush campaign turn one vote into four?" Kerry said to an aide in his plane's press cabin. "And they wonder why they're called liars." The flip-flopper running for president Steve Chapman The Chicago Tribune Changing positions is something Bush knows a lot about. He does it all the time, even as he pretends to be steady and sure. But what he lacks in consistency, he makes up in certitude Clash Deepens Over Wartime Leadership James Gerstenzang and Matea Gold The Los Angeles Times Cheney questions Kerry's fitness to be commander in chief. Senator accuses Bush of alienating allies, leaving GIs in Iraq vulnerable At This Point, the Polls Toll for Bush Frank Newport The Los Angeles Times If Bush is reelected, he will become the only president out of the last eight incumbents to win after having been behind a challenger in Gallup polling conducted after January of his election year Honest Mistake Jonathan Chait The New Republic Even the most determined Bush haters will find that, as they watch the hapless McClellan beaten about the head almost every day by the White House press corps, their schadenfreude eventually gives way to pity Flip Side Noam Scheiber The New Republic Kerry's recent setbacks result from structural weaknesses in his candidacy. Which is why they will happen again
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The Gospel According to the Loony Left Max Boot The Los Angeles Times The military-industrial-neoconservative-Republican oligarchs who run the country have committed plenty of dark and nefarious deeds in the last few years since they stole the White House from Al Gore A Clear Choice Dick Cheney The Wall Street Journal Even if we set aside these inconsistencies and changing rationales, at least this much is clear: Had the decision belonged to Sen. Kerry, Saddam Hussein would still be in power, today, in Iraq. In fact, Saddam Hussein would almost certainly still be in control of Kuwait Editorial: Are Zapatero and Kerry in sync? The Washington Times Now that Spain's Socialist prime minster-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has explicitly endorsed Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts senator ought to tell Americans where he stands on Mr. Zapatero's denouncements of the Iraq war Bush on offensive as Kerry stumbles Bill Sammon The Washington Times The hard-charging approach entails simultaneous attacks on Mr. Kerry by the Bush campaign team, the Republican National Committee, the White House and the president. An abundance of Bush surrogates and well-financed TV ads round out the strategy Kerry's Uncommon Touch Hugh Hewitt The Weekly Standard A long career in Massachusetts politics simply means intoning respectful nods towards Ted Kennedy and mouthing Harvard seminar sentences, as prolix as they are inconsequential (and frequently self-contradicting).	March Madness: Presidential Edition Matthew Henson The New York Times The presidential tournament committee extends invitations to the following candidates, with contests to begin as soon as possible I hate waiting John Kerry's table... Glenn McCoy ucomics.com

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
A Year After Iraq War The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished For Iraqis in Harm's Way, $5,000 and 'I'm Sorry' Jeffrey Gettleman The New York Times The U.S. Army doles out what it calls "sympathy payments" to Iraqis as a part of a compensation process for civilian casualties Terror and Taboo in the Homeland Ira Chernus CommonDreams.org How will U.S. society respond the next time it happens here? The government will promise even greater efforts to protect our "homeland security" and defeat Al Qaeda. Military spending will take another quantum leap. A Son of PATRIOT Act will breeze through Congress. Few will object, amid the patriotic prayers and flag-waving Voters Want Honesty David Bach The Washington Post What drove voters to the opposition and turned the election around was, quite simply, the government's information policy in the aftermath of Thursday's train bombings, and the appearance that it was manipulating information Spain's wake-up call to US - to lead, listen to global constituents Suzanne Nossel The Christian Science Monitor Following House Speaker Tip O'Neill's adage that "all politics is local," the US must pay far more attention to crafting arguments tailored to specific audiences around the world. Rather than trying to impose its views by fiat, it should engage in retail diplomacy Europe wonders, ‘Who's next?’ Michael Moran MSNBC The concussions of the “shock and awe” campaign that opened the Iraq war last March faded long ago, but a new wave of aftershocks is spreading across Europe and rekindling a debate that had fallen dormant: Was the removal of Iraq’s dictator worth a drop of European blood? Spain got the point Jonathan Freedland The Guardian (UK) Perhaps this is how the Bushites hope to avenge what they saw as European insensitivity two and half years ago, by defaming the Spanish even as Madrid still weeps Al Qaeda, the Movement Peter Bergen The Los Angeles Times The attacks in Madrid demonstrate that the Iraq war has energized Al Qaeda and its affiliates. As one senior U.S. intelligence official told me: "If Osama believed in Christmas, he'd want us in Iraq — that's what he'd want under his Christmas tree." Here's scoop on bin Laden Liz Sly The Chicago Tribune The Osama bin Laden rumor mill is churning again, fueled to a large degree by remarkably optimistic predictions from some U.S. military officials that he soon will be found Osama bin Laden: missed opportunities Lisa Myers NBC News MSNBC One piece of evidence the commission will examine is a videotape secretly recorded by a CIA plane high above Afghanistan. The tape shows a man believed to Osama bin Laden walking at a known al-Qaida camp Blix Believed Iraq Possessed Banned Arms Maggie Farley The Los Angeles Times Former chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said Tuesday that until the final days before the