The Archives: January 15-30, 2005

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The Archives: January 15-30, 2005

Sunday, January 30, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
The Vote, and Democracy Itself, Leave Anxious Iraqis Divided John F. Burns The New York Times Among people chosen at random on the streets, wariness toward the elections was entangled with complaints about American helicopters clattering low above rooftops at night, Humvee-borne troops bursting into neighborhood homes after midnight and carrying people away, and relatives and friends being killed and wounded Iraqis Wonder: Was It Worth It? Doug Struck The Washington Post Twenty-one months after the fall of a hated dictatorship, some Iraqis are asking whether their lives are better now than they were under Hussein. The answers are mixed A Sealed, Silent City Awaits Voting Day With Hope and Fear Anthony Shadid The Washington Post Baghdad was a city under siege Saturday, suspended between hope and fear Unmasking the Insurgents Rod Nordland, Tom Masland and Christopher Dickey Newsweek Shadow war: The elections won't stop the bombers, but quality intel—and luck—might help Who's Dying in Our War? Rone Tempest The Los Angeles Times The answer is Army Reservists and National Guardsmen such as Californian Patrick McCaffrey Elections Are Not Democracy Fareed Zakaria Newsweek Unless there is a major change in course, Iraq is on track to become another corrupt, oil-rich quasi-democracy, like Russia and Nigeria Iraqis fight a lonely battle for democracy Michael Ignatieff The Observer (UK) Whatever your view of the war, you should embrace today's election The Doctrine That Never Died Tom Wolfe The New York Times By Mr. Bush's Inauguration Day, the Hemi in Hemisphere had long since vanished, leaving the Monroe Doctrine with - what? - nothing but a single sphere ... which is to say, the entire world The Great Middle East Shake-Up Steven R. Weisman The New York Times The war in Iraq is transforming the Middle East and its relations with the United States in directions the Bush administration might not have expected The Geo-Green Alternative Thomas L. Friedman The New York Times The carrot the Iranians want for abandoning their nuclear program is not just unfettered trade with the West, but some kind of assurances that if they give up their nuclear research programs, the U.S. will agree to some kind of nonaggression accord. The Bush team has been reluctant to do this, because it wants regime change in Iran Torture Chicks Gone Wild Maureen Dowd The New York Times The Bush administration never worries about anything. But these missionaries and zealous protectors of values should be worried about the American soul Saying nothing is torture in itself Jeff Jacoby The Boston Globe Who has better reason to be outraged by this scandal than those of us who support the war? More than anyone, it is the war hawks who should be infuriated by it. It shouldn't have taken me this long to say so 10 Questions For Muammar Gaddafi Scott MacLeod and Amany Radwan Time Libya's socialist leader talks to TIME about WMD, paradise and terrorism Bogota mayor wins hearts with local appeal John Otis The Houston Chronicle Garzon, who has emerged as one of the country's most popular politicians, has a keen understanding of down-and-out Bogotanos. He used to be one Thousands Mourn Chinese Ex-Leader Philip P. Pan The Washington Post They came from the walled compounds of the Communist Party elite and the shantytowns of the disgruntled and dispossessed, from universities and office towers, from villages and cities across China. They came to mourn the death of a man the party had hoped they would forget	Don't Mind Me. I'm Just Doing My Job Paul Farhi The Washington Post The Bush team has expanded the use of "minders," employees or volunteers who escort journalists from interview to interview within a venue or at a newsworthy event Where Has All the Eloquence Gone? Dennis Drabelle The Washington Post In a sitcom and sound-bite culture that puts a premium on the lightning comeback, the one-liner, the wisecrack, the catch phrase and the political mantra, the Iraq war has highlighted just how few true orators we have today Time for talk Deborah Tannen Newsday In much of the world, discussing - even arguing about - politics is a popular pastime. For most Americans, talking about politics is considered inappropriate, even unseemly, especially if the people you're talking to disagree with you Bush Aims To Forge A GOP Legacy Thomas B. Edsall and John F. Harris The Washington Post One rung away from the White House, many Bush allies make no effort to disguise their glee at the payoffs these ideas could bring to interest groups allied with the GOP To Some, 'Chief Justice Scalia' Has a Certain Ring Charles Lane The Washington Post Scalia -- seeing an opportunity to move up to chief justice if the current chief, William H. Rehnquist, who is 80 and seriously ill, leaves -- is fine-tuning his image President Bush on voting rights: Is he savvy or just clueless? Clarence Page The Chicago Tribune The president responded, according to witnesses, in a way that made caucus jaws drop: He did not know enough about that particular law to respond to it, he said, and that he would deal with the legislation when it comes up Regression after 'Year of the Woman' Susan Milligan The Boston Globe The number of women seeking office in state legislatures declined over the last election cycle, continuing a 12-year pattern that women's advocates and political analysts say could quickly erode the unprecedented number of women in the 109th US Congress The new boss Matt Bai The New York Times Andy Stern, who leads the largest and fastest-growing union in the country, is determined to save the American worker. And he's willing to tear apart the labor movement — and perhaps the Democratic Party as well — in order to do it
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Drifting from freedom Richard W. Rahn The Washington Times The U.S. is on a government taxing, spending and, most of all, regulating, binge that in the long run is incompatible with a free and prosperous society Oil, Oil Everywhere . . . Peter Huber and Mark Mills The Wall Street Journal The earth is far bigger than people think, the untapped deposits are huge, and the technologies for separating oil from planet keep getting better	Give a Blood Chit to the Confusion Agent Peter Edidin The New York Times The Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms is striking for the resourcefulness of the compilers and for its surreal humor

Saturday, January 29, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Flashback to the 60's: A Sinking Sensation of Parallels Between Iraq and Vietnam Todd S. Purdum The New York Times Nearly two years after the American invasion of Iraq, such comparisons are no longer dismissed in mainstream political discourse as facile and flawed, but are instead bubbling to the top A Hard-Fought Political Campaign -- As Seen on TV Anthony Shadid The Washington Post The ads are one facet of what has proved so remarkable and so difficult about Iraq's election, the first free balloting in the country in half a century How Much Power Will the New Iraqi Government Really Have? Stephen Zunes Common Dreams What the Bush Administration and most members of Congress of both parties fail to acknowledge is that Iraq cannot be pro-American without being at least somewhat autocratic and it cannot be democratic without being at least somewhat anti-American Vote and/or die Mitchell Prothero Salon.com Braving death, a few Shiites hit the streets to turn out the vote -- and inspire one flag-waving Iraqi to welcome an American reporter Tough image aids Allawi in polls Thanassis Cambanis The Boston Globe Allawi's election campaign has sought to strike familiar notes in a society ruled until less than two years ago by Saddam Hussein, with his iron fist and cult of personality US debate focuses on plan B - to stay on or to go? Julian Borger The Guardian (UK) On the eve of the Iraqi elections, a debate has begun in Washington over what America's "plan B" should be if the vote does not bring the stability the Bush administration is hoping for Commander Gives His Take The Houston Chronicle Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, met with