Oh, My.

Not the news anybody wants.  We’ll let this one sit at the top of the list for a while.

Tours of duty for 15,000 U.S. Army troops extended.

CNN’s Barbara Starr reports, “The Pentagon today, as we speak, is reviewing a request from commanders in Iraq for the extension of the tour of duty for up to 15,000 Army troops. four combat ground brigades. One combat aviation brigade. their tours might be extended up to 120 days. Why? Because the Pentagon has to [...]

Tags: U.S. Army, Tour of Duty Extended, Iraq War

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No Good Answers

It’s bad, and getting worse, at the Department of Justice.  The pieces are falling into place, but they’re not painting the picture the Bush Admininstration wanted.

The coming Justice Department disaster

How deep are we in it over the politicization of the Justice Department (and probably others) under the Bush "administration?"  Way deep. This is a planned disaster. A burning of all bridges and a scorching of all escape routes. In other words, the routine Republican m.o.: destroy all paths back to the status quo, so that even if our theories don’t pan out, nobody can pull them out by the roots — they can only tinker with the ruins.The invaluable Charlie Savage of [...]

Tags: Justice Department, Alberto Gonzales, Monica Goodling

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Next Up – Condi

Strong words.  Where’s the action?

Waxman to Rice: The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

Here’s the latest instance of what is becoming a flourishing genre in the new Congress: the spurned chairman letter. It comes when oversight efforts are met with deafening silence from the administration. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman [...]

UPDATE: Stonewalled.

State Dept. Blows Off Waxman’s Niger Inquiry, Falsely Claims Rice Has ‘Answered In Full’

Tags: Henry Waxman, Oversight and Government Reform, Condoleezza Rice

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Losing Faith

Unconscionable.  Unjustifiable.

Supporting the Troops

Bush is fond of saying that “history will judge” him on the Iraq war. In other words, if we are just patient and wait around for a decade or two or three, Iraq will suddenly blossom into a candyland of unicorns and rainbows; all of us grumpy Iraq naysayers will be proven to be so, so wrong, and he’ll finally be recognized as the #1 Best President of All Time, Ever.  It’s getting increasingly difficult for even the Bush faithful to believe that this will ever happen, however, when the stories of horrific treatment of Iraq veterans seem to roll out on a daily basis. The nightmarish combination of [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Veterans Affairs, Veterans

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Covering The Iraq War

The verbal fisticuffs over Senator John McCain’s " Baghad is safer" comments weren’t helped by his appearance on 60 minutes last night.  Nor are they helped by the growing legion of legitimate reporters who are covering the Iraq War, but don’t see it through McCain’s rose-colored glasses. Via editor & Publisher:

San Antonio War Reporter Challenges McCain’s View of Iraq

…We reporters here aren’t making it up. We’re doing our jobs and sharing the same risks as U.S. troops and millions of Iraqis, and we’re not running for any public office.  The same can’t be said of Sen. John McCain. He’s the pro-war presidential candidate, and he was just here last week on a nice dog-and-pony show to a Baghdad market. The good senator is luxuriating back home again, indulging himself in another rant on the media’s coverage of this war.[...]

Tags: Iraq War, Covering the Way, John McCain, Baghdad Visit

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Terrorist Watch

Kudos to my friends over at the Arkansas Times Blog for pointing out a truly frightening story today.  Our tax dollars being used to slap the hands of a college professor who makes an anti-bush speech.  But, it doesn’t stop there!

Scary story of the day

A Princeton political science professor — a decorated Marine veteran — apparently was placed on the terrorist watch list for giving a speech critical of Bush’s war policy. Do you feel [...]

Tags: Terrorist List, TSA, Political Science Professor, War Policy

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Where Were You??

Four years ago.  Where were you?  The toppling of the Hussein regime in Iraq.  The days of optimism that the war wouldn’t  last long.  Four years later, perhaps we all need a bit of a primer on the War.

Iraq, For Beginners

Americans, including our President, didn’t know a lot about Iraq or Islam when planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They knew a little more, but nowhere near enough, when the United States launched an invasion of Iraq with the immediate goal of deposing Saddam Hussein’s regime. We’ve been learning…slowly…more about both Iraq and Islam over the last four years. We seem to have a generalized understanding…now…that Saddam Hussein’s regime was dominated by Arabs from the dominant Sunni sect of Islam. Under Saddam, Iraq was run by [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Saddam Hussein, World Trade Center, Pentagoon, Sunni

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New Numbers

Simply not budging.  And that’s not good news for the Bush Administration.

