Archive for Wed, 23 Jan 2008...
Petraeus: I Need Another Six Months To Determine Whether ‘We’ve Reached A Turning Point’
In the past few months, conservatives such as Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) have been quick to declare victory in Iraq. In November, McCain said that “we’ve succeeded militarily.” A day later, Lieberman declared that “we are winning” because “we have made progress” in “one of the most remarkable turnarounds in modern military history.”(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/22/2008
- 01/23/2008
- Stories possibly related by context:
Violence increases and tensions rise among Iraqi Shiites (1/23/2008) 
Surge to Nowhere (1/20/2008) - Stories with possibly similar content:
McCain: ‘Seven Or Eight Months’ More Until We Can Start Iraq Withdrawal (10/23/2007) - Lieberman Declares Mission Accomplished: ‘The Tide Has Turned In Iraq,’ ‘We Are Winning’ (11/6/2007)
- Petraeus Falsely Claims That Six Months Ago, ‘No One Would Have Forecast’ Anbar’s Success (9/10/2007)
- Petraeus: Escalation Not Done By September, 50-Year Iraq Presence A ‘Realistic Assessment’ (6/18/2007)
Fred Thompson Drops Out of the Presidential Race
Fred Thompson finished third in the Republican primary in South Carolina, a state that he hoped would rescue his flagging candidacy.(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/22/2008
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
Thompson Declares His Candidacy for President (9/6/2007) 
Thompson drops out of GOP race (1/22/2008) 
Shocking truth about Fred Thompson revealed! (9/6/2007) - Anti-Thompson Site Connects to Romney Camp (9/11/2007)
- Additional stories related by date and content:
- With Thompson Out, Who Benefits Most? (1/23/2008)
- Thompson Decides To Drop Out (1/22/2008)
- 2008 SHAKEUP TIME!!! (1/22/2008)
- It's Official: Fred Thompson Drops Out (1/22/2008)
Iraq: The War Card
President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Nearly five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
Study: False statements preceded war (1/23/2008) 
The Raw Story | 2001 memo to Rice contradicts statements about Clinton, Pakistan (9/26/2006) - Cheney: Rumsfeld ‘Is the Finest Secretary of Defense This Nation Has Ever Had’ (12/16/2006)
A Resolute Condoleezza Rice (7/19/2007)
Top Dems stall Miers, Bolten contempt vote
Votes on criminal contempt citations against WH insiders postponed in spirit of bipartisan cooperation.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
Two GOPers Join Dems in White House Contempt Vote (12/13/2007) - MIERS, BUSH CHIEF OF STAFF FACING CONTEMPT (7/23/2007)
- House Democrats pass contempt citation (7/25/2007)
Miers, Bolten contempt filings delayed (9/11/2007)
Iraq's New Law on Ex-Baathists Could Bring Another Purge
BAGHDAD -- Maj. Gen. Hussein al-Awadi, a former official in Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, became the commander of the Iraqi National Police despite a 2003 law barring the party from government.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories possibly related by context:
- Not for Debate (1/23/2008)
- Stories with possibly similar content:
- Iraq Passes Bill on Baathists (1/13/2008)
De-Baathification Reform Law Passes In Iraqi Parliament (1/12/2008) 
New Iraqi Law on Baath Worries Ex-Baathists (1/13/2008) - Iraq to reinstate Saddam party followers (1/12/2008)
Abdul-Jabbar To Magic: Obamas No "Rookie"
Unbeknownst to him, basketball legend-turned-author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was pulled into the 2008 campaign fray this week. In a radio ad airing in South Carolina, Abdul-Jabbars former teammate Magic Johnson endorses Hillary Clinton and suggests that her chief rival, Barack Obama, is an overreaching rookie. "We won our first game on a last-second shot," the former L.A. Lakers point guard says in the ad. "I was so hyped. But the captain of my team said, Take it easy rookie, its a long season, its a long road to the championship. He was right."
