Speaking of classic opening sentences, William Kristol takes the unusual step in a Washington Post piece of anticipating mockery: “I suppose I’ll merely expose myself to harmless ridicule if I make the following assertion: George W. Bush’s presidency will probably be a successful one.” Kristol’s argument is surprisingly weak, but he got one point exactly […]
This might put a crimp in the White House’s talking points. Although Bush administration officials have frequently lashed out at Syria and Iran, accusing it of helping insurgents and militias here, the largest number of foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from a third neighbor, Saudi Arabia, according to a senior U.S. military […]
The New York Daily News reports today that the possibility of a domestic terrorist attack this summer appears high, but Americans are skeptical about the warnings. To American who have grown skeptical of terrorism warnings, the professionals in the intelligence community say they understand. They also say this time, it could be for real. That’s […]
A month ago, we had a terrific discussion, with a number of fascinating insights, exploring which of the Republicans presidential hopefuls is the “most genuinely scary.” Today, I thought we’d consider the inverse. Whenever I consider the Republican field in the abstract, I’m amazed. “One of these guys,” I think to myself, “is going to […]
In recent years, Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan has gone from being tragic to suspicious to scandalous. As you probably know, Tillman, a former NFL star who retired from football to become an Army Ranger, was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 and his death was quickly seized upon for public relations purposes. In fact, the […]
There was some talk in the spring that the Iraqi Parliament, barely able to function anyway, would break for the summer. The reaction was overwhelmingly negative in the U.S., even among White House allies, and soon after the talk disappeared. Yesterday, Tony Snow acknowledged what the administration would prefer not to talk about. Q: Is […]
From Bob Novak’s Q&A with the New York Times Magazine: NYT: Your betrayal of [Valerie Plame’s] identity appalled not only Democrats but also some of your former conservative friends, like Bill Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard, who called your conduct reprehensible. Did that sting on a personal level? Novak: I think it did. […]
One of the principal goals of U.S. presence in Iraq is building an Iraqi military that can operate independently. Kevin noted today just how remarkably slow progress has been. September 2005: The number of Iraqi army battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one, top U.S. generals […]
The estimable Bill Moyers explored the “I” word on PBS last night, discussing George W. Bush’s “unique” approach to the presidency with conservative attorney Bruce Fein, Associate Deputy Attorney General under President Reagan, and The Nation’s John Nichols. Here’s the money quote from Fein in the clip: “[Bush’s crimes are more] worrisome than Clinton’s because […]
During yesterday’s entertaining White House press briefing, Tony Snow rolled out an oldie but a goodie. “[T]he al Qaeda that exists today is not the al Qaeda that existed September 11, 2001. That is an al Qaeda that was a more traditional, top-down organization where you had bin Laden and a series of lieutenants and […]