the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board on Friday afternoon Shiite Faction Ready to Shun Sunday's Election in Iraq Dexter Filkins The New York Times A radical cleric's refusal to endorse the election foreshadowed a less than overwhelming voter turnout in Iraq U.S. Nervously Awaits Iraqi Elections Robin Wright The Washington Post Several Sunni governments have expressed concern to the United States that a Shiite government -- the first in the Arab world -- could inspire the rise of a new Shiite "crescent" stretching from Iran on the Persian Gulf to Lebanon The Emergence of the Homeland Security State Nick Turse TomDispatch Mother Jones While it's true that most Americans have yet to feel the brunt of such policies, select groups, including Muslims, Arab immigrants, Arab- Americans, and anti-war protesters, have served as test subjects for a potential Homeland Security juggernaut Australian's Long Path in U.S. Antiterrorism Maze Raymond Bonner The New York Times Mr. Habib's journey came to an unexpected end on Friday afternoon at Sydney's international airport when he stepped off a white executive jet and was set free The Inquisition Strikes Back Jules Siegel AlterNet In 'Guantanamo: What the World Should Know,' it's hard to say which is more disgusting, the descriptions of the torture or the bone-chilling analyses of how the president gave himself the powers of an absolute military dictator The De Soto Delusion John Gravois Slate Peruvian Economist Hernando de Soto 's ideas for helping the poor have made him a global celebrity. Now, if only those ideas worked. … Transferring cost of war to Latin America is morally, politically wrong Geoff Thale The Miami Herald In Iraq, U.S. contractors are recruiting people from poor Latin American countries to carry out security tasks Hamas Dominates Local Vote in Gaza John Ward Anderson The Washington Post Hamas, aided by Saudi Arabia and Iran, had spent much of the last decade "creating a vast civilian infrastructure with schools, clinics, day care centers and a vast network of propaganda, and what you are seeing now is the fruits of that long effort." McCain cautions on use of force in Iran Krishna Guha, Andrew Gowers and Demetri Sevastopulo Financial Times (UK) Mr McCain's comments, in an interview with the Financial Times at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, illustrate the opposition within the president's own party to any attempting military intervention Farewell to a righteous official Isabel Hilton The Guardian (UK) Zhao Ziyang is dead and buried, but the memory of Tiananmen Square remains very much alive Editorial: 'For the Triumph of Evil' The Washington Post The United States and its allies have sounded gruff and impatient about Darfur for months, and they have provided generous relief supplies. But they haven't done what's needed to alter the basic calculation of Sudan 's regime: that it can get away with genocide Aid crackdown facing legal test David R. Sands The Washington Times Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is trying to quash a last bastion of opposition with harsh legislation targeting private humanitarian and charity groups	Security Nominee Gave Advice to the C.I.A. on Torture Laws David Johnston, Neil A. Lewis, and Douglas Jehl The New York Times Depending on the circumstances, he told the intelligence agency, some coercive methods could be legal, but he advised against others Howard Dean or anybody but? Tim Grieve Salon.com Two very different politicians are leading the race for the DNC chair, but neither has the contest clinched -- and others are closing in. Where is the Democratic Party going? He's Still "That Man" Daniel Gross Slate Social Security is an opportunity to refight—and perhaps win—a series of arguments the Republicans lost badly 70 years ago. To put it another way, it's a chance to knock down Franklin Roosevelt
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Democracy in Baghdad The Wall Street Journal The best thing the Coalition can do after Sunday is step back and finally let Iraqis run their country for real A Day of Iraqi Hope Steve Hadley The Washington Post The portrayal of Iraq as a country sharply divided along Shiite and Sunni lines does not do justice to Iraq's complexities Unilateral Withdrawal is Irresponsible Michael Rubin Haaretz (Israel) American Enterprise Institute If Sharon goes ahead with Gaza disengagement, generations both inside and outside Israel will be sacrificed upon the altar of his legacy Freedom over Cynicism Larry Kudlow National Review “Let Reagan be Reagan,” was the cry of that great president’s loyal supporters. How is it that Peggy Noonan is now deciding, “Don’t let Bush be Bush”? The Bushies' New Groove David Brooks The New York Times Bush folks have not developed any new love for the Security Council. Instead, they are much more interested in working with regional groups, like the Organization of American States They Always Bash Bush First Peter Berkowitz The Weekly Standard The trouble for Dionne's sarcastic description of Bush as "an idealist on Thursday and a realist on Friday" is that Bush and his team blended idealism and realism on both days The Ruthless Party Fred Barnes The Weekly Standard Dean is delusional. He and other Democrats cannot confer or deny legitimacy. Nor do they really understand the lessons of the Gingrich era.	Character Education Steve Hely The New Republic Imagine this scenario: Two lesbians are meeting in secret, feeling confident and secure as they plot to infiltrate a children's cartoon. Suddenly, their scheming is interrupted by the piercing sound of a Blackhawk helicopter Doonesbury G.B. Trudeau 10 years. If they're drunk, 15 Danziger Jeff Danziger The Iceman Calleth Cheney Criticized for Attire at Auschwitz Ceremony Reuters Yahoo! "The vice president, however, was dressed in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower"

Friday, January 28, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
We didn't see God when we expected to Aharon Appelfeld The Guardian (UK) "We didn't see God when we expected him, so we have no choice but to do what he was supposed to do: we will protect the weak, we will love, we will comfort. From now on, the responsibility is all ours." FBI in Talks to Extend Reach Richard B. Schmitt and Greg Miller The Los Angeles Times The FBI is significantly expanding its intelligence-gathering activities in the U.S., including stepped-up efforts to collect and report intelligence on foreign figures and governments, a function that long has been principally the CIA's domain On Campaign Trail, a Single Shot Steve Fainaru The Washington Post On the campaign trail in Iraq, U.S. troops are almost alone. Violence has kept away the election monitors, international peacekeepers and nongovernmental organizations that normally perform the basic tasks Displaced Militants Adapt, Widen Their Scope Jeffrey Fleishman The Los Angeles Times Hit by U.S. airstrikes, Ansar al Islam fighters fled from the Kurdish north, changing their name and strategies to remain a key threat The Last Casualty Lawrence F. Kaplan The New Republic Iraqi liberals have been so thoroughly marginalized that Sunday's elections, which should be the crowning achievement of Iraqi liberalism, may instead signal its end In Violence-Prone Mosul, Voters Will Need a Shield of Snipers Christine Hauser and Thom Shanker The New York Times An election will be held Sunday in this violence-racked city of 1.6 million, but it remains an open question here - as in so many other Sunni Arab cities where the insurgent presence is strong - whether enough people will brave the dangers Iraq election defies consensus Georgie Anne Geyer The Chicago Tribune Let's suspend criticism for at least a few days and watch carefully on Sunday: It might be the beginning of something better. Stranger things have happened across the centuries, even in the worst aftermaths of human folly A High Stakes Gamble: Betting on the Iraq Election Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress provides the following scenarios for what may unfold. (Spin the wheel) Hoon and Rumsfeld agree Iraq exit strategy Patrick Wintour and Ewen MacAskill The Guardian (UK) "Everything the defence secretary is working towards now is an exit strategy, but without a public timetable," said a British military source