Bush’s Approval Rate Stay at Historic Lows

President Bush’s job-approval rating in a new USA Today/Gallup Poll is 38%.  "His standing has stayed below 40% for seven consecutive months. Since the advent of modern polling, only two presidents have suffered longer strings of such low ratings. One was [...]

Tags: Bush Approval Rating, USA Today, Gallup

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Troop Surge Numbers

The research here SEEMS solid, but the numbers of troops involved in the Iraq War surge are much larger than I’ve seen elsewhere.  Still, today’s announcement that another National Guard unit from here in Arkansas is headed for Iraq seems to fit right in with this theory.

Bush’s ‘Surge’ Several Times Larger, More Expensive than Administration Claimed

Guest Blogged by Arlen Parsa When George W. Bush announced he would execute a "troop surge" to send more American soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan in January 2007, it was billed as an increase of slightly over 20,000 soldiers that would cost less than six billion dollars. "America will change our strategy to help the Iraqis carry [...]

Tags: Troop Surge, National Guard, Iraq War

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Not Ready For Prime Time

It appears that Alberto Gonzales is going to be one shakey witness when he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee.  Unless his handlers can pull off some kind of miracle.

Attorney General Alberto…

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, hard at work: At a recent "prep" for a prospective Sunday talk-show interview, Gonzales’s performance was so poor that top aides scrapped any live appearances. During the March 23 session in the A.G.’s conference room, Gonzales was grilled by a team of top aides and advisers—including former Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie and former White [...]

Tags: Alberto Gonzales, House Judiciary Committee, U.S. Attorneys

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Oh, My.

Not the news anybody wants.  We’ll let this one sit at the top of the list for a while.

Tours of duty for 15,000 U.S. Army troops extended.

CNN’s Barbara Starr reports, “The Pentagon today, as we speak, is reviewing a request from commanders in Iraq for the extension of the tour of duty for up to 15,000 Army troops. four combat ground brigades. One combat aviation brigade. their tours might be extended up to 120 days. Why? Because the Pentagon has to [...]

Tags: U.S. Army, Tour of Duty Extended, Iraq War

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Olbermann Profile

If it’s Monday, there must be another Keith Olbermann profile somewhere. Oh, yeah.  The New Yorker magazine. And it’s probably one of the most complete profiles of the "Countdown" host that I’ve seen to date.

Keith Olbermann profile…

New York Magazine’s Stephen Rodrick is calling MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann a “…truth-telling, Bush-bashing, accidental liberal hero” in his profile of the Countdown host that leads off with a near “Hell freezes over” moment… It isn’t quite Reagan and Gorbachev in Reykjavik, but on a Tuesday afternoon in the 2 Penn Plaza offices of ABC Radio, two [...]

Tags: Keith Olbermann, Countdown, New York Magazine

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McCain on 60 Minutes

I was otherwise occupied with a family Easter dinner and missed John McCain’s appearance on 60 Minutes. Didn’t think to set the DVR, either.  Thanks to Think Progress, we have highlights.  Or lowlights, if you prefer.

McCain: It’s ‘Fun’ When I ‘Misspeak’ About Progress In Iraq

In a recent TV interview, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) criticized CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, saying he didn’t know what was going on in Iraq. As proof of progress, McCain claimed, “General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee.” Tonight in a 60 Minutes interview, McCain acknowledged that statement was a lie. He [...]

Tags: John McCain, 60 Minutes, Baghdad, Iraq War

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No Good Answers

It’s bad, and getting worse, at the Department of Justice.  The pieces are falling into place, but they’re not painting the picture the Bush Admininstration wanted.

The coming Justice Department disaster

How deep are we in it over the politicization of the Justice Department (and probably others) under the Bush "administration?"  Way deep. This is a planned disaster. A burning of all bridges and a scorching of all escape routes. In other words, the routine Republican m.o.: destroy all paths back to the status quo, so that even if our theories don’t pan out, nobody can pull them out by the roots — they can only tinker with the ruins.The invaluable Charlie Savage of [...]

