In the News: May-22

House subpoenas Karl Rove in Justice Dept. probe - 22 May 2008 at 2:34pm - WASHINGTON -- The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former White House adviser Karl Rove as part of its inquiry into whether the Bush administration politically meddled at the Justice Department.

Bush dealt defeat on Iraq bill - 22 May 2008 at 12:14pm - WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans have broken with President Bush to help Democrats add help for veterans and the unemployed to a bill paying for another year of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Bodman rejects releasing government oil - 22 May 2008 at 11:18am - WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman rejected a call Thursday by some members of Congress to release oil from the government's emergency stockpile, saying that oil is needed to respond to future oil supply emergencies and not to influence prices.

APNewsBreak: Foot-and-mouth plan used flawed study - 22 May 2008 at 11:10am - WASHINGTON -- Congressional investigators have concluded that the Bush administration lacks evidence that it would be safe to research highly infectious foot-and-mouth disease on the U.S. mainland.

Petraeus terms military action in Iran "last resort" - 22 May 2008 at 11:07am - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran to counter its rising influence, while retaining possible military action as a "last resort," a top U.S. military officer said on Thursday.

U.S. air strike in Iraq kills 8 civilians: report - 22 May 2008 at 6:22am - Eight civilians are dead following a U.S. military air strike north of Baghdad, according to a report.Thought for the day:

Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important. -Eugene McCarthy (1916 - 2005)

Slowly and Deliberately

Sunnis end parliament boycott; 2 U.S. GIs charged with murder - 19 Jul 2007 at 9:25am - Sunni lawmakers ended their five-week boycott of parliament Thursday, raising hopes the factious assembly can make progress on benchmark legislation demanded by Washington. The U.S. said two American soldiers have been charged with killing an Iraqi. Also Thursday, the U.S. command announced the deaths of five American soldiers. Four soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed Wednesday in a roadside bombing in east Baghdad and one soldier was killed Friday by small arms fire near Rusdi Mulla, just to the southwest of the city.

U.S. diplomat sees some progress in Iraq - 19 Jul 2007 at 12:23pm - WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. diplomat in Iraq said Thursday that Baghdad is making some political progress but faces considerable difficulty in the months to come to try to heal a nation long gripped by violence.

Odierno: Quick change unwise for Iraq - 19 Jul 2007 at 12:16pm - WASHINGTON -- Any change of military strategy in Iraq should be done slowly and deliberately or U.S. troops and the Iraqi population will be put in danger, a top U.S. commander said Thursday.

Agreed, but again, how slow is "slow"? How deliberate is "deliberate"?

Petraeus to address lawmakers - 19 Jul 2007 at 12:38pm - The top U.S. diplomat in Iraq said Thursday that Baghdad is making some political progress but faces considerable difficulty in the months to come to try to heal a nation long gripped by violence.

Valerie Plame's lawsuit dismissed - 19 Jul 2007 at 3:19pm - WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Thursday dismissed former CIA operative Valerie Plame's lawsuit against members of the Bush administration in the CIA leak scandal.

Bush chief of staff faces possible contempt charges - 19 Jul 2007 at 3:09pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House chief of staff faced possible contempt charges after a congressional panel on Thursday rejected President George W. Bush's attempt to limit the probe of the firing of federal prosecutors.

Thought for the day:
"The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it."- Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)

Drop-Dead Date

Iraqis warn of civil war if U.S. troops withdraw - 9 Jul 2007 at 8:40am - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi leaders warned on Monday that an early U.S. troop withdrawal could tip Iraq into all-out civil war after the New York Times said debate was growing in the White House over a gradual scaling-down of forces....Iraqi officials said the country's own security forces were not ready and warned that premature withdrawal of some of the 157,000 American troops could produce a security vacuum.

Again, how about a progress report on U.S. efforts to train and equip Iraqi security forces?

No troop pullout imminent - 9 Jul 2007 at 11:01am - WASHINGTON -- President Bush is not contemplating withdrawing forces from Iraq now despite an erosion of support among Republicans for his war policy, the White House said Monday. The administration also tried to lower expectations about a report due Sunday on whether the Iraqi government is meeting political, economic and security benchmarks that Bush set in January when he announced a buildup of 21,500 U.S. combat forces. White House press secretary Tony Snow said that all of the additional troops had just gotten in place and it would be unrealistic to expect major progress now. "You are not going to expect all the benchmarks to be met at the beginning of something," Snow said. "You are hoping that you are going to be able to see progress in terms of meeting benchmarks from that beginning stage to what you see in two months." But at the same time, he said that Sept. 15 is not "the drop dead date" by which everything should be completed.

The "drop-dead" date is pretty much every day for American troops, no?

Blair defied ministers on Iraq: diaries - 9 Jul 2007 at 8:04am - Tony Blair's closest aide has revealed the former British prime minister overrode Cabinet colleagues who had doubts about going to war against Iraq, in diaries published today.

"Facts fixed around the policy", anyone?

Report: Wars costing $12 billion a month - 9 Jul 2007 at 2:33pm - WASHINGTON -- The boost in troop levels in Iraq has increased the cost of war there and in Afghanistan to $12 billion a month, and the total for Iraq alone is nearing a half-trillion dollars, congressional analysts say.

And worth it?

Initial Wave of Iraqi Refugees Land in U.S. - 9 Jul 2007 at 9:19am - The first wave of Iraqi refugees has arrived in the United States: 63 resettlement cases in June and more are expected to come in September. U.S. officials have pledged to resettle 7,000 Iraqis by the end of this year. Some 2 million Iraqis have fled the country.

The first wave, only now?

Al Qaeda threatens to 'annihilate' Iran - 9 Jul 2007 at 9:14am - The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq has given Iran a two-month ultimatum to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs or face all-out war, according to an audio tape posted on the Internet.

The enemy of my enemy is _____?

1. My friend


2. My enemy


3. Making my brain hurt

Bush denies Congress access to key aides - 9 Jul 2007 at 10:16am - President Bush invoked executive privilege Monday to deny requests by Congress for testimony from former White House aides Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers.

Thought for the day:
"Let a good man do good deeds with the same zeal that the evil man does bad ones." -The Belzer Rabbi