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
Obama Camps Memo on Clintons Politicizing Race (1/14/2008) - Vegas Tip Sheet: Seven Things To Watch For In Tonights Dem Debate (11/16/2007)
- Escort Throws Cold Water On Lott Rumor (11/27/2007)
- Vegas Debate: Hillary Goes On Counter-Offensive (11/16/2007)
Petraeus '12
General David Petraeus has a sterling reputation, the love of the press, and the adoration of the GOP. Don't be surprised if a Democratic presidential win in '08 starts an effort to recruit Petraeus as the Republican candidate in '12.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
No More Flack for Iraq (9/11/2007) 
President Petraeus? Iraqi official recalls the day US general revealed ambition (9/13/2007) 
General Petraeus or General Betray Us? (9/10/2007) - Mitchell: Petraeus Held Closed-Door Strategy Meeting With Republican Caucus (4/1/2007)
What's Gotten Into Bill?
Why the former president has traded silver-maned statesmanship for red-faced anger.
Endorse This
Endorse This by digby I hate meta-bloggy discussions with a passion and rarely indulge in them, but because I turned off my comments to cool the rhetoric a little, others in the blogosphere are commenting and I figure I'd better say something more about it. I've been doing this for five years and I've taken enough controversial stances to have received my share of commenter ire. I even have a couple of internet stalkers. But I've never had to deal with the kind of abuse to which many others have been subjected, so I'm not complaining. My regular commenters are the greatest.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
- Gazette.com (10/24/2006)
How to Stop the Downturn
The optimal package would contain one fast-acting measure along with others that could lead to increased spending if the economy goes into a steep downturn.
Muse shares story behind ‘Hey There Delilah’
As a nationally ranked runner and an Olympic hopeful, Delilah DiCrescenzo is used to being chased—but by other athletes, not by pop singers from Chicago. But, she said on Wednesday, she doesn’t mind the attention the chase has brought her.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories possibly related by context:
- ‘Biggest Loser’: Mom and daughter sent home - Today Entertainment - TODAYshow.com (1/23/2008)
Thompson Decides To Drop Out
Ex-Sen. Fred Thompson has told several Republicans that he has decided to drop out of the presidential race and will make public his intentions by close of business. Thompson does not plan to endorse any rivals for now, even though one of his best friends is Sen. John McCain. He's been visiting his mother, who is ill, in Tennessee.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/22/2008
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
- Fred Thompson may drop out (1/3/2008)
- Shocking truth about Fred Thompson revealed! (9/6/2007)
- Defections to Fred Thompson Pose a Major Threat to McCain (6/8/2007)
Republicans' Outlook Dims for '08 (6/15/2007) - Additional stories related by date and content:
- Fred Thompson Drops Out of the Presidential Race (1/22/2008)
- Thompson drops out of GOP race (1/22/2008)
- 2008 SHAKEUP TIME!!! (1/22/2008)
- With Thompson Out, Who Benefits Most? (1/23/2008)
The blog swarm Chris Matthews never saw coming
When Chris Matthews' long-winded monologue at the opening of the January 17 Hardball program eventually touched down with an apology to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) for the way the cable talker had been treating the candidate on the air, the moment represented an unmistakable victory for the liberal blogosphere.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
Chris Matthews addresses firestorm (1/18/2008) 
New Hampshire: Tweety Did It (1/9/2008) - Matthews: Where have all the "big, beefy" "every-way big guy" Democrats gone? (8/10/2007)
- One Day After Saying He'll "Never Underestimate Hillary Clinton Again," Chris Matthews Says She's Only A Presidential Candidate Because Bill "Messed Around"... (1/10/2008)
Rudy: I Might Not Even Have To Win Florida
