Surging Support For The Invasion

The Times offers a real head-scratcher:

Support for Initial Invasion Has Risen, Poll Shows

Americans’ support for the initial invasion of Iraq has risen somewhat as the White House has continued to ask the public to reserve judgment about the war until at least the fall. In a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted over the weekend, 42 percent of Americans said that looking back, taking military action in Iraq was the right thing to do, while 51 percent said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq.

But two-thirds of those polled said the United States should reduce its forces in Iraq, or remove them altogether. Support for the invasion had been at an all-time low in May, when only 35 percent of Americans said the invasion of Iraq was the right thing and 61 percent said the United States should have stayed out. The latest poll made clear that a two-thirds majority of Americans continue to say the war is going badly.

However, the number of people who say the war is going “very badly” has fallen from 45 percent earlier in July to a current reading of 35 percent, and of those who say it is going well, 29 percent now describe it as “somewhat well” compared with 23 percent just last week.

The story provides this link to the poll itself.

I am baffled - does the Bush Administration actually have enough credibility to move public opinion?  I'll be back with more, but dream with me for a moment - it is the summer of 2008, support for the initial invasion has risen back above 50% and Dem nominee Hillary Clinton is boasting to a roaring convention that she never apologized for her war vote and never wavered in her belief that we could achieve a stable and democratic Iraq.

Well.  Here is the bookend Times story on the latest classified plans:

U.S. Is Seen in Iraq Until at Least ’09

By MICHAEL R. GORDON

 

BAGHDAD, July 23 — While Washington is mired in political debate over the future of Iraq, the American command here has prepared a detailed plan that foresees a significant American role for the next two years.

The classified plan, which represents the coordinated strategy of the top American commander and the American ambassador, calls for restoring security in local areas, including Baghdad, by the summer of 2008. “Sustainable security” is to be established on a nationwide basis by the summer of 2009, according to American officials familiar with the document.

The detailed document, known as the Joint Campaign Plan, is an elaboration of the new strategy President Bush signaled in January when he decided to send five additional American combat brigades and other units to Iraq. That signaled a shift from the previous strategy, which emphasized transferring to Iraqis the responsibility for safeguarding their security.

That new approach put a premium on protecting the Iraqi population in Baghdad, on the theory that improved security would provide Iraqi political leaders with the breathing space they needed to try political reconciliation.

The latest plan, which covers a two-year period, does not explicitly address troop levels or withdrawal schedules. It anticipates a decline in American forces as the “surge” in troops runs its course later this year or in early 2008. But it nonetheless assumes continued American involvement to train soldiers, act as partners with Iraqi forces and fight terrorist groups in Iraq, American officials said.

Although these plans are supposed to be classified I infer from the "added emphasis" bit that this is an Administration leak; presumably it it part of their eerily effective effort to rally public support. 

MORE TO FOLLOW...

MORE: AllahPundit at Hot Air opines on the political motivation behind this leak:

...Petraeus and his team can’t seriously believe they’ll have a chance to put [this plan]t into action with Republicans already itching for September to roll around so they can abandon ship. Mitch McConnell has all but promised to push Baker-Hamilton when it does, and once he heads for the lifeboats he’ll take plenty of others with him. So either they’re leaking this now for political leverage, to make it harder for Congress to withdraw as many troops as it would like after Petraeus’s progress report (”but there’s already a plan in place!”) or it’s an insurance policy to which Bush can point after they pull the plug to claim that Congress abandoned the mission before the new strategy had a chance to work (”but there was a plan in place!”).

Well, OK.

Comments

[SunnyDay]

nearly always have to enter two captcha codes though.

Posted by: PeterUK | July 25, 2007 at 12:07 PM
********************

because you're a foreigner. :D

[PeterUK]

Harrumph!

[clarice]

Sue, what do you suppose MW would consider the ideal courtroom for this case? Somewhere in SF I suppose, with some judge appointed by Carter.

[cathyf]

Is one of the two captchas ever "ferner" ?

[Sue]

Sue, what do you suppose MW would consider the ideal courtroom for this case?

She liked the Walton court.

[hit and run]

Get your carbon credits by racking up your personal debt!

Hey, where's the SCAM card?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co. issued a credit card on Wednesday it says will be the first to cut help U.S. cardholders voluntarily cut emissions linked to global warming.

The card, called GE Money Earth Rewards Platinum Mastercard, allows users the option of automatically contributing up to one percent of their card purchases to buy greenhouse emissions offsets.

I am very deliberately chopping this quote, for fun the sake of accuracy...

A growing voluntary market in greenhouse gas credits has sprouted up as the world's top emitter of heat-trapping gases...

[Sue]

If I file bankruptcy, will my carbon offsets be taken away?

[hit and run]

I think the card should automatically calculate the carbon footprint of one's purchase to determine the amount of offsets needed.

If you purchase a book, maybe a buck.

If you purcase an Al Gore book, $459

Etc

[SunnyDay]

Clarice - re Specter's ruse - I believe it is illegal to work with the WH.

[Elliott]

From the article Clarice linked:

Wheeler said that the courtroom of Judge Bates, who was appointed by President Bush, may not have been the ideal venue for the Wilsons' claim to be heard.