Iraqis' big issue: US exit plan Scott Peterson and Dan Murphy The Christian Science Monitor US troops are vital to security for Sunday's vote, but pressure is growing for them to leave Political lists to watch The Christian Science Monitor The following coalitions are expected to do well in the Iraqi elections Sunday Closing in on Vietnam Derrick Z. Jackson The Boston Globe Iraq has already cost more in current dollars than either the Civil War or World War I. It is about to pass the Korean War. We are on pace to pass Vietnam in two or three years Iraqi democrats can't win in this desperate election Jonathan Steele The Guardian (UK) The key issue of how long the occupation should continue has not been debated. This leaves the many Iraqis who want to see an early end to it in a dilemma Fantasy Island Eric Alterman The Nation Bush, like Reagan before him, invokes America 's highest ideals on behalf of a policy that supports mass murder and terrorism. Even when the reality of this gruesome charade is revealed, mainstream debate ignores it The Market Shall Set You Free Robert Wright The New York Times Right-wing hawks thrive on depicting tyranny as a force of nature, when in fact nature is working toward its demise Editorial: America's Promises The New York Times Michael Phillips of The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House has quietly informed the managers of the Millennium Challenge Account to expect about $3 billion in the next budget. This follows a sad pattern Despite 'reforms,' food crisis hits N. Korea Donald Kirk The Christian Science Monitor In dire economic straits, North Korea is showing vague signs of willingness to rejoin the so-called six-party talks N. Korea Talks May Hinge on Bush Glenn Kessler The Washington Post A bipartisan group of lawmakers that recently traveled to North Korea has written President Bush to urge him not to make provocative statements about the reclusive nation in next week's State of the Union address Editorial: Wanted: Iran policy Financial Times (UK) The EU has pursued a policy of engagement, while the US does not have a policy so much as an attitude. Neither will get anywhere on its own Egypt's presidential elections Nir Boms and Aaron Mannes The Washington Times An open political contest in the largest Arab nation would be an enormous advance for democracy in the Middle East. But Mr. Ibrahim will probably not get this chance Lawmakers resist efforts to reduce defense spending Brian DeBose The Washington Times After four years of higher defense spending, some lawmakers and budget watchdogs say it's time to look at cutting back — but they are running straight into other lawmakers War and Drugs in Colombia International Crisis Group Lumping anti-drug policies and anti-insurgency policies together in Colombia reduces the chances either will succeed and hinders the search for peace Latin America Stuck in Stage-Two Democracy Marcela Sanchez The Washington Post Two decades into market reforms, Latin America still suffers from the world's worst disparities between rich and poor Democracy and its discontents The Economist (UK) Nigeria has been a civilian democracy for nearly six years now, and its people show no appetite for a return to the bad old days of bemedalled presidents. Why, then, are so many prominent Nigerians so gloomy? Critics See Hypocrisy in China's Support for Baghdad Elections Mark Magnier The Los Angeles Times China has contributed $1 million to help organize Sunday's election in Iraq, raising questions at home and abroad about how a country that supports balloting in another land can deny its citizens a chance to vote for their leaders Beyond Ukraine Amitabh Pal The Progressive In several instances in other countries of the former Soviet Union, the Bush Administration has backed dictatorships much worse than the government of Ukraine Editorial: A Warming Climate The Washington Post Although environmentalists and the business lobby sometimes make it sound as if no climate change compromise is feasible, several informal coalitions in Washington suggest the opposite Rights abusers to rule on complaints at U.N. Nicholas Kralev The Washington Times Cuba , Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia have been elected to a five-member panel that will decide which complaints are heard by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights	Bush Faces New Skepticism From Republicans on Hill Mike Allen The Washington Post Republican lawmakers are expressing trepidation about some of Bush's plans, putting him in the undesirable position of having to sell himself to his own party when he could be focusing on Democrats and independents Outsider looking in Mark Z. Barabak The Los Angeles Times Less than a year after his presidential campaign was left a heap of cinders, the former Vermont governor is the odds-on favorite to take over the Democratic Party Sister Hillary The Economist (UK) The number of people who deny any religious identification has doubled from 14.3m in 1990 to 29.4m in 2001—and many of them will do anything to stop the Democrats from drenching themselves with God The American Promise: A Future of Security, Opportunity and Responsibility Senate Democrats The Democratic Agenda for the 109th Congress Waxman: Democrats' Eliot Ness David Corn The Nation Waxman, the senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, established himself as the Democrats' chief pursuer of purported wrongdoing within the Bush Administration Dick Durbin: Bush Fighter John Nichols The Nation There is every indication that he intends to show Congressional Democrats how to be something they have not been since Bush assumed the presidency: an effective opposition After the love is gone Debra J. Saunders The San Francisco Chronicle If the Democrats had nominated an anti-war candidate, at least there would have been a debate on the war, instead of the niggling Kerry distinctions about how Bush waged the war Dressing down the emperors Tobias Webb The Guardian ( UK ) Monks says there is a new class in America - the top officers of publicly traded companies. He cites the tremendous accumulation of wealth by these new oligarchs US economy grew 3.1% in final quarter Christopher Swann Financial Times (UK) The US economy grew at an annualised 3.1 per cent in the final three months of last year, slightly below expectations of 3.4 per cent
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Open Letter The Weekly Standard A bipartisan group urges the congressional leadership to substantively increase the size of the Army and the Marines Strange Politics Victor Davis Hanson National Review In 2008, we could see another splintering of conservatives as happened in 1992 and 1996 The Left Loses College Kids Brian C. Anderson The Los Angeles Times The left's long dominion over the university — the last place on Earth that the left's power would break up, conservatives believed — is showing its first signs of weakening Using Our Military for Others' Interests Doug Bandow The Cato Institute The San Diego Union-Tribune One reason the U.S. military is badly stretched is because Washington continues to maintain garrisons around the globe. Traditional commitments in Asia and Europe have been supplemented by sporadic intervention elsewhere Editorial: Harry Reid's Choice The Wall Street Journal Tom Daschle lost his majority and then his own career taking Ted Kennedy's advice. Democrats who want their party to succeed had better hope Harry Reid doesn't make the same mistake	You Can't Be a Little Bit Pregnant Martin Bell McSweeney's You are much less full of grace than full of intestinal parasites Iraqis bitterly divided over Oscar nominations Andy Borowitz The Borowitz Report After “The Aviator” scooped up 11 nominations, drawing cheers from Shiites across the country, furious Sunnis howled in protest that “Sideways,” a Sunni favorite, only picked up six

Thursday, January 27, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
