Kagan: ‘The only way’ to ‘force’ Iran to halt its nuclear program is an ‘attack.’
Kagan: ‘The only way’ to ‘force’ Iran to halt its nuclear program is an ‘attack.’
Appearing on MSNBC this afternoon, Iraq surge architect Fred Kagan criticized direct talks with Iran and made his case for attacking Iran, claiming it is the only means to “force” the country to halt its nuclear program:
Well, there’s nothing we can do short of an attack to force Iran to give up its nuclear program. … At the end of the day, the only way that you can make for sure that [a nuclear arm's race] doesn’t happen is with an attack. There are a variety of things you can do short of an attack and hope that they will work, but hope is not a method here.
Watch it:
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Beck Links Abbas To ‘Radical Islam,’ Falsely Claims Palestinians Are ‘Being Run Now By Hezbollah’
Beck Links Abbas To ‘Radical Islam,’ Falsely Claims Palestinians Are ‘Being Run Now By Hezbollah’
This morning on CNN, anchor Kiren Chetry discussed Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) current trip to the Middle East with fellow CNN host Glenn Beck. Asked for his thoughts on the trip, Beck said there is never going to be “peace in the Middle East until you wipe out radical Islam.”
When asked if Obama’s meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “was a bad idea,” Beck said that “it is” because — seeming to lump Abbas in with “radical Islam” — “you cannot bring people together with an extremist ideology”:
CHETRY: So you think that it was a bad move for [Obama] to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas?
BECK: I think it is. [...] But if you’re sitting down and you’re talking to people, as he has said that he wants to do, and try to bring everybody together, you cannot bring people together that have extremist ideology. [...] You do not get into bed with people that want to destroy you and run you into the sea.
Watch it:
So it seems that Beck is taking his fear of “talking to our enemies” to a whole new level. Even President Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — both of whom have linked direct diplomacy with “appeasement” — haven’t gone that far. In fact, Bush and McCain have not only met with Abbas but they have also lavished him with praise for his efforts in the Israeli-Palestine peace process.
Bush has said Abbas is “a man of courage,” “a man of peace,” and a leader who is “willing to speak out and act on behalf of people who yearn for peace” while McCain has said Abbas is someone capable of settling “differences in a peaceful and amicable fashion.”
Further demonstrating his ignorance of the region, Beck later added that the Palestinians are “being run now by Hezbollah.” Actually it’s Hamas, not Hezbollah.
Apparently, as long as you’re Muslim, Beck considers you an “enemy.” In other words, Beck wouldn’t want the U.S. to talk to nearly 20 percent of the world’s population.
Abizaid: ‘We can’t be in Iraq more than the Iraqis want us to be there.’
Abizaid: ‘We can’t be in Iraq more than the Iraqis want us to be there.’
Ret. Gen. John Abizaid, the former commander of the US Central Command from 2003-2007, told a meeting of the Pacific Council on Monday that if the people of Iraq want the U.S. to leave, the U.S. should leave. “We can’t be in Iraq more than the Iraqis want us to be there,” Abizaid said. Reportedly, Abizaid predicted that by January the Iraqis “will be close to getting their act together.” “The Iraqis have moved beyond the American political debate,” he added.
UPDATE: VoteVets launched this ad to highlight the true definition of “freedom” in Iraq:
Rove denies any involvement in Siegelman scandal.
Rove denies any involvement in Siegelman scandal.
Today, TPMmuckraker obtained the written answers from Karl Rove to questions posed to him by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) about former Alabama governor Don Siegelman’s allegedly politically-motivated prosecution. In the letter, Rove denies involvement in Siegelman’s prosecution, contradicting an affidavit and the sworn testimony of GOP lawyer Dana Jill Simpson:
I have never communicated, either directly or indirectly, with Justice Department or Alabama officials about the investigation, indictment, potential prosecution, prosecution, conviction, or sentencing of Governor Siegelman, or about any other matter related to his case, nor have I asked any other individual to communicate about these matters on my behalf. I have never attempted, either directly or indirectly, to influence these matters.
Earlier this month, Rove — despite being subpoenaed — skipped a House hearing on the Siegelman case by fleeing the country to Yalta, the historic Black Sea resort in Ukraine.
Plame and Wilson on Novak’s hit and run: ‘Take away the keys to his Corvette.’
Plame and Wilson on Novak’s hit and run: ‘Take away the keys to his Corvette.’