In 2002, Bates threw out a suit by the government's General Accounting Office, which was seeking access to records of the vice president's energy task force, offering an "expansive interpretation" of executive privilege, Wheeler noted.

Didn't the Supreme Court conclude that Cheney did not have to make those records public? Did they reach this decision while simultaneously rejecting Judge Bates' "'expansive interpretation' of executive privilege"?

[PeterUK]

"“Al Gore’s lovely daughter Sarah got married over the weekend,” and “critics are now bashing Al Gore for serving Chilean sea bass at his daughter’s wedding because it’s an endangered species. But in his defense,” whenever “Al Gore picks up a knife and fork, any species is endangered.” Jay Leno.

[MayBee]

Yes. In the last few weeks those records were made public and guess what? Well....there's a reason almost nobody knows the information is now out. Seems as though it's true that Cheney wasn't hiding anything, he just thought it was none of Congress's damn business.
It's funny, though, how they pretended they wanted to know for the oversight, not for any potential "gotcha". Congress has an "expansive interpretation" of oversight.

[Elliott]

Obama did say in the debate that Cheney had met with representatives of oil and gas companies 40 times while formulating energy policy. Did Obama get that from what was released recently or was that information publicly available previously?

[MayBee]

I'm guessing he got it from the recently released information, though that is truly a guess.

[HoosierHoops]

Democratic Presidential Candidates Stand Up Moderate Leadership Conference
....Not a single one of the eight presidential candidates plans to attend the Democratic Leadership Council's summer meeting,
**********************************
The Dems ignore moderates?
Boy how many times have I said something to that effect.. My last post at 10:58am reflected the delusion of the dems nominating Hillary Clinton...
My Party has gone to the moonbats, freaks, idiots, cowards and haters of america and what it stands for...the moderate democrat is extinct.. the party of JFK no longer exists.( ask not what your country can do for you.. now is 'ask what the gov't can do for you..' )
we got defined by the moonbats..and it's our fault..we stood by quietly living the good life and let activists invade and take over.
maybe we became independents, or Neocons ( whatever the hell that is ) or maybe just ran out of good ideas and morales..but the moderate democrat is dead.. Instead of reinventing our party, looking to the past also for what made us great..
our looney base cry bush lied, we hate bush, you took away all our rights, the WOT is a bumpersticker, 9-11 was planned by america.
blah, blah, blah,,, I mean it's a joke..
I'm an adult and my party is run by children..No way i am voting for Hillary..
I'm with you guys..maybe one more crushing defeat will shake the freaks out the trees and show the dems...The middle of the road, moderate, adult voters..well..'we in charge'
to quote from hussle&flow movie..
yup..you talk that trash..but we in charge...
have a nice day JOMers.

[centralcal]

Quick note to thank Clarice for the insight regarding Specter's motives.

Regarding TNR/Foer, I think the guy writing at Amazon (with the semiotic theory) has it quite right, that Foer has climbed up a tree and is about to fall out of it! Equally revealing, is this guy is also a self-proclaimed lefty. Doesn't look like anyone - even on the left - wants to join Foer out on the limb he's dangling from.

[RichatUF]

Garth [10:51pm]

Al Queda does not have a standing army. I think we can agree on that.

So the thousands of volunteers from Pakistan, KSA, Egypt, et al don't make up an army, more like a "loose affilation of groups" that rally to jihad.

They love the fact that we are in Iraq because it allows them to train against US troops.

1. If they love it so much why are so many dieing.
2. Isn't training conducted with concern for saftey and instructional elements: hard to re-train some 1st run bomb makers when an AC-130 rains fire on them.

Al Queda's operational ability has been strengthened by our presence in Iraq.

al Qeada was able to operational plot the 9/11 attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Dubai, Spain, Germany [among other places] begining a few days after Operation Desert Fox ended [if the 9/11 Commission Report is to be believed]. They were able to insert 19 operatives, some as long as 19 months [the pilot cadre], and along the way, they drew enough attention to themselves that they were not unknown elements. They were highly discliplined and controlled and have not been able to put anything comparable into affect since.

It is a ridiculous assertion that al-Qeada has anywhere near the operational capability they had prior to (or even just after) 9/11 [HAMAS is better off, Hezbollah is probably unchanged but more willing to strike within the US].

They are able to solicit funds and recruit based on the very obvious fact that Herr Busch is putting American troops on foreign soil.

And they were able to solicit funds and recruit well prior to this. The Northern Virginia Hamas/al-Qeada fund raising ring is just one data point. This problem goes back to the early 1980's when Abdullah Azzam was making recuiting and fund-raising trips for the Afghan jihad to Tuscon AZ, Oklahoma City OK, and Kansas City KA. Your revolting nazist critique notwithstanding, if it weren't US soliders taking the brunt in Iraq it would be US foreign service officers in US Embassies and consulates in the greater ME and Europe that would be taking the brunt. Under what logic was the Islamic jihad not using the US as a recruiting and fundraising ground before March 19th 2003, but then, when the bombs were loosed, the "Arab Street" raised up to send their sons to jihad and humiliate the Great Satan.

Americans are dying and paying for Al Queda troop training exercises.

Americans are going to die overseas in attaks large and small. This time, instead of them being foreign service officers, humanitarians and civilians on vacation, al-Qeada [and various offshoots, it is so hard to keep up], are finding that the US military isn't such a paper tiger that al-Qeada dreamt it was and the left had presented it as.

