The release yesterday of the conclusion of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran answered one big question: Iran does not have an active nuclear weapons program, which Tehran shut down more than four years ago. It’s a debate-changing revelation that fundamentally alters how national security and foreign policy professionals perceive events in the Middle East. […]
When Hillary Clinton’s Democratic skeptics list their biggest electoral concerns, near the top is the belief that she would undermine Democratic candidates’ chances down-ballot. It’s a pretty straightforward idea: Clinton is a “polarizing” Dem who generates strong negative feelings in most “red” states. If Clinton is at the top of the ballot, and Republicans are […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * A pleasant surprise in Venezuela: “Venezuelan voters delivered a stinging defeat to President Hugo Chavez on Sunday, blocking proposed constitutional changes that would have given him political supremacy and accelerated the transformation of this oil-rich country into a socialist state. Hours after the final ballots were cast, the National […]
To be sure, the first reaction to the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran is simple relief — the Bush administration is less likely to launch a unilateral, pre-emptive military strike against a nuclear program that doesn’t exist. But then there are the second and third reactions, which are nearly as important in providing context. […]
I know I alluded to this earlier, but Hillary Clinton’s latest attack on Barack Obama is so foolish, it deserves a stand-alone piece. Yesterday, I got an email from a regular reader noting that Clinton’s campaign had referenced in a press release an essay Obama wrote when he was in kindergarten, titled, “I Want To […]
It didn’t exactly capture a lot of attention, but last year, a federal court issued a very important ruling when it comes to the separation of church and state. Prison Fellowship Ministries, founded by ex-Watergate felon Charles Colson, was effectively given an entire wing of Iowa’s Newton Correctional Facility, at which Colson’s group created what […]
In response to a post I had over the weekend, the Daily Howler’s Bob Somerby took issue with what I wrote, arguing that I underestimate the ineptitude of the political media. I thought I’d take a moment to consider Bob’s point, because I think in this case, he and I are both right. My post, […]
The Bush administration assembled a new National Intelligence Estimate focused exclusively on Iran, but Dick Cheney has been working behind the scenes to keep the information secret. Now we know why. A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold, […]
Earlier this year, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) invited Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to stop by the committee to discuss the Plame leak scandal and answer lawmakers’ questions. Fitzgerald declined, but offered a consolation prize: some of the documents assembled over the course of the investigation. Wouldn’t you know it, the White House […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * The Des Moines Register poll showing Barack Obama taking the lead in Iowa shook up the landscape, but it’s not the only poll. The Clinton campaign is noting this morning that there […]