News

March 13, 2006

17:14

During the "My Word" segment of the March 9 edition of Fox News' The Big Story, host John Gibson praised the announcement by Dubai Ports World (DPW) that it would divest itself of leases it holds for terminals at six U.S. ports. Gibson also praised President Bush, stating: "[H]ats off to President Bush for not getting too stubborn over this deal."

Although he was initially unaware that his administration had approved the deal, Bush had remained -- until March 9 -- steadfastly supportive of it from the time concerns about it were first raised in Congress last month; he even threatened to veto any legislation that would have prevented the deal from moving forward. On March 10, ABC News reported that the White House asked DPW to abandon its bid to manage the six U.S. ports, allowing Bush to avoid a showdown with Congress. From the ABC News article:

Bush had defended the deal, calling the United Arab Emirates a strong ally in the war on terror and pledging to cast the first veto of his presidency if Congress voted to interfere.

Senate Republicans initially tried to fend off a vote, and the administration agreed to a 45-day review of the transaction. That strategy collapsed Wednesday with the 62-2 vote in the House Appropriations Committee to stop the sale.

From the March 9 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson:

GIBSON: Now it's time for "My Word." When the story about the Dubai ports deal broke a couple of weeks ago, I said this deal will not stand. I also said secretaries [Michael] Chertoff [of the Homeland Security Department] and [John W.] Snow [of the Treasury Department] would have to resign for allowing such a politically boneheaded deal to go through. To paraphrase Meat Loaf, one out of three ain't bad.

So hats off to the Dubai emir Sheikh Maktoum for figuring out the obvious. This deal was a no-go out in the flyover states of America. Hats off to President Bush for not getting too stubborn over this deal. Hats off for the Republicans for standing their ground. Maybe they won't get their heinies stomped in the fall after all.

Categories: News
17:14
We live in a world of escalating violence, marked by national and international conflicts and exacerbated by fears around global security and terrorism. We live in a world where the use of torture is the subject of debate, where powerful states bypass international institutions, and where the rights and dignity of the individual often get lost in the fray. In the current political, social and economic climate, it is critical that a voice — independent from government, corporate or national interests — can speak out and protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied. That voice is YOU. That voice is US. That voice is Amnesty International. You are cordially invited to participate in the 2006 Annual General Meeting (AGM) April 28-30 in Portland, Oregon. Now more then ever, the victims of hate, torture and injustice need the members and activists of Amnesty International USA to Make Some Noise for Human Rights at High Volume! The AGMThe AGM is Amnesty International USA's annual national conference for ALL members and activists to join, meet, learn, discuss and let their voice be heard! 2006 AGM Location - PORTLAND, ORThe Hilton Portland & Executive Tower is located right in the heart of down town Portland, OR, conveniently positioned two blocks from city center and the famous public transportation light-rail system. The hotel has generously offered 35-45% off their regular room rates for 2006 AGM attendees! The discounted rates include $114 for attendees and $99 for students. Rooms fill up fast, so call 503-226-1611 to make your reservations today. Don't forget to mention that you're attending the 2006 AGM to get this low discount! AGM Program [email protected] Contact: AIUSA-AGM, 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20003; Tel.: 202.544.0200; Fax: 202.546.7142
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17:14
The Security and Peace Initiative - a joint initiative of the Center for American Progress and The Century Foundation - invites you to its annual conference on June 6, 2006 in New York City. In debating some of the most pressing international issues facing Americans today, the conference will assess the paradox of exceptionalism: Are global leadership and security most effectively asserted through a benevolent superpower's discretionary use of power, without the constraint of international norms, rules, and obligations, or through its trailblazing support for an international order guided by collective adherence to the rule of law? It will bring together leading foreign relations experts, academics, policymakers, and the media from around the nation. Participants will include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former U.S. Senator Gary Hart, co-chairs of the Initiative's Advisory Board. Registration information, the conference agenda, and a formal invitation will follow. In the meantime, please contact Spencer P. Boyer at [email protected] or 202-481-8164 with questions.
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17:14
17:14

