Pelosi: Thirty to fifty thousand ‘residual troops’ in Iraq is too many.
Pelosi: Thirty to fifty thousand ‘residual troops’ in Iraq is too many.
President Obama is expected to announce this week that he will withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by August 2010, but reports say he will initially leave a residual force of 30,000 to 50,000 troops to “train the Iraqi military, conduct targeted counterterrorism operations and protect American personnel and assets.” Yesterday on the Rachel Maddow show, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made clear that she wanted far fewer residual troops than this:
MADDOW: Fifty thousand seem like an awful large residual force?
PELOSI: It does. It does. I completely agree with that. And I don’t — the president hasn’t made the statement. … And I don’t know the justification is for a presence of 50,000 troops in Iraq. I do think that there is a need for some, and I don’t know that all of them have to be in the country. They can be platformed outside. … I would think one-third of that, maybe 20,000, maybe more than one-third, 15,000 or 20,000.
Watch it:
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Now Issa cares about taking extra measures to preserve White House e-mails.
Now Issa cares about taking extra measures to preserve White House e-mails.
In a letter to White House Counsel Gregory Craig today, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, “called on President Obama to put in place a system that ensures all White House emails be preserved even if official business was done through private e- mail accounts.” This newfound interest in the use of outside e-mail accounts at the White House is ironic, considering his dismissal of such concerns when Democrats investigated the Bush administration’s use of RNC e-mail accounts:
Republicans accused the Democrats of pursuing the investigation simply to dig up dirt on Rove and waste hundreds of thousands of dollars of money that the RNC could be using to shore up its candidates’ campaigns.
“Are we simply going on a fishing expedition at $40,000 to $50,000 a month?” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) asked National Archives and White House officials at the hearing. “Do any of you know of a single document, because this committee doesn’t, that should’ve been in the archives but in fact was done at the RNC?”
In 2007, the House Oversight Committee discovered that at least 88 Bush White House officials, including former adviser Karl Rove and former chief of staff Andrew Card, had RNC e-mail accounts. Additionally, the RNC has preserved no e-mails for 51 officials and had major gaps in the e-mail records of the 37 White House officials for whom the RNC did preserve e-mails.
Bushes Feast On Organic Food But Undermine Same Opportunity For American Families
Bushes Feast On Organic Food But Undermine Same Opportunity For American Families
Yesterday, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynne Marek profiled the role of the White House executive chef, writing that to work for a president, a chef must “have strong culinary skills” and “be willing to check ego and politics at the door.” Quoting former executive chef Walter Scheib, Marek notes that First Lady Laura Bush has been “adamant” about eating organic food:
Both Clinton and Laura Bush were focused on the nutritional value of food, with Bush adamant about using organic products, Scheib says.
In a blog posting, Scheib wrote that Bush was “adamant that in ALL CASES if an organic product was available it was to be used in place of a non-organic product.” The fact that the first lady was “adamant” about organics at the White House is commendable, but it is also a bit hypocritical considering her husband’s poor policies:
– In April 2004, Bush’s USDA issued legally binding guidances allowing the use of antibiotics on organic dairy cows and synthetic pesticides on organic farms.
– Another 2004 guidance narrowed the scope of the federal organic certification program to crops and livestock, meaning that national organic standards would “not be developed for fish, nutritional supplements, pet food, fertilizers, cosmetics, and personal-care products.”
– Though then-Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman reportedly “rescinded the directives” after activist uproar, the vice chairman of the National Organic Standards Board told the Chicago Reader that the USDA “sticks to their interpretations, only now they are no longer posted.”
– In June 2007, the USDA greenlighted a proposal “allowing 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the ‘USDA Organic’ seal, despite more than 10,000 e-mails and letters from concerned consumers and farmers.”
– This past September, the USDA “abruptly halted a government program that tests the levels of pesticides in fruits, vegetables and field crops, arguing that the $8 million-a-year program is too expensive.”
Even as Bush exits office, organic farmers are concerned that his USDA is pushing “the broadest rewrite of federal organic regulations in the $20 billion industry’s relatively short history” without input from the organic community or the National Organic Standards Board.