ThinkProgress received a statement from Amb. Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilson on Robert Novak’s collision today, in which he “was cited by police after he hit a pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning.” From their statement:
Statement from Joe and Valerie Wilson on Novak’s hit and run:
Our sympathies go out to the victim of Novak’s action. Once again Novak has demonstrated his callous disregard for the rights of others, as well as his chronic inability to accept responsibility for his actions.
We have long argued that responsible adults should take Novak’s typewriter away. The time has arrived for them to also take away the keys to his Corvette.
Five years ago, Novak outed the identity of Wilson’s wife, undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.
After Touting Drilling’s ‘Safety,’ McCain Cancels Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig Event Because Of The ‘Weather’
After Touting Drilling’s ‘Safety,’ McCain Cancels Gulf Of Mexico Oil Rig Event Because Of The ‘Weather’
In announcing his newfound support for offshore drilling, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) consistently touts the safety of offshore oil exploration. “[I]t’s safe enough these days that not even Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could cause significant spillage,” he said recently. To make his case, McCain was scheduled to helicopter tomorrow to an oil rig in the Gulf Coast.
But it seems even McCain is fearful of being caught on an offshore oil rig during rough weather. Jonathan Martin reports:
Just over an hour after finalizing plans to visit an oil rig tomorrow, the McCain campaign has cancelled the visit.“The meeting with Governor Jindal has been postponed and we are cancelling the trip to the rig due to weather,” said spokesman Michael Goldfarb. […]
The campaign declined to comment any further about the quick decision to spike the trip other than to cite the weather.
Ironically, the “weather” of concern is the strengthening Hurricane Dolly, which has been bumped up to a category 2 hurricane (Katrina was rated a category 5) with winds up to 100 miles per hour. Today, Dolly made landfall in Texas.
As the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has noted multiple times, McCain and his surrogates have for weeks been peddling the false claim that Hurricane Katrina caused no major oil spills to push for expanded drilling. Watch a compilation:
The hurricanes destroyed 113 offshore oil platforms and caused 124 offshore spills and hundreds more onshore. In fact, because of Hurricane Dolly, “at least 62 production platforms and eight drilling rigs had been shut down and evacuated in the Gulf.”
As McCain makes his push for increased oil production, Louisiana officials are also dealing with a barge collision that caused a spill of an estimated 9,000 barrels of fuel into the Mississippi River, resulting in a 12-mile long oil slick. “Television stations reported the stench of diesel fuel wafting across the French Quarter.”
McCain has put safety first today, putting off his oil drilling photo-op for another day.
Scarborough Defends McCain, Criticizes Bloggers ‘Eating Cheetos’ In Their ‘Underwear’
Scarborough Defends McCain, Criticizes Bloggers ‘Eating Cheetos’ In Their ‘Underwear’
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) inaccurately claimed that the surge was responsible for beginning the Sunni revolt against al Qaeda in Iraq’s Anbar province: “Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening.” This morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough attempted to defend McCain’s comment:
Anybody that would argue the Sunni Awakening would have survived in Al Anbar province without the surge…is so ignorant of the facts on the ground in Western Iraq, in Al Anbar province and what the Sunni sheiks were doing throughout 2007 — they’re too stupid to be on television. [...]
The Anbar Awakening started in the fall of 2006. World War II started in December of 1941. That battled continued. The invasion of Normandy happened three years later. Good things happened. The surge happened six months later, and that’s when things started getting better in Anbar province.
Also during this segment, Scarborough attacked liberal bloggers for correcting McCain’s error, saying they were probably “just sitting there, eating their Cheetos” and saying, “Let me google Anbar Awakening!” He added, “Dust flying — Cheeto dust flying all over. They’re wiping it on their bare chest while their underwear — you know, their Hanes.” Watch it:
First of all, McCain did not simply tie the surge to the Anbar Awakening. He said that the Anbar Awakening began with the surge. As several bloggers pointed out, this claim is completely false. The Awakening began in September 2006; President Bush didn’t even announce the surge until January 2007. Things were getting better in Anbar long before the surge.
Additionally, as Colin Kahl writes in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, the Awakening was driven not by sheiks’ confidence in the surge, but by their belief that the United States would soon be withdrawing from Iraq. “U.S. forces had to convince the Sunnis that they were not occupiers — that is, that they did not intend to stay forever,” writes Kahl.
And for the record, ThinkProgress does not regularly eat Cheetos, nor do we blog in our underwear. But we do use a Google now and then.
