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Sunday, May 19, 2013
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A day after the comparably low monthly US death toll in Iraq led to optimistic assessments that things are improving militarily there, President Bush focused on Iraq's political woes. In a videophone conversation with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush "delivered a blunt message," the CBS Evening News said, demanding that Maliki "show some progress in uniting rival factions." However, even "while that was happening, key Sunni officials announced they're leaving the government." The AP says White House "downplayed the significance" of the bloc's departure, with White House Press Secretary Tony Snow saying "reconciliation is ongoing" and noting that Iraq's Sunni vice president and defense minister "remain in place."
But unlike yesterday's upbeat coverage focusing on military aspects media outlets across the board portrayed the situation in Iraq in a starkly negative light. ABC World News, for example, noted, "In the critical, political arena, the picture is bleak" following the bloc's withdrawal. NBC Nightly News also called the move a "new setback" for Maliki's government. The New York Times says the move is "severely weakening the government's credentials as a national unity coalition and setting back hopes of reconciliation," while the Washington Post calls it "the latest indication of growing Sunni frustration" with Prime Minister Maliki. The Financial Times calls it "a significant blow to hopes for Sunni-Shia reconciliation. USA Today, Washington Times and Los Angeles Times, among other newspapers, run similar assessments this morning.
On its front page, the New York Times says the war's "staunchest supporters have seized on the reduced death toll in July for American troops as a sign that an influx of troops is dampening sectarian violence in the country. Yet even before the car bombings on Wednesday, opponents of the war were citing reports that the Iraqi civilian deaths were on the rise -- a fact they say belies any notion that the White House strategy is having its intended effect of protecting the Iraqi population."
Sen. Joseph Biden said on MSNBC's Hardball, "I know Gen. Petraeus well, been in constant contact with him the last four and a half years. I disagree with his plan and the surge, but I think he's an honorable guy. I think he'll come back and say two things. You're going to have to read between the lines. And one's going to be, we've made some progress in the surge, we've made some military progress. But I think he'll be honest enough to say we've made no political progress."
US General Says Pullout Plan "Ready To Go" NBC Nightly News says that while military planners "say it could take two years for a complete withdrawal from Iraq," a "top US commander here in Kuwait says, from a logistics standpoint, he's already got the plan and he's ready to go. All he needs is the President's order." The Washington Post reports Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb said facilities in Kuwait "have handled as many as 240,000 troops moving into and out of Iraq in as little as a three-month period during the war's major rotations."
Republicans To Focus On Iraq Roll Call says House Republicans, "seeking to generate momentum on Iraq leading up to the highly anticipated mid-September briefing by Gen. David Petraeus," are "expected to focus heavily on the war's progress during the August recess to support the Bush administration's case that the surge strategy is working and Congress should not pre-empt military leaders on the ground." But August "could be a bruising month for the GOP as public polling continues to indicate low public support for the war and as outside groups and antiwar activists are ramping up efforts to target Members back in their districts." The Hill also says antiwar groups "are planning massive protests against the Iraq war for next year's GOP convention" in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
A Democratic Split? The Hill reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "reversed herself on Iraq strategy Wednesday, revealing a fight within the Democratic Caucus over how much Democrats should compromise to gain agreement with Republicans on the unpopular war." House progressives "were fuming after they walked into a meeting with Pelosi to find out that she had decided to allow a vote Thursday on an Iraq bill they consider too mild." The bill would order President Bush "to deliver within two months a plan on how to redeploy troops."
As official Washington prepares to take off for August, members of the Senate are working to reach an agreement on an update of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Senate Intelligence Chairman Jay Rockefeller has offered a plan to expand federal surveillance powers for six months, the Wall Street Journal reports, but not all of Rockefeller's fellow Democrats are on board. Senior Republicans have their own plan, which differed from Rockefeller's "in key elements, including how much say Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would have in devising rules for surveillance."
