memeorandum: Builders of Nations (Michael J. Totten)

1:30 PM ET, April 8, 2008

Top Items:

McCain seems confused about al Qaeda again, suggests it's a 'sect of Shi'ites.' — During today's hearing with Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) questioned Petraeus on what he called “the major threat” of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Discussion: democracyarsenal.org, Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, MoJoBlog, Democratic National Committee, Salon, Marc Ambinder, The Washington Independent and American Street

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:

Congress To Hear Of Gains In Iraq — Petraeus, Crocker To Face Impatient Lawmakers — In a reprise of their testimony last September, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker plan to tell Congress today and tomorrow that security has improved in Iraq and that the government …

Seumas Milne / Guardian:

Secret US plan for military future in Iraq — A confidential draft agreement covering the future of US forces in Iraq, passed to the Guardian, shows that provision is being made for an open-ended military presence in the country. — The draft strategic framework agreement between the US …

Discussion: A Tiny Revolution, Think Progress, Taylor Marsh, Democratic National Committee, Comments from Left Field and American Street

Michelle Malkin:

Petraeus on the Hill; Dems can't control Code Pinkos; Idiot Sen. Levin calls Petraeus “Admiral;” Update: Petraeus recommends 45-day pause on troop reductions in July; Update: Aggressive Levin heckles Petraeus, allows outside heckler to pile on; Update: Sen. Lieberman lashes back at “See no progress” …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, NewsBusters.org, Gateway Pundit and Wake up America

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Testimony by General Will Test Candidates for President

Discussion: The Swamp, The Crypt's Blogs, New York Times, Washington Post, Jules Crittenden, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times, The Caucus and Politics Nation

Mike Nizza / The Lede:
Watching the Iraq Hearings With Petraeus and Crocker

Discussion: New York Times, The Swamp, Wonkette, The Caucus, On Deadline, Danger Room and NPR

New York Times:
Attacks in Baghdad Spiked in March, U.S. Data Show

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, The Washington Independent and No More Mister Nice Blog

Frederick W. Kagan / National Review:
Why Iraq Matters — Losing wars is always bad.

Discussion: American Power, The Glittering Eye, Angry Bear and Gateway Pundit

Don Surber:
Just ask me — Question: How will senators react when Gen …

Discussion: INSTAPUTZ and The Caucus

Martha Raddatz / ABCNEWS:

Surprising Political Endorsements By U.S. Troops — American Soldiers Speak Out About Their Presidential Endorsements — ABC's Martha Raddatz asked American soldiers in Iraq what issues are most important to them when looking at the presidential candidates.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Weekly Standard Blog, Think Progress, Buck Naked Politics, The Corner, Hot Air, Redstate, NewsBusters.org, TPM Election Central and Donklephant

Will Bunch / attytood.com:
ABC's big “surprise”: The actual troops don't want McCain — they want to come home

Discussion: Eschaton

Reagan Union / Quinnipiac University:

Obama Catching Up With Clinton In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; She's Losing Ground Even Among Women — Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is catching up with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary and now trails 50 - 44 percent among likely primary voters …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, MSNBC, The Swamp, The Caucus, The Jed Report, Below The Beltway, Spin Cycle, New York Times, Fox News, TPM Election Central, Real Clear Politics, Hotline On Call and AMERICAblog

New York Times:

Shift at Top May Mean Shift in Tone for Clinton — WASHINGTON — “This isn't exactly what I was planning on when I woke up this morning,” Geoff Garin e-mailed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton after a hasty weekend shake-up left him atop her campaign's strategy team. — Mrs. Clinton answered his dry humor in kind.

Discussion: NY Daily News, The Politico, Real Clear Politics, New York Post, MSNBC and The Washington Independent

E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
The Errors Haunting Clinton

Discussion: Washington Wire, Salon and Newsweek

Hillary Clinton / CNN:
Clinton says Penn controversy won't be damaging

Discussion: The Swamp and Ben Smith's Blogs

James Hider / Times of London:

Iraq: Al-Mahdi army offers to lay down its arms — Iraq's largest and most dangerous militia will voluntarily disband if Shia scholars advise its leader to do so, officials said yesterday — a dramatic move that could quell much of the fighting in the war-torn country.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, QandO, Harry's Place, The Corner, Right Wing Nut House and Outside The Beltway

Juan Cole / Informed Comment:
4 US Troops Killed; Hundreds Flee Baghdad Clashes; Ayatollahs Decline to Ban Militia

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, American Footprints and Corrente

CNN:
Religious leaders tell al-Sadr to keep militia intact

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Associated Press, Matthew Yglesias and Washington Monthly

NY Daily News:

Rush & Molloy: Bio - McCain swore oath at wife — Sen. John McCain's defenders are blasting a new biography that claims the White House hopeful once hurled the most vile of epithets at his wife, Cindy. — Democratic strategist Cliff Schecter claims in “The Real McCain” …

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
New Book: McCain Once Physically Attacked Fellow Congressman

Discussion: MotherJones.com, The Politico, The Raw Story, Cliff Schecter …, Wonkette, Brilliant at Breakfast and Discourse.net

Popular Mechanics:

The 10 Pieces of U.S. Infrastructure We Must Fix Now — No one can predict what bridge, levee or water main will fail next. But some problems are widely known, and work is long overdue. As PM's new special report makes blatantly clear, we need to begin rebuilding the nation's infrastructure somewhere.

Discussion: The Glittering Eye, Wonkette, The Agonist and Slog

Michael J. Totten:

Builders of Nations — “This is my hardest deployment,” Marine Sergeant Cooley said as he unfastened his helmet and tossed it onto his bed. “We weren't trained for this kind of thing.” He's been shot at with bullets and mortars, and he's endured IED attacks on his Humvee …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

FBI Data Transfers Via Telecoms Questioned — When FBI investigators probing New York prostitution rings, Boston organized crime or potential terrorist plots anywhere want access to a suspect's telephone contacts, technicians at a telecommunications carrier served with a government order can …

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Raw Story, The Impolitic and TPMMuckraker

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Iraq War Attitudes Politically Polarized — Republicans generally favor the war; Democrats oppose it — PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans reject the idea of a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, by a better than 2-to-1 margin, 65% to 32%. Democrats show an even greater margin …

Discussion: Salon and American Power

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:

LIBERALS AND THE SH*TPILE. — It's got to be a scary moment if you're a conservative. The economy is in a meltdown that can be directly traced to insufficient regulation. In other words, it's in meltdown because you suck at running it, and refused to listen to warnings that subprime loans required …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Wonk Room

Scott Horton / Harper's:

A Tale of Three Lawyers — On Thursday in the National Press Club in Washington, a crowd gathered to witness the presentation of the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling to Lieutenant Commander Matthew Diaz. The story of Matthew Diaz was chronicled in this space repeatedly (also here and here).

Discussion: Megan McArdle and Salon