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Gates: ‘I don’t know’ whether Iraq war was a ‘good idea.’

By Satyam Khanna on Sep 19, 2007 at 4:14 pm

In an interview with New York Times columnist David Brooks published today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was hesitant to endorse several cornerstones of President Bush’s foreign policy:

“I don’t think you invade Iraq to bring liberty. You do it to eliminate an unstable regime and because sanctions are breaking down and you get liberty as a byproduct,” he continued.

I asked him whether invading Iraq was a good idea, knowing what we know now. He looked at me for a bit and said, “I don’t know.” [...]

I asked if the military could perform this sort of nation-building, as it is in Iraq. “That’s very short-term stuff. Hooking up water mains. That’s not job creation or institution-building.”

I asked if it was a mistake to put the Pentagon in charge of postwar reconstruction in Iraq instead of the State Department. He thought for a long time but didn’t say anything.

Climate Progress

Climate News Roundup

By Climate Guest Blogger on Sep 19, 2007 at 4:05 pm

Damage to the planet ‘is already inevitable’ – The Times online (UK). “Just eight years are left for the world’s carbon dioxide emissions to peak if there is any hope of limiting temperature rises to no more than 2C (3.6F) over the next century.” Not gonna happen, if the Deniers have there way. And that means: “The choice is now between a future with a damaged world and a future with a severely damaged world,” said Professor Martin Parry, of the Met Office.

EU to give poor nations at least ‚¬50 million to deal with climate change – International Herald Tribune. The article suggests that much of the money is for adaptation (i.e. “we’re sorry we screwed you”): “to help them cope with more frequent storms, floods and drought linked to man-made climate change.” On the other hand, some funds will go to “helping poor countries set up programs that could cash in on rich nations’ carbon offsets.” Now we’re talkin’! I wanna get me some of that offset money.

 Effort to Get Companies to Disclose Climate Risk – New York Times. “Two environmental groups and the financial officers of 10 states and New York City are asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to require companies to disclose the risks that climate change may pose to their bottom lines.”

Arctic summer ice thickness halves to 1 meter – Environmental News Network. “All of these areas have previously had two meters of ice.” More evidence the Arctic will be ice free by 2030.

Politics

Retrocession

By ThinkProgress on Sep 19, 2007 at 3:38 pm

Ross points me to National Review‘s editorial against a vote for DC’s House member, that argues instead for retrocession:

Finally, there is retrocession — i.e., ceding the bulk of the district to Maryland, much as a portion of D.C. was ceded to Virginia in 1846. A federal district would survive, but as a much-reduced core that contains the Capitol, the White House, and the National Mall. In some ways, this is the most attractive option. Maryland, of course, would have to agree to the transfer.

This probably is the best choice, albeit something Maryland has traditionally not been interested in. It would, however, make a certain amount of sense for Maryland’s Democratic establishment to want to embrace a measure that would entrench their power.

Yglesias

Attacking Iran

By ThinkProgress on Sep 19, 2007 at 3:34 pm

Salon publishes Steve Clemons’ “Why Bush Won’t Attack Iran”. It’s an interesting piece, but as Brian Beutler points out the conclusion is actually that we should . . . worry about a war with Iran! Specifically, “an engineered provocation” that “would most likely be triggered by one or both of the two people who would see their political fortunes rise through a new conflict — Cheney and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”

That said, I’ve become a bit of a skeptic about the short-term prospects for war. I see very little political interest in such a war from anyone. At the same time, the Iran hawks have succeeded in getting every major political figure to agree that all options, including war, must be “on the table” and that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable. And they’ve also succeeded in preventing everyone in practical politics from talking about the sort of things that would go into a serious diplomatic settlement. Under the circumstances, the medium-term prospects for war seem to me to remain decent, and from an Iran hawks’ point of view it’d probably be better to have any military strikes happen under a less discredited future president than under the unpopular incumbent.

Along those lines, Moira Whelan observes:

Bushies know Democrats want to look tough on terrorism—so if Iran is helping the Taliban, why are they being allowed to get away with supporting it? They know the progressive commitment to non-proliferation, so why is Iran escaping scrutiny? Then, of course, there’s their drum beat on Iran’s involvement in Iraq.

All of these arguments will be part of the neocons attempt to tie the hands of the next President. This benefits them in two ways. First, they use it as a domestic political issue to attempt to make Democrats look weak on critical national security issues if there is no action. Second, they attempt to get what they want–an attack on Iran—without the resulting mess on their hands. Either way, they spend some time driving the debate and acting as “deciders” of handling Iran being right or wrong (newsflash: it will be wrong). In the meantime, the Democratic administration will say things like “its complicated” and “we’re working it diplomatically”—a position that may be right, but is always a tough sell.

And, of course, there are some fairly committed Iran hawks on the merits inside the broad Democratic coalition.

Politics

Rep. King: There Are ‘Too Many Mosques In This Country,’ We Should ‘Infiltrate’ Islam

By Satyam Khanna on Sep 19, 2007 at 3:22 pm

In 2006, President Bush appeared alongside then-House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY) and heaped praise on the Congressman, calling him a “strong, strong chairman” who was “doing a fine job to help us protect this country.”