war, he and U.S. officials — and perhaps even Saddam Hussein — believed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction Saudi Arabia Detains Reformers Reuters The Washington Post Saudi Arabia detained several prominent reformers Tuesday in a move their supporters described as a major setback to democratic change in the conservative Islamic kingdom Flashlight on the Potomac Kareem Fahim The Village Voice A closer read of the GMEI suggests that it was conceived as a security document, not a development road map The Intelligence Game John Corry The American Spectator Whether the Pentagon should be running its own covert actions is questionable, and in fact some special forces personnel think it is a very bad idea Paramilitary groups sowing fear in Colombia John Otis The Houston Chronicle Paramilitary chieftains have amassed so much wealth and political power that many experts predict they will balk at signing a peace treaty unless they get nearly everything they ask for in the negotiations	Bush's War Against Wonks Bruce Reed The Washington Monthly After two decades in Washington as a wonk working among hacks, I have come to the conclusion that the gap between Republicans and Democrats is as nothing compared to the one between these two tribes Campaigns trade fire on military Jill Lawrence USA Today In a sign of the competition for credibility on military issues, Kerry plans to have a guest appear with him today: retired general John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff W's smaller circle of international pals Cragg Hines The Houston Chronicle The Bush campaign's hottest current idea, that Kerry's statement is false, beggars imagination. The idea that foreign governments do not have a view of or even attempt to meddle in foreign elections is similarly a big laugh Obama routs Democratic foes David Mendell The Chicago Tribune Barack Obama, an African-American state senator and former civil-rights lawyer from Hyde Park, won a landslide victory over six competitors Tuesday to assume the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate Ethics Truce Frays in House Charles Babington and Dan Morgan The Washington Post Several analysts and academics say the House must change its self-policing practices, perhaps by having former lawmakers or judges help screen cases or suggest sanctions Surge in support for Nader spells trouble for Kerry Julian Borger The Guardian (UK) When Americans were asked about a three-man race including Mr Nader, the 70-year-old consumer activist attracted 7% support, mostly at the expense of the Democrat _'Bush's Brain' looks at presidential adviser Associated Press CNN Both the book and the film depict Rove as the true brains behind the Bush administration, and practically a co-president Getting Out the Music Lovers Jamie Reno Newsweek One prominent Nashville music executive who asked for anonymity suggests country artists are actually “scared to death of saying anything that might sound the least bit liberal. There's this fear that if you say anything, conservative radio companies like Clear Channel won't play your records. It kind of reminds me of the [Senator Joseph] McCarthy era" Kerry gets help fighting Bush advantage Associated Press MSNBC Two liberal groups working on behalf of, but independently from, Kerry are helping the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee match Bush ad for ad in key media markets in battleground states Congress Conquest Mary Lynn F. Jones The American Prospect From Alaska to Louisiana, this year's Senate races look promising for the Democrats. Could they retake the chamber in November? Bush aide disclaims 2 GOP lawmakers' remarks on Cuba Peter Wallsten The Miami Herald The Bush campaign orchestrates a conference call to attack John Kerry on Cuba, but strong language from two Florida Republican congressmen distracts from the message Jewish Americans wary of Bush evangelical base Ralph Z. Hallow The Washington Times Jewish leaders say President Bush's gains among heavily Democratic Jewish voters for his support of Israel and the Iraq war could be offset by policy initiatives influenced by evangelical Christians, who many Jews think are anti-Semitic GOP resolution lauds Iraq troops Brian DeBose The Washington Times House Democrats are upset with their Republican colleagues that they weren't included in drafting a resolution praising U.S. troops in Iraq
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Moral Nihilism Andrew Sullivan The New Republic Notice how the Guardian instinctively, viscerally, blames the victim, Israel, for the terrorism that has plagued it for so long. For in the Guardian's view, the democracies are always wrong; and the terrorists always have a point Editorial: Kerry and Spain The Wall Street Journal Senator Kerry placed Spanish events not in the context of U.S. foreign policy but of American homeland security--as if the main lesson of Madrid is that we must better protect our railways Madrid: Thoughts of Munich, '38 come to mind Robert Kagan The Houston Chronicle The unhappy reality is that a significant number of Spanish voters seem to have responded to the attacks in Madrid exactly as al-Qaida hoped they would Problematic Priorities Peter J. Wallison National Review For a good example of these contradictions, one need only compare Senator Kerry's positions on trade and the war in Iraq John Dean Kerry David Hogberg The American Spectator Is the Kerry campaign on the verge of imploding? Barely two weeks after unofficially sewing up the nomination, John Kerry doesn't look at all like a candidate who has been leading in the polls	Citizens Form Massive Special Disinterest Group The Onion More than 3,000 U.S. citizens have banded together to form a massive special disinterest group, Coalition Of Unconcerned Americans press secretary Sarah Fisher said What Do You Think?: The Madrid Train Bombings The Onion "Man, maybe we should have tried to track down Osama bin Laden after Sept. 11"

Tuesday, March 16, 2004: Missed a day...