In an appearance on the March 9 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, New York Post columnist Ralph Peters repeated the claim -- previously advanced by Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Peter Pace -- that during the recent sectarian violence in Iraq, the "Iraqi army was able to put over 100,000 troops in the street, and they calmed the situation." But as Media Matters for America noted, news reports contradict Pace's and Peters's claims. The Associated Press reported that rather than actively working to "calm" the violence that followed the bombing of the al-Askariya shrine in Samarra, "Iraqi forces did not engage the rioters" and waited "until clerics had calmed the situation before taking to the streets."

Peters recently returned from Iraq; while there, he wrote columns downplaying reports of escalating violence and potential civil war. On Special Report, Peters sought to draw a distinction between the capabilities of the Iraqi army and the Iraqi police, telling host Brit Hume that "there is a very big difference." Peters said of the police: "[T]hey are infiltrated. They are difficult to deal with. The people don't trust them."

Noting that while in Iraq he "got to see the Iraqi army in action," Peters asserted: "During the civil war that wasn't, the Iraqi army was able to put over 100,000 troops in the street, and they calmed the situation without killing a single civilian. It was a real success."

But a March 2 AP article offered a very different picture of Iraqi Security Forces' performance following the attack on the shrine. The AP reported that despite U.S. officials' portrayal of Iraqi security forces as a "silver lining" in the recent violence, "[f]or the most part ... Iraqi forces did not engage the rioters" and instead waited for influential clerics to restore calm. The AP described the performance of both the police force and the army as "mixed":

U.S. officials have hailed the performance of Iraqi security forces as the only silver lining in the spasm of violence after the shrine bombing. For the most part, however, Iraqi forces did not engage the rioters waiting until clerics had calmed the situation before taking to the streets.

[...]

But most of the credit goes not to Iraqi forces but to top Shiite clerics -- including anti-American firebrand Muqtada al-Sadr, who called back his militiamen, responsible for many if not most of the attacks on Sunni sites in Baghdad and Basra.

Attacks did persist after the clerics' appeal for calm -- but at much lower levels.

Rather than confront angry mobs, most Iraqi forces filled a security void after the worst of the violence had passed. Aided by daytime curfews and a vehicle ban, they manned checkpoints in Baghdad and patrolled the streets to prevent major violence from flaring again. Even so, some sporadic attacks continued.

In the first critical hours after the Feb. 22 shrine bombing in Samarra, the streets in much of Baghdad and Basra belonged to freelance gunmen and black-clad militiamen of al-Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army.

They roamed the capital in pickups and cars seemingly without fear of facing down either Iraqi or American forces. Few bothered to wear masks to hide their identity.

[...]

The performance of Iraq's soldiers and police was mixed.

There were no reports of units disintegrating, even though most of them are heavily Shiite. Sunnis and Shiites in mixed units did not turn against the comrades from the other sect. Nor was there any indication that significant numbers of soldiers refused orders or that large numbers of them stripped off their uniforms and joined in the violence.

Had the clerics not intervened, however, the challenge facing those newly trained army and police units would have been far greater -- and the outcome uncertain.

Similarly, in its March 6 issue, Newsweek reported that "witnesses said" Iraqi security forces "did little or nothing to stop the violence," adding that, in Baghdad, "there were no reports that government security forces ever confronted members of Sadr's Mahdi Army":

Iraq's brief reign of terror was further proof that the nation's 200,000-odd security forces -- which witnesses said did little or nothing to stop the violence -- are simply not ready to maintain stability.

[...]

And ordinary Iraqis seem to have less and less faith in the interim government of [interim Prime Minister Ibrahim] Jaafari, already reeling from accusations of running or permitting Shiite death squads. In Baghdad, there were no reports that government security forces ever confronted members of Sadr's Mahdi Army, which is beginning to resemble Hizbullah in fractured Lebanon. This inability or unwillingness to stop the militias (Iraq's security forces are dominated by Shiites) was one reason cited by the Sunni bloc for withdrawing from political negotiations.

