This just hurts. Six years after the 9/11 terror attacks on the U.S., it seems the media still have some educational work to do. A new CBS/New York Times poll reveals that even today, 1 in 3 Americans believe that “Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World […]
About a month ago, the NYT published an op-ed from seven infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division. The piece, “The War as We Saw It,” was a sweeping condemnation of everything we’ve heard of late from the Kristol-McCain-Lieberman-O’Hanlon-Pollack crowd. As these seven troops explained, U.S. forces are an unwelcome occupying force, the […]
It looks like the White House has settled on its new p.r. strategy. The Bush gang is going to boast that their tactics in Iraq have been so successful, the president has graciously decided to end the surge. White House aides said they are working on a 20-minute prime-time speech that Bush will give tomorrow […]
It seems absurd, but after four-and-a-half years of combat, yesterday was the most substantive policy discussion about Iraq policy in the Senate to date. Indeed, Slate’s Fred Kaplan said yesterday’s grillings of Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker were “remarkably, the first real hearings about this war,” which put “substantive issues, and useful words, […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * AP: “President Bush will tell the nation this week he plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by about 30,000 by next summer, but will condition those and further cuts on continued progress, The Associated Press has learned.” You mean, Bush and Petraeus have decided to stay […]
Today’s Senate hearings with Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker have been surprisingly informative, but I have a hunch this may prove to be the one-minute exchange that you’ll be hearing the most about. The clip shows Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) asking Petraeus specifically whether “victory” in Iraq will make the United States safer. […]
I’ve struggled a bit the last few Septembers to write about the anniversary of 9/11. On the one hand, it feels impossible to ignore the significance of the date and the events that transpired in 2001. On the other hand, there’s very little left to be said. Matt Yglesias said, “The anniversary post is always […]
We’ve been hearing more and more lately about internal divisions among top U.S. military officials over Iraq policy. The Joint Chiefs of Staff want troop numbers cut in half over the next year, whereas Petraeus sees a massive force staying in Iraq indefinitely. Adm. William J. Fallon, chief of the U.S. Central Command and Petraeus’ […]
Despite all of the anticipation, yesterday’s joint House hearing with Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker was a bit of a dud. Everyone seemed to be going through the motions, and all we heard were predictable answers to predictable questions. When colorful charts are the highlight of the afternoon, you know it was a […]
I can appreciate that MoveOn.org’s NYT ad yesterday included, to borrow John Kerry’s phrase, some “over the top” language. The ad was meant to be provocative; it was intended to generate inflammatory responses. Whether the group’s strategy was wise is certainly open to debate, but Republicans are making a mistake by overplaying their outrage. House […]