Monday, March 15, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Blow to Bush: Ally Rejected David E. Sanger The New York Times The ouster of the center-right party in Spain, only days after a terrorist bombing that may be linked to Al Qaeda, is the first electoral rebuke of one of President Bush's most steadfast allies in the Iraq war Admit it - we're all in the dark Peter Preston The Guardian (UK) Give him a quick rat-a-tat fix - Oh yes, it's ETA!; Oh no it's not! - and he can just about cope. Give him uncertainty and inquiry and debate, and the attention span shortens dramatically Three Days in Spain William Rivers Pitt TruthOut.com Alternet Had Bush chosen to press the fight against al Qaeda itself, and not against toothless red herrings like Iraq, it is entirely possible that the bombings in Spain would never have happened Road Rage Kathy Gannon The New Yorker You don’t have to be a Taliban defector to feel a little queasy about taking the road from Kabul to Kandahar Agencies unite to find bin Laden Rowan Scarborough The Washington Times Task Force 121, the secret manhunting unit formed for the war on terrorism, is a blend of warriors, aviators, CIA officers and deep-cover intelligence collectors who nabbed Saddam Hussein and now hope to grab Osama bin Laden Anti-Terror Efforts Put Vise on Afghan Region Pamela Constable The Washington Post As U.S. military officials launch a major anti-terrorist operation called Mountain Storm across southeastern Afghanistan, Paktika province is becoming a focus of intense attention from American and Afghan authorities US needs to look beyond bin Laden capture Faye Bowers The Christian Science Monitor If US forces do capture or kill the elusive Al Qaeda leader - and many expect they eventually will - Americans shouldn't take the bolts off cockpit doors or stop patrolling domestic harbors Pride and Preconceptions Anthony Shadid The Washington Post The changes in Baghdad, a capital given majesty by their memories, have touched them deeply as their views of the U.S. occupation and the future of Iraq have evolved and hardened in an uneasy place between promise and despair G.I. Toll Is Rising as Insurgents Try Wilier Bombs and Tactics Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt The New York Times Explaining the number of deaths this weekend from improvised explosive devices, military officers in Iraq said the lethality and effectiveness of those weapons had intensified Change is only certainty in Arab world Charlene Gubash NBC News MSNBC “Instead of curbing the terrorist threat, it seems this war has encouraged its expansion" U.S., Musharraf are allies of convenience Liz Sly The Chicago Tribune Not even when Musharraf pardoned his country's top nuclear scientist for peddling nuclear secrets to America's enemies did the White House reproach him Putin's victory clear; Russia's future cloudy Bill Nichols USA Today Pessimists, and they include high-ranking U.S. diplomats here and in Washington, fear Putin's stranglehold on political thought in Russia and his dominance over the legislature and the news media mean Russia is on its way to a model that is closer to modern-day China Guns for hire thrive in Africa Abraham McLaughlin The Christian Science Monitor A drama now unfolding in both Zimbabwe and the tiny oil-producing nation of Equatorial Guinea is highlighting the growing demand for mercenaries in West Africa US sends special forces into north Africa Giles Tremlett The Guardian (UK) Units of around 200 from the US army's 10th Special Forces Group are already installed, or are due to arrive, in Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger to train their armies in anti-terrorism tactics Diplomacy adapts to new threats Nicholas Kralev The Washington Times In interviews with more than 260 Foreign Service officers at about 30 missions on five continents, many said diplomacy has changed dramatically in the past decade. They said political reporting, which used to be the main function at posts, has become "anachronistic"	Campaigns Playing Fast and Loose With Facts and Numbers Ronald Brownstein The Los Angeles Times The Bush campaign's justification for the charge was specious. The Kerry campaign's response was misleading. And the vast press corps covering the campaign almost entirely failed to illuminate the holes in each side's arguments U.S. Videos, for TV News, Come Under Scrutiny Robert Pear The New York Times The materials were produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, which called them video news releases, but the source is not identified Going negative Eric Boehlert Salon.com Now, as the Republicans enter attack mode, it's prime time for Alex Castellanos -- the charismatic, controversial and confrontational Republican media consultant. Castellanos is the party's ultimate hit man Candidates Narrow Focus to 18 States Dan Balz and Jim VandeHei The Washington Post The principal battlegrounds range from familiar swing states of Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania to new arrivals of Nevada, West Virginia and Minnesota that reflect changing demographics or the clash of cultural values
