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Saturday, August 14, 2004 |
On MSNBC Rumsfeld in Russia had this to say:
"The behavior of Sadr and his supporters is unlawful and harmful!"
What an insightful and compelling statement to make to a country that we are trying to win back as an ally in this war against "terrorism." Do you think maybe Mr. Rumsfeld could get the enemy's name right?
8:12:39 PM 
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It's About Time
A sort-of mea culpa from the Washington Post
by Paul Waldman, Editor-in-Chief
8.13.04
News flash: The Washington Post was not as skeptical as it should have been of the Bush administration's claims in the run-up to the Iraq war. So says a front-page article by the Post's media reporter Howard Kurtz.
It's a year and half later. They're getting around to admitting this now?
5:44:54 AM
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Top Evangelicals Still Await GOP Invite
Some prominent evangelical Christians say they have not been invited to participate in or attend the Republican National Convention less than three weeks before the event is to begin.
Analysts said the move likely reflects a GOP desire to sideline its more polarizing supporters during a tight presidential race, but convention organizers deny they're marginalizing the religious leaders. Republican strategist Ralph Reed said Wednesday that invitations just started going out to evangelical figures, but he would not release any names.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, who delivered the invocation at President Bush's inauguration, has had no request to attend so far, said Graham spokesman Mark DeMoss.
The Rev. Jerry Falwell, who offered a prayer at the 2000 convention, said he has not yet been asked to do so this year. He plans to go "quietly in and quietly out" of the New York event, although he insists no one in the Republican campaigns asked him to keep a low profile.
The Rev. Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition and a one-time Republican presidential candidate, said, "I've had no request from anybody to be there." Unlike Falwell, Robertson believes the GOP is deliberately keeping him and other evangelicals away.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&;u=ap/gop_convention_evangelicals
5:43:14 AM
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COMMENTARY LOS ANGELES TIMES
Rumsfeld and Bush Failed Us on Sept. 11
Donald Rumsfeld, one of the chief opponents of investing real power over purse and personnel in a new national intelligence chief, told the 9/11 commission that an intelligence czar would do the nation "a great disservice." It is fair to ask what kind of service Rumsfeld provided on the day the nation was under catastrophic attack.
"Two planes hitting the twin towers did not rise to the level of Rumsfeld's leaving his office and going to the War Room? How can that be?" asked Mindy Kleinberg, one of the widows known as the Jersey Girls, whose efforts helped create and guide the 9/11 commission. The fact that the final report failed to offer an explanation is one of the infuriating holes in an otherwise praiseworthy accounting.
Rumsfeld was missing in action that morning — "out of the loop" by his own admission. The lead military officer that day, Brig. Gen. Montague Winfield, told the commission that the Pentagon's command center had been essentially leaderless: "For 30 minutes we couldn't find" Rumsfeld.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-sheehy13aug13,1,571727.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
5:40:49 AM
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Max Clelend Lets Loose!
Big Story with John Gibson. August 12, 2004. 5:21 PM to 5:25 PM EDT.
Guest: Max Cleland, former Senator from Georgia
I think the Democratic surrogates - at least some of them - have finally gone on the defensive. First, Dr. Susan Rice and now Max Cleland. Cleland wasn’t about to let himself be interrupted or talked over. He started and just didn’t stop. What a nice change from the “Oh, yes, I agree with you, thanks for letting me come on your show” kind of Democrats we usually see on FOX News Channel.
The topics were Kerry’s use of the word “sensitive” in a speech before the Unity Conference of Minority Journalists and Kerry’s stand on the war in Iraq.
CLIP OF Vice President Dick Cheney mocking Kerry’s use of the word “sensitive” to describe how he would have handled war in general.
CLELAND: First of all, Dick Cheney has no business criticizing anybody about war especially somebody who’s been to war, since he himself evaded five different times in the Vietnam era by getting five different deferments... John Kerry had the courage to volunteer. Not only the courage but, when he went to war, he defeated his enemies, he brought his ship home safely and he brought his crew mates back alive.
In terms of being careful where you step in the world, it was a great Republican President, Teddy Roosevelt, who said “walk softy but carry a bid stock.” That actually is the essence of John Kerry’s foreign policy....this crowd, that has never been to war, made every mistake you could possibly make and the young people out there are paying the price.”
5:28:23 AM
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One of my many problems with going to war with Iraq is what can America do if confronted with a "Serious" threat from abroad while fighting two fronts at one time
Indispensable Allies on Iran. This is no time for the United States to go it alone against Iran over its defiance on nuclear power. [The New York Times > Opinion]
5:18:37 AM
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Here's some good news to some:
Feds Told to Release Torture Files
This is good news. In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the ACLU and other civil liberties groups in June, a Manhattan federal juge has given the Government 2 weeks to release documents pertaining to the torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and other other detention centers, or establish an exemption under the Act.
