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Yglesias

The Speech

By Matthew Yglesias on Jan 10, 2007 at 11:58 pm

I’ve neither seen it nor read it since I was at the Wizards game where DC won despite Agent Zero scoring “only” 20 points on horrible 5-16 shooting. Goes to show crazy things can happen. Thus, the surge is a good idea. Just kidding. It’s still crazy. But as I say, haven’t read or seen the speech yet (will get on that). For now, let me note the reaction of Michael Gerson, currently pretending to be a foreign policy expert at CFR but in fact Bush’s speechwriter 2000-2006:

The speech was direct, strong and detailed. But the policy announced tonight matters far more than the words—and that policy represents a major shift. For the first time since the fall of Baghdad, the president has set out a realistic plan to secure the citizens of that city in order to allow political and economic progress to move forward.

Gerson goes on, offering the level of BS one would expect from the man who wrote the presidents BS for so many years, but just consider this: Gerson concedes that the administration proceeded for years without a realistic plan!

Security

Bush Warns Iran: ‘I Recently Ordered The Deployment Of An Additional Carrier Strike Group To The Region’

By ThinkProgress on Jan 10, 2007 at 9:49 pm

President Bush’s address to the nation tonight included “some of his sharpest words of warning to Iran.” Bush accused the Iranian government of “providing material support for attacks on American troops” and vowed to “seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies.”

Bush added, “I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region.” Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/01/bushspeech.320.240.flv]

Also today, the White House released a Powerpoint presentation with details about the president’s new policy. “Increase operations against Iranian actors” was listed in the “Key Tactical Shifts” section.

The New York Times notes, “One senior administration official said this evening that the omission of the usual wording about seeking a diplomatic solution [to the Iranian nuclear stand-off] ‘was not accidental.’”

Politics

So much for consulting Congress.

By ThinkProgress on Jan 10, 2007 at 6:10 pm

“President Bush’s speech may be scheduled for tonight, but the troop surge in Iraq is already under way. ABC News has learned that the ‘surge’ Bush is expected to announce in a prime time speech tonight has already begun. Ninety advance troops from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in Baghdad today. An additional battalion of roughly 800 troops from the same division are expected to arrive in Baghdad Thursday.”

Politics

BREAKING: Brownback opposes Bush escalation.

By Amanda Terkel on Jan 10, 2007 at 5:00 pm

We’re keeping track of where every member of Congress stands on escalation — but we need your help. Call your members of Congress (800-614-2803), ask their position, then email their response to:

thinkprogress@americanprogressaction.org

brownbacktroopcnn.jpg

Climate Progress

Franken Calls for Crichton-Climate Progress Debate. We Accept.

By Joe Romm on Jan 10, 2007 at 3:47 pm

franken-prep.jpgClimate Progress was on Al Franken this week (audio available here). The interview shows that even catastrophic climate change can be a source of humor.

Franken posed a challenge to science-fiction author and global warming denyer Michael Crichton: Debate ClimateProgress on climate change. Franken promised to be neutral — and really who is a more neutral commentator than Al Franken?

ClimateProgress immediately agreed. But so far, not a peep from Crichton. Chicken!!

Politics

McCain: Iraq War Was ‘Easy’

By Faiz Shakir on Jan 10, 2007 at 3:41 pm

As the Carpetbagger Report noted, today on MSNBC, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) defended his statement from Oct. 2002 when he claimed, “I believe that the success [in Iraq] will be fairly easy.” McCain told Tim Russert, “It was easy, it was easy. I said the military operation would be easy.” Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/01/mccaineasy.320.240.flv]

McCain’s claim that the war “was easy” fails to acknowledge that there never was an end to “major combat operations” as President Bush once proclaimed. Contrary to McCain’s suggestion that “the military operation” was easy, difficult military operations have continued to this day. Despite McCain’s efforts to defend his faulty pre-war prognostications, the truth is he simply failed to realize the difficulty of the mission in Iraq prior to the war.

C&L has more.

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Full transcript: Read more

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