First know your donkey Timothy Garton Ash The Guardian (UK) Ukraine is the right way to spread freedom, Iraq the wrong way. Has this lesson come too late for Iran ? 2020 Vision Fred Kaplan Slate A CIA report predicts that American global dominance could end in 15 years My Sharansky Chris Suellentrop Slate Here's where Sharanksy disagrees with the president's policies, plus a grab bag of other interesting tidbits Controversial Pentagon Official Is Stepping Down Eric Schmitt The New York Times Mr. Feith acknowledged that he was a flash point for many of the Pentagon's most contentious policies Across Baghdad, Security Is Only an Ideal John F. Burns The New York Times Daily life here has become a deadly lottery, a place so fraught with danger that one senior American military officer acknowledged at a briefing last month that nowhere in the area assigned to his troops could be considered safe Divided Kirkuk a rich political prize Borzou Daragahi The San Francisco Chronicle Kirkuk, although in the north, lies outside the boundaries of Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region, which will elect its own parliament on Sunday. But many Kurds consider the city theirs U.S. Apparently Underestimated Size of Insurgency, Top Commander Says Patrick J. McDonnell The Los Angeles Times U.S. forces killed or captured about 15,000 suspected militants in Iraq last year, the top U.S. commander in the country said Wednesday, suggesting that the American military has underestimated the strength of the insurgency Insult to injury Mark Benjamin Salon.com Some wounded soldiers back from Iraq are having to pay for meals at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Veterans' groups say it's another symptom of fighting a costly war on the cheap Election Putting Neighboring Nations on Edge Megan K. Stack and Tyler Marshall The Los Angeles Times Countries in the region are vexed by Sunday's vote: They fear Shiite rule, sectarian violence, instability and a surge in demands for democracy Iraqi Sheik Struggles for Votes, And Against Religious Tradition Anthony Shadid The Washington Post Aidani is a minority within Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, running on a small campaign list opposed by the United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition that has the tacit endorsement of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani Iraq: Allaying Turkey's Fears Over Kurdish Ambitions International Crisis Group From Ankara's perspective, chaos or civil war in Iraq, the creation of a Kurdish state in the north with Kirkuk as its capital that would serve as a magnet or model for Turkey's own Kurdish population, or a combination of the above, are nightmare scenarios Editorial: Military Rumblings on Iran The New York Times The most effective leverage available to Washington is international economic sanctions. If American diplomacy can line up traditional European allies, there is a fair chance that the Iranian nuclear program can still be stopped Iran's theocracy has a lot riding on Iraqi democracy Barbara Slavin USA Today If Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority dominates the voting, as is now expected, Iran's own Shiite government could suddenly have a friendly neighbor after decades of hostility Bush Caught Off Guard by Case of Jailed Jordanian Glenn Kessler and Scott Wilson The Washington Post The circumstances are somewhat murky, but in many ways the case signifies the difficult choices and trade-offs inherent in Bush's call in his inaugural address for the right to dissent and protest around the world Time running out to stop Kosovo's descent in violence Simon Tisdall The Guardian (UK) Kosovo is fast becoming "the black hole of Europe" and could descend into renewed violence within weeks unless the EU takes urgent action, senior diplomats and international experts warned Battle bot: the future of war? Gregory M. Lamb The Christian Science Monitor Sharpshooting robots evoke 'Terminator.' The more pertinent question is how these automated soldiers will transform military conflict	President Bush's News Conference The New York Times The fact that they're voting in itself is successful. Again, this is a long process The Honeymoon Is Over Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey Newsweek For a president who loathes admitting mistakes, his press conference was as close as Bush is going to get to a concession that the first few weeks of the new year have not gone wholly according to plan What Are We Fighting For? Lakshmi Chaudhry AlterNet In a provocative interview, Naomi Klein talks about Bush, the Iraq war and the need for progressives to “answer the language of faith with the language of morality” Freedom, but in full Ellen Goodman The Boston Globe "Life," "God," and now "Freedom." If the right wing ever gets a lock on "Love," it's a grand slam Unanswered Questions Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball Newsweek The unexpectedly narrow, 10-8 party-line vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm Alberto Gonzales as attorney general was really the product of deep-seated frustration among moderate Democrats Boxer's Spine Gets Her Cut Off at the Knees Margaret Carlson The Los Angeles Times In Washington, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice sail on, and everybody's mad at Barbara Boxer Nutty for Nino Nicholas Thompson Slate If the religious right is salivating over the prospect of Scalia as chief when the seriously ill William Rehnquist retires, accede. Just demand that the president nominate a moderate associate justice in return Black Evangelicals: Bush's New Trump Card Earl Ofari Hutchinson Pacific News Service Alternet George Bush and Karl Rove hope to bypass black civil rights leadership to make deals with black evangelicals and assure future electoral victory in battleground states
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
A Sourpuss? Moi? Peggy Noonan The Wall Street Journal To declare that it is now the policy of the United States to eradicate tyranny in the world … seemed to me, and seems to me, rhetorical and emotional overreach of the most embarrassing sort An alliance of democracies Sylvain Charat The Washington Times The United Nations may be unfit to face the challenge of terrorism — which requires it to take a hard line against dictatorships Digging Into Seymour Hersh Max Boot The Los Angeles Times That Hersh remains a revered figure in American journalism suggests that the media have yet to recover from the paranoid style of the 1960s Through Scheuer's Eyes Tom Donnelly The Weekly Standard If the American invasion of this country is really just an exercise in "Imperial Hubris," as Anonymous author and former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer would have it, I confess that I'm entirely fooled	Doonesbury G.B. Trudeau So it's just a few dead-enders? Tom the Dancing Bug Ruben Bolling Salon.com Baby-Eating Aliens party to reform chest cavities

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
How America Became the World's Dispensable Nation Michael Lind The Financial Times The New America Foundation Europe, China, Russia, Latin America and other regions and nations are quietly taking measures whose effect, if not sole purpose, will be to cut America down to size Closing the Neocon Circle Michael Hirsh Newsweek It is possible that America’s new embrace of Sharanskyism will also prove to be a recipe for eternal conflict Reality Check for the Neo-Wilsonians David Ignatius The Washington Post The neo-Wilsonians in the administration need to connect the president's idealism about global transformation with the reality that even America's immense power has its limits U.N. Report Calls for Help to Ease U.S. Budget and Trade Deficits Elizabeth Becker The New York Times In a report, "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2005," the United Nations said that the budget and trade deficits of the United States were putting the global economy off balance Editorial: A Degrading Policy The Washington Post According to President Bush's closest legal adviser, this administration continues to assert its right to indefinitely hold foreigners in secret locations without any legal process; to deny them access to the International Red Cross; to transport them to countries where torture is practiced; and to subject them to treatment that is "cruel, inhumane or degrading," Pentagon Prepares to Rethink Focus on Conventional Warfare Bradley Graham The Washington Post The Pentagon has drafted terms for an ambitious reshaping of U.S. forces that would put less emphasis on waging conventional warfare and more on dealing with insurgencies, terrorist networks, failed states