Top Items:
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Study Doesn't Share Bush's Optimism on Terror Fight — Three years ago, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote a memo to his colleagues in the Pentagon posing a critical question in the "long war'' against terrorism: Is Washington's strategy successfully killing or capturing terrorists faster than new enemies are being created?
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, AMERICAblog, Daily Kos, Opinion, Sic Semper Tyrannis 2006, FP Passport, Hotline On Call and Middle Earth Journal
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Washington Post:
Sobering Conclusions On Why Jihad Has Spread — In announcing yesterday that he would release the key judgments of a controversial National Intelligence Estimate, President Bush said he agreed with the document's conclusion "that because of our successes against the leadership of al-Qaeda …
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
The Big Question Democrats Are Ducking — No matter how you slice it, the National Intelligence Estimate warning that the Iraq war has spawned more terrorism is big trouble for President Bush and his party in this election year. It goes to the heart of Bush's argument for invading Iraq, which was that it would make America safer.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The Horse's Mouth, The Bullwinkle Blog, Op For and Blue Crab Boulevard
New York Times:
The Fine Art of Declassification — It's hard to think of a president and an administration more devoted to secrecy than President Bush and his team. Except, that is, when it suits Mr. Bush politically to give the public a glimpse of the secrets. And so, yesterday, he ordered …
New York Times:
Deal Is Likely on Detainees but Not on Eavesdropping — Senator John W. Warner, right, Republican of Virginia, after a party caucus meeting Tuesday. Mr. Warner is one of three senators who have resisted the administration on wording of legislation on terrorism suspects.
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Balkinization:
Spineless Democrats Deserve to Lose — From the New York Times: … I'm afraid it's already too late for that, Senator Reid. — I am puzzled by and ashamed of the Democrats' moral cowardice on this bill. The latest version of the bill blesses detainee abuse and looks the other way on forms …
Discussion:
Unclaimed Territory
Washington Post:
Detainee Bill in Final Stages — White House Appears to Be Winning Wide Legal Latitude — White House national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley met with Republican senators yesterday in an effort to reach final agreement on legislation that would govern the military trials of terrorism suspects …
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Washington Post:
Rush to Error — AFTER BARELY three weeks of debate, the Senate today will take up a momentous piece of legislation that would set new legal rules for the detention, interrogation and trial of accused terrorists. We have argued that the only remedy to the mess made by the Bush administration …
Richard Miniter / Opinion Journal:
What Clinton Didn't Do . . . . . . .and when he didn't do it. — Bill Clinton's outburst on Fox News was something of a public service, launching a debate about the antiterror policies of his administration. This is important because every George W. Bush policy that arouses the ire of Democrats …
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, Miniter's Notebook, Hot Air, Power Line, PoliBlog, Blue Crab Boulevard and Macsmind
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Lydia Saad / Gallup Poll:
Bush Blamed More Than Clinton for Failure to Capture Bin Laden — Views are predictably partisan; independents mostly blame Bush — PRINCETON, NJ — The recent firestorm over former President Bill Clinton's culpability for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was fueled on Tuesday when Secretary …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
New York Times:
Opera Canceled Over a Depiction of Muhammad — A leading German opera house has canceled performances of a Mozart opera because of security fears stirred by a scene that depicts the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad, prompting a storm of protest here about what many see as the surrender of artistic freedom.
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Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Opera Cancelled In Germany For Being Offensive To Muslims
Opera Cancelled In Germany For Being Offensive To Muslims
Discussion:
The Mahablog
CNN:
Musharraf: Iraq war makes world more dangerous — (CNN) — The war in Iraq has not made the world safer from terror, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has told CNN, saying he stands by statements on the subject he makes in his new book, "In the Line of Fire."
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David B. Caruso / Associated Press:
NYC Mulls Ban on Trans Fats in Eateries — NEW YORK (AP) — Three years after the city banned smoking in restaurants, health officials are talking about prohibiting something they say is almost as bad: artificial trans fatty acids. — The city health department unveiled a proposal Tuesday …
White House:
Press Briefing by Homeland Security Advisor Frances Fragos Townsend — Office of the Director of National Intelligence — MS. TOWNSEND: Good evening, everybody. Given the leak this weekend of classified information regarding the National Intelligence Estimate dated April 2006 and entitled …
Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:
The 'Moderate Republican' Scam — Sen. Lincoln Chafee, Republican of Rhode Island, is seeking reelection in his heavily Democratic state by insisting he's not really a Republican, or at least not part of the gang responsible for the decade's debacles. He didn't even vote for George W. Bush in 2004, he protests.