The Politico reports today that King, now ranking member on the Committee, is continuing his “strong, strong” measures to “protect” the United States by directly attacking Muslims. In a recent interview, King said:

Unfortunately, we have too many mosques in this country. There are too many people who are sympathetic to radical Islam. We should be looking at them more carefully. We should be finding out how we can infiltrate. [...]

I think there’s been a lack of full cooperation from too many people in the Muslim community. And it’s a real threat here in this country.

Watch it:

Throughout his tenure in Congress, King has stereotyped and launched racist attacks at Muslim-Americans:

“[Y]ou could say that 80-85 percent of mosques in this country are controlled by Islamic fundamentalists.” [LINK]

“I know of any number of mosques in New York…where there are radicals in there.” [LINK]

Muslims are “an enemy living amongst us.” [LINK]

Muslims’ “ideology of extremism has been spread to the youth and the new generation.” [LINK]

“They won’t turn in their own. They won’t tell what’s going on in the mosques. They won’t come forward and cooperate with the police.” [LINK]

Gen. John Abizaid recently stated, “the battle of words is meaningful, especially in the Middle East to people.” With members of Congress like Peter King, we continue to lose that battle.

Digg It!

UPDATE: King responds: “The quote was taken entirely out of context by Politico. My position in this interview, as it has been for many years, is that too many mosques in this country do not cooperate with law enforcement. Unfortunately, Politico was incapable of making this distinction.”

Politics

Paul Krugman blogs.

By Matt Corley on Sep 19, 2007 at 3:13 pm

Earlier this morning, the New York Times released their op-ed columnists from behind the TimesSelect pay wall. Now, one of those columnists, Paul Krugman, has also started his own blog, “The Conscience of a Liberal.” Krugman says he not only expects “politics and economics of inequality” to be “central to many of the blog posts,” but that he also intends on “using this space to present the kind of information I can’t provide on the printed page — especially charts and tables, which are crucial to the way I think about most of the issues I write about.”

Climate Progress

Earthbeat Interview now online

By Joe Romm on Sep 19, 2007 at 3:05 pm

My discussion with Mike Tidwell on the latest in climate change news is now online here. Even better for Climate Progress readers — who get more than their fill of me — is the first interview on the show with Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

If you want the latest on the stunning loss of ice in the Arctic from one of the country’s foremost authorities, that interview is a terrific place to start.

Yglesias

How’re We Doing

By ThinkProgress on Sep 19, 2007 at 3:00 pm

iraq_9%201.png

Via Ezra Klein, Gallup’s graphic representation of their polling data on the state of America’s policy in Iraq.

It’s interesting to consider how the goalposts have shifted over the years. In the summer of 2004, most Americans thought things were going poorly in Iraq, and that was certainly the general sense one got of elite beliefs as well. Today, meanwhile, despite disagreement about the “surge” I think just about everyone thinks conditions have deteriorated from where they were three years ago.

Security

Harman On Need To Amend FISA: ‘Congress Is On Trial Here,’ We Have To Correct Our Mistake

By Faiz Shakir on Sep 19, 2007 at 2:52 pm

This morning, ThinkProgress interviewed Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), the chairwoman of the subcommittee on intelligence within the Homeland Security committee, regarding the Bush administration’s aggressive push for permanent expansive spying powers.

Harman, who has been critical of Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, said he is “devaluing [his] office by being so close to the White House and by carrying messages that in fact — like the German message — don’t comport with the facts.”

Harman said she is working hard to implement changes to the recently-passed FISA legislation, which she said provided a “blank check for the White House…without any effective review.” Harman said her goal is to “instill changes in the FISA law that would ensure a “legal framework applies and nothing can be done outside the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which provides for checks and balances.”

“I think [Congress] made a mistake,” Harman said of Congress’s passage of FISA changes shortly before the August recess. Highlighting the need to rein in the recent unchecked expansion of power, Harman issued a challenge to her colleagues in Congress:

Congress must act. Congress is on trial here. I think we did the wrong thing in August. We have to correct it this fall.

Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/09/Harmantp.320.240.flv]

Harman urged the need to restore “the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, which prevents searches and seizures of Americans without probable cause.”

UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald warns there may be more capitulations by Congress on the horizon.

Culture

The Case for 1997

By ThinkProgress on Sep 19, 2007 at 2:31 pm

Ah, to be sixteen again. Well, not really. But I’ve got to support The Onion AV Club‘s efforts to convince us that 1997 is the new 1967:

1967 is rightfully—though overly, especially during its 40th anniversary—revered as a watershed year for pop music: It saw the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Songs Of Leonard Cohen, Are You Experienced?, The Velvet Underground & Nico, Forever Changes, and many other incredible and/or important albums. 1997, though lacking the benefit of as much hindsight, packed a pretty earth-shaking musical punch, too, clearly led by Radiohead’s already-canonized OK Computer.

I hope this nineties rock renaissance really takes off because I’ve been ahead of the curve on this one. Here’s “Why Did We Ever Meet” by The Promise Ring:

Indeed.

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