Five years after 9/11, “only 33 FBI agents have even a limited proficiency in Arabic, and none of them work in the sections of the bureau that coordinate investigations of international terrorism, according to new FBI statistics.”

UPDATE: American Progress has a progressive intelligence reform plan with detailed recommendations to solve this problem. Check it out HERE.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) said in a statement that as conditions in Iraq continue to worsen, “there must be no question among the (Bush) administration, the Congress and the Iraqi unity government that staying the course is neither an option nor a plan.”

Today at a news conference, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) blamed the current predicament with North Korea on the Clinton administration. Watch it:

CNN points out that McCain said the 1994 Agreed Framework negotiated by the Clinton administration was a failure.

The 1994 Agreed Framework wasn’t perfect and North Korea was not in 100% compliance. But it was the only thing that stopped North Korea from producing nuclear weapons and separating plutonium. During the Clinton administration, North Korea didn’t make any nuclear bombs. Today, the country possesses material for as many as 13 nuclear weapons. The vast majority of that material was created during the George W. Bush administration. (All the rest was created during his father’s adminstration.)

The difference between the Clinton administration’s North Korea policy and the Bush administration’s North Korea policy is the difference between success and failure.

Full transcript below: Read more

Todd Gitlin’s take on the Anti-Defamation League’s shameful efforts to intimidate people out of hosting a talk by Tony Judt is probably the best one I’ve read. Again, for the record, I think Judt’s espousal of binationalism for Israel-Palestine is fairly daft. Still, he’s a smart, well-respected guy, people are rightly interested in what he has to say, and reasonable people would just let him speak. It’s especially noteworthy — and unfortunate — that this is the ADL we’re talking about here which is not really an “Israel lobby” institution, as such. It’s a bit of a sensitive subject to raise, but I get a sense that over the past few years the ADL has been wrestling with the problem that there’s arguably too little anti-semitism in the United States to justify the existence of an organization of its size dedicated to combatting it. But the staff and leadership need to do something all day, so they’ve started fighting phantom anti-semitism in the form of vigorous criticism of Israel.

The conflation of anti-semitism with “has political opinions I disagree with” is, however, unlikely to prove Good for the Jews in the long run. Lurking somewhere in this Spine post is the notion that Michael Moore and Jimmy Carter are, not too left-wing, but . . . anti-semites. This I find to be a ludicrous notion. Political disputes are just that, political disputes. Meanwhile, I’ve never really understood why Carter is so loathed in “pro-Israel” circles; it seems to me that the Camp David Accords and attendant arrangements have been an unambiguous boon to Israel — I never seem to see Carter-haters suggesting a return to the previous situation. Israel should be so lucky as to have more American presidents engaged with the conflict in such a constructive way. Bush has been much more “supportive” of Israel, but what’s actually been accomplished?

In May 2003, President Bush said the United States would “not tolerate nuclear weapons in North Korea” and “will not settle for anything less than the complete, verifiable, and irreversible elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.”

Three years later, North Korea has offered the first “manifest proof” of its nuclear capabilities, and Bush has moved the goal posts. Yesterday, Bush said the US “would hold North Korea fully accountable” if they transferred nuclear material to other states or “non-state entities.” Watch it:

The difference is striking. Back in 2003, the administration was riding high after declaring “mission accomplished” in Iraq. Today, the Iraq war rages on, sapping resources and energy away from other crises around the world.

For six years, the Bush administration has refused to engage in direct talks with North Korea. The country now may possess enough weapons-grade plutonium for as many as 13 nuclear weapons.

Digg It!

Transcript: Read more

The Washington Post reported that North Korea’s apparent nuclear test “may well be regarded as a failure of the Bush administration’s nuclear nonproliferation policy.”

Today, a reporter asked if President Bush believes he has made any mistakes with respect to North Korea. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow responded, “Oh, my goodness…it’s a silly question.” Later, he called the question “gratuitious.” Snow explained that “you need to give presidents the benefit of the doubt when national security is involved.” Watch it:

To learn about Bush’s record on North Korea, see our timeline.

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Transcript: Read more

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell lauded what is known as the Agreed Framework that the Clinton Administration signed with North Korea. “Lots of nuclear weapons were not made because of the Agreed Framework and the work of President Clinton and his team,” Powell said. Now, conservatives are faulting President Clinton for selling light water reactors to North Korea under the agreement, but in doing so, they overlook Donald Rumsfeld’s role in the deal.

Rumsfeld was the only American to sit on the board of a company which six years ago sold two light water reactors to North Korea. The Guardian reported in May 2003:

Rumsfeld was a non-executive director of ABB, a European engineering giant based in Zurich, when it won a $200m contract to provide the design and key components for the reactors. The current defense secretary sat on the board from 1990 to 2001, earning $190,000 a year.

Rumsfeld has never acknowledged that he knew the company was competing for the nuclear contract. In response to questions about his role in the reactor deal, former Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told Newsweek in February 2003 that “there was no vote on this” and that her boss “does not recall it being brought before the board at any time.” But an investigation by Fortune magazine revealed that Rumsfeld probably did know:

ABB spokesman Bjoern Edlund told Fortune magazine at the time that “board members were informed about this project.” … “This was a major thing for ABB,” the former director [who sat on the board with Rumsfeld] said, “and extensive political lobbying was done.” The director recalls being told that Rumsfeld was asked “to lobby in Washington” on ABB’s behalf. … Although he couldn’t provide details, Goran Lundberg, who ran ABB’s power-generation business until 1995, says he’s “pretty sure that at some point Don was involved,” since it was not unusual to seek help from board members “when we needed contacts with the U.S. government.”

Rumsfeld has since refused media requests to talk about his role in the light water reactor deal and has instead criticized it.

“Jeff Trandahl, the former House clerk who oversaw the House Page Program, is expected to break his silence Tuesday on the Foley page scandal, according to a colleague familiar with the media’s interest in the case.”