This week’s revelations from the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran have shaken policy circles around the world dramatically. It’s had a sweeping impact on politics, diplomacy, foreign policy, and national security, and news about Iran’s nuclear weapons program shutting down in 2003 has been everywhere. And yet, somehow, Mike Huckabee hasn’t the foggiest idea what […]
Ordinarily, Democratic presidential candidate debates are a pretty big deal, aired on national television for a fairly big audience. Yesterday in Iowa, however, the Dems got together for an NPR debate, without podiums, cameras, audiences, and as it turns out, rhetorical fireworks. The New York Daily News noted that this was the first face-off since […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The U.S. intelligence community is convinced, but Israeli intelligence officials are not: “Israeli officials, who’ve been warning that Iran would soon pose a nuclear threat to the world, reacted angrily Tuesday to a new U.S. intelligence finding that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons development program in 2003 and to […]
As a rule, retirement ceremonies for largely unknown U.S. ambassadors are low-key, dull, and not even remotely newsworthy. There are, however, exceptions. In 2001, Bush named Michael Guest to be the U.S. Ambassador to Romania. Because Guest is an openly-gay man, the nomination was noteworthy, particularly in this administration. The Senate confirmed Guest without incident, […]
It’s hard to say exactly what’s caused the Democratic presidential race to tighten in recent weeks. Some of the fluctuation, I’d argue, is to be expected at this stage of the process — undecideds start to break, supporters start having second-thoughts, etc. That said, it’s also fair to say that John Edwards and Barack Obama […]
It was hard not to be appalled by the news last month out of Saudi Arabia. A young woman had been gang raped — and then charged as a criminal for being in the car of a man who was not a relative. On November 16, a Saudi court sentenced the rape victim to six […]
Love him, hate him, or ignore him, Ron Paul is at least unique. He presents a libertarian agenda that’s clearly at odds with today’s Republican mainstream; he’s an ardent opponent of the party’s neo-conservative foreign policy; and he’s generally seemed more intent on expressing his ideas than winning a presidential election, whether those ideas are […]
The White House and its political allies have been less than subtle in saber-rattling towards Iran over the last year or so, specifically emphasizing the threat posed by a nuclear-weapons program that doesn’t exist. Yesterday’s conclusions from the National Intelligence Estimate make clear that for attack-Iran-now conservatives, it’s back to the drawing board. Obviously, as […]
At a White House press conference this morning, a reporters asked the president to explain the enormous discrepancy between his comments about Iran’s nuclear program and the National Intelligence Estimate. It didn’t go well. For those of you who can’t watch clips online, Bush said, “…I was made aware of the NIE last week. In […]
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: * A new national USA Today/Gallup poll shows the Democratic presidential race narrowing considerably over the last month. Hillary Clinton still leads, but her margin has been cut nearly in half. According to […]