and other nontraditional threats Shake Hands With the Devil: An Interview With Roméo Dallaire Jeff Fleischer Mother Jones The former head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Rwanda on genocide and the failure of humanity Iraq: Torture Continues at Hands of New Government Human Rights Watch Iraqi security forces are committing systematic torture and other abuses against people in detention, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today Iraq's female candidates raise voices before vote Thanassis Cambanis The Boston Globe The women are also entering political life in the shadow of a particularly brutal history in Najaf, historically the site of countless murders of Shi'ite leaders A Plan for U.S. Troop Withdrawal: Congressman Meehan Offers A Plan The Brookings Institution By rallying behind the Administration's policies, the Republican Congress failed in its responsibility to lead—and not just follow—on issues of war and peace. At the same time, many Democrats who opposed the war from the beginning have spent more energy lamenting the past Iraqi Insurgency Proves Tough to Crack Patrick J. McDonnell The Los Angeles Times U.S. officials no longer believe this weekend's election will finish off the rebellion, whose disparate factions unite in hating the Americans Sunnis Weigh the Risks of Running Doug Struck The Washington Post The Sunnis are the targets of an intimidation campaign by insurgents using violence to disrupt the elections. Under threat of death, they have been warned not to run, not to vote, not to participate U.S. general says he can't guarantee voters will be safe Jill Carroll USA Today “I wouldn't begin to say that,” said Maj. Gen. John Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, when asked whether voters would be able to cast ballots safely Sunday Missed opportunities in Iraq Madeleine K. Albright USA Today In the democratic symphony, elections are but a single note. An election that produces more of the same, or possibly even worse, will mean neither success nor victory U.S. delays aerial anti-opium drive Guy Taylor The Washington Times The United States is postponing its proposal to use aerial-sprayed chemicals to destroy opium fields in Afghanistan, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai opposed the plan Sifting intelligence tips from vendettas in Afghanistan Lane Hartill The Christian Science Monitor Widespread tribal disputes still lead to bad information, frustrating both US Marines and Afghan villagers Martyr Complex Jonathan Spence The New York Times Mr. Zhao played a role that has often made Chinese governments deeply uneasy: that of a bold and visionary reformer who insistently calls for change and openness in a tightly controlled political environment The rise of Israel's pious warriors Joshua Mitnick The Christian Science Monitor If Prime Minister Ariel Sharon orders the military to carry out the withdrawal, it will be challenged by the rulings of some revered rabbis Embracing the Vote in Gaza John Ward Anderson The Washington Post Some Palestinians say that the local and legislative elections could be key steps toward transforming Palestinian armed groups -- some of which, like Hamas, are pledged to Israel's destruction -- into more moderate political organizations Global poverty targeted as 100,000 gather in Brazil John Vidal The Guardian (UK) Activists join presidents as annual World Social Forum gets under way in Porto Alegre Road to Hell Peter Maass The New Republic Battered by criticism, oil companies have started investing in community development in the Third World. Too bad their efforts often make things worse	Nomination of Condoleezza Rice to be Secretary of State U.S. Senate These policies have fostered enormous opposition, both at home and abroad, to the White House's view of America's place in the world Boxer's rebellion and Democrats' new tone Gail Russell Chaddock The Christian Science Monitor The contrast between Senator Boxer's moves and the more modulated tones of the party's new Senate leadership team is partly a matter of personal style, but it also reflects the challenge that Democrats face as the minority party In Senate, Democrats Assail Rice and U.S. Policy in Iraq Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Joel Brinkley The New York Times The debate came on a rare day in the Senate devoted exclusively to foreign policy, and even a few Republicans used it to acknowledge the challenges in Iraq Oh yes, it can happen here Robert Kuttner The Boston Globe The CBO declares, politely but unmistakably, that it doesn't buy the Bush administration's budgetary gimmickry of trying to keep anticipated military outlays out of the official budget U.S. delegate on Ukraine trip has been critic of Jews Thomas Rybarczyk The Chicago Tribune An official U.S. delegation sent to Ukraine's presidential inauguration last weekend included a Ukrainian-American who has accused Jews of manipulating the Holocaust for their gain and playing an "inordinate role" in the rise of Soviet communism
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Don't take the president's word for it - take Zarqawi's Jonah Goldberg The Washington Times The best news from Iraq in a while is Zarqawi's forceful and forthright rejection of democracy and freedom as a principle. He doesn't want a more "authentic" democracy, he wants to kill it U.S. Military Will Need Post-Iraq Rebuilding James Jay Carafano The Heritage Foundation What goes on in Baghdad after the election may be less critical for us than what happens in Washington Prophets and losses Frederick J. Chiaventone The Chicago Tribune Despite the critics' love of dredging up the "Vietnam analogy" there is really very little similarity between that war and the current struggles Editorial: Increasing our ground forces The Washington Times The proposals are in the range of 40,000 to 150,000 more troops. We're inclined toward the high end of those proposals, and maybe even higher Wanna Be Starting Something? Derek Reveron National Review With any luck, Iraq will be the first Arab country in the region to democratize launching what might be the decade for Near East democracy Inspiring hope for freedom Helle Dale The Washington Times The gap between vision and policy is one that pundits, commentators, the White House itself, even president Bush's father, have been trying to fill over the last week	My Reclining Squirrel Kung Fu Stance Is Eminently Defeatable Quaking Rodent, Master of Losing at Kung Fu The Onion I am the legendary Quaking Rodent, and my Reclining Squirrel stance is eminently defeatable! U.S. Children Still Traumatized One Year After Seeing Partially Exposed Breast On TV The Onion "No one who lived through that day is likely to forget the horror" Doonesbury G.B. Trudeau It's one day at a time here, Lou The Boondocks Aaron McGruder We're a jovial people Political Oscars 2005 Arianna Huffington Alternet Best Performance by a Rodent: Movies: Scabbers the rat in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. Politics: Tom DeLay Summers’ Olive Branch Andy Borowitz Newsweek In an effort to “level the academic playing field,” Harvard University President Lawrence Summers announced today that the university would introduce a home economics major designed specifically for its female students