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Dirty Democracy Frank J. Gaffney Jr. National Review We should serve notice on Vladimir Putin, Hugo Chávez, and the world's other elected would-be despots: The United States will feel no greater attachment to their claims to democratic legitimacy than these leaders do to their respective countries' democratic institutions and freedoms Mileposts of progress Jack Kelly The Washington Times At this time last year, antiwar Democrats and many of our most prominent media personalities were predicting Iraq would be a "quagmire" in which thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis would be killed One Step Closer to Destruction Lawrence Henry The American Spectator "Objectively pro-Nazi," George Orwell said of them. Our critics today are, as well, objectively pro-terrorist	Coalition Provisional Authority Phrase Book Andy Borowitz The New Yorker "I'll give you food if you give me back my plumbing fixtures" Teenager Finds North Korean Nukes On 'eBay' MockingWord “This is not something we overlooked,” assured Condolezza Rice. “Its just that we searched for ‘nucular’ weapons, as the President is fond of saying, not ‘nuclear’ weapons”

Sunday, March 14, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Al Qaeda Now Focus of Spain's Bombing Probe Sebastian Rotella and Tracy Wilkinson The Los Angeles Times Suspected Islamic extremists are among five held, and a taped message claims responsibility for the blasts. Anti-government anger precedes elections Strengths, Limits of U.S. Foreign Policy Evident Doyle McManus and Sonni Efron The Los Angeles Times When the United States invaded Iraq a year ago this week, the action transformed American foreign policy in the Middle East and around the world — but not always as its strategists intended Moment of Truth Fouad Ajami U.S. News and World Report With an interim constitution, Iraqis inch closer to gaining control of their shattered nation. What happens after that is anyone's guess Across a Great Divide Peter Schneider The New York Times The war in Iraq has made the Atlantic seem wider. But really it has had the effect of a magnifying glass, bringing older and more fundamental differences between Europe and the United States into focus U.S. Launches New Operation in Afghanistan Pamela Constable The Washington Post There are now about 13,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, several thousand of whom have arrived in recent weeks. There have been several reports of additional troops and weapons being sent to Afghanistan in preparation for a major military campaign Russia's Democratic Despot Simon Sebag Montefiore The New York Times A reforming liberal leader in Russia is the Holy Grail of Kremlinology, but the search for one is as misguided and hopeless as that for the relic of the Last Supper Putinocracy Garry Kasparov The Wall Street Journal Mr. Bush spoke of looking into Mr. Putin's eyes and knowing he was a "good man." Instead of looking at Mr. Putin's eyes, he should look at his record A Challenge to China's Leaders From a Witness to Brutality Joseph Kahn The New York Times In his letter, dated Feb. 24, Mr. Jiang told of treating people who had been gunned down by soldiers in Beijing's streets that night in 1989 Editorial: Raise N. Korea's Priority The Los Angeles Times One axiom of diplomacy is that when all else fails, form a working group. North Korea and the five nations trying to eliminate its weapons program did exactly that Lasting Discord Clouds Talks on North Korean Nuclear Arms Steven R. Weisman The New York Times There is dissent in the administration over how much the talks with North Korea accomplished and whether the working groups will produce further progress U.S. Widens View of Pakistan Link to Korean Arms David E. Sanger The New York Times The report concluded that North Korea probably received a package very similar to the kind the Khan network sold to Libya for more than $60 million — including nuclear fuel, centrifuges and one or more warhead designs Imagine if there were oil in Haiti Carl Hiaasen The Miami Herald Before you could say ''Halliburton stock options,'' a U.S. armada would have been steaming toward Port-au-Prince, while Cheney's pals in the private sector would have been ramping up to repair and secure the Haitian oil derricks Sources: U.S. informant oversaw killings Alfredo Corchado The Dallas Morning News U.S. customs officials knew last summer that an informant on their payroll supervised the torture and killing of suspected drug smugglers in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and intervened only when two U.S. drug enforcement agents were targeted for assassination U.S. military supports Chad forces Associated Press CNN U.S. military cargo planes have been delivering food, blankets and other supplies to forces in Chad as they have fought Islamic militants there, and American surveillance aircraft have helped monitor and track the militants How a trophy terrorism prosecution morphed into a big mud fight Chitra Ragavan U.S. News and World Report A U.S. News examination of internal documents, along with numerous interviews, reveals a Justice Department at war with itself, riven by petty jealousies and plagued by grandstanding that extends to Ashcroft himself	People, It's Only the First Round Howard Fineman and Tamara Lipper MSNBC Why so nasty so early? There are several reasons, ranging from the candidates' own strategic imperatives to the nature of politics in 2004 Raising the Volume John F. Dickerson and Karen Tumulty Time It's only March, but it feels like September on the campaign trail. A TIME guide to the suddenly fast and loud presidential race For Bush, New Role and Different Script Dan Balz The Washington Post The new tone threatens to rob Bush of his assets from successful past campaigns, according to some strategists. Most prominent is the easygoing personality that helped soften his image and attract swing voters Kerry's Next Job: Cementing Image Among Voters John F. Harris The Washington Post Fresh off an impressive victory in the Democratic nominating contest and running ahead of President Bush in many national polls, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) nonetheless has entered a period of acute vulnerability Come on Down? You Bet Your