[Carol Herman]

If you had to pick September or October, 2004, for the Dan Rather telecast that cost him his career; did you see polls indicating that C-BS came up with a BUST?

Because that telecast could have been the impedus that gave Bush 4,000,000 MORE votes in 2004, over John Kerry. (No polls indicated that this would happen!)

As a matter of fact, John Kerry was sure that the Bush election was something he could steal. So, intead of conceding, Kerry went to sleep that night. And, let the President "wait."

Wait for what?

It seems the press is not moving news, anymore. They're moving propaganda. Are they successful?

It seems that the stuff that was used against Nixon, and worked against Nixon! Did not reappear, here.

All I know is that Armitage was FOWLED mouthed with Bob Woodward. And, Bob Woodward was NIXONIAN, in the way his office is triggered for taping. Again, not things you'd guess at.

A long and costly war.

Right now, I'm listening to "LAND OF LINCOLN" by Andrew Ferguson. On tape. He starts out with a mention that Lincoln went to Richmond, prior to Lee's surrender. And, the south fights on! To this day! Lincoln's no hero in some minds.

Which is the way it should be in a free country. Lots of freedoms to choose what you want to believe.

Wouldn't be the first time in our history, either, that journalists make things up.

But at some point it's reached diminishing returns.

In other words? The very first time you hear a penny stock salesman, you could end up spending your money unwisely.

People learn from experience.

And, so far, when it comes to what's going on in Irak, the Bonkeys and the media are all off fighting us, here; because they want to regain their powers. (At least Truman and LBJ had the common sense to go home, when they saw they'd be on the losing ends of fighting with Americans over the choices they preferred to make.)

If you haven't been to IRAQ THE MODEL, you should go there! Omar had one of those experiences with Jordan that's truly eye-opening. And, it's straight from the hourse's mouth, reporting.

[windansea]

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad, they said, would have to close — "as in Saigon. With helicopters on the roof" said Samarai — until Washington recognized a new, resistance-led Iraqi governing council, and offered compensation to all individuals and organizations affected by the war. Under the new leadership, all Iraqi citizens who worked for or cooperated with the current, coalition-backed government would be arrested. A "reconciliation council", drawn in large part from the ranks of the armed insurgency, would then draw up plans for a permanent "technocratic" government which would immediately seek criminal charges and file civil suits against the U.S. government and major American war supporters in international court.

lefty wetdream...surrender, war crimes, reparations...yummy!

I remember the luxury tax on yachts. At the time, it seemed like a precisely targeted excise tax. I also recall that the value of existing yachts rose, thus increasing the wealth of yacht owners, while sales of new yachts fell, thus leading to a loss of jobs by the workers who built or repaired yachts.

not only that, but US tax revenue on luxury yachts sales plummetted as luxury yacht and sportfisher sales transactions were simply moved 25 miles offshore and boat registered and taxed under friendlier laws.

Looks like we're boogeying down in Waziristan. The Indian press reports we've pinpointed the AQ training camps to 9 locations there and there have been helicopter attacks on all 9 spots today.

excellent

[clarice]

richard:"if it weren't US soliders taking the brunt in Iraq it would be US foreign service officers in US Embassies and consulates in the greater ME and Europe that would be taking the brunt. "

Don't tempt me into reconsidering my pro-war position with arguments like that.

centrcal, I think the noose is tightening around Foer's neck.
I think the military has put out a damned good response. Better, I think it obvious that TNR would never publish something they got from official sources w/o vetting it much better than they did this piece. Wussies with pcs and an editor's cap who haven't a clue should be more careful.

[windansea]

oh oh..looks like Fred! is imploding

[Sara]

Scott Thomas is, in my humble opinion, another Jamil/Jamal of the Reuters doctored fauxtography scam. The ignorance of the left about military regs and social policy is mindboggling. Aside from the out and out errors contained in his 3 reports, the idea that anyone could get away with such insensitive and rude remarks within earshot of others and not get called out is just crazy talk by someone who has never spent a day in service.

[windansea]

of course that's NBC reporting maybe 5% true

I think Rudy has the best chance of course I'm a RINO chimpconian, he'll probably get beat unless Petraeus outsmarts the Senate goon squad.

as an optimist, I'm betting on Petraeus but my money is on teh dumb, we need another wakeup call before this tribal nonsense is trumped by reality.

[clarice]

Gosh! In just one week Jeri Thompson has gone from trophy wife to dragon lady!

[PeterUK]

More on Franklin F***er.

[RichatUF]

clarice-

Don't tempt me into reconsidering my pro-war position with arguments like that.

I'm sure Garth was pleased with the Fitzocution of some of East African Embassy bombing cell. Yea they got some people with perjury and obstruction of justice, but they had the cell in 1997, and when "they got their man", they packed up and left so the other plotters could continue their work. The law enforcement paradigm indeed.

[windansea]

Gosh! In just one week Jeri Thompson has gone from trophy wife to dragon lady!

libs are all about the principle of the thing

[Jim Miller]

For those who thought the NYT poll was an outlier: The Times re-did the poll, and got the same results. And it is consistent with a Newsweek poll done about the same time. (Tarnato's Best of the Web has links.)