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Confirmation Hearing of Condoleezza Rice The New York Times To be sure, in our world, there remain outposts of tyranny, and America stands with oppressed people on every continent, in Cuba and Burma, and North Korea and Iran and Belarus and Zimbabwe Rice defends Bush's Iraq policies in testy exchange with Boxer Carolyn Lochhead The San Francisco Chronicle "I personally believe that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell this war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth." -- Sen. Barbara Boxer Rice and Dice Fred Kaplan Slate "Our troops are stunning, superb," Kerry said, but "they're going on missions that are questionable in terms of what they're going to achieve" Iran: The Next Strategic Target Amy Goodman Democracy Now! Alternet In an interview, Hersh explains how Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are keeping America in the dark about their war games Human rights not hollow words Amnesty International An appeal to President George W. Bush on the occasion of his re-inauguration More sticks, and the odd carrot The Economist (UK) What will be the dominant theme of George Bush’s second-term foreign policy? Should We Stay or Should We Go? Frederick Barton, Bathsheba Crocker and Craig Cohen The New York Times Why not let the Iraqis themselves decide? Ask Iraqi voters in a referendum six weeks after the national elections if they think foreign soldiers should withdraw immediately U.S. Intelligence Says Iraqis Will Press for Withdrawal Douglas Jehl The New York Times The Iraqi government that emerges from elections on Jan. 30 will almost certainly ask the United States to set a specific timetable for withdrawing its troops, according to new American intelligence estimates Rebuilding of Basra Progresses, but It's Harder Than Expected Erik Eckholm The New York Times Adding to their sense of desolation, Basra residents now receive electric power only four hours a day, the least in anyone's memory, before or after the American invasion In Iraqi Vote, the Writing Isn't on the Wall Anthony Shadid The Washington Post There is a sense among some in Baghdad that the United States wants the new parliament to choose Allawi, the incumbent, as prime minister. If the Americans want it, the conversation goes, so it will be More Money for Iraq? Not Without Conditions Arianna Huffington Alternet Democrats in Congress will have an "accountability moment" of their own – George Bush's request for another $80 to $100 billion in supplemental funding for the war in Iraq Memo on the Iraq Supplemental Robert O. Boorstin and Mike Pan Center for American Progress The president's FY06 budget, scheduled to be released in the coming days, will not include a dime for military operations in Iraq. Instead, those costs will be hidden from the American people in the form of an emergency supplemental request Camp Bucca Turns 180 Degrees From Abu Ghraib Ashraf Khalil The Los Angeles Times As the U.S. military shifts the bulk of its more than 7,000 Iraqi and foreign prisoners to Camp Bucca, commanders hope this model prison will bury the ghosts of the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal US stand against torture: firm enough? Jane Lampman The Christian Science Monitor What fuels concern, some say, is that various government memoranda since 9/11 related to torture and the rules of war send a signal that the norms are different than in the past On Television, Torture Takes a Holiday Frank Rich The New York Times What happened in the Fort Hood courtroom this month was surely worthy of as much attention as Harry's re-enactment of "Springtime for Hitler": it was the latest installment in our government's cover up of war crimes Army affirms its ban on women in combat Rowan Scarborough The Washington Times The Army had been reviewing the 1994 ban to see whether changes should be made to coincide with a sweeping transformation plan for combat brigades	Optimism has fallen, divisions increased Susan Page USA Today He takes office with a job-approval rating of 51%, the consistently lowest of any re-elected president in modern times The 11-2 Commission Kenneth S. Baer The American Prospect Democrats need an “after-action report” to figure out what happened last fall
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Setting Sights on Syria Barbara Lerner National Review Syria, in sum, is terror central, not because it is the only Middle Eastern nation that threatens us or even the most powerful one — it's the weakest — but because Syria rents space to them all Espionage by any other name Tony Blankley The Washington Times Federal prosecutors should review the information disclosed by Mr. Hersh to determine whether or not his conduct falls within the proscribed conduct of the statute	Law Enforcement Officials Call For Creation Of Bulletproof Sleeves The Onion Arons characterized the arms as "crucial" to the successful completion of a police officer's duties Supreme Court To Break Up If Rehnquist Leaves The Onion I heard that Scalia wants to set up a new organization under the name 'The U.S. Supreme Court featuring Antonin Scalia.' Eeeeeeeewwwwwwww! Reuters Yahoo! Apparently, cocaine and spray lube don't mix

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals UN Millennium Project We have the opportunity in the coming decade to cut world poverty by half. Billions more people could enjoy the fruits of the global economy. Tens of millions of lives can be saved. The practical solutions exist As Jan. 20 Nears, Terror Warnings Drop Dan Eggen and Sari Horwitz The Washington Post It underscores a simmering political debate over whether last year's warnings were influenced by a presidential campaign in which national security figured prominently Justice for Abu Ghraib Reed Brody International Herald Tribune The United States is doing what every dictatorship and banana republic does when its abuses are discovered: covering up and shifting blame downwards Unusual Suspects Tara McKelvey The American Prospect What happened to the women held at Abu Ghraib? The government isn’t talking. But some of the women are Terror detainees and America's gulag Cathryn J. Prince The Christian Science Monitor In keeping with the Orwellian overtones for the suggested prison, the Bush administration has even drummed up a name: Camp 6. The name echoes the novel's notorious Room 101 Putin's Harder Edge Masha Lipman The Washington Post Even Putin's defenders have reservations about calling Russia a democracy anymore U.S. Will Shift From Fighting to Training Mark Mazzetti The Los Angeles Times Even after giving authority to Iraqi troops, U.S. commanders plan to have thousands of American troops advise the nascent forces, bolstering their confidence and, they hope, reducing defections Next Stop, Tehran? Chris Toensing The Progressive Despite the hazards in Iran and the bog of war in Iraq, many neoconservatives--especially those who remain in orbit around Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney--are itching for a fight Editorial: 'Enough' in Egypt The Washington Post Mr. Mubarak's renomination would be a serious blow to the Bush administration's project for promoting democratic change in the Middle East -- and would again raise the question of whether President Bush intends to connect U.S. policy with his rhetoric Mourning Zhao Jonathan Ansfield Newsweek The real test of public response comes later this week, when more Chinese learn the news Tea Leaves at Foggy Bottom Richard Holbrooke The Washington Post Nominations may offer an important indication of the kind of foreign policy that Rice (and George W. Bush) want to conduct: more centrist, oriented toward problem-solving, essentially non-ideological, and focused on traditional diplomacy Security Dept. Eases Its Nondisclosure Rule John Files The New York Times The Department of Homeland Security will no longer bar employees from giving the public "sensitive but unclassified" information	The scandal sheet Peter Dizikes Salon.com Here are 34 scandals from the first four years of George W. Bush's presidency -- every one of them worse than Whitewater Bush Rewarded by Black Pastors' Faith Peter Wallsten, Tom Hamburger and Nicholas Riccardi The Los Angeles Times The White House adamantly denies that the faith initiative is a political tool. But the program has provoked criticism that the GOP is seeking to influence new supporters, especially African Americans, with taxpayer funds Cheney Exercising Muscle on Domestic Policies Richard W. Stevenson and Elisabeth Bumiller The New York Times As on Iraq and other foreign policy issues, Mr. Cheney's views on domestic matters tend to favor bold action even at the risk of short-term political backlash - what his critics would consider overreaching Political Divisions Persist After Election Richard Morin and Dan Balz The Washington Post President Bush will begin his second term in office without a clear mandate to lead the nation, with strong disapproval of his policies in Iraq and with the public both hopeful and dubious about his leadership on the issues that will dominate his agenda A Tale of Two Texans Harold Meyerson The Washington Post Texas has created an ownership society that excludes more Americans than any other state. And this is the model that Bush is commending to the nation as a whole Primary Colors Steve Cobble Alternet Democrats cannot continue to have two almost-all-white states – Iowa and New Hampshire – determine their presidential nominees. The next nominee must be able to activate and inspire a multi-racial, multi-cultural base