Cheney Echoes Nixon: If The President Does It During Wartime, It Is Legal
Cheney Echoes Nixon: If The President Does It During Wartime, It Is Legal
On Fox News Sunday today, host Chris Wallace asked Vice President Cheney, “if the President, during war, decides to do something to protect the country, is it legal?” “I think as a general proposition, I’d say yes,” replied Cheney.
Cheney went on to defend the administration’s actions over the past eight years:
CHENEY: There are bound to be debates and arguments from time to time and wrestling back and forth about what kinds of authority is appropriate in any specific circumstances, but I think that what we’ve done has been totally consistent with what the Constitution provides for.
Watch it:
Cheney’s answer is eerily reminiscent of former President Richard Nixon’s claim that “when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Nixon made the comment in his famous interview with David Frost, responding to a question about whether “there are certain situations” in which “the president can decide that it’s in the best interests of the nation or something, and do something illegal.”
Though Cheney thinks the administration’s actions have been “totally consistent with what the Constitution provides for,” numerous courts have ruled that the Bush administration has overstepped the bounds of the Constitution:
– In June 2004, The Supreme Court dealt a setback to the Bush administration by refusing to endorse the claim that “the government has authority to seize and hold suspected terrorists or their protectors and indefinitely deny them access to courts or lawyers while interrogating them.”
– In June 2006, the Supreme Court “rolled back the sweeping powers appropriated by the Bush administration in the war on terror, ruling it could not order military trials for Guantánamo detainees without the protections of the Geneva convention and American law.”
– In August 2006, U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled that “the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program is unconstitutional, delivering the first decision that the Bush administration’s effort to monitor communications without court oversight runs afoul of the Bill of Rights and federal law.”
It’s ironic that Cheney’s Nixon comment came during an interview with Chris Wallace, considering that Cheney recently thanked Wallace for defending the Bush administration against comparisons to Nixon.
White House Counselor hosts attends party for lobbying firm (UPDATED).
White House Counselor hosts attends party for lobbying firm (UPDATED).
On Wednesday night, the lobbying firm Quinn Gillespie & Associates hosted “its popular annual holiday party,” offering their guests finger food and champagne. The firm’s profile at the party got a boost from the White House as former founding partner Ed Gillespie, who is currently serving as counselor to President Bush, greeted guests:
Lobbying firm Quinn Gillespie & Associations returned to hosting its popular annual holiday party Wednesday evening, after taking a year off in 2007. On hand to greet their many guests were the firm’s two founding partners, Democrat Jack Quinn and Republican Ed Gillespie, though Gillespie left the outfit last year to join the White House.
National Journal’s Bara Vaida notes that Gillespie “severed his financial ties to the lobbying firm when he joined the White House,” but “could return to K Street” after Bush leaves office.
This sentence is ridiculously misleading. "On hand to greet their many guests were the firm's two founding partners, Democrat Jack Quinn and Republican Ed Gillespie, though Gillespie left the outfit last year to join the White House." These people were NOT guests of Ed Gillespie, Jack and Ed did NOT jointly “greet their many guests” and you need to correct your story as wrong.
UN Ambassador-nominee Susan Rice won’t be asking John Bolton for advice.
UN Ambassador-nominee Susan Rice won’t be asking John Bolton for advice.
Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama formally named Susan Rice as his nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. After the press conference, Rice spoke to The New Republic’s Dayo Olopade, telling her that she wanted “to call up former holders of the position for advice.” There was one former UN ambassador, however, who Rice said she didn’t want to speak to: John Bolton.
For Nearly A Year After Recession Started, Bush White House Insisted That ‘We’re Not In A Recession’
For Nearly A Year After Recession Started, Bush White House Insisted That ‘We’re Not In A Recession’
Earlier today, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) announced that “the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy.” The group, which the White House has previously pointed to as the determinative body for declaring a recession, said in a statement that the “decline in economic activity” after Dec. ‘07 “was large enough to qualify as a recession.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto commented on the news “without ever actually using the word ‘recession.’” Instead, Fratto released a statement saying the White House was focused on what they “can do for the economy right now.”
