Entries for April 27, 2007

Now that the Democrats have completed their first presidential debate, it will be the Republicans' turn next Thursday when they convene at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., for their own nationally televised encounter.

And no candidate is looking forward more to the event than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. For many weeks, Romney's advisers have been predicting that he will score well in the debate--by proving that he is "presidential," is a "true conservative," and has a mastery of the issues as deep and broad as that of anyone in the race. Romney definitely needs a breakthrough. He has been unable to rise above about 10 percent support in polls of Republican voters even though he has raised more money than any other GOP candidate.

"He needs to move the campaign forward," says a Romney strategist, who admits that the candidate has developed a reputation as an opportunist for reversing himself on issues such as abortion and gay rights and for exaggerating his background as a hunter--all supposedly to appeal to the conservative base.

"Once these impressions set in, it's hard to unwind them," says the strategist.

--Kenneth T. Walsh

More on the caputre of Abdul al-Hadi al-Iraqi:

The announced transfer of a high-level al Qaeda operative to the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay from CIA custody was hailed as a significant victory for the United States. But the announcement about Abdul al-Hadi al-Iraqi's capture was also a tacit admission that the CIA has continued to operate its controversial interrogations and secret prisons program. Al-Hadi was arrested late last year, but was only transferred to Pentagon custody in the past week. In the meantime, he had been held--and apparently interrogated--in CIA custody.

Last September, following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the CIA program, President Bush acknowledged the covert program and transferred the remaining 14 top terrorist suspects to Guantanamo Bay. (See note). But he continued to defend the program as a key tool in America's arsenal against al Qaeda. And the CIA clearly now feels it has the legal cover it needs to resume operating its interrogation and detention program.

The Department of Defense announced today that a high-ranking al Qaeda official has been transferred from CIA custody to the detention center at Guantánamo Bay. Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, who (as his name suggests) was born in Iraq but spent many years directing al Qaeda operations in Afghanistan, is said to have been a trusted confidant of Osama bin Laden.

The Pentagon also released a fact sheet (pdf) about al-Hadi's life and history as an alleged terrorist.

The Project on Government Oversight is offering harsh criticism of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch and his recently announced probe into the political activities of key White House officials, most notably Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.

The group describes the investigation as "off to a bumpy start" and something that "looks like it will be toothless" in a release jointly issued with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

May 1, this coming Tuesday, marks the four-year anniversary of the president's now infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an event that has come to signify for critics of the war the iconic image of defective prewar planning.

As U.S. News Whispers Editor Paul Bedard has learned, some of those critics have no intention of letting that anniversary go unnoticed. See what's in the works here.

This morning's top stories:

• Taliban militants killed five people in an eastern district of Afghanistan duringa successful effort to seize control of the region.
• In his new book, former CIA chief George Tenet says there was no "serious debate" on whether Saddam Hussein posed a legitimate threat before the invasion of Iraq.
• At least seven states are examining whether hogs were fed contaminated feed, the U.S. Agriculture Department said Thursday.
• The dean of admissions at MIT has resigned after admitting that she fabricated some of her academic credentials nearly 20 years ago.