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The Gingrich Democrats David Brooks The New York Times They won't turn themselves into the 1990's Republicans. They will turn themselves into the 1930's Republicans or the current British Tory Party. They will become a party caught in a cycle of negativity and oppositionalism Editorial: 'Torture' on Trial The Wall Street Journal None of this evidence seems to stop the effort, in the media and Congress, to use Abu Ghraib to hamstring American interrogators in the war on terror Editorial: Watching the watch dogs The Washington Times Human Rights Watch does much to document abuses worldwide. But it's no wonder the group has developed a reputation as the irresponsible lefty among major human-rights groups	Doonesbury G.B. Trudeau What about dating the walrus? The Boondocks Aaron McGruder I don't get it

Monday, January 17, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
The coming wars Seymour M. Hersh The New Yorker The Administration has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran at least since last summer. Much of the focus is on the accumulation of intelligence and targeting information on Iranian nuclear, chemical, and missile sites, both declared and suspected A Practical Plan to End Poverty Jeffrey D. Sachs The Washington Post Today's report of the Millennium Project, an independent advisory group to the United Nations, shows that just $2 to $3 per American and other citizens of the rich world would be needed each year to mount an effective fight against malaria Whatever it takes The Economist ( UK ) A bold call to arms, or vain whistling in the wind? Mr Sachs has found a propitious moment to make his plea "The Responsibility to Protect in 2005" Gareth Evans International Crisis Group The fourth contribution of the Commission was to come up with some guidelines for when military action is appropriate. We identified five criteria going to legitimacy, and one going to legality, as follows You Say You Want a Revolution? Lee Siegel The Los Angeles Times In fact, there never has been a successful revolution in modern times that was conducted in a country by a foreign power West Wing wanabees: wake up and smell the coffee David Clark The Guardian ( UK ) There is nothing new in American exceptionalism. The novel element has been added by the fact that it is now allied to an extraordinary preponderance of global power How Top Spies in Ukraine Changed the Nation's Path C.J. Chivers The New York Times Ultimately, the intelligence agencies worked - usually in secret, sometimes in public, at times illegally - to block the fraudulent ascension of Mr. Yanukovich What We Owe Iraq: An Interview with Noah Feldman Bradford Plumer Mother Jones As a matter of international law, the occupant has responsibility to preserve order. As a matter of basic common sense, if you're occupying a country, you need to make sure that ordinary people can go about their daily lives A man of the shadows Jon Lee Anderson The New Yorker Can Iyad Allawi hold Iraq together? Iraqi Vote May Be Just the Beginning Alissa J. Rubin and Doyle McManus The Los Angeles Times A request foreign troops leave and placating the Sunnis are among likely postelection challenges For One Contractor, A Road Too Hard Jackie Spinner The Washington Post When Allen Petty signed up for a year in Iraq with KBR -- the largest U.S. government contractor there, with more than 30,000 employees and subcontractors -- he expected to bring home $80,000 to $100,000, more than three times what he made driving a truck in Texas Officers say more troops needed in Iraq Rowan Scarborough The Washington Times Officers in Iraq are telling colleagues back in the United States that they disagree with the official Pentagon position High-Ranking Officers May Face Prosecution in Iraqi Prisoner Abuse, Military Officials Kate Zernike The New York Times Several witnesses at the Graner trial testified that Col . Thomas M. Pappas, the highest-ranking military intelligence officer at Abu Ghraib, and Lt. Col . Steven Jordan, the head of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at the prison, had either known about or specifically encouraged tactics Defying the Supreme Court Nat Hentoff The Washington Times No public hearings have been held on what the CIA does with its faceless prisoners. But maybe Congress will make a pass at overseeing the implementation of the new designs for the containment of the hundreds or more lifers Editorial: World watches as justice is delivered — but unevenly USA Today Several investigations continue, and they may yet establish accountability throughout the chain of command. Until that happens, no one is likely to be persuaded that the U.S. is dealing fully with the scandal The man who came too late The Economist (UK) Zhao Ziyang, who was toppled as leader of China’s Communist Party for opposing the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, has died aged 85. Had he not been deposed, China might be a very different place from what it is today Letter From Chile Peter Kornbluh The Nation For the relatives of those missing and murdered, and those who survived the torture camps, the Pinochet prosecution is a vindication of their efforts to keep the cause of truth and justice alive Editorial: The Need to Curb Indonesia's Army The New York Times Army leaders have seemed more intent on getting the foreigners out of the way so they can resume counterinsurgency efforts as quickly as possible	MLK Jr. In His Own Words AlterNet For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never" Misconceptions About King's Methods for Social Change Heather Gray CounterPunch Based on the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, the Kingian method for nonviolent social change is a systematic one Editorial: King's nonviolent army The Boston Globe On President's Day there's little traction in wondering how George Washington or Abraham Lincoln would handle the Iraq war or homeland security. But ask what King would do and a deep well surges Out of the Darkness Bob Herbert The New York Times I'm convinced, without being able to prove it, that those voices will emerge. There was a time when no one had heard of Dr. King. Or Oscar Arias Sanchez. Or Martin O'Brien Annals of Outrage Katrina vanden Heuvel The Nation Here is my list of the Bush Administration's Ten Most Outrageous Scandals thus far uncovered by government investigators As Rice Prepares to Move Up, Diplomacy May Be on Rise, Too Todd S. Purdum The New York Times Her success or failure may also depend on how she fares with two strong-willed and more seasoned players, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, both of whom view foreign affairs as a major part of their own portfolios For Lobbyists, the Hottest Parties Fall Outside the Official Lineup Glen Justice and Anne E. Kornblut The New York Times The private events are in keeping with an open secret about the inauguration: the most coveted tickets are to the outside parties, some with little direct connection to President Bush himself
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
We Ugly Americans Jed Babbin The American Spectator Take your choice. You can believe General Myers or you can believe the Aunt Pittypats of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the BBC? The Depressed Press William Safire The New York Times Today that media bias is undeniably liberal. That's natural when conservatives are the Ins; five years ago, the bias often ran the other way	Slowpoke Jen Sorensen Workingforchange Then and now This Modern World Tom Tomorrow Salon.com The President is reportedly a selective listener Real estate note Andy Borowitz The New Yorker Ms. Lohan’s new address has what every real-estate broker knows are the six magic words: “undisclosed location, undisclosed location, undisclosed location.” Man Finds Nail in Skull Six Days Later Erin Gartner Associated Press Yahoo! A dentist found the source of the toothache Patrick Lawler was complaining about on the roof of his mouth: a four-inch nail the construction worker had unknowingly embedded in his skull six days earlier