[clarice]

You really have to give the Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia paper credit for fact checking.LOL

[Jane]

You've gotta love what is happening in NY to Elliott Spitzer. Well actually nothing is happening to him yet, and the NY Times is coddling him, of course. But sheesh he put people in jail repeatedly for lesser crimes.

[Sara]

Which is more dangerous to Americans, serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or driving on American highways with drunk drivers at the wheel?

2006 - 17,941 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes.

2005 - There were 16,885 alcohol-related fatalities.

2004 - There were 16,694 alcohol-related fatalities

2003 - 17,013 fatalities

This is not all deaths in vehicle crashes, just the ones alcohol-related.

[Sara]

The Iraq Soccer team beat South Korea in the Semi-Finals and will play Saudi Arabia on Sunday in the finals for the Asian Cup. Sports is one of the best ways there is to bring a country together, in my opinion. It is unfortunate that the terrorists decided to set off a car bomb in the middle of a huge celebration after the big win and 50 celebrants were killed. But even with that, it is a big day for Iraq and their team.

[clarice]

Jane, the NYT is going easy on him, but the State legislature (both parties) isn't. Live by the sword, die by the sword. And it couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy.

[Sara]

For the Thompson lovers, what say you?

Via The Astute Bloggers:

By Debbie Schlussel

He hasn't yet entered the Presidential race, and yet Fred Thompson, yesterday, showed us why he's the scariest Republican Presidential candidate. And maybe the scariest of both parties.

Don't believe Thompson's claim that he understands the Islamist jihadist threat to America. His announcement, yesterday, of his choice of Spencer Abraham as campaign manager, told us everything we need to know. Although Abraham, of Lebanese descent, is a Maronite Christian, he is a career water carrier for Islamists of the most extremist stripe and made that the cornerstone of his failed, one-term Senate career and equally lousy tenure as Energy Secretary.

As a conservative--but more important, as an American concerned about the future of this country in the face of a terrorist threat--Thompson's choice of Spencer Abraham was the nail in the coffin for me in opposing Fred Thompson's quest for the White House.

I know Spencer Abraham. He wrote one of my recommendations for law school. And the Spencer Abraham that I and all of America have since experienced is bad news for everyone except CAIR, ADC, MPAC, ISNA, and all Islamists who want to endanger America.

In 2003, I wrote the definitive column on Spencer Abraham a/k/a Spence a/k/a Edward Spencer Abraham (which was quoted in The Washington Post), and I re-publish it below, with several additions I've made, updating it. At the time Spence was still Energy Secretary, but he left to become a lobbyist for Islamist countries.

As a Senator, he took marching orders from James Zogby of the pan-Islamist Arab American Institute, opposing profiling of Arabs, the use of secret evidence against Muslims (at the behest of Muslim groups), attempting to repeal the Clinton counterterrorism package, refusing to fund computer tracking of student and other foreign aliens, giving millions in our tax money right to Hezbollah, and putting CAIR on the map on Capitol Hill (taking the group's officials around to meet other Senators and Members of Congress). He took campaign contributions from the relatives of Hezbollah-backed top Lebanese officials after he got the group millions in our tax money.

Spence was one of only two Senators in the entire U.S. Senate who refused to sign a letter calling on President Clinton to condemn Palestinian terrorism and Yasser Arafat. This was at the height of a series of homicide bombings in 1999 and 2000.

[clarice]

Any indication Fred's thinking of naming Spence SecState?

[centralcal]

Well, Sara - this news about Abraham, coming as it does from Debbie, is a real downer. I was already feeling kinda iffy about the announcement of Abraham replacing Collamore. I just don't know what to say.

I really do like Mitt Romney, but, I think Giuliani has the best chance against Hillary (and, yes, it probably will be Hillary). Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!

[clarice]

He's making him campaign manager not his foreign policy advisor for God's sake..Get a grip.

[Rocco]

I see Mitt as the only true conservative in the race right now. When Thompson enters he'll take quite a chunk of Mitts votes away from him I think

OT...Do you think Wilson and Kansteiner ever talk about Sudan's oil?

[Sara]

I like Fred T., but I don't like the games I think he is playing right now. And I never liked Spencer A. If Fred does finally get in, it won't make much difference to me, since I am 100% behind Romney. Hillary will probably get her party's nomination, but I do not believe she can win in the General with her negatives so high. Last time I looked, 51% said they would never vote for her under any circumstances. As long as it isn't Ron Paul, I know I'd vote for any Republican candidate over Hillary or Obama.

[centralcal]

Thanks, Clarice, I needed that "thwack!"

[clarice]

US Secretary of Energy (2001-05)
U.S. Senator, Michigan (1995-2001)
Miller, Canfield, Paddock, and Stone Counsel (1992-94)
Republican National Committee Co-Chairman (1990-92)
US Official Deputy Chief of Staff to Vice President Dan Quayle (1990)
Member of the Board of Occidental Petroleum
American Legislative Exchange Council
Federalist Society
Libby Legal Defense Trust Advisory Committee
William S. Lee Award 2003
Lebanese Ancestry

[Rick Ballard]

"Republican National Committee Co-Chairman (1990-92)"

That's the only one that counts wrt campaign management - but he got beat. There will be more changes later - Abrams will do for the moment.