It’s not surprising that Fratto would avoid the word “recession.” Though economic analysts and experts were predicting in late 2007 and early 2008 that the U.S. economy was likely to face a recession, Fratto declared on Jan. 8, 2008, “I don’t know of anyone predicting a recession.” This wasn’t the only time that the Bush administration dismissed the idea of a recession during the same period that NBER now says a recession was underway:
- “We don’t believe we’re going to have a recession though.” [Vice President Dick Cheney, 1/30/08]
- “I think the experts will tell you we’re not in a recession.” [President Bush, 2/10/08]
- “The answer is, I don’t think we are in a recession right now.” [Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Edward Lazear, 2/11/08]
– “First of all, we’re not in a recession.” [President Bush, 4/22/08]
– “The data are pretty clear that we are not in a recession.” [Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Edward Lazear, 5/7/08]
- “I don’t think we are” in a recession. [Director of the National Economic Council Keith Hennesy, 6/3/08]
– “I think we have avoided a recession.” [White House Budget Director Jim Nussle, 7/31/08]
– “I don’t think anybody could tell you right now if we’re in a recession or not” [Dana Perino, 10/7/08]
Less than a month ago, Fratto said that it was “irrelevant” for the White House to admit that the U.S. is in a “recession.” The recession is official now, but Fratto appears to still think admitting it is “irrelevant.”
Former Bush adviser: Obama’s cabinet is ‘much less ideological than George Bush’s cabinet.’
Former Bush adviser: Obama’s cabinet is ‘much less ideological than George Bush’s cabinet.’
On ABC’s This Week today, former Bush strategist Matthew Dowd marveled at President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet choices, saying that Obama will have “one of the most pragmatic, least ideological cabinets that we’ve seen in a long time.” Dowd noted that this contrasted with how his former boss picked his staff when he first entered office:
DOWD: Much less ideological than George Bush’s cabinet when he appointed it, when he first came into office. People that have disagreements. He has disagreements with his potential Secretary of State. He has disagreements with the person that’s going to run his Pentagon. It’s an amazing thing he has done that.
Watch it:
It shouldn’t be surprising that Obama is more open to appointing “people that have disagreements” than Bush was. As Bob Woodward has noted, Bush has often shown “a lack of interest in open debate.”
Judge orders Cheney to preserve VP records.
Judge orders Cheney to preserve VP records.
Today, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly dealt a “setback for the Bush administration in its effort to promote a narrow definition of materials that must be safeguarded under by the Presidential Records Act” by ruling that Vice President Cheney must preserve his records. Kollar-Kotelly said that the Bush administration’s legal position “heightens the court’s concern” that some records may not be preserved. The lawsuit, brought by CREW and several historian organizations, was prompted in part by Cheney’s claim that he is not part of the executive branch.
Bush has ‘no plans’ to see Oliver Stone’s ‘W.’
Bush has ‘no plans’ to see Oliver Stone’s ‘W.’
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore told the Los Angeles Times today that President Bush has “no plans” to see Oliver Stone’s upcoming biopic “W.” Lawrimore took the opportunity to pre-emptively attack Stone’s credibility, saying that “Oliver Stone is an accurate historian like Gilligan was an accurate navigator.” Watch the trailer:
George W. Bush Sewage Treatment Plant renaming qualifies for November ballot.
George W. Bush Sewage Treatment Plant renaming qualifies for November ballot.
The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco has just recently submitted signatures to city election officials “hoping to place on the ballot an initiative that would rechristen the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant as the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.” SFist reports that the initiative has now officially qualified. From the Commission’s press release:
Officials at the Department of Elections announced today that the citizens’ initiative to rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant has qualified for the November 4th San Francisco ballot. Voters will decide on the measure in the general election alongside the presidential election, numerous statewide initiatives, and an expected 20 to 30 local measures.
White House deputy chief of staff resigning.
White House deputy chief of staff resigning.
The White House announced this morning that Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin will be leaving his job this month. “The President said that he thanks Joe for his service to the White House, that Joe’s been a loyal friend, and that he is excited about the next chapter in Joe’s life,” said Press Secretary Dana Perino. “Hagin sent an email to friends this morning, announcing he is leaving to take a private sector job.”