USA Today says that at the heart of the debate is the "rapid growth in cellphone use in South Asia and the Middle East." That development "has spurred a battle in Congress over whether foreign communications of suspected terrorists can be intercepted by intelligence agencies without court order." The Los Angeles Times says FISA has put "new restrictions on the ability of US spy agencies to intercept e-mails and telephone calls of suspected terrorists overseas." The Washington Post says the White House "has proposed giving the attorney general sole authority to authorize the surveillance," but Democrats called that "unacceptable and insisted that the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court have an oversight role." McClatchy quotes Rockefeller saying, "The Administration has offered a proposal that would instead permanently grant the attorney general excessive surveillance powers by giving him sole authority to direct surveillance while completely removing the FISA court from the process."
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According to ABCNews.com, a "new al Qaeda propaganda ad, headlined 'Wait for the Big Surprise' and featuring a digitally altered photograph of President George Bush and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf standing in front of a burning White House, was posted on the Internet today." It also features images of al Qaeda leaders "as well as a photo of an SUV in a motorcade." There is "no additional information provided in the ad."
In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales concedes he "used 'confusing' language in his testimony last week," NBC Nightly News reported. Gonzalez "said he is concerned about suggestions that his testimony was about the program misleading and that he wants to set the record straight." The New York Times referred to a "narrowly drawn defense" by Gonzales, who said "he had been truthful in denying that there had been serious disagreements" about the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program within the Bush Administration. USA Today says Gonzales wrote, "I am deeply concerned with suggestions that my testimony was misleading. ... I recognize that the use of the term 'Terrorist Surveillance Program' and my shorthand reference to the 'program' publicly 'described by the President' may have created confusion."
But Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy "was not swayed," the AP writes. In a statement, Leahy said Gonzales' "legalistic explanation of his misleading testimony under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week is not what one should expect from the top law enforcement officer of the United States." Judiciary ranking Republican Arlen Specter also said Gonzales "misled the committee. But Specter said the attorney general's testimony did not amount to perjury."
In an interview with The Politico, Leahy said, "History will not be kind to the arrogance and indifference to law shown by this White House." Leahy lashed out at the President, Vice President, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Gonzales, saying the Attorney General "has undermined law enforcement in America." But the Christian Science Monitor says that while Gonzales "has few supporters left on Capitol Hill, even among his fellow Republicans," he "retains the support of the person who could fire him in a stroke: President Bush."
President Bush has "ordered White House adviser Karl Rove" to "refuse on grounds of executive privilege to testify before the Senate on the firings of nine US attorneys," McClatchy reports. In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders, White House counsel Fred Fielding "declared that Rove, 'as an immediate presidential advisor, is immune from compelled congressional testimony" about matters involving his service to the president." The Washington Post says Bush's move is "certain to heighten the confrontation between Congress and the administration."
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Barack Obama, who has been involved in a running dispute with Hillary Clinton over the best way to conduct diplomacy with tyrants, yesterday took a tough line on terrorism in his first major policy address on the subject. The media is giving the speech very heavy coverage, with most of the focus being on his stated willingness to attack targets in Pakistan. A sub-text to the coverage is that he is attempting to look a bit tougher following his sparring with Clinton. The Chicago Tribune reports Obama, "under attack from a rival who portrays him as naive on foreign policy, declared Wednesday he would use military force against Al Qaeda operatives hiding in tribal areas of Pakistan if that nation did not move more aggressively against them first." In a speech on counter-terrorism policy at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Obama said, "I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again.... If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf will not act, we will." The Tribune adds White House spokesman Tony Snow "defended the Bush Administration's strategy in Pakistan." Snow said, "We think that our approach to Pakistan is not only one that respects the sovereignty of Pakistan, but also is designed so that we are working in cooperation."
The CBS Evening News reported Obama "presented an aggressive plan to fight the war on terror, one of the toughest from a Democratic candidate so far." After "the speech, we asked what would trigger an invasion?" Obama: "If there is actionable intelligence that, for example, Al Qaeda leaders are gathering the way they were in 2005, then unlike the Bush Administration, I will act to try to take them out." Attkisson: "Attempting to present himself as even tougher on terror than even President Bush, Obama is working to prove he has the foreign policy heft to lead the nation but the idea of military strikes and choking off aid to Pakistan which could destabilize the friendly government may actually play into the hands of Obama's chief rival, Senator Hillary Clinton."