[Sara]

BTW, I have absolutely nothing against Fred, Rudy, Duncan Hunter or any of the other Rep. candidates, except for crazy Ron Paul. I have chosen to support Mitt Romney because I think he is the most qualified with his successful business background and his years as a Governor. Plus after years of living in the heart of Calif. Mormon country, I have developed a very high regard for them. I especially admire the way they teach their members/children how to be good citizens, good parents, and the heavy emphasis on getting a well-rounded education along with learning outdoor skills, scouting, and sports. I will be forever grateful to our neighbor who was an LDS Stake President and stepped in to act as a surrogate Dad for my son during all the years his own Dad was on military deployment. He was an excellent male role model and made it possible for my son to have someone to share in father/son campouts and even the awards dinner for his h.s. football team.

[Sara]

Tony Snow layed it out forcefully today at a Press Briefing regarding the contempt citations issued today by the House Judiciary Comm. :

I want to remind people that this White House, on a number of occasions, has reached out to the House Judiciary Committee and offered accommodations: First, we offered anybody at the Department of Justice who was of interest to testify under oath and on Capitol Hill, which many did. We supplied 8,500 pages of documents, including some between the Justice Department and the White House. The Attorney General, himself, and senior members of his team also went up to testify on Capitol Hill.

In addition, we offered further that we would make available any persons of interest at the White House for full interviews by members of the committees -- they'd be able to ask whatever questions they wanted to do. In each and every one of these cases, the efforts of the White House were rebuffed.

And so now we have a situation where there is an attempt to do something that's never been done in American history, which is to assail the concept of executive privilege, which hails back to the administration of George Washington, and in particular, to use criminal contempt charges against a White House chief of staff and the White House legal counsel. Ironically, this comes as the very same committee is marking up the attorney-client privilege protection act, apparently not believing that attorney-client privilege applies to the President and his own lawyer.

In any event, it's worth putting this in perspective in terms of the accomplishments of the present Congress. If you take a look at the 110th Congress right now, which had promised to have all of its appropriations bills done this month, here's what we have seen since the beginning of the Congress: More than 300 executive branch investigations or inquiries; 400 requests for documents, interviews, or testimony; we've had more than 550 officials testify; we've had more than 600 oversight hearings; 87,000-plus hours spent responding to oversight requests; and 430,000 pages made available to Congress for oversight. That's pretty significant.

In fact, the 87,000 hours that we mentioned that have been used in document production -- that's equal to more than nine-and-a-half years -- and here's your graphic of the day, ladies and gentlemen -- if you took those 430,000 pages and stack them on top of each other, they would reach a height twice that of the executive mansion, itself.

[clarice]

Ap's latest on Gonzales is nonsense.
Back again to diva Comey and his fevered tale of the hospital visit.
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/018342.php

[TerryeL]

I don't have anything against Fred, but I think people are trying to make him something he is not. In fact I think he is trying to make himself something he is not.

However, it sure did not take Debbie S long to stab him in the back. I guess this means Malkin and the rest of the pundit brigade will have to get out the long knives.

At least now we know it is not just Bush and McCain and they like to eviscerate.

Too bad they don't put as much time and energy into going after Democrats as they do wayward Republicans who fail to do their bidding.

I wonder if Rudy will survive them? My guess we will be hearing how he betrayed the real conservatives, the true blue conservatives by not railing against illegal immigration with sufficient rage or by not calling for the death penalty for abortion providers.

Meanwhile the Democrats will inch closer and closer to 08.

[TerryeL]

As anyone talked to Aschcroft himself about the meeting? And what difference does it really make anyway?

[Elliott]

With respect to Thompson (Fred Dalton), who he hired or fired in July will be of little concern in three months. He will sink or swim based on whether he, with the help of his campaign team, can convince enough voters that he is the best choice.

After all, Barack Obama's superb start likely caused Hillary Clinton to enter the Presidential race earlier than she would have otherwise. Right now, that fact is cold comfort for the Senator from Illinois and his advisers.

Also, if we are looking for a close historical precedent, John Kerry fired his campaign manager yet achieved total victory in the Democratic primaries.

[Sara]

If I were a raving conspiracy nutzoid, I would want to know what under the table services the fired U.S. attorneys were performing for the dems since they are betting the farm to scandalize the dismissals, even to the point of a Consitutional crisis. U.S. Attorneys are political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the President, so how do these lefties of the House Judiciary Cmte. think they can win this argument of the contempt citations? Even if they didn't serve at the pleasure of the Prez meaning he can fire any whenever he darn well feels like it, how does one think they can compel testimony from the Prez's own lawyer? Executive privlege? What about attorney-client privlege? I thought that was sacrosanct.

[glasater]

OT--for this thread but and interesting read from Hugh Hewitt.

[Poppy]

Something tells me that if a group of TNR reporters and editors went to lunch in DC and someone with AIDS sat at the table behind them and one of the TNR folks started making fun and jokes about the person with AIDS, the staff wouldn't feel the need to keep that persons identity secret. Why is the disfigured women treated differently by TNR? Would TNR still keep his identitty secret if he had admitting to following her back to her barracks and raping her? Just how far does TNR let their writers go with abusing people to make good war stories? Sexual harrassment, public embarrasment, disgusting jokes addreessed to the women is OK by TNR, but rape wouldn't be OK? Or would it?

