Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Posted here Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 7:09:38 PM     We need to be looking at the larger picture, but the details will carry weight. I am not sure where this one will go,but he is the head of the admin part of the 911 commission. http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=23083 ”Why would Iraq attack America or use nuclear weapons against us? I'll tell you what I think the real threat (is) and actually has been since 1990 -- it's the threat against Israel,” Zelikow told a crowd at the University of Virginia on Sep. 10, 2002, speaking on a panel of foreign policy experts assessing the impact of 9/11 and the future of the war on the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation. The bigger picture: what makes sense now in Iraq? Who has a good idea? The civil war looks like it will emerge, or a tight fundamentalist state. The same is potential in Pakistan, with Iran and Egypt and Afghanistan. Maybe even a Palestine. Armed and angry. The anger is a mix of leadership wanting to blame the US to hold on to their won power in the face of lack of hope. Yet those same elites are somewhat dependent on the US to keep them in power. The whole situation could come apart as a side show of Bush coming apart. Scenarios begin to come to mind...   ********

Posted here Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 5:42:42 PM     STRATFOR FREE INTELLIGENCE BRIEF http://www.stratfor.com/basic China Attempting to Divorce Political and Business Leaders Summary Chinese Communist Party and government officials will no longer be allowed to retain posts in state-owned enterprises starting in May. Beijing's new willingness to divorce politics from business demonstrates the failure of the Party to draw the country's entrepreneurs into its ranks and a new desperation to crack down on corruption and clean up state finances. ********

Posted here Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 5:38:59 PM     from slate   The Dogs That Didn't Bark Why Colin Powell and George Tenet aren't bashing Richard Clarke. By Fred Kaplan Posted Wednesday, March 31, 2004, at 2:39 PM PT Tenet: Speaking no evil In the short story "Silver Blaze," Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery of a stolen racehorse by observing that the stable's guard dog didn't bark—hence, the intruder was not a stranger. The mystery of whether Richard Clarke is telling the truth about President Bush's counterterrorism policies might be solved the same way: Which dogs aren't barking? Amid all the administration officials bombarding the airwaves with denunciations, who has stayed mum? The answer: Secretary of State Colin Powell and CIA Director George Tenet, and their silence speaks loudly. ********

Posted here Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 8:24:55 AM     on bush trends in the polls, a very good graph http://nasilemak.blogspot.com/2004_03_28_nasilemak_archive.html#108066053879869096  ********