The Washington Post reports Obama "issued a pointed warning" to Musharraf, "saying that as president he would be prepared to order U.S. troops into that country unilaterally if it failed to act on its own against Islamic extremists." Obama's "warning to Musharraf drew sharp criticism from several of his rivals for the Democratic nomination, but not from" Sen. Clinton. The "muscular speech appeared aimed at inoculating him from criticism that he lacks the toughness to lead the country in a post-9/11 world, while attempting to show that an Obama presidency would herald an important shift in the United States' approach to the world, particularly the Middle East and nearby Asian nations."
The Hill reports that in a radio interview, Clinton "apparently supported Obama's belief that it may be necessary to intervene militarily in Pakistan." Clinton's campaign "went non-confrontational Wednesday, however, granting a little-known radio interview and essentially agreeing with Obama's stance." Speaking to American Urban Radio News Network, Clinton said, "I've long believed that we needed tougher, smarter action against terrorists by deploying more troops to Afghanistan, and if we had actionable intelligence that Osama bin Laden or other high-value targets were in Pakistan I would ensure that they were targeted and killed or captured. And that will be my highest priority because they pose the highest threat to America."
The Los Angeles Times adds that while Obama's "40-minute speech repositioned him on combating terrorists -- which voters now identify as their top concern -- it also opened him up to potential criticism from liberal Democrats who have provided much of his primary-season support." Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said, "It's tough to criticize the Bush administration for unilateralism in Iraq, then say you'd be unilateral in Pakistan."
Obama also made the argument that the war in Iraq was taking attention away from fighting terrorism. The New York Times reports Obama "said Wednesday that the United States should shift its military focus away from the Iraq war to a broader fight against Islamic extremism, vowing to dispatch American forces to eradicate terrorist camps in Pakistan if that nation failed to take such action." In the "second major foreign policy address of his campaign, Mr. Obama outlined a series of proposals to fight global terrorism, including a plan to send at least 7,000 soldiers and special forces troops to Afghanistan, in addition to the roughly 22,000 troops there now. At the same time, he said, he would also increase nonmilitary aid to the country by $1 billion to improve economic opportunities there."
Speech Comes In For Widespread Criticism ABC World News reported Obama's speech is "causing considerable controversy." ABC (Tapper) added, "Today, the White House spokesman defended Musharraf and the government of Pakistan, who, he said are aggressively pursuing Al Qaeda." Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary: "Have they solved the problem? No. Are they confronting the problem? Yes." Tapper: "While some national security experts applauded his speech, others voiced concern about the repercussions of such a move to the Pakistani government and the stability of the entire region."
FOX News reported on its website that Obama's "rivals slammed him" over the speech, "calling it a sign of inexperience. ... 'Frankly, I am not sure what Barack is calling for in his speech this morning. But it is dangerous and irresponsible to leave even the impression the United States would needlessly and publicly provoke a nuclear power,' said Sen. Chris Dodd." Fox News continues to detail relevant portions of Obama's speech, further noting criticism from Gov. Bill Richardson that such military force should be "a last resort," and adding that a statement from the campaign of Sen. Joe Biden "ridiculed Obama for not asking Amb. John Negroponte at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in January anything about Afghanistan or the Taliban, and quoted him discussing the 'stunning level of mercury in fish.'"
The AP reports that in California on Wednesday, Sen. John McCain "said Sen. Barack Obama's threat to use military force to get rid of terrorists in Pakistan shows he does not understand the complexities of the region. McCain said the situation in Pakistan is 'very delicate,' since the country's leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, is an American ally with a tenuous hold on power." McCain "said a direct American attack on the country could cause a backlash that might topple Musharraf. 'I think it's kind of a simplistic view of a very complex situation,' McCain said at a press conference following an appearance at Stanford University."