[TerryeL]

Sara:

Who knows? I stopped reading a lot of sites on the right because a number of posters {both bloggers and commenters} seemed to believe that people like Bush and McCain and Kyl were part of a conspiracy to give the American southwest back to Mexico, the paranoia was just bizarre.

Meanwhile we hear the Truthers raving about the government attacking the WTC.

And the Ron Paul people have to be removed from some Thompson event....so why do the Democrats need a rational reason?

This is politics, maybe they are just making life difficult for Bush in spite of the fact that we are in a war {or because of it}. After all who really cares about that war, on the left or the right?

It seems to me that most people have their own agendas and the war and the president's ability to wage it run a slow second to whatever side show they are pursuing at the time.

[Jane]

Mr. Right was telling me this morning that the NY Times has an article saying that Congress can change the numbers of Judges on the SJC, and that if a democrat administration comes in an attempt will be made to "unstack" the Court. It says it can be done by a simple majority.

It sounds like this is the NY Times idea, but I didn't read the article.

Is there any way these people won't cheat?

[hit and run]

I personally like the "games" Fred is playing.

Starting campaigns nearly two years before an election?

The only people that benefit are the paid campaign staffers and consultants.

We the people suffer for it.

To quote a famous prosecutor, "Madness!"

Hold out Fred!

[hit and run]

So, Geraghty says this:

When Thompson gets in, most of us expect we will see a savvy, charismatic candidate. But he's taken some lumps in recent weeks, and with each passing week, the expectations for that official announcement speech - when all Republican eyes will be on him - just keep getting higher.

Really?

Why would expectations keep rising as he's taking lumps?

The lumps, in my thinking, which is admittedly bit fuzzy after a neighbors birthday party last night, would by their nature serve to deflate expectations, no?

I have nowhere near the experience of Mr. Campaign Spot when it comes to campaign spotting, so perhaps I am naive to think that voters are not so naive as to think that Thompson is flawless and infallible in the face of evidence that he is flawed and fallible.

[Sue]

Jane,

The threat of "stacking" the court is how we get FDR's social programs. The original SC found, 5 to 4, that FDR's programs were unconstitutional. FDR threatened, and with a democratic majority the threat wasn't an empty threat, to raise the number of justices. Suddenly, the decision was rethought and it was 4 to 5. FDR won.

[hit and run]

"Scott Thomas" has revealed himself

My Diarist, "Shock Troops," and the two other pieces I wrote for the New Republic have stirred more controversy than I could ever have anticipated. They were written under a pseudonym, because I wanted to write honestly about my experiences, without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, my pseudonym has caused confusion. And there seems to be one major way in which I can clarify the debate over my pieces: I'm willing to stand by the entirety of my articles for the New Republic using my real name.

I am Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, a member of Alpha Company, 1/18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division.

My pieces were always intended to provide my discreet view of the war; they were never intended as a reflection of the entire U.S. Military. I wanted Americans to have one soldier's view of events in Iraq.

It's been maddening, to say the least, to see the plausibility of events that I witnessed questioned by people who have never served in Iraq. I was initially reluctant to take the time out of my already insane schedule fighting an actual war in order to play some role in an ideological battle that I never wanted to join. That being said, my character, my experiences, and those of my comrades in arms have been called into question, and I believe that it is important to stand by my writing under my real name.

--Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp

[kim]

Ho, ho, Social Security unconstitutional. But why does Chemerinsky think Val was covert, and why do they all think Armitage leaked her name first when he was quoted as saying her husband was leaking her name all over town?
===========================

[kim]

Do you suppose he meant discrete instead of discreet?
==================================

[cathyf]

My, my, my. Looks to me like Private Scott is facing some serious court martial action for dereliction of duty if he didn't report these things up the chain of command.

[boris]

my character, my experiences, and those of my comrades in arms have been called into question

So, vile sexist piggish and nasty ... yes ...

... but ... make sh!t up ... HOW DARE YOU IMPUGN MY CHARACTER !!!

[hit and run]

Another Fred related note, though I would file this under "jumping the gun" and on thin evidence. But it's the dog days and campaign spotters are looking for anything they can use to file a story...

Newt Gingrich's long, slow striptease over whether he will seek the presidency in 2008 looks like it might come to an unexpected conclusion: a date with Fred Thompson.
...
But that was not the only evidence of a possible Thompson-Gingrich alliance in 2008. Gingrich and his wife, Calista, had dinner with Thompson and his wife, Jeri, at the former senator's home in McLean, Va., on July 16, according to two Republican sources close to both men.

A Thompson aide would say only that "a good policy discussion" was had over the meal.

Would be big, of course. And would provide an interesting contrast to the worries over Spencer Abraham joining Team Fred.

But there's not much there there here.

[Rick Ballard]

If you wish to follow Pvt BS Beauchamp's fifteen minutes, here's a good compendium of links.

The fellow at Amazon pegged him to a T. I hope that his "comrades in arms" give him everything which he has earned.

[hit and run]

Can't pass this up...

Dumont, Ia. — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards squeezed into a pair of Spandex bike shorts today and pedaled on the RAGBRAI route with champion cyclist Lance Armstrong.
...
The candidate was sweaty after about a dozen miles, but there was no evidence of helmet hair.