And Time magazine noted in a March 6 article that "[t]he seeming inability of the U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces to quell the violence was especially worrying to U.S. commanders." Time added, "Just as disturbing was the reappearance of Shi'ite militias on the streets, flaunting their weapons and often riding along with police and military patrols."

Peters has made similar, though less specific, claims about the Iraqi army's supposed effectiveness in his New York Post columns. On March 1, Peters wrote: "And the people here have been impressed that their government reacted effectively to last week's strife, that their soldiers and police brought order to the streets." On March 5, he added, "The Iraqi Army has confounded its Western critics, performing extremely well last week."

From the March 9 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:

HUME: What is your impression of the Iraqi troops and police forces that you've seen? We hear varying reports. [Defense] Secretary [Donald H.] Rumsfeld and others say they are coming along doing a good job. Others say the police forces in particular are heavily infiltrated by serious troublemakers. What did you see?

PETERS: Well, it is complex. And I was out with some Iraqi police and got to see the Iraqi army in action. Now, there is a very big difference. During the civil war that wasn't, the Iraqi army was able to put over 100,000 troops in the street, and they calmed the situation without killing a single civilian.

It was a real success -- morale boost for the army; certainly, they felt like they had achieved something. But also what I found among the Iraqis was that they were very proud of their troops. Their troops were out keeping order. So the Iraqi army after a false start about a year and a half ago is doing quite well. And it has still got a long way to go. But that's very, very promising.

The police force is a different matter. And they also have public order battalions that are like a gents d'armerie -- closer to the police, but with a paramilitary aspect to them. And they are infiltrated. They are difficult to deal with. The people don't trust them. In fact, one neighborhood sheik in a Sunni area was asking this U.S. lieutenant I was with, "When our houses have to be inspected, couldn't Americans do it? We trust you." He didn't want the Iraqi police in his house.

So I think there are big problems with the Iraqi police. But hey, it's one block at a time. The army is moving out. They are working on the police. And I say the problems right now are really the police and the militias.

Categories: News
17:14

As noted by blogger Joshua Micah Marshall, on March 10, a headline on CNN.com read: "Dems Indicted; Clinton, Kerry Targeted." But the headline's suggestion notwithstanding, the article referred to a March 10 Associated Press report detailing criticisms by Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman of former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), not to criminal indictments. The AP's headline, which CNN rejected, read: "GOP Chairman to Single Out Kerry, Clinton."

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17:14
March 13: One of the GOP's early straw polls indicates that Sen. Bill Frist is the current front runner for the 2008 White House race. NBC's David Gregory reports.
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17:14
March 13: MSNBC's "Hardball" host Chris Matthews talks with "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer about the GOP contenders for President.
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17:02
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., is proposing censuring President Bush for authorizing domestic eavesdropping, saying the White House misled Americans about its legality.
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15:22
Preening presidential hopefuls gather in a very early test of the best man to defeat the dreaded Hillary Clinton in 2008.
Source: Salon.com
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13:49
President Bush launched a new public relations drive Monday to counter growing American opposition to the Iraq war, saying "We will not lose our nerve."
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10:00
Stop whining about the Tournament! Cincy got shafted, Air Force got lucky, and that's good. Plus: Blown call helps U.S.
Source: Salon.com
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09:26
Abortion-rights activist Kate Michelman said she won’t be a candidate in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race.
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07:30
Spears leashes "Spenderline." Clooney calls Hatcher "courageous" -- and rips into Democrats. Plus: Michael Douglas questions Brad Pitt's taste in women.
Source: Salon.com
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06:00
The National Center for Men filed suit to establish reproductive rights for men. Is a father's right to choose an idea worth debating, or just a distraction?
Source: Salon.com
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05:46
Two new books promise to help women come to terms with money but instead sink into hysterical left-wing cliches about the gender gap and consumerism.
Source: Salon.com
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