Sunday, June 15, 2008

Buried In A Senate Report, New Revelations About Pre-War Deception A previously undisclosed CIA report written in the summer of 2002 questioned the "credibility" and "truthfulness" of an Al Qaeda detainee who became a key source for the Bush administration's claims about links between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. The statements of the detainee--a captured terrorist operative named Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi--were the principal basis for President Bush's contention in a major pre-Iraq War speech that Saddam's regime had "trained Al Qaeda members in bombmaking and poisons and deadly gases." The speech was delivered in Cincinnati on Oct. 7, 2002, just as Congress was taking up the White House-backed resolution authorizing the president to invade Iraq. But two months before Bush's dramatic assertion, the CIA had raised serious doubts about whether al-Libi might be inventing some of what he was telling his interrogators, according to a 171-page Senate Intelligence Committee report on pre-war intelligence released last week. "Questions persist about [al-Libi's] forthrightness and truthfulness," the CIA wrote in the still-classified Aug. 7, 2002, report, which was circulated throughout the U.S. intelligence community. "In some instances, however, he seems to have fabricated information." <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=39d8aff124b8f5a9ef05e8e570c625c6";><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=39d8aff124b8f5a9ef05e8e570c625c6";/> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=39d8aff124b8f5a9ef05e8e570c625c6"; style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> - The Huffington Post News Editors [The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com] 7:50:18 PM    comment []

Saudis Agree To Boost Oil Production RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia plans to increase its oil production by 200,000 barrels a day next month, the kingdom's oil minister told U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday, according to Ban's spokesman. The U.N. secretary-general met with Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi in the port city of Jiddah during a one-day trip to the world's largest oil producer. Farhan Haq, a spokesman who is traveling with Ban, said in an e-mail that the U.N. chief said al-Naimi told him Saudi Arabia would increase oil production by 200,000 barrels a day from June to July. In May, the kingdom increased its production by 300,000. By July, production should be at 9.7 million barrels a day, Haq said. Ban also said Saudi Arabia understands that the current price of oil, which topped $139 per barrel earlier this month, is not normal, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. "The king believes that the current oil prices are abnormally high, and he is ready to restore prices to their appropriate levels," SPA quoted Ban as telling reporters in Jiddah. The report carried by SPA was in Arabic, and it did not say what language Ban spoke in. Saudi Arabia is concerned that sustained high oil prices will eventually slacken the world's appetite for oil, affecting the kingdom in the long run. The 200,000-barrel-a-day boost is not insignificant _ it will raise Saudi Arabia's daily production by about 2 percent. But to a market that has been sending oil prices soaring to record heights due in part to strong global demand, the move might be seen as marginal. The oil market largely ignored Saudi Arabia's 300,000-barrel-a-day output increase last month. In electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange late Sunday, crude oil futures were down 54 cents at $134.32 a barrel. The kingdom has called for a meeting of oil producing and consuming countries on June 22 in Jiddah to discuss ways of dealing with soaring energy prices. The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing unnamed analysts and oil traders briefed by Saudi officials, that a production increase of about 500,000 barrels per day was to be announced following the meeting. On Saturday, al-Naim's adviser told The Associated Press that the minister would address the production increase reports the next day. But on Sunday, the adviser, Ibrahim al-Muhanna, said there was no meeting to address the reports scheduled. Further attempts to reach al-Muhanna by phone later Sunday went unanswered. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, is concerned that sustained high oil prices will eventually slacken the world's appetite for oil, affecting the kingdom in the long run. Crude prices have reached record highs, surpassing $139 per barrel on June 6 after surging nearly $11 in the biggest single-day price leap ever. The prices had receded by Friday, with the benchmark light, sweet crude for July delivery falling $1.88 to settle at $134.86 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, July Brent crude lost $1.84 to settle at $134.25 on the ICE Futures exchange. The current president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Chakib Khelil, has said that the cartel will make no new decision on production levels until its Sept. 9 meeting in Vienna. OPEC ministers often follow the lead of the Saudis when discussing whether to increase production to take the pressure off rising prices. <img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=234c705f3162255b606a357c28074193"; height="1" width="1"/> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=234c705f3162255b606a357c28074193"; style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> - The Huffington Post News Editors [The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com] 6:59:38 PM    comment []