The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, a weeklong bike ride across the state, runs today from Hampton to Cedar Falls.
...
"This is actually not hard, this is fun," Edwards said as he climbed a hill on County Road T16 on a black Trek road bike he borrowed for the day. "The biggest problem is my butt hurts. Is that normal?"

[Sue]

"The biggest problem is my butt hurts. Is that normal?"

Not. Going. To. Do. It. I. Must. Practice. Self. Constraint.

[boris]

Beyond parody ...

Every morning I get up and say I’m Scott Beauchamp, in the army, living in Germany, and this is my life, and I’m going to be treated like sh*t today and do landscaping and janitorial work and practice killing people and there could be no other way to appreciate what I had or what I’m going to have once I get out other than enduring this now when all I really want to do is teach history and lay around and read and hustle around and repair the world (tikkun olam) and sift through knowledge and improve culture and learn how to sail and work in soup kitchens and start a family and really, I mean REALLY study the best the western civilization has to offer and facilitiate the mystery and power through everything I do, but I cant do it without getting through this army experience first, which will add a legitimacy to EVERYTHING i do afterwards, and totally bolster my opinions on defense, etc,

Another creepy little John Kerry.

[clarice]

Read thru the comments at Hot Air by folks poring thru his blogsite and comparing posts there with his TNR works. So far, it seems he was producing on the spot war reports BEFORE he was ever deployed to Iraq.

[Jane]

FDR threatened, and with a democratic majority the threat wasn't an empty threat, to raise the number of justices. Suddenly, the decision was rethought and it was 4 to 5. FDR won.

Sue,

That's really interesting. I didn't know that.

[royf]

It's been maddening, to say the least, to see the plausibility of events that I witnessed questioned by people who have never served in Iraq

From Mr Beauchamp, typical lefty playbook.

The fact is Mr Beauchamp it is the soldiers who have served or are currently in Iraq which have cast the most doubt on your fictions.

[clarice]

It would be a good question to ask Dem candidates--do you approve of the NYT's latest court packing plan?

[HoosierHoops]

Allow me Sue...
"The biggest problem is my butt hurts. Is that normal?"
-John Edwards

Not half as bad as it's going to hurt on Super Tuesday....

[hit and run]

In other news...

DURHAM, N.C. - Disgraced former prosecutor Mike Nifong acknowledged Thursday there is "no credible evidence" that three Duke lacrosse players committed any of the crimes he accused them of more than a year ago, offering for the first time a complete and unqualified apology.

"We all need to heal," Nifong said. "It is my hope we can start this process today."

Nifong's apology came as a judge began considering whether to hold the former Durham County district attorney in criminal contempt of court for his handling of the case.

Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III has already concluded there is probable cause to believe Nifong "willfully and intentionally made false statements of material fact" to the court during a hearing in the case last fall. If he finds Nifong in contempt, the now-disbarred former prosecutor could face up to 30 days in jail.

[clarice]

Man I hate that "we all need to heal" crap--

[MikeS]

"we all need to heal"

I think Nifong will have to do some jail time before I get any real sense of closure.

[clarice]

Deconstructing Scott Thomas:
[quote]And a reader e-mails this info:

I’m active Army & an Iraq vet.

I just pulled up “Scott Thomas Beauchamp” on the secure “Army Knowledge Online” website. It lists his current rank as “PV2″. (That data is kept accurate via pay records on that website.)

In his Sep 06 blog post he listed his rank as “Private First Class”. That indicates that without a doubt he was busted at least one rank as part of Article 15 proceedings under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and he likely has a strong ax to grind with his chain of command.[/quote]

More--http://michellemalkin.com/2007/07/26/scott-thomas-steps-out-of-the-shadows/>Story crumbling

[clarice]

I want "heal" and "closure" drummed out of the English language except with respect to surgical procedures.

Using this kind of psychobabble only obscures and minimizes the pain people cause others.

It's nonsensical. A kid is brutally murdered, the body is found and Greta's already blabbing about how now the family has "closure" and can "heal". For their own mental health one prays that those who were victimized by evil can find a way to still find some joy and meaning in their lives. But "closure"?"healing"? C'mon. Some wounds are so grievous they never heal or close--we just find ways to live in spite of them and the rush to declare Healing and Closure is just a way to get the perps off the hook.

[Enlightened]

Hah - Scott Thomas. I was following the story over at CY. I found this story about German soldiers desecrating a "skull"...and lo and behold, it looks like the dumbass was stationed in Germany at the same time the "skull" incident was making the rounds in the German news.

It is so obvious he took that story and changed it into a hit piece against American soldiers. My guess is his "war stories" can all be traced back to newsworthy events - and he just used a little literary "flair" or "Blair" if-you-will....and voila' - the new darling of the left.

I am waiting for his "comrades" to start coming forward and just trashing this shithead.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,445133,00.html

[SunnyDay]

Ugh - that kind of self-absorbed mental masturbation is what people write in adolescence, when they can't quite figure out who they are.

I actually can't stand to read it.

[cathyf]

I think Nifong will have to do some jail time before I get any real sense of closure.

Me, too. Of course I have to say that if Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III were to say something like this while sentencing Nifong to jail, I would find it tremendously healing.

[Ann]

I for one will be celebrating when the Senate goes on vacation in August!