Transcript: More »
Novak’s victim in worse condition than first thought.
Novak’s victim in worse condition than first thought.
After Robert Novak struck a pedestrian in his black convertible this morning, news outlets reported that the victim suffered only “very minor injuries.” But D.C.’s ABC affiliate WJLA now reports that the pedestrian “is in worse shape than first thought.” The 66-year-old male victim “appeared somewhat incoherent, said the source who had seen the victim. The man appeared to have casts on his neck and back. The victim was X-rayed and a surgical team plans to evaluate him, the source said.”
Rep. Hunter won’t visit Chadian refugees if he can’t hunt wildebeest.
Rep. Hunter won’t visit Chadian refugees if he can’t hunt wildebeest.
Rep. Duncan Hunter’s (R-CA) staff recently contacted the U.S. embassy in Chad to see whether he could visit the country and distribute food at a refugee camp. He said he wanted to hunt wildebeest and then distribute the meat to the refugees. The embassy, however, wasn’t too happy with this idea — especially because there are no wildebeest in Chad:
— Post welcomes Congressman Hunter’s interest in food assistance to Darfur refugees in Chad. Given the significant quantities of U.S. food aid programmed for distribution to these refugees through the World Food Program (WFP), Embassy Ndjamena would encourage the Congressman to time his visit to coincide with an already scheduled food distribution.
– Embassy Ndjamena can make the necessary arrangements for the Congressman to observe a WFP food distribution, which will include U.S. food aid, in one of the refugee camps.
– Regarding the Congressman’s desire to hunt wildebeest and distribute the cured meat to refugees, wildebeest are not present in Chad.
– The GOC does not permit the hunting of large mammals.
Hunter was clearly more interested in hunting than helping refugees. He is now trying to arrange hunting expeditions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Southern Africa instead. Ironically, CNN recently reported that wildebeest between Kenya and Tanzania are “under threat from poachers.”
Democracy Arsenal has more.
60 percent of Americans want a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
60 percent of Americans want a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
Teasing the release of the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll tonight, First Read reports that on the heels of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s embrace of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, “60% of registered voters believe it’s a good idea for the US to set such a timetable, while 30% say it’s a bad idea.” (HT: Atrios)
Davis: Pressure To Rush David Hicks’ Trial Came Day After Australian Ambassador Meeting
Davis: Pressure To Rush David Hicks’ Trial Came Day After Australian Ambassador Meeting
In March 2007, Australian native David Hicks, who was a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, became the first person to be sentenced by a military commission convened under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Last February, Col. Morris Davis, the lead prosecutor in Hicks’ trial, told the Australian that the Pentagon “leaned on” him to rush Hicks’ trial, even though at the time he “had no regulations for trial by military commissions.”
In an interview with WAMU’s Diane Rehm yesterday, Morris added details of how “political influence” was involved in Hicks’ trial. On January 9, 2007, Davis says the Defense Department’s general counsel, William Haynes, called him up and asked, “how quickly can you charge David Hicks?”
Davis then noted that Haynes call came the day after “there was a meeting with the Australian ambassador” to the United States:
DAVIS: So, the major pieces were not in place and I’m having the DoD general counsel calling me up, the day after there was a meeting with the Australian ambassador, asking, “how quickly I could charge David Hicks.”
Listen here:
Bush administration political appointees appear to have meddled in Hicks’ case in order to help their key conservative ally, Australian Prime Minister John Howard. In early 2007, Howard was facing a serious electoral challenge from Labor leader Kevin Rudd, who eventually went on to defeat him. Hicks’ incarceration at Guantanamo Bay was a contentious issue in Australian politics at the time.
In February 2007, Vice President Dick Cheney visited Howard in Australia, where the PM lobbied for the trial to “be brought on as soon as humanly possible and with no further delay.” A month later, Hicks was sentenced and released back to Australia with critics airing suspicions that Cheney had interceded.
In October 2007, an anonymous military officer told Harper’s Scott Horton that “Cheney interfered directly to get Hicks’s plea bargain deal” as “part of a deal cut” with Howard.
Transcript: More »
Duke Cunningham asks Bush for clemency.
Duke Cunningham asks Bush for clemency.
Last weekend, the New York Times reported that “[f]elons are asking President Bush for pardons and commutations at historic levels as he nears his final months in office, a time when many other presidents have granted a flurry of clemency requests.” The AP reports that former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) is now among the applicants:
The San Diego Republican has submitted a petition to commute his sentence, Erik Ablin, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said Monday. No details were provided.
