Weekly news round up
The insurgency continues to kill about one score people per day. The latest in Mosul. LINK.
Rumsfeld, on the Sunday morning talk shows, echoes the magic 12 year number for the life expectancy of insurgencies. LINK. I'd like to see an explanation for insurgencies lasting about 5-12 years. It sounds dubious.
BBC News' coverage of Rumsfeld and apparent talks with some insurgent groups. LINK. The original story broke in Sunday's Times of London. LINK.
Disturbing story on up-armoring in Sunday's NY Times magazine. LINK. Nut graf: "Yet more than two years into the war, efforts by United States military units to obtain large numbers of these stronger vehicles for soldiers have faltered - even as the Pentagon's program to armor Humvees continues to be plagued by delays, an examination by The New York Times has found."
One examination, from San Francisco Chronicle, finds members of the 42nd ID frustrated, depressed, but still going. LINK.
Bush and his administration commences a 'stay the course' p.r. blitz. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Bush will try and show that he is not disconnected from reality. LINK.
The administration will look to repeat the outstanding success of the Social Security p.r. blitz...
A great way to begin to show this would be an apology and a call for more recruits and more boots on the ground. If Bush honestly wants to wager success on the Iraqis writing a constitution within the next 60 days (that is the real deadline), then the situation is out of American control. If deadlines aide the insurgency, then they have plenty of deadlines already in their arsenal. In simple, unequivocal language -- something that Bush can home-spin on campaign but is incapable of presenting when Iraq is at issue -- he needs to tell the American public that this war is going to be long, and that a quick exit will be more dangerous than finishing the job.
Professor Michael Ignatieff articulates the American idea of spreading democracy. Rightly pegs Iraq as Bush's entire legacy to the world, to the 21st century. And has a few pointers for the wordsmith-president who likes to talk loudly and wave a small stick. LINK.
The Sunday Times of London has a leaked document site, so you can see how honest Dubya was in 2002, 2003. LINK.
The Economist, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, argue for more troops in Afghanistan. Rumsfeld's transition army expected an easy roll-up, and would have had it had Iraq never happened. But even the CIA now says that the best training camps are in Iraq now. Afghanistan is so 2000. LINK.
Iran's hard liner is in the news. NY Times says a growing rift between Tehran and DC is in the cards. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad campaigned on the nuclear issue. The Washington Post is not optimistic. In his first news conference, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the 'peaceful' nuclear program will continue. BBC News link. The Economist takes a stance on Iran's new hard-liner. LINK.
There is so much else going on in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan that this fascinating story about Italy and the CIA may not get the attention it deserves. Or maybe it will begin to heat up this week. It's got classy hotels in Milan, so give it a 50-50 shot of becoming big by Wednesday. Italy to arrest CIA operatives?
Renditions, the Clinton era process of spiriting terrorists to less than friendly prisons, may have been carried out with the help of Canada. LINK.
Gitmo getting better, says some US leaders. LINK. That implies that it was bad, no?
Tony Blair's eldest son will intern with the GOP on the Hill. LINK. Story ends with a hint of a sequel with the Dems.
Rumsfeld, on the Sunday morning talk shows, echoes the magic 12 year number for the life expectancy of insurgencies. LINK. I'd like to see an explanation for insurgencies lasting about 5-12 years. It sounds dubious.
BBC News' coverage of Rumsfeld and apparent talks with some insurgent groups. LINK. The original story broke in Sunday's Times of London. LINK.
Disturbing story on up-armoring in Sunday's NY Times magazine. LINK. Nut graf: "Yet more than two years into the war, efforts by United States military units to obtain large numbers of these stronger vehicles for soldiers have faltered - even as the Pentagon's program to armor Humvees continues to be plagued by delays, an examination by The New York Times has found."
One examination, from San Francisco Chronicle, finds members of the 42nd ID frustrated, depressed, but still going. LINK.
Bush and his administration commences a 'stay the course' p.r. blitz. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Bush will try and show that he is not disconnected from reality. LINK.
The administration will look to repeat the outstanding success of the Social Security p.r. blitz...
A great way to begin to show this would be an apology and a call for more recruits and more boots on the ground. If Bush honestly wants to wager success on the Iraqis writing a constitution within the next 60 days (that is the real deadline), then the situation is out of American control. If deadlines aide the insurgency, then they have plenty of deadlines already in their arsenal. In simple, unequivocal language -- something that Bush can home-spin on campaign but is incapable of presenting when Iraq is at issue -- he needs to tell the American public that this war is going to be long, and that a quick exit will be more dangerous than finishing the job.
Professor Michael Ignatieff articulates the American idea of spreading democracy. Rightly pegs Iraq as Bush's entire legacy to the world, to the 21st century. And has a few pointers for the wordsmith-president who likes to talk loudly and wave a small stick. LINK.
The Sunday Times of London has a leaked document site, so you can see how honest Dubya was in 2002, 2003. LINK.
The Economist, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, argue for more troops in Afghanistan. Rumsfeld's transition army expected an easy roll-up, and would have had it had Iraq never happened. But even the CIA now says that the best training camps are in Iraq now. Afghanistan is so 2000. LINK.
Iran's hard liner is in the news. NY Times says a growing rift between Tehran and DC is in the cards. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad campaigned on the nuclear issue. The Washington Post is not optimistic. In his first news conference, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the 'peaceful' nuclear program will continue. BBC News link. The Economist takes a stance on Iran's new hard-liner. LINK.
There is so much else going on in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan that this fascinating story about Italy and the CIA may not get the attention it deserves. Or maybe it will begin to heat up this week. It's got classy hotels in Milan, so give it a 50-50 shot of becoming big by Wednesday. Italy to arrest CIA operatives?
Renditions, the Clinton era process of spiriting terrorists to less than friendly prisons, may have been carried out with the help of Canada. LINK.
Gitmo getting better, says some US leaders. LINK. That implies that it was bad, no?
Tony Blair's eldest son will intern with the GOP on the Hill. LINK. Story ends with a hint of a sequel with the Dems.
posted by Bravo 2-1 at 5:00 PM
2 Comments:
thank god you poseted. i had feared edit copy was in its last throes.
posted i meant posted. as in patrick ewing posted up drazen petrovic and is swishin and dishin.
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