Just how panicked is Rudy Giuliani starting to look? After initially trying to play in various other states and then pulling out in order to bet it all on Florida, he's now downplaying the need to win a primary even in Florida. In an interview on Fox News today, Rudy was asked by Neil Cavuto if he needed to win in the Sunshine State. "I don't think any candidate ever puts himself in a corner and says, must win, have to win, must win," Rudy said.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
Giuliani Sinks to Fourth in Florida (1/9/2008) 
GOP contenders arrive, aim at McCain (1/21/2008) 
Rudy Giuliani's religious Florida trip (1/14/2008) - PPP Poll: Romney Takes Florida Lead After Thompson Exit (1/23/2008)
Pre-emptive nuclear strike a key option, Nato told
The west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the "imminent" spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new Nato by five of the west's most senior military officers and strategists.(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/22/2008
- 01/23/2008
- Stories possibly related by context:
Someone Didn't Get The Word (1/22/2008) - Stories with possibly similar content:
- Mondale: Force an option for stopping North Korea (6/24/2006)
Obama says use of nuclear weapons to fight al-Qaida 'not on the table,' (8/3/2007) - Israel adds 2 nuclear-capable submarines - Yahoo! News (8/24/2006)
- A Blow to Bush's Tehran Policy (12/4/2007)
- Additional stories related by date and content:
- FBI denies file exposing nuclear secrets theft (1/20/2008)
‘Biggest Loser’: Mom and daughter sent home - Today Entertainment - TODAYshow.com
Divorced couple hold on to their title by a margin on "Biggest Loser Couples" while the mom-and-daughter team is eliminated.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories possibly related by context:
- Muse shares story behind ‘Hey There Delilah’ (1/23/2008)
'It Boils Down to Trust'
One of the signature achievements of the surge, according to General David Petraeus and the White House, has been the creation of so-called "Concerned Local Citizens" groups—that is, bands of tribal fighters, mostly Sunni and including many former insurgents, who have agreed to take U.S. cash (and in some cases weaponry) if they pledge to fight al-Qaeda. The groups, also known as Awakening Councils, currently stand at 80,000 fighters, 80 percent of which are Sunni. They’re outside the chain of command of the regular Iraqi security forces.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
Abu Risha murdered (9/13/2007) - U.S. sponsorship of Sunni groups worries Iraq's government (11/29/2007)
- U.S. forces accused of shooting Sunni allies (11/16/2007)
- Al-Qaeda vs. the Insurgency (4/14/2007)
Surge to Nowhere
Don't buy the hawks' hype. The war may be off the front pages, but Iraq is broken beyond repair, and we still own it.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/20/2008
- 01/21/2008
- 01/22/2008
- 01/23/2008
- Rank of all stories in past 30 days:
- # 21
- Stories possibly related by context:
Michael Gordon "reports" on the "only serious" Iraq option: Staying forever (1/21/2008) - Violence increases and tensions rise among Iraqi Shiites (1/23/2008)
- Petraeus: I Need Another Six Months To Determine Whether ‘We’ve Reached A Turning Point’ (1/22/2008)
Will the Democratic presidential candidates adhere to their rhetoric?
(updated below - Update II - Update III) Time's Massimo Calabresi predicts the likely outcome of the imminent FISA and telecom immunity fight, to begin this week or next: Congress will soon take up the far more contentious question of domestic eavesdropping. Last summer, it passed the Protect America Act (PAA), which was designed to modernize the 1978 law controlling electronic surveillance of Americans. After initially trying to block the bill, which expanded the government's ability to track suspect individuals, Democrats caved.
(close)Related info:
- Dates appearing:
- 01/23/2008
- Stories with possibly similar content:
- Dodd, Blogosphere Wins On Retroactive Telecom Immunity (1/13/2008)
- Dodd filibuster threat causes Reid to withdraw FISA bill. (12/18/2007)
- Harry Reid -- compare and contrast (12/17/2007)
- Sources: Latest Senate FISA Bill Does Not Contain Telecom Immunity (11/16/2007)
- Additional stories related by date and content:
- Huge Participation Brings Big Results (1/23/2008)
- Your Harry Reid-led Senate in action (1/23/2008)