Tags: Justice Department, Alberto Gonzales, Monica Goodling

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Next Up – Condi

Strong words.  Where’s the action?

Waxman to Rice: The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

Here’s the latest instance of what is becoming a flourishing genre in the new Congress: the spurned chairman letter. It comes when oversight efforts are met with deafening silence from the administration. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman [...]

UPDATE: Stonewalled.

State Dept. Blows Off Waxman’s Niger Inquiry, Falsely Claims Rice Has ‘Answered In Full’

Tags: Henry Waxman, Oversight and Government Reform, Condoleezza Rice

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Stop On By

And say "Hello".  I’ve been invited by the fine folks over at OlbermannWatch to become a regular contributor.  I spent some time over there last year, taking part in an online debate with some very smart people who just don’t appreciate MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann.  My first piece posted this weekend and has already attracted a bunch of comments, both pro and con.  If you like Olbermann, you’re likely to sense a sizable rise in your blood pressure while you visit this site.  With that warning tucked firmly into the back of your mind, read on.

New Kid in Town

While I realize I’m stepping into rough waters over here, it’s not the first time I’ve done it. And I survived the first with all appendages (and honor) still intact. So, at the Founder’s encouragement, I’ve agreed to stop in from time to time and try to give some/most of you something to challenge me about [...]

Tags: Keith Olbermann, OlbermannWatch, Doug Krile

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Losing Faith

Unconscionable.  Unjustifiable.

Supporting the Troops

Bush is fond of saying that “history will judge” him on the Iraq war. In other words, if we are just patient and wait around for a decade or two or three, Iraq will suddenly blossom into a candyland of unicorns and rainbows; all of us grumpy Iraq naysayers will be proven to be so, so wrong, and he’ll finally be recognized as the #1 Best President of All Time, Ever.  It’s getting increasingly difficult for even the Bush faithful to believe that this will ever happen, however, when the stories of horrific treatment of Iraq veterans seem to roll out on a daily basis. The nightmarish combination of [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Veterans Affairs, Veterans

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Covering The Iraq War

The verbal fisticuffs over Senator John McCain’s " Baghad is safer" comments weren’t helped by his appearance on 60 minutes last night.  Nor are they helped by the growing legion of legitimate reporters who are covering the Iraq War, but don’t see it through McCain’s rose-colored glasses. Via editor & Publisher:

San Antonio War Reporter Challenges McCain’s View of Iraq

…We reporters here aren’t making it up. We’re doing our jobs and sharing the same risks as U.S. troops and millions of Iraqis, and we’re not running for any public office.  The same can’t be said of Sen. John McCain. He’s the pro-war presidential candidate, and he was just here last week on a nice dog-and-pony show to a Baghdad market. The good senator is luxuriating back home again, indulging himself in another rant on the media’s coverage of this war.[...]

Tags: Iraq War, Covering the Way, John McCain, Baghdad Visit

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Terrorist Watch

Kudos to my friends over at the Arkansas Times Blog for pointing out a truly frightening story today.  Our tax dollars being used to slap the hands of a college professor who makes an anti-bush speech.  But, it doesn’t stop there!

Scary story of the day

A Princeton political science professor — a decorated Marine veteran — apparently was placed on the terrorist watch list for giving a speech critical of Bush’s war policy. Do you feel [...]

Tags: Terrorist List, TSA, Political Science Professor, War Policy

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Where Were You??

Four years ago.  Where were you?  The toppling of the Hussein regime in Iraq.  The days of optimism that the war wouldn’t  last long.  Four years later, perhaps we all need a bit of a primer on the War.

Iraq, For Beginners

Americans, including our President, didn’t know a lot about Iraq or Islam when planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They knew a little more, but nowhere near enough, when the United States launched an invasion of Iraq with the immediate goal of deposing Saddam Hussein’s regime. We’ve been learning…slowly…more about both Iraq and Islam over the last four years. We seem to have a generalized understanding…now…that Saddam Hussein’s regime was dominated by Arabs from the dominant Sunni sect of Islam. Under Saddam, Iraq was run by [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Saddam Hussein, World Trade Center, Pentagoon, Sunni

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