Feith Blames Public For Feeling Misled About Iraq: ‘I Think They Misremember A Lot’
Feith Blames Public For Feeling Misled About Iraq: ‘I Think They Misremember A Lot’
Last night, Iraq war architect Douglas Feith appeared on The Daily Show to discuss his war apologia, War and Decision. When Stewart said that many Americans feel the Bush administration misled them into war, Feith replied, “Errors are not lies. I think a lot of what the Administration said was correct.”
Feith insisted that the entire administration conducted a “serious consideration of the very great risks of war.” When Stewart reminded Feith that those risks were never presented to the public, Feith said he was wrong, and that people who felt that way simply “misremembered” the run-up to war:
STEWART: If you knew the perils, but the conversation that you had with the public painted a rosier picture, how is that not deception? The fact that you seemed to know all the risks takes this from manslaughter to homicide. [...]
FEITH: When people read this book, I think people will be surprised to be reminded of what was actually said. I think a lot of people’s perceptions of what was said are filtered through the recent history. … I think they misremember a lot.
Watch it:
It’s Feith’s memory, not Americans’, that is faulty here. In January, a Center for Public Integrity study documented the more than 930 false statements made by the Bush Administration in the lead-up to the Iraq war. Feith has shut his eyes to the evidence for months, laughably claiming that the administration never said the war would be easy, even though the White House frequently — and famously — peddled just that notion.
As the Wonk Room’s Matt Duss puts it, “Doug Feith is only small part of a bigger story, an ideologically hidebound bureaucrat condemned to spend the rest of his life frantically and fruitlessly arguing against history’s overwhelmingly clear verdict on his incompetence and mendacity.”
Pentagon Warns Of ‘Harm’ From Webb’s Effort To Give Educational Benefits To Soldiers After ‘Only’ 2 Years
Pentagon Warns Of ‘Harm’ From Webb’s Effort To Give Educational Benefits To Soldiers After ‘Only’ 2 Years
There are currently 56 senators –including 10 Republicans – who have joined Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)’s effort to dramatically expand educational benefits for returning veterans. The 21st Century GI Bill would pay a significant portion of college costs for all service members, including national guard members, who served in active duty after Sept. 11, 2001.
The Pentagon and the White House oppose the bill, however, apparently “out of fear that too many will use it.” In a press briefing today, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell explained the administration’s opposition, warning of the “harm” Webb’s bill would do to troop retention and objecting to the generous benefits given after “only” two years of service:
We have no issue with the fact that Senator Webb wishes to provide a more generous education benefit to troops. But we are certainly concerned that this would be eligible to them after only two years of service. We think pegging it to a longer period of service — the number we have in mind, at this point, is six years of service — that the longer you stay in, the sweeter the benefits are to you. Six years would show a commitment to service. … The last thing we want to do is provide a benefit — or the last thing we want to do is create a situation in which we are losing our men and women who we have worked so hard to train.
Morrell suggests that those who serve their country for a full two years somehow do not show “a commitment to service” and are thus undeserving of Webb’s generous benefits. Under Morrell’s terms, a soldier who participated in the invasion of Baghdad, in April of 2003, and had remained in service ever since would be forced to wait a whole year before becoming eligible for full benefits.
As the New York Times’ Bob Herbert pointed out, more robust educational benefits will only help the military fill its enlistment quotas with qualified Americans. He took opponents of Webb’s bill to task for failing our troops:
The notion that expanding educational benefits will have a negative effect on retention seems silly. The Webb bill would cover tuition at a rate comparable to the highest tuition at a state school in the state in which the veteran would be enrolled. That kind of solid benefit would draw talented individuals into the military in large numbers. … Politicians tend to talk very, very big about supporting our men and women in uniform. But time and again — whether it’s about providing armor for their safety or an education for their future — we find that talk to be very, very cheap.
As VoteVets chairman Jon Soltz and Gen. Wesley Clark wrote recently, “it is morally reprehensible to fix the system so that civilian life is unappealing to service members, in an attempt to force them to re-up.”
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