Cunningham was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison after pleading guilty in November 2005 to taking $2.4 million in cash, trips, prostitute services and other gifts as bribes from defense contractors in exchange for government contracts.
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) who filled Cunningham’s seat, “opposes freeing his predecessor early.” “I don’t think I can overstate the damage that Mr. Cunningham did to the institution of government,” Bilbray said.
Larry Craig wants to continue ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’
Larry Craig wants to continue ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’
Today, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel is holding the first congressional hearings on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 15 years. To mark the occasion, the conservative news outlet CNSNews.com asked some members of Congress if they still support the discriminatory program. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), who was busted last year for allegedly trying to pick up another male in an airport bathroom, said that he believes “we ought to sustain it“:
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) told CNSNews.com, “Current policy has served us well. I think we ought to sustain it. I see no evidence that it should be repealed.”
Boot: Maliki’s Timeline Endorsement Was ‘Ambiguous,’ Iraqi Government Isn’t Asking U.S. To Leave
Boot: Maliki’s Timeline Endorsement Was ‘Ambiguous,’ Iraqi Government Isn’t Asking U.S. To Leave
When news that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had endorsed a 16-month timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, the right wing fell over itself to claim Maliki hadn’t meant what he said. Leading the charge was neoconservative writer Max Boot, who declared Monday that Maliki “is not really trying to push U.S. troops out by mid-2010.” Rather, Boot dismissively claimed, “he is playing politics — Iraqi politics.”
Today, in a Washington Post op-ed, Boot insists that the U.S. shouldn’t listen to Maliki, because his statements were “ambiguous.” Besides, Boot claims, no one in Iraq wants the American forces to leave:
Of course, if the Iraqi government tells us to leave, we will have to leave. But, the prime minister’s ambiguous comments notwithstanding, the Iraqi government is saying no such thing, because most Iraqis realize that the gains of the surge are fragile and could be undone by a too-rapid departure of U.S. forces.
In fact, there was nothing “ambiguous” about Maliki’s statement. Though the U.S. military tried to claim Maliki had been “mistranslated,” a New York Times review of the quotation made it clear Maliki was specifically endorsing the person who “wants to exit in a quicker way.” In fact, on Monday, Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh stated — in English and on camera — that the government wanted a withdrawal by 2010.
Considering Boot argues that Maliki is “playing politics,” he should recognize that the Iraqi people — along with the govenrment — also favor withdrawal, and have for years:
March 2008: Just four percent of Iraqis said they had “a great deal of confidence” in U.S. occupation forces, compared to 46 percent who said they had no confidence at all. 72 percent strongly or somewhat oppose the presence of Coalition forces in Iraq.
September 2007: Nearly three-quarters of Baghdad residents polled said they would feel safer if U.S. and other foreign forces left Iraq, with 65 percent of those asked favoring an immediate pullout, according to State Department polling. 71 percent wanted the Iraqi government to ask the U.S. to leave within a year.
January 2006: “Asked what they would like the newly elected Iraqi government to ask the US-led forces to do, 70% of Iraqis favor setting a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces.”
Boot’s insistence that neither the Iraqi government nor the Iraqi people really want the U.S. to leave is another example of conservatives claiming to know more about what Iraqis want than Iraqis do. The Corner’s John Derbyshire seemed to sum up this perspective when he wrote yesterday that the U.S. should think about Iraq “with regard only to U.S. interests,” and that if Maliki “doesn’t like that, he can go to hell.”
Witness: ‘No way’ Novak didn’t know he hit someone; victim was ’splayed across the front’ of his car.
Witness: ‘No way’ Novak didn’t know he hit someone; victim was ’splayed across the front’ of his car.
Politico reports that conservative pundit Robert Novak “was cited by police after he hit a pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning.” Novak initially “drove away from the scene,” but turned around when “a bicyclist stopped him and said, ‘You hit someone.’” Novak claimed: “I didn’t know I hit anybody.” But Washington DC’s local ABC affiliate interviewed the bicyclist who saw the incident. WJLA’s Suzanne Kennedy reported live from the scene:
I just spoke with the bicyclist about three minutes ago. He tells me that the pedestrian was actually splayed across the front of Novak’s convertible, and that there would be absolutely no way Novak would have not known that he had hit someone.