Bubba Ben Jones The Washington Post For all of his rural pretenses, W. is about as much a "good ol' boy" as Michael Dukakis is a tank commander. Some of us haven't forgotten that ol' W. was doing back flips as a male cheerleader at Yale while you were slogging around 'Nam Rumblings aside, Cheney likely to be on ticket Stewart M. Powell Hearst News Service The Houston Chronicle Cheney's approval rating also has slipped to the lowest level of his term, with only 45 percent of respondents in a Gallup Poll in mid-February approving of his job performance. Cheney's favorable ratings averaged 63 percent in his first two years in office and 56 percent last year Newcomers Provide Fuel for Bush Money Machine Glen Justice The New York Times Now, the campaigns turn less to established wealthy donors and more to people like Mr. Dickerson, who can collect large numbers of small checks W's big worry about job loss (his own) Cragg Hines The Houston Chronicle A possibly significant factoid: Since President Bush took office, Ohio has lost more jobs (about 250,000) than his margin of victory in the state over Al Gore (165,000 votes) Congress-s-s-s Robert G. Kaiser The Washington Post In fundamental ways that have gone largely unrecognized, Congress has become less vigilant, less proud and protective of its own prerogatives, and less important to the conduct of American government than at any time in decades Democrats More Hopeful About Senate Races Helen Dewar The Washington Post There is a growing view among political analysts that Democratic gains can no longer be ruled out -- a view reinforced by the recent decision of Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) to retire Bracing for a bruising budget battle Terence Samuel U.S. News and World Report As budget chair, Nussle has the task of trying to turn a budget nearly half a trillion dollars in the red into a package that will give President Bush a platform on which to run for re-election Democrats Demand Inquiry Into Charge by Medicare Officer Robert Pear The New York Times Democrats charged that the Bush administration threatened to fire a top Medicare official if he gave data to Congress showing the high costs of hotly contested Medicare legislation Trump Is Firing as Fast as He Can Frank Rich The New York Times The general joy attending both Ms. Stewart's demise and Mr. Trump's weekly dismissals is the most telling cultural indicator yet that the revulsion against business remains red-hot more than two years after the bubble burst All This Progress Is Killing Us, Bite by Bite Gregg Easterbrook The New York Times Our lives are characterized by too much of a good thing - too much to eat, to buy, to watch and to do, excess at every turn Wrongheaded Assault on a 'Brown Peril' Carlos Fuentes The Los Angeles Times Huntington doesn't call it that, of course, but that's what he means. And in doing so, he's drawing on a deep strain in U.S. history: the need to have an enemy; the Manichean division of the world into "good guys" and "bad guys"
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The mismarketing of a president John F. Gaski The Chicago Tribune You held your fire too long. If it were a normal communication environment, your "above-the-fray" approach might have made sense, but the environment is an unnatural one Remapping the 'Road to Serfdom' James A. Dorn The Washington Times Any infringement of economic liberty must be nipped in the bud. Constant vigilance is necessary to prevent erosion of the principles of a market-liberal order Enviro-politics Roger Zion The Washington Times There is something wrong when the mainstream media consistently refuses to properly identify the real motives of highly partisan groups on the left, while automatically labeling their opponents as conservatives	Forget Mars, just open the refrigerator Dave Barry The Miami Herald PRACTICAL HOMEMAKER TIP -- Always keep an open box of baking soda in your refrigerator. That way, when people come to your house to visit, you can say: ''Would you care for some cold baking soda?'' Then they will leave Doonesbury G.B. Trudeau Ucomics.com Another child left behind

Saturday, March 13, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Spanish bombs Mark Follman Salon.com Terrorism creates a real dilemma for Europe in this regard, because if you close your doors then you face some serious demographic and economic problems in the coming decades, but if you open your doors, you face a growing Islamic presence Terror Is Heather Bobrow The American Prospect Harvard terrorism expert Jessica Stern looks at the possible connection between Basque separatists and Al Qaeda The Vietnam Continuum Michael Hirsh Newsweek For a generation of policy-makers, the most enduring lesson of Vietnam has been to persistently question the appropriate use of U.S. military power: when it is used, how much, where and for how long Inequality and the calculus of terror Ken Wiwa The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) It is an unwritten cliché of the journalism playbook the world over that 100 dead Cambodians, say, are less important than 10 dead Canadians Pentagon Shadow Loses Some Mystique Dana Priest The Washington Post Congressional Democrats contend that two Pentagon shops -- the Office of Special Plans and the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group -- were established by Rumsfeld, Feith and other defense hawks expressly to bypass the CIA and other intelligence agencies This creeping sickness Ken Coates The Guardian (UK) At the same time that we face new atrocities in Madrid, we hear the voices of the first Britons released from Guantánamo Bay where, according to former detainee Jamal al-Harith, they endured a regime of