The New York Daily News notes, "Peace activists -- one of the interest groups Obama and other Democrats are wooing on the left...were alarmed. Bill Perry of Vietnam Veterans Against the War called Obama's stance a 'damn shame.' ... Gael Murphy of the women's peace group CodePink questioned Obama's motives. 'Is it a coincidence that he's speaking forcefully in this way several days after he's had this criticism from the Clinton campaign that he's naive?'"
In his Roll Call column, Morton Kondracke says, "The foreign policy offered by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is bold, idealistic, muscular, expansive, Kennedy-esque. It also is, as his Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) charges, naive and irresponsible. It sounds like the vision of a freshman senator. Or, possibly, a Texas governor with no foreign policy experience." Completely "missing from Obama's breathtaking agenda is any sense of priorities, limits, difficulties - or humility. His pronouncements exude hubris and inexperience."
The New York Post this morning was particularly critical of Obama's speech, running a news story under the headline, "OBAMA: I'D INVADE ALLY," two critical columns (here andhere ), and a harsh editorial.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry Scolds Obama BBC News reports on Obama's comments about military action without Pakistan's consent, noting that "Pakistan's foreign ministry said any threat to act against al-Qaeda from within its territory should not be used for political point scoring. ... The BBC's Jonathan Beale, in Washington, says such comments are clearly designed to bolster his credentials among a domestic audience. But a spokeswoman for Pakistan's foreign ministry, Tasnim Aslam, told the AFP news agency that talk of military action was a serious matter and political candidates and commentators should 'show responsibility.'"
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Rudy Giuliani increasing his lead in the GOP field nationally. Giuliani is backed by 33%, followed by Fred Thompson, 20%; John McCain, 17%; and Mitt Romney, 11%. Results for the Democratic field were reported here yesterday. On NBC Nightly News, Tim Russert also reported on the poll, saying, "The feeling thermometer -- positive and negative feelings; look at this. 44% positive for Hillary Clinton. A 39% negative. That's a very high number. She's improving, softening her image. But compare that to Barack Obama. His positive feeling is 42%. His negative is just 22%. He has more room to grow either positively or negatively. But he has room." Russert added that in the general election matchups, "We threw in Mike Bloomberg, the mayor of New York. A three-way race. It's Giuliani 34%, Clinton 42%. Bloomberg, 11%." Bloomberg "hurts Giuliani more than he hurts Clinton. Why? 75% of Bloomberg's voters have a less than positive feeling towards Hillary Clinton."
An American Research Group survey of 600 likely GOP voters in Arizona, which was conducted July 23-26, shows Sen. John McCain leading the Republican presidential field with 32%, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 23%, Fred Thompson with 15% and Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich tied with 7%; 13% were undecided. The ARG survey of 600 likely Democratic voters in Arizona, which was also conducted July 23-26, shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading with 39%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama with 25%, Gov. Bill Richardson with 9% and John Edwards with 8%; 16% were undecided.
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Jay Leno: "Did you hear about this? According to a new survey, 58% of the people following the news think Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign. Here's the frightening statistic -- 72% of the Americans who do not follow the news think that Alberto Gonzales is the guy who's married to Kelly Ripa."
Jay Leno: "The White House now demanding that Congress move quickly on a new treaty to allow more Arctic oil drilling, because they say the melting polar ice caps means more oil is easily available. See, this combines the two things the Administration loves -- global warming and drilling for oil."
Jay Leno: "Listen to this -- the Bush Administration now looking into the possibility of pumping Iraq's oil into Israel. Well, that should calm things down over there, huh?"
David Letterman: "Top Ten Signs Your Monkey Is A Genius: 1. Got himself elected Governor of California."
David Letterman: "You know about this Rupert Murdoch? He's from Australia, billionaire. He now owns two United States newspapers, the Fox network, he owns the 'National Geographic' magazine, MySpace. I'm thinking why can't we build a fence to keep this guy out?"
Conan O'Brien: "It's been reported that on Monday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of England secretly met with Bill Clinton. Yeah. By the way, it was Bill Clinton's seventh secret meeting of the day."
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