Despite releasing a legal opinion in Dec. 2004 that declared torture is “abhorrent,” the Alberto Gonzales-led DoJ issued a secret opinion shortly after his arrival in Feb. 2005 that provided “an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used” by the CIA. A lengthy NYT expos© describes the Office of Legal Counsel, headed by Steven Bradbury, as having become a politicized tool for the Vice President’s office.
There were “317,000 applications for unemployment benefits last week, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week,” and the biggest jump in four months. Analysts believe the increase “could be a further sign that the labor market is slowing under the impact of the worst slump in housing in 16 years.”
Bush’s veto of SCHIP has divided conservatives. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) said yesterday, “We’ve got to do what we can to try to override” the veto. “If we’re truly compassionate, it seems to me, we’d want to endorse this program,” added Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
The administration’s “Anbar strategy” holds the perilous possibility “that we just end up arming the Sunnis, who still hate the Shi’a…and that eventually the Sunni tribes end up fighting it out with the central government.” Echoing this concern, the largest Shiite political coalition in Iraq urged the U.S. military to “abandon its recruitment of Sunni tribesmen into the Iraqi police.”
After initial reports that the FBI agents investigating Blackwater in Iraq would be guarded by Blackwater, the agency announced last night that it won’t use security guards employed by that company. The action was taken “to avoid even the appearance of any conflict.”
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a watchdog group, is arguing that U.S. troops are being force-fed Christianity. MRFF is planning to file a series of lawsuits “to show there is a pattern and practice of constitutionally impermissible promotions of religious beliefs within the Department of Defense.”
3,315: Number of people in Iraq infected with cholera, according to the World Health Organization. Cases of cholera were first detected in Kirkuk on Aug. 14 and have now spread to all of Iraq’s 18 provinces.
“With bipartisan support, the House is expected today to take up legislation that would make it clear that U.S. laws apply to all armed private contractors hired for overseas missions.” The Bush administration opposes the bill, “warning it would have ‘unintended and intolerable consequences’ for national security.”
Senate leaders “have developed a plan that would allow them to move the controversial nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to the FEC to the floor for a separate vote Thursday.” Aides predict his nomination will pass, which would allow senators “move to votes on the other three uncontested FEC nominees.”
And finally: “U2 front man Bono strode through the U.S. Capitol bright and early Wednesday morning, carrying a large bouquet of white and pink long-stemmed roses.” Sources report that he met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) about “Africa, global AIDS funding, etc.”
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