The Bush administration is “nearing completion of a long-delayed executive order that will set new rules for interrogations” by the CIA. The order is expected to “ban the harshest techniques used in the past,” including waterboarding, “but to authorize some methods that go beyond those allowed in the military by the Army Field Manual.”
“More than a month after the Office of Special Counsel announced it will establish a task force to mount a government-wide investigation of alleged violations of the law that limits political activity in federal agencies, the group’s formation remains in the preliminary stages.”
“The Taliban has merged its propaganda and field operations with those of the global al Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden,” enabling the Taliban to “develop from a xenophobic, home-grown Islamist movement into a more outward looking force that is helping to advance al Qaeda’s global interests.”
Activists say President Bush’s Darfur sanctions announced yesterday are “too little, too late.” The sanctions “target three people with suspected links to the violence as well as about 30 companies” in Sudan. “Three people? After four years? And not one of them the real ringleader of the policy to divide and destroy Darfur?” asked John Prendergast of the Enough Project.
The New York Times finds that some conservatives in Congress are “struggl[ing] to appease increasingly restless constituents” over Iraq. “I think this is the most expensive, stupidest thing ever done,” one Republican and former “staunch backer” of President Bush now says.
“Under increasing pressure from Democrats in Congress to increase the number of Iraqi refugees allowed into the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security says it has finally approved a process to weed out potential terrorists and admit as many as 7,000 Iraqis by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.”
“Even ‘moderate additional’ greenhouse emissions are likely to push Earth past ‘critical tipping points’ with ‘dangerous consequences for the planet,’ according to research conducted by NASA and the Columbia University Earth Institute.”
Bush scolded opponents of the immigration reform legislation, saying they “haven’t read the bill” and are offering “empty political rhetoric.” Conservatives bristled at his remarks. “I don’t think name-calling does any good at this point,” said David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union. “No yelling and screaming by the administration is going to change our minds,” said another conservative.
“The United States is better prepared to deal with a major disaster like Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf region in 2005, but still lacks a formal structure for coordinating a national response, the head of the U.S. Coast Guard said on Tuesday.”
And finally: “You go to the club with the yacht you have…” Now that Donald Rumsfeld is no longer Defense Secretary, he has time for his “other hobbies” — skiing, squash, and yachting. He and his wife have joined the Miles River Yacht Club in St. Michaels, MD, which is “considered one of the more exclusive boating clubs on the Eastern Shore.” But the Examiner notes that Rumsfeld will likely do little yachting because his “membership is mainly for socializing.”
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