There will be no time for "healing" however, because according to Newsbusters.org "Hollywood to Launch Raft of Anti-Military Movies".

Also, Sony Pictures is developing a film based on the story of Richard A. Clarke, former national security official.

SPARE ME !!!!!!!!

I NEED CLOSURE, CLOSURE, CLOSURE.

[Enlightened]

Sue: Was that you over at HotAir on the Scott Thomas/Germany skull link?

I'm too lazy to sign up for HA, but can you add this:

Some of the posters seem to think that since STB last entry on his blog was September 2006, he might have missed the skull story in the German news.

The actual "skull" incident occurred in 2003 - I'm wondering if he learned about it through military channels while in Germany?

It just seems too coincidental for me that he writes an almost identical story to that German incident.

Unless of course, US soldiers mimicked the Germans when they stumbled across the "mass grave" that STB refers to in Iraq.

[centralcal]

I want to know how Scott Thomas Beauchamp made connections with TNR.

The more that is revealed about Scotty-boy the worse it looks for the "editors" of TNR.

[Sue]

Enlightened,

Yes. I've tried to give you the credit where I've left it, or at least not taken credit myself. Hope you don't mind.

I'll post your comment there for you.

[PeterUK]

"Every morning I get up and I’m a little more liberal than the day before

Every morning I get up and try to recite a fact from something I read last night.

Every morning I get up and wish I was as

free as the people that I’m “fighting for”

Every morning I get up and think I’m a tool.

Every morning I get up and miss my mother

Every morning I get up and shave my legs.

Every morning I get up and realize how much I love my comrades.

[Enlightened]

Sue - No prob.

Interesting - Ace is onto something about this Thomas guy and his relationship with TNR. Plame-like link he thinks.

TNR is apparently furiously sanitizing their site? Hmmmm.

Now, I wonder why Foer was so damn sure Thomas was a real soldier. Maybe because TNR arranged the enlistment? Curiouser and Curiouser.

[SunnyDay]

PUK!!! Stop it you ferner!!

[Rick Ballard]

Now Mr Uk - are you really intimating that BS Beauchamp is shooting for the glistening hairless chic achieved by Foer in order to curry favor? Haven't they done enough for each other already?

Artless connivers fit to share space only with Galloway. Toads of a feather...

[maryerose]

Rove to be called to testify about firings of justices via subpoena...

[Cecil Turner]

Hilarious unraveling of the "Shock Troops" story. Neglecting TNR's obvious attempt to shift the burden of proof (to a negative, of course), Uncle Jimbo has an excellent point of how much credit Beauchamp can claim for coming clean:

So he is unmasked, kudos to JD Johannes who had him pegged down to Company level. I just wonder how the other members of A Co. 1/18 feel about how their buddy Beauchamp described them.

And, as Small Wars Journal points out, the unit was already hot on his trail. Per the PAO, they'd talked to Johannes, and:

5. I contacted the only unit in our brigade that has Bradleys, 1-18 IN, and advised their XO of the situation, recommending that they talk to their Soldiers about Army values and the Warrior ethos, reminding them of the rules for blogging in uniform and also reminding them of integrity and telling the truth. The bottom line: If you put something out there you should be willing to put your name next to it and stand by it. That he and New Rpublic are insisting on anonymity is very telling here. [emphasis added]

The long and short of it is that they'd already tracked "Scott Thomas" down to his unit, and his "pseudonym" was his first two names. Might as well 'fess up at that point. The veracity of this tale ought to be established in very short order, and it ain't lookin' too good for TNR.

[hit and run]

From Ace's...

Elspeth Reeve and Scott Beauchamp wedding registry

Elspeth Reeve a TNR staffer.

[Cecil Turner]

Ain't that sweet?

P.S. Betcha I can guess what Pvt Beauchamp is seeing right about now . . . most likely it's the one on the right.

[Enlightened]

Elspeth Reeve and Beauchamp both attended the same college. She's 2nd thumbnail on the left.

Foer has ALOT of 'splainin to do.

http://journalism.missouri.edu/news/2004/11-11-summer-contest.html

[Jane]

Ooooh H&R,

If you thought that up all by yourself, you are indeed evil - of the finest order!

[PeterUK]

Mr Ballard,
Have you noticed the same personality traits in all these traitors,enormous egos and narcissistic self absorption.I think you caught this one before he became Senator for life.

[hit and run]

Ace of Spades is where all the hot action is...

[PeterUK]

Clarice,
Re Nifong,remember,"Time wounds all heels".

[clarice]

WOW--H & R does anyone else have that?

[hit and run]

See Ace...I swiped it from there.

"Gracie" from TNR was feeding Ace information last night, TNR found out and fired him/her this morning for it.

[Enlightened]

Clarice - Ace's place found the connection through the Wedding Channel? Bwaaahhha.

This is just hilarious. TNR is most likely sucking on the oxygen tube right about now.

When are these dipwads going to learn? It's going to blow soon - Hot Air is flaming right now too.

Sue - Your the best. Wink.

[Rick Ballard]

Cecil,

The link won't load for me - does the 'one on the right' wear an insignia with three stripes, three rockers and a little diamond in the middle? He'd be the one I wwould be trying to hide from were I in Beauchamps very damp boots.