Barry McAffrey provided the Senate Foreign Relations committee with a detailed report of the situation in Iraq. A must read.
Daily Plame Flame Thread
Almost forgot:
Whatever a federal grand jury investigating the case decides, a small political subgroup is experiencing the odd sensation that this leak has sprung before. In 1992 in an incident well known in Texas, Mr. Rove was fired from the state campaign to re-elect the first President Bush on suspicions that Mr. Rove had leaked damaging information to Mr. Novak about Robert Mosbacher Jr., the campaign manager and the son of a former commerce secretary.
Since then, Mr. Rove and Mr. Novak have denied that Mr. Rove was the source, even as Mr. Mosbacher, who no longer talks on the record about the incident, has never changed his original assertion that Mr. Rove was the culprit.
“It’s history,” Mr. Mosbacher said last week in a brief telephone interview. “I commented on it at the time, and I have nothing to add.”
But the episode, part of the bad-boy lore of Mr. Rove, is a telling chapter in the 20-year friendship between the presidential adviser and the columnist. The story of that relationship, a bond of mutual self-interest of a kind that is long familiar in Washington, does not answer the question of who might have leaked the identity of the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, to reporters, potentially a crime.
But it does give a clue to Mr. Rove’s frequent and complimentary mentions over the years in Mr. Novak’s column, and to the importance of Mr. Rove and Mr. Novak to each other’s ambitions.
“They’ve known each for a long time, but they are not close friends,” said a person who knows both men and who asked not to be named because of the investigation into a conversation by Mr. Novak and Mr. Rove in July 2003 about Ms. Wilson, part of a case that has put a reporter for The New York Times, Judith Miller, in jail for refusing to testify to the grand jury.
Consider this the day’s flame warfare thread.
The New Libertarian
The newest issue of the New Libertarian is up, and I recommend you go give it a look (.pdf).
A lot of the articles are by folks who appear on my blogroll.
Go check it out.
Tornado Blogging
Jon Stewart Is Bad For America
Or so thinks HuffPo’s Catherine Ingram:
Unlike much of America I am dismayed by the success of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Aside from finding the show’s humor banal, I am genuinely concerned with its message based on a comment by a 17-year-old relative who told me that all politicians are alike and there was no difference between Bush and Kerry. He, like many young people, gets his news almost exclusively from Jon Stewart. And, though I suspect that Stewart himself is a Democrat, he did such a great job of evenly skewering Kerry and Bush that a young person would not make any distinction between say, lying to take a country to war and having a dorky way of speaking. As a contrast, Bill Maher uses humor with intelligence, makes it hilarious, and lets you know exactly where he stands. With so much at stake, it is a shame that people of influence such as Jon Stewart (not to mention our politicians) don’t use their national platforms to go on record with what is in their hearts, even if it costs their jobs (as it did Maher his show on ABC). If enough of them spoke out, maybe it would start a trend: standing for what one believes instead of whoring for more cash, ratings, and power.
Jon Stewart’s comedy show on Comedy Central isn’t overtly partisan enough. You can’t parody some of these libs.
Deadly Serious, But Funny
I have to admit that I have been getting my jollies watching the negotiations between the European Union and Iran:
Iran on Saturday rejected Europe’s proposal for ending the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program, calling the package ”unacceptable” and not up to Tehran’s ”minimum expectations.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the government would send its official rejection to the Europeans later Saturday or Sunday.
”The European proposals are unacceptable … the package is against the spirit of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and against the provisions of the Paris agreement,” he said on state radio. ”The proposals do not meet Iran’s minimum expectations.”
The Paris Agreement was reached between Iran and the three European countries negotiating on behalf of the 25-member European Union. Under the deal, signed in November in Paris, Iran agreed to continue suspension of uranium enrichment and all related activities including uranium conversion until negotiations proceed for a political settlement.
Iran has accused Europeans of wasting time, saying continued suspension depended on progress in the talks. Tehran says failure to make progress in talks doesn’t prevent Iran from reopening the Isfahan uranium conversion facility.
At some point, the dim bulbs in the EU are going to recognize that any attempts to restrain these guys through diplomacy will fail. Iran does not want to negotiate, they want what they want, which in this case is to become a nuclear power.
The only upside to all of this is trying to figure out how future Josh Marshall’s will blame this on Bolton, Bush, and the US. They might start by getting the NY Times in line and on message.
Military Follows NCAA’s lead
Channeling Scott Ott:
(2005-08-05) -- Taking a cue from the NCAA's decision to ban all Native American mascots during tournament play but allowing the mascots otherwise, the Pentagon today stated that all military hardware with Native American monikers will be immediately removed from combat operations or provided less offensive alternate names. The hardware would remain available under their current monikers for day-to-day training.
"What we are trying to say is that we find these nicknames unacceptable for use in combat, as it portrays a negative image of our military,' Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Richard B. Myers in a press conference. "After all, the Army does have a checkered past when it comes to its relations with Native Americans."
As the removal of this hardware from combat operations could have a dramatic impact on the combat capabilities of numerous units, several staff aides worked round-the-clock to find an alternate solution. After hours of brainstorming, consensus was reached to provide the offending hardware with alternate nicknames when in theatre. Non-threatening animal names were deemed most appropriate.
For example, the AH-64A/D Apache Attack Helicopter, when deployed to combat operations, will now be known as the "Freedom Bird." Apaches equipped with LONGBOW fire control RADAR will be called the "Freedom Bird with Bird Droppings." The CH-47 Series Chinook cargo helicopter will be known as "Big Bird," while the RAH-66 Comanche will be known as "The Chicklet."
Additionally, the 82nd and 101st Airborne troops are under orders not to say ‘Geronimo’ during airdrop operations. Paratroopers will now say “I’m Sorry” as they leave the aircraft.*
A joint panel of service leaders was expected to be immediately convened to work on acceptable nicknames for all other hardware and to develop training courses for the transition. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was unwilling to comment.
See also Protein Wisdom, Macho Nachos, and Red State.