Watch it:
Politico notes that in a 2001 interview with the Washington Post, Novak said, “I really hate jaywalkers. I despise them. Since I don’t run the country, all I can do is yell at ‘em. The other option is to run ‘em over, but as a compassionate conservative, I would never do that.”
Washington Times joins conservative media in publishing McCain’s error-filled op-ed.
Washington Times joins conservative media in publishing McCain’s error-filled op-ed.
Following the lead of many other conservative outlets, the Washington Times today published Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) error-filled op-ed that the New York Times recently rejected. In an editor’s note, the Washington Times explains its decision:
EDITOR’S NOTE: The New York Times declined to run this op-ed. The New York Post ran a shorter version. We are running the op-ed in its entirety, as has the Drudge Report and some other media.
Indeed, many of the “other media” who have published the op-ed are conservative outlets, including foxnews.com and Rupert Murdoch’s The New York Post.
Lieberman Compares Hagee To Moses, Says Bloggers Would Have Attacked Him Too
Lieberman Compares Hagee To Moses, Says Bloggers Would Have Attacked Him Too
Yesterday, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) spoke at the controversial pastor John Hagee’s Christians United For Israel Washington-Israel Summit. Lieberman’s close political ally, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), finally rejected Hagee’s endorsement in May. Lieberman, however, says he still has the utmost respect for the pastor, who once said that Hurricane Katrina was punishment to New Orleans for hosting a gay pride parade.
In his address last night, Lieberman used the “tone” of a biblical sermon. He blasted bloggers, reaffirmed his bond with Hagee, and compared the pastor to biblical figures. The Hartford Courant reports:
In response to what he termed the “pretty aggressive campaign,” Lieberman said in his speech, “The bond I feel with Pastor John Hagee and each and every one of you is much stronger than that and so I am proud to stand with you here tonight.”
Lieberman again drew a parallel between Hagee and biblical figures, this time saying biblical heroes, unlike the demigods of Greek mythology, “are humans — great humans, but with human failings.” Lieberman said that Moses had his shortcomings, too.
“Dear friends, I can only imagine what the bloggers of today would have had to say about Moses and Miriam.”
In justifying his decision to speak to Christians United, Lieberman claimed that Hagee has “expressed his regrets about each of the most controversial statements he has made.” In fact, though Hagee pledged “a greater level of compassion and respect for my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ,” and apologized to Jews, he has never expressed regret over his comments about Katrina.
So according to Lieberman, endorsing John McCain and making offensive comments = parting the Red Sea.
Fox and Friends tackles sexism: ‘Hey, honey! Get me a sandwich!’
Fox and Friends tackles sexism: ‘Hey, honey! Get me a sandwich!’
This morning on Fox and Friends, the three hosts began a discussion about sexism and whether it still exists. Brian Kilmeade concluded, “I don’t see it.” As proof, he said, “I look at women and say, ‘Hey! Hey equal!’” Steve Doocy then joked that he says to women, “Hey, honey! Get me a sandwich!” Gretchen Carlson was clearly uncomfortable throughout the segment, repeatedly trying to shift the discussion to Hurricane Dolly. The two men, however, decided to talk about the problems with women’s sports, concluding that Carlson needs to get more of her “people” to watch the WNBA. Watch it:
Transcript: More »
ThinkFast: July 23, 2008
ThinkFast: July 23, 2008
“Wall Street got drunk,” President Bush said at a private fundraiser last week in Houston. Unaware that he was being recorded, Bush joked about the country’s housing crisis and said Wall Street now has “a hangover.” (Watch the video here.)
According to IRS data, “the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation’s adjusted gross income for two decades” and “possibly the highest since 1929.” Meanwhile, “the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years.”
President George H.W. Bush’s former national security advisor Brent Scowcroft warned the current president to stop threatening Iran. He said yesterday “that by mentioning that threat, ‘we legitimize the use of force…and may tempt the Israelis’ to carry out such a mission. He said he thinks that negotiations must continue.”
One day before he is to meet with Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlined a tentative plan “for withdrawing most of Britain’s remaining troops from Iraq early in 2009,” telling Parliament that Britain planned a “fundamental change of mission.” Brown gave no fixed timetable for withdrawal, however.
On the trail today: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will be campaigning in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and then touring offshore oil rigs in Louisiana. Sen. Obama was in Israel earlier today, visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust history memorial, and is now meeting with officials in the Palestinian territories. More »
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