unremitting cruelty Looking for signs of patriotism in America Paul Koring The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) Remote war leaves many complacent about toll of conflict on those who serve Hope for order behind Putin's likely victory Alex Rodriguez The Chicago Tribune Approval ratings that near 80 percent do not mean that Russians have lofty expectations of Putin as he readies his second-term agenda S. Korea Questions Direction of Latest Step Barbara Demick The Los Angeles Times Polls showed that the South Korean public strongly opposed the impeachment. A poll for the Korea Times taken Friday after the vote found 72.8% of respondents disapproved of the assembly's action Gunmen setting the rules in Gonaives Susannah A. Nesmith The Miami Herald The gunmen who control Haiti's fourth largest city say they don't want peacekeepers there. Some residents say they do, to shield them from gunmen Ending Haiti turmoil merely a beginning David Adams The St. Petersburg Times As U.S. and French Marines beef up their presence in the Haitian capital, many residents wonder whether the country's dreaded political gangs, known as chimeres, will fade away Oil Wealth Trickles Into Chad, but Little Trickles Down Emily Wax The Washington Post A consortium led by Exxon Mobil Corp. and including ChevronTexaco Corp. and Petronas of Malaysia has landed its towering oil derricks and warehouses smack in the middle of the rural African bush US warns of tighter travel security George Parker and Edward Alden Financial Times (UK) All travellers to the US - even those from visa-waiver countries - could soon be required to have their fingerprints and photographs taken on arrival under a big expansion of border security Bush's Latest Missile-Defense Folly Fred Kaplan Slate It's as if some kid were to hit a baseball thrown by a pitching machine straight down the middle at 30 mph and, on the basis of that feat, claimed he could hit whatever Mark Prior might throw him Spread Thin, Army Calling on Same Units Robert Burns Associated Press Yahoo! The Army is spread so thin around the globe that when it needs fresh combat troops for Iraq this fall it will have little choice but to call on the same soldiers who led the charge into Baghdad	Missteps on Economy Worry Bush Supporters Jonathan Weisman and Mike Allen The Washington Post Several former administration officials said the debacle over Raimondo illustrated broader weaknesses in Bush's White House as he gears up his reelection campaign Bush campaign seeks to liken Kerry, Gore Anne E. Kornblut The Boston Globe Bush strategists say they won't treat the presumptive Democratic nominee like another Michael S. Dukakis. Instead, they plan to paint him as Al Gore -- a waffling Washington insider too aloof to connect with average Americans At $6 an hour, who needs a tax cut? Paul Vitello Newsday "I understand him a little bit English," said Nubia Guzman, a packer who said she earns $7.50 an hour after four years on a job that Bush had described in his speech as evidence of the success of his tax cutting economic policies The Softer Side of Ashcroft Jeffrey Rosen The Atlantic Jeffrey Rosen, the author of "John Ashcroft's Permanent Campaign" (April Atlantic), argues that it is not social conservatism but a quest for popular approval that drives John Ashcroft's public life Arab-American group slams Bush over anti-terrorism ad Cox News Service The Houston Chronicle An Arab-American activist group called on President Bush to remove a picture of an unidentified "Middle-Eastern-looking" man from a campaign ad that focuses on terrorism Bush Drawn Into TV Ad War Nick Anderson and Mark Z. Barabak The Los Angeles Times Far from pursuing a "Rose Garden" strategy — in which presidents use the prestige and aura of the White House to stand above the hurly-burly of the campaign — Bush is going toe-to-toe with his presumed Democratic challenger Don't put a personal injury lawyer on the ticket Eric Peters The Miami Herald The media also pretty much overlooked the well-documented fact that Edwards set up a dummy corporation to avoid paying $290,000 in Medicare taxes in the two years before he ran for the U.S. Senate Democracy - Not "The Free Market" - Will Save America's Middle Class Thom Hartmann CommonDreams.org The "middle class" is the creation of government intervention in the marketplace, and won't exist without it (as millions of Americans and Europeans are discovering). Vietnam Remembered Robert B. Reich The American Prospect The radical conservatives in the Bush administration who pushed the United States into Iraq were intent on erasing the legacy of America's impotence and humiliation in Vietnam. Yet they are in the process of re-creating it
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Iraq One Year Later Robert Kagan and William Kristol The Weekly Standard Real and important progress has been made in this momentous, and at times trying, year How to Stage a Controversy Matthew Continetti The Weekly Standard Peace activists, left-wing flacks, and compliant reporters produced the flap over Bush's 9/11 ads The Boston Fog Machine David Brooks The New York Times In laying out the Kerry Doctrine — that in voting on a use-of-force resolution that is not a use-of-force resolution, the opposite of the correct answer is also the correct answer — Kerry was venturing off into the realm of Post-Cartesian Multivariate Co-Directionality Editorial: The Novak Exception--II The Wall Street Journal Back when Robert Novak's column naming Bush Administration critic Joe Wilson's wife as a CIA officer became the scandal flavor of the day, the air was thick with charges of "crime" and "felony." But today even Mr. Wilson's attorney has backed off those claims