Top Items:
Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
WHAT THE TAPES WOULD HAVE SHOWN....Yesterday we learned that in 2005, despite earlier warnings from Congress, the White House, and the Justice Department, the CIA destroyed two videotaped interrogations of al-Qaeda operatives who had been captured shortly after 9/11. Why?
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Andrew Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:
Krauthammer On Fox — It's refreshing, actually. I just listened to Charles say that the torture of terror suspects in 2002 was justified because the United States was flying blind and had no knowledge of what al Qaeda was planning. He won't say "torture", of course, although the law is clear that it is torture.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Tape Destruction Decision Compartmentalized — The decision to destroy the tapes of interrogations that included waterboarding two al-Qaeda terrorists came from the director of the clandestine services of the CIA and in opposition to requests from both Congress and the White House.
Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
C.I.A. Was Urged to Keep Interrogation Videotapes — White House and Justice Department officials, along with senior members of Congress, advised the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 against a plan to destroy hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda, government officials said Friday.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Swamp, The Jawa Report, Commentary, Talking Points Memo, Emptywheel, Washington Post, Hot Air, Shakespeare's Sister, The Sundries Shack, Prairie Weather, Chuck Adkins, Macsmind, PrairiePundit, At-Largely, Gateway Pundit, Jules Crittenden, The Gavel, The Heretik and RADAMISTO
Andrew DeMillo / Associated Press:
Huckabee wanted to isolate AIDS patients — LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and said homosexuality could "pose a dangerous public health risk."
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
Huckabee called homosexuality 'sinful' — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, surging in Iowa polls in the Republican presidential race, wrote on a questionnaire while running for U.S. Senate in 1992 that homosexuality is "aberrant" and "sinful." — "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant …
Agence France Presse:
Iran drops dollar from oil deals: report — TEHRAN (AFP) — Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Saturday, labelling the greenback an "unreliable" currency.
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Robin Stringer / Bloomberg:
Iran Stops Using Dollar for Oil Transactions, ISNA Says — Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — Iran, the second-biggest producer of crude oil in the Middle East, has ``completely halted'' all oil transactions in dollars, the state-run ISNA news agency said, citing Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari.
Discussion:
Emptywheel
Dan / Riehl World View:
Carter Appointee Plays The Ultimate In Race Cards On Obama — Update: Bill joins Hillary in Iowa today as the campaign changes its focus to women. How fitting is that? heh! — Perhaps you remember former Atlanta Mayor and Carter Ambassador Andrew Young, he's taken to the stump for Hillary.
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Jennifer Jacobs / Des Moines Register:
Chelsea Clinton to join her mom, grandma in Iowa today
Chelsea Clinton to join her mom, grandma in Iowa today
Discussion:
The Caucus
Deborah Howell / Washington Post:
Refuting, or Feeding, the Rumor Mill? — Stories about rumors are tricky and easily misconstrued. A Nov. 29 story and headline that explored Barack Obama's "connections to the Muslim world" and rumors that he is Muslim were met with a swift Internet reaction that left some staffers stunned at its ferocity.
Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:
Another Surge Convert — In today's Washington Post, Pete Hegseth, executive director of Vets for Freedom, has coauthored an op-ed with...wait for it...Major General John Batiste. — Batiste, you will remember, is the formerly "antiwar" general who spoke out against Donald Rumsfeld …
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack
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Mark Leibovich / New York Times:
Clinton Talks of Scars While Keeping Her Guard Up — In July 2000, Hillary Clinton stood on a stage at the University of Arkansas and struggled to keep her composure. Her voice was unusually soft that day, her words seemingly unfiltered. — "Diane, you were the awesomest," Mrs. Clinton said …
Washington Post:
Hill Close To Deal on War Funds — Plan Includes Boost In Domestic Spending — House Democratic leaders could complete work as soon as Monday on a half-trillion-dollar spending package that will include billions of dollars for the war effort in Iraq without the timelines for the withdrawal …
Mark Steyn / Orange County Register:
Let's have a free market for housing and religion — Last week the Bush administration decided to "freeze" for five years the interest rates of certain types of mortgages. You've probably caught the tail end of news stories about "subprime" home loans, lots of foreclosures, etc.
David Saltonstall / NY Daily News:
Rudy ducks questions on Judi's car use — Rudy Giuliani tried to ride out new questions Friday over taxpayer-funded chauffeur services that witnesses and sources said were provided to Judith Nathan before her affair to the former mayor was revealed in 2000.
Thom Shanker / New York Times:
Gates Says Iran Remains a Threat — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates declared today that Iran is a grave threat to regional security, even without nuclear weapons, and called on Tehran to account for the full range of intelligence describing its support for terrorism and instability around the world.
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