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Senate committee approves Iraq redeployment plan.

By Faiz Shakir on Mar 22, 2007 at 4:53 pm

The Senate Appropriations Committee “approved a $122 billion measure Thursday financing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but also calling on President Bush to pull combat troops out of Iraq by next spring. The bill, approved by a voice vote, is similar to one the House began debating Thursday. The White House has threatened to veto the House measure and issued a veto threat against an earlier, similar version of the Senate withdrawal language.”

UPDATE: Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), the only Iraq war veteran in Congress, explains why the House needs to approve the U.S. Troops Readiness, Veterans’ Health and Iraq Accountability Act tomorrow:

Security

Boehner’s 60 Days On Iraq Are Up

By ThinkProgress on Mar 22, 2007 at 4:08 pm

On January 23, 2007, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said on CNN that he supported benchmarks for Iraqis and a timeline of “60 to 90 days” for the escalation to work:

KOPPEL: How long can you and your membership give the president and give the Iraqi military, before you say, you know what, you’re not doing your job?

BOEHNER: I think it will be rather clear in the next 60 to 90 days as to whether this plan is going to work. And, again, that’s why we need to have close oversight, so that we just don’t look up 60 or 90 days from now and realize that — that this plan is not working. We need to know, as we — as we’re — we move through these benchmarks, that the Iraqis are doing what they have to do.

Time’s up.

Fifty-nine days later, the escalation isn’t working. A senior Bush administration official acknowledged recently to the Washington Post that “right now there is no trend” showing the escalation is working. While sectarian attacks in Baghdad are down, “deaths of Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops have increased outside the capital”:

If violence is down in Baghdad, analysts said, it is likely because the Shiite militias operating there are waiting out the buildup in U.S. troops, nearly all of whom are being deployed in the capital. At the same time, Sunni insurgents have escalated their operations elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Boehner is leading opposition to the House Iraq plan (which imposes strict benchmarks on the Iraqi government) claiming it will lead to “micromanag[ing] the war on terror, undermining our generals on the ground and slowly choking off resources for our troops.”

How many more periods of “60 to 90 days” before Boehner admits the Iraq strategy is failing?

Culture

If You Believe…

By Matthew Yglesias on Mar 22, 2007 at 4:07 pm

Jason Chandler has assembled a complete database of NBA player performance based on the Wages of Wins methodology. It’s interesting the varied results you get. For the Wizards, for example, their numbers indicate that Etan Thomas is better than Brendan Haywood and that an Arenas-Daniels back court is better than a Stevenson-Arenas back court. That’s all well within the range of things that normal people think.

For the Knicks, however, you get the result that Steve Francis, Quentin Richardson, Renaldo Balkman, David Lee, and Eddy Curry is a devastatingly effective lineup (with Curry as, by far, the weak link). One that would, collectively, go 82-0 over the course of the season if not for the need to give playing time to backups, in no small part because Lee is actually the best player in the league. I guess I don’t really believe that, but it seems to me that the Knicks should at least give it a try. Jared Jeffries off the bench is also said to be a somewhat above-average performer.

Politics

Reactions

By Matthew Yglesias on Mar 22, 2007 at 3:59 pm

Hillary Clinton gets classy, while the Obama camp seems to have no response to the Edwardses announcement earlier today.

UPDATE: Something went out from Obama at 3:21 PM Eastern, a little bit before I posted this: “Today, Michelle and I join every American in sending our thoughts and prayers to Elizabeth and John and the entire Edwards family. We all admire Elizabeth’s strength and determination and the deep love they so obviously share.”

Politics

Grassley supports Rove, Miers subpoenas.

By ThinkProgress on Mar 22, 2007 at 2:30 pm

“Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) voted with Democrats Thursday to give Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) the authority to subpoena current and former White House officials… The panel voted by voice vote on the authority, but Grassley said he wanted the record to show that he voted ‘yes’ on the issue.” But remember, this is all about politics.

UPDATE: Giuliani: Gonzales should be given “the benefit of the doubt.”

Yglesias

Title Search

By Matthew Yglesias on Mar 22, 2007 at 2:18 pm

As you may know, I’m working on a book. As of yet, it has no title. The contract refers, I believe, to The Untitled Matthew Yglesias Foreign Policy Project, which is pretty cool. Sam Rosenfeld suggests IRL a mashup of that idea with Ezra’s proposal for Jonah Goldberg and release The Matthew Yglesias Foreign Policy Project: A Very Serious, Thoughtful Argument that has Never Been Made in Such Detail or with Such Care. I’ll let you know when to start the preordering.

Politics

Prayers For Elizabeth

By John Podesta, Guest Blogger on Mar 22, 2007 at 1:33 pm

lizI was saddened to hear today that Elizabeth Edwards’s battle with cancer is not yet over. But I was not surprised to hear that she and John will continue their efforts to stand up for their beliefs and vision for the country.

Elizabeth is truly a remarkable, dynamic and courageous woman. From her life story, we know that, above all, she is a survivor and a person of deep moral conviction.

Her grace and strength through this battle will continue to serve as an inspiration to us all.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Edwards family.

Politics

Politico updates false Edwards report.

By ThinkProgress on Mar 22, 2007 at 12:40 pm

Politico’s Ben Smith on his false report: “A single, confident source close to John Edwards told me this morning that Edwards was ‘suspending his campaign,’ and I posted it to the blog at 11:06 this morning. My source, and I, were wrong. … I trusted the source, somebody I’ve known for several years, and who has always been reliable. And with less than an hour before Edwards was to announce, I unwisely wrote the item without getting a second source.”

CNN’s Candy Crowley doesn’t have much sympathy: “Now, Politico.com has cracker jack reporters over there.”

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/03/crackerjack.320.240.flv]

UPDATE: More at Wonkette.

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