Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Russia has apparently finished making its point: “President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia agreed on Tuesday to the terms of a cease-fire that could end the clashes in Georgia, saying Russia had ‘punished’ Georgia enough for its aggression against the separatist enclave of South Ossetia. The six-point agreement — which the Georgians had endorsed in an earlier draft — would withdraw troops to the positions they occupied before fighting broke out Thursday.”
* Georgian officials have insisted that Russian forces continued bombing and shelling even after the cease-fire, but those reports are unconfirmed.
* The underlying elements that sparked the five-day conflict remain unresolved: “The Russian and French presidents on Tuesday announced a six-point plan of principles for settling the immediate conflict in Georgia but stopped short of tackling the issues that sparked the violence.”
* Neocon arguments about Russian conquest continue to look pretty shaky.
* Josh Marshall responds to John McCain’s rhetoric on the Russian/Georgian conflict: “I know I’ve made this point in various ways in several posts over the last day or so. But watching John McCain speak about the Georgian crisis in the video below should deeply worry anyone interested in a sane US foreign policy — or the safety of their children…. It’s beyond Obama or political strategy or dinging McCain on this or that policy. This man is simply too dangerous and unstable to be president. People need to wake up and get a look of the preview he’s giving us of a McCain presidency.”
* Al Qaeda keeps losing its top lieutenants: “Al Qaida’s reputed number three commander has been killed in fighting in Pakistan’s wild border region with Afghanistan
, according to news reports Tuesday. Amid a fierce battle which began a week ago between the Pakistani army and militants in Bajaur, a tribal area known as a hotbed for extremists, it emerged that Abu Saeed al Masri had been killed. It’s thought that his real name is Mustafa Abu al Yazid, al Qaida’s commander in Afghanistan.”
* Congress is running a little short on time, but this could make for an interesting hearing or two: “After pundits have commented about the muted reaction to author Ron Suskind’s explosive allegations last week, the House Judiciary Committee said today it will ‘review’ the reports of White House and CIA misconduct.”
* Oh my: “Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress. The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released Tuesday, said about 68 percent of foreign companies doing business in the U.S. avoided corporate taxes over the same period. Collectively, the companies reported trillions of dollars in sales, according to GAO’s estimate. ‘It’s shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to support our country,’ said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who asked for the GAO study with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.”
* The McCain campaign denied cribbing from Wikipedia.
* I’d always hoped Valerie Plame’s civil suit had a reasonably good shot. The courts continue to disagree.
* Note to NPR’s Mara Liasson: there is nothing “ironic” about “a liberal Democrat showcasing his faith.” (I get the sense Mara Liasson understands irony about as well as Alanis Morissette.)
* When the FBI improperly accesses reporters’ phone records, “sorry” doesn’t seem to cut it.
* If McCain wants to demonstrate his expertise on foreign policy, and his support for Georgia in the midst of its conflict with Russia, someone probably ought to tell McCain how to pronounce the name of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
* And finally, the McCain campaign “borrowed” footage from a “Wayne’s World” movie for its latest attack video. It appears, however, that the McCain campaign is not worthy.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.