Sunday, January 16, 2005

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Democracy: Walking the Walk Jonathan Alter Newsweek Reaganism was effective and inspiring but also hypocritical—the kind of ersatz idealism that apparently allows Bush to press for democracy in every Middle Eastern country except the ones that sell us oil or help us fight terrorism Four More (War) Years Richard Kohn The Washington Post Bush identified the wrong enemy -- "terrorism" instead of "radical Islamic terrorists" -- and quickly slipped into the apocalyptic rhetoric of good and evil, complicating strategy and making success impossible to measure Stumped by Bush brand of foreign policy Ambler Moss The Miami Herald Today the strident pronouncements of the self-confident religious right, combined with right-wing neocons who have militarized Wilsonian liberalism, make up the modern version of the 19th-century nationalist ideology 14 Days in Iraq Adriana Lins de Albuquerque and Alicia Cheng The New York Times This map, based on Pentagon data and news reports, shows the number killed and wounded since Jan. 1 Abu Ghraib abuse firms are rewarded Peter Beaumont The Observer (UK) Two US defence contractors being sued over allegations of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison have been awarded valuable new contracts by the Pentagon Tribe Versus Tribe Rod Nordland and Christopher Dickey Newsweek Iraq's military was supposed to build national cohesion, but it could spur sectarian conflict Iraqi Shiite Coalition Tries to Dispel Fears of Iran-Style Rule Doug Struck and Bassam Sebti The Washington Post The coalition of Shiite Muslim parties favored to win the biggest bloc in Iraq's Jan. 30 parliamentary election tried Saturday to play down fears that it would bring an Iranian-style government to the country Security Issue Threatens to Skew Iraq Vote Walter Pincus The Washington Post Because of the danger, the slates, even those put forward by the major parties, are not releasing the names of all their candidates. "Only those that have security protection" have their names publicized An exit strategy for Iraq Marty Meehan The Boston Globe Announcing a timetable for a carefully planned withdrawal would help win support for the fledgling Iraqi government, which has been undermined by the appearance that it is little more than a puppet of a foreign occupier Nobel Winner in Danger of Arrest Human Rights Watch An Iranian Revolutionary Court order threatening the arrest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi places all human rights defenders in Iran at risk U.S. has a short window to make a difference in Mideast Anna Badkhen and Matthew Kalman The San Francisco Chronicle The moment appears ripe for resuming substantive talks on Israeli- Palestinian peace. But where are the Americans? Abbas, Though Out of Arafat's Shadow, Faces Familiar Obstacles Molly Moore The Washington Post One of the biggest obstacles faced by Abbas remains the fact that militant organizations, as well as a large percentage of the Palestinian population, are opposed to his call for an end to the armed resistance Army Contests Rumsfeld Bid on Occupation Thomas E. Ricks The Washington Post The Army is engaged in a bureaucratic brawl with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over how to organize troops for "nation-building," a growing problem for the military as it settles in for lengthy occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and possibly other countries U.S. and Indonesia Are Hopeful on Improving Ties Eric Schmitt The New York Times Wolfowitz, who was the American ambassador here from 1986 to 1989, in the Reagan administration, said, "Cutting off contact with Indonesian officers only makes the problem worse." Aceh’s Phantom Rebellion George Wehrfritz and Joe Cochrane Newsweek With the insurgents that Jakarta is so worried about nowhere in sight, behind-the-scenes peace talks are underway. Could peace be a silver lining in Indonesia ’s awful tsunami crisis? Senegal leader `disappointed' with pace of reform Laurie Goering The Chicago Tribune Africa's failure to speed its economic development is largely the fault of the continent's leaders, who have been slow to stem corruption, are reluctant to criticize each other and have wasted time putting donor funds to work, according to Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade State building or terrorist vacuum? Matt Bryden and John Prendergast The Chicago Tribune During the last decade, international Islamist groups, including Al Qaeda, have invested with Somali partners, building a commercial empire in the country that rivals that of any other faction Black Gold Leaves a Stain on Mexican Coastal Region Chris Kraul The Los Angeles Times The industry center suffers as the state reaps profits and trades blame with its oil monopoly A Watershed Role for Farmers Mark Magnier The Los Angeles Times China, home to the Three Gorges Dam, is no stranger to huge hydroelectric projects and their staggering human costs. What's different this time, experts say, is an awakening among many farmers in the bulldozer's path	Bush Says Election Ratified Iraq Policy Jim VandeHei and Michael A. Fletcher The Washington Post "We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post Bush's legacy likely to last generations Marc Sandalow The San Francisco Chronicle "He'll take up more textbook space than Clinton or his dad, for better or worse,'' said Fred Greenstein, a presidential scholar at Princeton University Bush protesters rethink tactics Joe Garofoli The San Francisco Chronicle Bottom line: less emphasis on mass demonstrations -- which Bush famously dismissed as "focus groups" -- and more on reaching out to Americans who oppose the war but haven't publicly shown it Not Always Diplomatic in Her First Major Post Mark Z. Barabak The Los Angeles Times Improbably, the youngest provost in Stanford history and the first black and woman to hold the post helped prompt a Labor Department probe into the treatment of women and minorities Editorial: The Vote on Mr. Gonzales The Washington Post At a time when nominees for the Cabinet can be disqualified because of their failure to pay taxes on a nanny's salary, this reluctance to hold Mr. Gonzales accountable is shameful. He does not deserve to be confirmed as attorney general Hope And Despair On King Day Marcellus Andrews TomPaine.com The conservatives who rule the country despise most blacks, which is not surprising given their forebears and their current public. But the liberals have also abandoned King by concluding that the fight for justice can only be waged when they run the government A Second Term, Seldom a Charm David E. Rosenbaum The New York Times Often, presidents' best ideas are used up in their first terms, and they have few policy goals left over. As lame ducks, their political influence quickly wanes The Red Sea David Von Drehle The Washington Post We headed pretty much due south, no dodging or weaving. And never did we pass within 100 miles of a county that voted for Democrat John F. Kerry in the recent election The New Power Players Howard Fineman Newsweek The Bush legacy will be cemented, or sunk, on Capitol Hill. A user's guide to the key members of Congress who stand at his side—and in his way Liberal Lion needs a tiger Eileen McNamara The Boston Globe Line for line, Kennedy's speech at the National Press Club could have been delivered by Howard Dean How Illinois GOP imploded Rick Pearson and John Chase The Chicago Tribune The party of Lincoln isn't what it used to be. Long before the Alan Keyes election debacle, long before George Ryan's troubles, the seeds for the party's downfall were planted Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me Michael Kinsley The Los Angeles Times Will President Bush actually have the guts to nominate Clarence Thomas for chief justice of the Supreme Court when that opportunity arises, probably soon? You know he's just aching to do it.
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Sustaining our resolve in Iraq John E. Carey The Washington Times Ask the Vietnamese living here in America . They are torn by their deep loyalty and love for the United States and the belief they were devaluated in 1975 when America executed the "cut and run"	Candorville Darrin Bell Pitiful Visigoth savages