The U.S. government has less than two weeks to start giving civil rights groups documents about the torture of prisoners held by U.S. forces at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and other facilities, a federal judge ordered Thursday. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said prosecutors must start handing over certain papers identified by the American Civil Liberties Union by Aug. 23 unless they can show the documents cannot be found or they are subject to certain exemptions.
Here's what the ACLU is seeking:...MORE...
4:54:09 AM
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Bush's 'Born-Again Drug War'
If the drug war is of interest to you, do not miss "Bush's Born-Again Drug War" over at Alternet. It's written by Paul Armentano, the senior policy analyst for The NORML Foundation in Washington, DC..
Listen to George Walker Bush speak about substance abuse and it's apparent that one is listening to a preacher, not a president. "There are faith-based organizations in drug treatment that work so well because they convince a
person to turn their life over to Christ," Bush divulged to the religious journal Christianity Today. "By doing so, they change a person's heart [and] a person with a changed heart is less likely to be addicted to drugs and alcohol."
Despite US Constitutional restrictions requiring a separation of church and state, Bush's ardent Judeo-Christian faith the President is a practicing Methodist who "accepted Jesus Christ into [his] life" in 1986 remains the staple of his administration's anti-drug platform.
4:48:05 AM
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Intelligence Officials: Iran Battling U.S. In Iraq
Senior intelligence sources in the U.S., as well as officials in the Middle East, claim that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has made a strategic decision to confront American forces in Iraq's Shi'a heartland. Those senior intelligence sources (a total of five separate individuals who either now serve or have served in key intelligence positions) base their belief on evidence showing that Iran has armed Shi'a groups in southern Iraq with sophisticated weaponry, has provided political and military guidance to Shi'a groups, has made and maintained contacts with Sunni resistance leaders in "the Sunni triangle" in central Iraq, and is pursuing a program of escalating confrontations between Shia militias and American troops. Among the weapons shipped to the Shi'a militants are sophisticated anti-tank rockets and anti-aircraft missiles, according to these sources.
http://www.thisisrumorcontrol.org/node/view/287
"The rhetoric coming out of the Bush administration has convinced Iran that military conflict is inevitable and rather than await an attack at a time and place of America's choosing, the Iranians will try to inflict significant damage to U.S. forces on Iraqi soil by means of the Mahdi Army and other Shi'a groups," an informed intelligence source told This Is Rumor Control. Senior officials of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency would not comment on these reports, but a former senior intelligence officer said that the conclusion was "a no brainer." As he noted: "If you had U.S. troops on your doorstep and George Bush calling you a part of the axis of evil you would take steps to protect yourself. And it would be better to protect yourself on Iraqi soil than to have to do so on Iranian soil. That is what they are doing. Are we surprised? We shouldn't be."
4:39:33 AM
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Ten senior military officials released the following statement Friday in response to the Vice President’s attacks on John Kerry today:
We are deeply disappointed by the tone and tenor of President Bush and Vice President Cheney's personal attacks on John Kerry, a decorated combat veteran who served his country with courage and honor. John Kerry is talking about his plan to address the most pressing issues facing our nation – jobs, the economy, health care,, the war on terror, the war in Iraq. George Bush and Dick Cheney have chosen take their campaign to the gutter. We call on President Bush and Vice President Cheney to stop the irresponsible personal attacks and tell us where they want to take the country. Tell us how they plan to win the peace in Iraq. Tell us how they plan to get us back on track with the war on terror. Tell us where they plan to lead the country. The American people and our troops deserve better..
Signed by:
Admiral William J. Crowe (United States Navy, Retired)
Admiral Stansfield Turner (United States Navy, Retired)
General Wesley K. Clark (United States Army, Retired)
General Merrill “Tony” A. McPeak (United States Air Force, Retired)
General Joseph Hoar (United States Marine Corps, Retired)
General Johnnie E. Wilson (United States Army, Retired)
Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn (United States Navy, Retired)
Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy (United States Army, Retired)
Lieutenant General Donald Kerrick (United States Army, Retired)
Lieutenant General Edward D. Baca
4:30:07 AM
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U.S. Army, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Distributors at War
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Just in case anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" needed any more controversy to fuel its hot box office, a new war of words broke out on Friday over whether the U.S. Army is stonewalling efforts to book the film at military bases. |
But the organization that orders films for the 160 base theaters countered that it was the distributors -- Fellowship Adventure Group, IFC Films and Lions Gate Films -- that had the problem and noted they plan to stock base stores with the film's DVDs when they are released.
The movie, made by Oscar-winning director Michael Moore, has grossed over $113 million at domestic box offices and such a blockbuster would be routinely, and quickly, ordered up by the military. But the movie presents a scathing view of President Bush (news - web sites)'s drive to war in Iraq (news - web sites), and it paints an unflattering view of the conduct of some U.S. military personnel. Although to be fair, many of the men and women fighting in Iraq are depicted as compassionate and caring. | http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&;cid=638&e=2&u=/nm/20040814/en_nm/leisure_fahrenheit911_dc
4:25:00 AM
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© Copyright 2004 John Amato.
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