Steve Rosenbaum: When McCain Drops Out When the Republican's choose their candidate on September 4th, there is a very real chance that they could throw the election into an unexpected choas as they pull a genuine September Surprise. I think there is every reason to believe John McCain won't be the nominee. Ok, let me say that again. McCain will not be the Republican candidate in November. Here's how it could happen: At some point in mid August, John McCain will announce that he has decided that he can not accept his party's nomination for President. The reason will be health releated, and that may turn out to be the truth. Anyone who's seen him on stage these days knows he looks like he's about to keel over. And anyone who's been on a presidential campaign knows the physical demands are grueling and can be a challange for a young man. But excuses or facts hardly matters. He won't be accepting his party's nomination. The reasons are simple. He can't win. Now that Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee - the polls all show that McCain's pro-war stance and Bush endorsement make him a lost cause in November. That combined with soft stand on litmus test conservative issues make him an unpopular candidate among the base. I know some Democrats that think the Republicans are planning to let McCain lose and 'sit this one out' so that they can hang the democrats with a bad economy and a war that is a morase. But that just isn't how they play. They play to win every hand - think about 2000 with a popular Democratic President and good economy and a solid VP running for President. Why did they put up Bush? And why did they fight so hard? Because, you don't ever throw a game. And they're not going to throw this one. McCain won't be the nominee. By August, they'll have done something to try and pick away at Obama's popularity. They'll emphasis race, or whatever they can to get him to appear less than perfect. Then, they'll bring out of the woodwork a surprise candidate who can shift the story fast. With just two months before the election - the new candidate will have little time to be 'vetted' but will be shiny and new, and will get a lot of media attention as Obama's newness will have become - by then - tarnished or at least no longer the surprise that it has been as he unseated Hillary. So, who will be the Republican Candidate that faces Obama in the fall? I've spoken to a number of friends who - when presented with this set of facts respond: "but they don't have anybody else." That's simply not the case. Said Joe Trippi, campaign consultant and most notably Howard Dean's Campaign Manager said of McCain dropping out: "While crazy this may be the best shot they have." There are a whole list of Republican's who in many ways are more likely to energize the Republican base. Some of them you know, some you don't. But one thing is certain - there are candidates that will play to the core issues in ways that McCain simply can't . Here's a list of names. Some you know, some you don't. But each of them knows their name is in play. Among them - Condoleezza Rice (Secretary of State) Colin Powel (fmr Sec. of State) Marilyn Musgrave (Colorado Congresswoman) Mitt Romney (fmr Massachusetts Governor) Mike Huckabee (fmr Governor of Arkansas) Charlie Crist (Florida Gov. ) Mark Sanford (SC Governor) Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota Governor) Bobby Jindal (Louisiana Gov.) Mark Sanford: (Governor of South Carolina) John Thune (Senator from South Dakota) Dick Lugar (Senator from Indiana) Chuck Hagel (Senator from Nebraska MIchael Bloomberg (nyc Mayor) Ok, go ahead knock them down. One by one. See if you can really remove ALL these names from a list of candidates that are more likely to give Obama a run for his money. They'll come on the scene late, with a press corps that is looking for a horse race and a new story. Obama's frontrunner status will be upset, and there will be a set of variables that need to be calculated - and tested against a weary electorate. Is this supposition? Sure, but one grounded with enough history and observation to take it beyond conjecture and into the realm of the possible. So - before the Democrats go and game out how to beat McCain, it may be worth thinking about what happens when he says he won't accept the nomination. For the Republicans, a wide open convention would be both good theater and good politics. <img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=00fd3f868944acea60c7e618aa842c0b"; height="1" width="1"/> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=00fd3f868944acea60c7e618aa842c0b"; style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> - Steve Rosenbaum [The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com] 6:52:30 PM    comment []

America’s Prison For Terrorists Often Held The Wrong Men. GARDEZ, Afghanistan - The militants crept up behind Mohammed Akhtiar as he squatted at the spigot to wash his hands before evening prayers at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. They shouted “Allahu Akbar” - God [...] [CommonDreams.org » Headlines07] 6:11:59 PM    comment []

Gingrich: Supreme Court decision will ‘cost us a city.’. On Face the Nation this morning, former House speaker Newt Gingrich echoed the extreme rhetoric of the right wing to decry the Supreme Court’s recent decision restoring the right of habeas corpus petitions to Guantanamo detainees, charging the decision would “cost us a city”: This court decision is a disaster, which could cost us a city. And the debate ought to be about whether you’re prepared to lose an American city on behalf of five lawyers — it was a five to four decision. … That ought to be a principled argument between McCain and Obama, about whether or not you’re prepared to allow any random, nutcake district judge who has no knowledge of national security to set the rules for terrorists. Watch it: Gingrich is taking his cues from Justice Antonin Scalia, who in his dissent declared that the majority’s decision “will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.” [Think Progress] 12:32:24 PM    comment []