For about a month, Bush administration officials have maintained the fiction that the president had not come to any conclusions about whether to send thousands of additional troops to Iraq, and that while a change in policy was in the works, Bush hasn’t decided what that change would be. The claims always seemed far-fetched — […]
I was just catching up on yesterday’s Meet the Press and was struck by just how far gone William Safire is. Tim Russert asked his journalist roundtable, for example, to name the biggest story of 2006. Safire wasn’t alone in mentioning the war in Iraq, but his response was, shall we say, unique. “The Iraq […]
If you missed the NYT’s Nick Kristof’s year-end piece yesterday, it was a sight to behold. Kristof noted that the president’s legacy “doesn’t look good right now,” and imagined a future obituary that described Bush leaving office “vilified and disgraced.” Kristof proceeded to offer 10 suggestions for the president to pursue in 2007 that might […]
When it comes to Saddam Hussein’s execution, the word of the day, Joshua Holland notes, was “milestone.” As in Bush’s statement marking Saddam’s death: “Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend […]
2006 started with some trepidation. The Bush White House had just experienced the worst year any president had seen since 1972, the midterm elections were looming but unpredictable, congressional scandals were brewing and unresolved, and everyone hoped it would be a “year of significant transition” in Iraq, though no one was quite sure what that […]
Long time readers may recall a story I first started following three years ago, in January 2004, about a controversial religious book approved for sale at the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, the issue still isn’t resolved. First, a little background. In August 2003, the National Park Service approved a creationist text, “Grand Canyon: A Different View,” […]
If I didn’t know better, I might just think the Bush administration is a little too cozy with the oil industry. The Justice Department is investigating whether the director of a multibillion-dollar oil-trading program at the Interior Department has been paid as a consultant for oil companies hoping for contracts. The director of the program […]
From the AP report on Saddam’s execution: U.S. troops cheered as news of Saddam’s execution appeared on television at the mess hall at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad. But some soldiers expressed doubt that Saddam’s death would be a significant turning point for Iraq. “First it was weapons of mass destruction. Then when […]
Stuart Varney, filling on for Neil Cavuto yesterday on Fox News, did his level best to come up with “something positive” about conditions in Iraq. You won’t believe what he came up with. “Well, let me put out something positive about Iraq, if I may for a second. Look, we took the fight to the […]
A couple of days ago, the AP reported on dozens of interviews with soldiers of the Army’s 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, which patrols the streets of eastern Baghdad, and learned that most of those seeing the conflict up close are discouraged, dejected, and ready to leave. As informative as the piece was, it was […]