Wages of vigilance Michelle Malkin The Washington Times It is not the incivility of the Ashcroft-haters that galls me. It is the unmitigated insipidity and apathy they display toward what this man and his department have done to protect their right to be free, safe and stupid	New rule Bill Maher Salon.com Let's just be real and admit that finally, and unfortunately, true class warfare has come to America. Yale class of '66 vs. Yale class of '68 Poll: Bush Leads Among 4-to-8-Year-Olds Confusion Road Kerry Unpopular With All-Important "Crayon Kids" The Pundit on the Desktop Mike Morton and Sabra Morton The New York Times Ars Magna, the software program that always answers in anagrams, has been giving some thought to the presidential election Who let the Americans on board? Pat Oliphant The New York Times Officer's gun goes off during ACC game, shooting him in buttocks Associated Press The News and Observer The officer reportedly jumped up to celebrate a score

Friday, March 12, 2004

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Investigation of Bombings in Madrid Yields Conflicting Clues Tim Golden and Don Van Natta, Jr. The New York Times "The problem is that ETA has never taken a step of this magnitude before. This would be off the charts for them." The Empire Backfires Jonathan Schell The Nation To weigh the full cost, one must look not just at the war itself but away from it, at the progress of the larger policy it served, at things that have been done elsewhere--some far from Iraq or deep in the past--and, perhaps above all, at things that have been left undone Distant voices Joseph Stiglitz The Guardian (UK) A new report, issued by the International Labour Organisation's commission on the social dimensions of globalisation, reminds us how far the Bush administration is out of line with the global consensus The Bubble of American Supremacy George Soros WorkingForChange.com We are spending $160 billion in Iraq; a small fraction of that sum could have made a tremendous difference if used in a constructive way around the world Hidden Truths Brian Urquhart The New York Review of Books The first four years of the twenty-first century have produced enough strange and unsettling developments to haunt a far longer period You can't force democracy Michael Bell The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) The administration neglected one basic element in any successful initiative: discussions with those who would be directly affected, namely the Arabs Tradition and inexperience threaten Afghan poll James Astill The Guardian (UK) "There's very little understanding of what the process is. Things we take for granted, like women's rights and political parties, many Afghans have never heard of" 3 Afghan Youths Question U.S. Captivity Carlotta Gall The New York Times Their detention leaves unanswered the question of why three juveniles, none of whom were captured on a battlefield or were carrying weapons, were held for so long without explanation at the Bagram air base, near Kabul, and then at Guantánamo Bay Sanctions Against Syria Nearly Ready Robin Wright and Glenn Kessler The Washington Post The Bush administration is in the final stages of deciding on new punitive measures to take against Syria, but is trying to limit any damage to intelligence cooperation from Damascus or to U.S. business deals on oil and communications Russia feels the power of Putin Preston Mendenhall NBC News MSNBC The ominous influence of the Kremlin, felt most often through the actions of loyal local bureaucrats, the security services and the state media, is omnipresent for Putin's opposition. But there's one thing all the candidates admit: the president is immensely popular Editorial: The House That Putin Built The Christian Science Monitor Imagine how much stronger Russia could be if its bureaucrats were not extortioners, if its stock market was not yanked around by the indiscriminate arrest of a leading business figure, if the media could freely debate Chechnya (a huge drain on the budget) Beijing rhetoric intensifies against Hong Kong activists Robert Marquand The Christian Science Monitor This week state news agencies again went into high gear to criticize legislator Martin Lee, a well-known activist who gave testimony about democratic sentiments before the US Senate's Asian and Pacific Subcommitte Rise of the Milblogs Hugh Hewitt The Weekly Standard These first person accounts of the world and the nation through the eyes of front-line troops are changing the nature not just of the blogosphere but of American reporting Only the Marching Band Oscar Arias The Washington Post The abolition of the army makes as much sense today as it did in 1995 When Is a ‘Terrorist’ not a Terrorist? Marcela Sanchez The Washington Post Clumsy efforts to fit a complex problem into the particular niche of the moment can make it much more difficult to address that problem tomorrow	Key Republicans Admit Anxiety Over Campaign Mark Z. Barabak and Janet Hook The Los Angeles Times Even some inside the campaign acknowledge Bush's reelection team has been less than sure-footed in responding to Kerry's daily attacks and to the anxiety in states where job losses remain a critical issue Ads Backwards Mark J. Penn The New Republic The issues that Americans care most about today are the ones where the president is weakest--the economy and health care. But rather than try to address this weakness, Bush seems content to avoid it The Bush-McCain love-hate relationship Howard Fineman Newsweek The deeper wound was South Carolina. The good ol' boy supporters of the Bush Team savaged McCain and his family, spreading vicious rumors about their character and racial makeup President Overstates Kerry's Record