Today is Karl Rove’s last day on the job at the White House.
Bush will visit Pentagon commanders today who are reportedly divided over what to do about Iraq. He “is expected to hear deep concerns about the long-term impact on U.S. forces of maintaining a heavy troop presence in Iraq in 2008 and beyond.”
One of the most pressing issues for Alberto Gonzales’ replacement, according to dozens of current and former federal prosecutors, “is a budget squeeze at U.S. attorneys’ offices that has led to declines in crime prosecutions and delays in major investigations.”
New e-mails released by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) confirm that the Bush administration “viewed former surgeon general Richard H. Carmona as a public relations tool, pushing him to make political appearances and promote the Bush administration’s agenda while he was in office.”
An American-owned company operating from Kuwait, Lee Dynamics International, “paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to American contracting officers in efforts to win more than $11 million in contracts.”
The NAACP has “filed a civil rights lawsuit challenging a purge of Louisiana voters believed to have registered in other states following Hurricane Katrina.” The organization has charged that the purge began without the pre-authorization of the Justice Department, which is required for the state under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
An independent commission has found that “the rampant sectarianism that has existed since the formation of the [Iraqi] police force requires that its current units ‘be scrapped’ and reshaped into a smaller, more elite organization.” One official said the recommendation is that “we should start over.”
And finally: Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) said “he meant no offense when he hoisted himself onto the lectern of Colombia’s lower house to address his Andean colleagues, some of whom were offended or simply amused by the faux pas.” “I meant absolutely no offense,” said Dreier. “I simply wanted to demonstrate my warm feeling and affection.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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