on Intelligence Budget Walter Pincus and Dana Milbank The Washington Post President Bush, in his first major assault on Sen. John F. Kerry's legislative record, said this week that his Democratic opponent proposed a $1.5 billion cut in the intelligence budget, a proposal that would "gut the intelligence services" Fighting Dirty Robert Kuttner The American Prospect The Bush campaign has a problem. Almost any unflattering issue they bring up about John Kerry tends to reflect worse on President Bush. One thinks of the old proverb, "Never mention a rope in the house of a man who was hanged." No More Excuses on Jobs Paul Krugman The New York Times The administration should feel grateful that so many people have dropped out. As the Economic Policy Institute points out, if they hadn't dropped out, the official unemployment rate would be an eye-popping 7.4 percent, not a politically spinnable 5.6 percent It's The Economic Team, Stupid David Kusnet TomPaine.com Kerry, the Democrats, and their allies have failed to capitalize as much as they could on a string of five gaffes on economic issues by Bush administration officials Kerry refuses to apologize to GOP Associated Press MSNBC A group of GOP leaders in the House and Senate called on Kerry to stop negative campaigning even while describing him as “Ted Kennedy on a South Beach diet” Beware the Bushwomen Laura Flanders The Nation Alternet When a kinder, gentler spin is necessary for any of George Bush's policy decisions, his administration turns to a crack team: the Bushwomen Behind the gender gap Linda Feldmann The Christian Science Monitor Bush can get away with lower support from women as long as he keeps support from men high. And that is exactly what the president seems to be doing in the early phase of the campaign Democratic pollster says Bush's Hispanic support stagnant Julie Mason The Houston Chronicle Stanley Greenberg, former pollster for President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, said his new national survey of Hispanic voters shows Bush hasn't moved past the 35 percent he claimed in 2000 Role in Haiti Events Backfiring on Washington Jim Lobe Inter Press Service CommonDreams.org Last week's U.S.-backed ''regime change'' in Haiti could yet backfire against the administration of President George W Bush, according to independent analysts and Democrats who are describing the U.S. role as another major foreign-policy blunder -- or worse Judge Roy Moore Speaks! Timothy Noah Slate Moore's brand of religious fanaticism in the Oval Office would be ruinous to the country and dangerous to the world. But this is no time to dwell on such trivialities. What's important is that Moore is thinking of running for president on a third-party ticket Howard Stern's schwing voters Eric Boehlert Salon.com Declaring a "radio jihad" against President Bush, syndicated morning man Howard Stern and his burgeoning crusade to drive Republicans from the White House is shaping up as a colossal media headache for the GOP A Bright Hope in Illinois Harold Meyerson The Washington Post Barack Obama, if elected, would not only become the sole African American in the Senate: He would also be the most distinctly American of its members
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
A question of justice? The Economist (UK) The toll of global poverty is a scandal. But deploring economic “injustice” is no answer The Mind of John Kerry Daniel Henninger The Wall Street Journal Iraq aside, one must doubt that Mr. Kerry would have attacked the Taliban in Afghanistan on the scale and with the ferociousness of Mr. Bush's successful assault Bush and Kerry need to focus on debate, not feelings Jonah Goldberg The Washington Times I have no principled objection to the families of 9/11 victims using their status to express their opinions. What offends me is the idea that these families have some kind of veto power over what others can say about 9/11 Thicker than Oil Victor Davis Hanson National Review It has now been almost a year since the liberation of Iraq, the fury of the antiwar rallies, and the publicized hectoring of Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Sean Penn, and other assorted conspiracy freaks — and we have enough evidence to lay some of their myths to rest Parallels from the past William Goldcamp/Nancy Goldcamp The Washington Times If Democrat political activists can persuade people who lost loved ones on September 11 to turn their grief to crass political ends, they have all dishonored the victims of September 11, belittled their own humanity, and tried to put the nation at risk during wartime	Eating Their Words William Rivers Pitt TomPaine.com A collection of the truly nutty things conservatives say Today's Growth Industries Mark Fiore WorkingForChange.com With a recovery like this, who needs a recession? Toilet seats are cleaner than keyboards or telephone dials: study Agence France Presse Yahoo! The study recommends that office work stations be regularly disinfected since they can on average contain 400 times as many germs as a toilet seat The Adventures Of Super Prez: A Private Diary By The Commander-in-Chief's Alter Ego Chortler I had the privilege of attending Mr. Gibson's new film the other night. I found it lacking in the Bergmanesque subtlety that is more to my liking, but more importantly I found several of the Aramaic nuances fell flat Analysis Of The Batman Theme Song Craig Shields McSweeney's Forceful and at the same time plainly stated, we here are shown Batman in full, unvarnished truth. Full of aspiration, yet subject to the pitfalls of mortal life, Batman simply is

Saturday, February 21, 2004 - Thursday, March 11: A long break caused by workload and travel. Hope to be back soon.